Thomas Edison: They Tried Thousands of Things… Then the Little Light Stayed On
Level A1 (Beginner) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/thomas-edison-light-bulb/
A Match the words to their meanings
- experiment (noun)
- dark (adjective)
- bulb (noun)
- try (verb (past: tried))
- light (noun)
- lab (noun)
- idea (noun)
- electric (adjective)
- a room where people do experiments (short for laboratory)
- to test something to see if it works
- with no light
- (light bulb) the glass part that gives light
- working with electricity
- a test of an idea
- a new thought or plan
- a lamp; it helps us see
B Complete the sentences from the story
tried · ideas · experiments · electric · lab · bulb · dark · light
- Edison's was in Menlo Park.
- They thousands of things.
- His lights came on in New York.
- The burned for over 13 hours.
- He wanted a better .
- He loved .
- At night, many streets were .
- He had many .
C Did you understand?
- Thomas Edison went to school for many years.True / False
- What did he love?
- Football
- Painting
- Experiments
- Cooking
- What worked in 1879?
- A piece of gold
- A thin, burnt cotton thread
- A candle
- A stone
- Their first good light burned for over 13 hours.True / False
- What worked for about 1,200 hours?
- Cotton
- Paper
- Wood
- Burnt bamboo
D Put the words in order
- again / and / tried / They / again
E Grammar: again and again
We use it for to say that something happens many times. They tried again and again. · He did them again and again. · They tested again and again.
Example from the story: They tried again and again.
- They tried again and . (again / more / many)
- He did experiments again again. (and / or / but)
- Again and again means . (many times / one time / never)
F Your turn
Retell Thomas Edison's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Transcript
A man and his team tried thousands of things for one small light.
This is the story of Thomas Edison.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Experiment. In an experiment, you test an idea.
He loved experiments.
Dark. When there is no light, it is dark.
At night, many streets were dark.
Bulb. A light bulb is the glass part that gives light.
He wanted a better bulb.
Try. When you try something, you test it.
They tried thousands of things.
Light. A light helps us see.
The light burned for over 13 hours.
Now, one pattern: again and again.
It means many times.
They tried many times.
They tried again and again.
Ready? Let's begin.
Thomas Edison was born in America in 1847.
He did not go to school for long.
His mother taught him at home.
He could not hear well, but he loved experiments.
He did them again and again.
In those days, many lamps used fire.
At night, many streets were dark.
He wanted a better bulb. But how?
Edison and his team tried thousands of things.
They tried again and again.
In 1879, a thin, burnt cotton thread worked.
The light burned for over 13 hours!
They did not stop.
They tested again and again.
Later, burnt bamboo worked for about 1,200 hours!
Let's review. He loved experiments.
At night, many streets were dark.
He wanted a better bulb.
They tried thousands of things.
The light burned for over 13 hours.
And remember: they tried again and again.
Thomas Edison's story teaches us: keep trying, and you will find a way.
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Answer key
A. 1f 2c 3d 4b 5h 6a 7g 8e
B. 1 lab · 2 tried · 3 electric · 4 light · 5 bulb · 6 experiments · 7 dark · 8 ideas
C. 1 False · 2 c · 3 b · 4 True · 5 d
D. 1 They tried again and again.
E. 1 again · 2 and · 3 many times