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Bright Lives English
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Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees

Level B1 (Intermediate) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/wangari-maathai-trees/

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. notice (verb)
  2. dry up (phrasal verb)
  3. firewood (noun)
  4. seedling (noun)
  5. survive (verb)
  6. stand up to (phrasal verb)
  7. refuse (verb)
  8. make a difference (phrase)
  1. a very young plant that has just grown from a seed
  2. wood that people burn to cook or keep warm
  3. to continue to live, especially after a difficult time
  4. to refuse to accept bad treatment from someone more powerful
  5. to see or become aware of something
  6. (of a river or stream) to slowly lose all its water
  7. to say or show that you will not do something
  8. to have a good effect on a situation or on people

B Complete the sentences from the story

survived · drying up · refused · firewood · seedlings · make a difference · noticed · stood up to

  1. She taught women how to grow .
  2. She that something was wrong.
  3. She to be silent.
  4. She powerful people to protect forests.
  5. She paid them for each tree that .
  6. The streams she remembered were .
  7. You don't have to be big to .
  8. They had to walk further to find .

C Did you understand?

  1. What problem did Wangari notice when she came back to Kenya?
    1. There were too many trees
    2. Streams were drying up and forests were gone
    3. Schools were closing
    4. The cities were too big
  2. Everyone in power supported the Green Belt Movement.True / False
  3. What did the hummingbird carry to the fire?
    1. A big bucket of water
    2. One drop of water at a time
    3. Leaves from the trees
    4. Nothing, it ran away
  4. Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.True / False

D Put the words in order

  1. to / be / have / You / a / to / don't / difference / big / make

E Your turn

Retell Wangari Maathai's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Transcript

Wangari Maathai was born in 1940 in a small village in Kenya.

As a child, she drank clean water from a stream near her home and watched the frogs' eggs in the water.

She was an excellent student, and she won a scholarship to study in the United States.

In 1971, she became the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate.

But when she returned home, she noticed that something was wrong.

The streams she remembered were drying up. Forests had been cut down.

Women told her they had to walk further and further to find firewood and clean water.

Wangari had a simple idea: why not plant trees?

Trees would bring back the soil, protect the water and give people wood for cooking.

In 1977, she started the Green Belt Movement. She taught women how to grow seedlings and paid them a small amount for each tree that survived.

Not everyone was happy. When she stood up to powerful people to protect forests and parks, she was arrested and even attacked.

But she refused to be silent.

Over the years, the movement planted tens of millions of trees across Kenya.

In 2004, Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was the first African woman to receive it.

She often told a story about a forest fire. All the animals ran away, except one small hummingbird.

The hummingbird flew to the river again and again, carrying one drop of water at a time.

The bigger animals laughed and asked, 'What do you think you are doing?'

The hummingbird answered: 'I am doing the best I can.'

Wangari died in 2011, but her trees are still growing.

Her story reminds us that you don't have to be big to make a difference.

Answer key

A. 1e 2f 3b 4a 5c 6d 7g 8h

B. 1 seedlings · 2 noticed · 3 refused · 4 stood up to · 5 survived · 6 drying up · 7 make a difference · 8 firewood

C. 1 b · 2 False · 3 b · 4 True

D. 1 You don't have to be big to make a difference.