Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and emigrated to New York City

when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a
doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth
century. After writing many letters seeking admission to medical schools, she
was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. So determined was she, that she
taught at school and gave music lessons to earn money for her tuition.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school, she decided to further her
education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon, but a serious eye infection
forced her to abandon the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own
practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a
doctor, along with another female doctor, managed to open a new hospital; the
first for women and children. Besides being the first female physician and
founding her own hospital, she also established the first medical school for
women.
1. The main idea of this passage is
A. Elizabeth Blackwell and her struggle to become a doctor in the nineteenth
century.
B. Elizabeth Blackwell and why she became a doctor in the nineteenth
century.
C. The lack of medical provision for women in the nineteenth century.
D. Societys attitude towards women doctors.

2. What main obstacle almost destroyed Elizabeth's chances for

becoming a doctor?
A. She was a woman.
B. She wrote too many letters.
C. She couldn't graduate from medical school.
D. She couldn't establish her hospital.
3. Why couldn't Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a
surgeon?
She couldn't get admitted to medical school.
She decided to further her education in Paris.
A serious eye infection halted her quest.
It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States.
Why did it take many years for Blackwell to start work after
graduation?
People we still not used to a lady doctor

She didnt have enough money to open her own clinic

She had a serious eye infection

She wanted to set up a medical school for women.

All of the following are "firsts" in the life of Elizabeth Blackwell, except
she became the first female physician
she was the first woman surgeon
she and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children
she established the first medical school for women
These words are taken from the passage. They can best be replaced with
seeking
looking for
writing
requesting for
searching
earned
abandon
The word admission in the first paragraph is a
Noun
Pronoun
Verb
adjective

Read the following article about walking in the desert in Namibia, southwest Africa, and then answer the questions that follow.
There is nothing like walking to give such a beautiful landscape by car?
you an experience of a country. A

Walking is the best way to travel,

fine

with your feet firmly on the ground.

landscape is like a piece of music

The Tok Tokkie Trail

it must be enjoyed at the right

On the Tok Tokkie Trail you will

speed.

experience various aspects of the

Walking at a slow pace on one of the desert from mountainous paths

trails in Namibia allows you to learn and sand dunes to patches of grass.
about the desert animals, trees and Walking with a guide is conducted at
plants that exist together in this

a slow pace. It is luxury hiking

unique environment. Apart from

because everything is done for you.

giving you a real view of the

You are woken up with a cup of

landscape, walking is the best way to coffee or tea just as the sun rises. At
relax your mind. Who wants to see

the end of the day, you can relax

2

with a cool, refreshing drink before

feeling of being part of nature. You

enjoying the evening meal at the

will soon fall asleep under the clear,

camp. All you need to carry are your star-covered sky. With this view, you
camera, binoculars and water.

could truly call it a thousand-star

Your guide
Your guide, Domingo, carries a

hotel! In the morning, you wake up

mobile refreshment pack on his

back, so you

to the sounds of wildlife, early

enough to see the sun set the sky on
fire.

can sit back against a rock and take

a break with tea and cake. He says, Choose your route
I walk almost every day. Walking is The starting point for the Tok Tokkie
good for the body and also for the

Trail is about 450 kilometres from the

mind. The desert is my natural gym. Namibian capital, Windhoek. To

At the camp your bedroom consists reach the starting point by car from
of a camp bed with a blanket, a

the city, one option is to take the

bedside mat, a chair and a wash

C19 road, which passes through the

bowl all outside in the open air.

magnificent scenery of the Zaris

The wind cools you down as you wait Pass and where you can see slowyour turn for the bucket shower to

moving donkey carts along the way.

wash off the dust of the day. Kick off Alternatively, if you are driving from
your shoes and sink your feet into

the direction of Sesriem, turn right

the soft sand; it will give you a

about 110 kilometres along the C27.

1. How is walking in a fine landscape compared to a piece of music?

____________________________________________________________
2. Apart from learning about your surroundings, what other advantage
does walking have?

____________________________________________________________
3. What different features of the landscape will you see on the walk? Give
two details.

____________________________________________________________
4. What items should you take with you on the walk? Give two details.

____________________________________________________________
5. How does the guide look after his walking group?

____________________________________________________________
6. Why might the camp be described as a thousand-star hotel?

____________________________________________________________
7. it will give you a feeling of being part of nature. It refers to

____________________________________________________________
8. With this view, you could truly call it a thousand-star hotel!. This
refers to

____________________________________________________________

Guys gossip too

London Log: By CHOI TUCK WOO
IT WOULD be hilarious if it wasnt so serious that British males have been
found to be the worst gossips after all. And thats no laughing matter
although it may leave a nasty taste in the mouth of many gung-ho
chauvinists.
While women chat with friends mainly for fun and laughs, men are more
likely to spread damaging stories and malicious rumours.
According to the latest research, 24% of men admitted to spinning
damaging tales to help them forge ahead, compared with just 9% for
women.
Beyond that, a third of men confessed to happily
spreading libellous stories even if they knew they might not be true as
against a mere 5% of women.
The survey of 9,000 individuals gossiping habits found that conventional
wisdom was correct in one respect women gossip an average of 44
minutes a day, compared with 36 minutes for their male counterparts.
What they actually say to one another differs dramatically, however.
While men are more inclined towards spinning sensational, headlinegrabbing stuff to move ahead, women tend to settle for harmless, funloving chatter.
The study, commissioned by a loyalty card and a phone company, also
found the office water cooler to be the most popular place for
conversations. Forty-four per cent of the respondents reckoned that the
water cooler place was most ideal for face-to-face office chats.

Office secrets
The study also found the telephone as the number one choice for a proper
conversation, with e-mails or office encounters more about brief
exchanges.
Needless to say, the hottest topics in the office were about work and what
happened there, with 55% admitting to their popularity.
But the ineluctable truth is that keeping a secret is one thing that neither
sex is ever good at for only 13% of both sexes can be counted upon to
keep their mouths shut, leaving both sides vulnerable to office secrets.

While men may be guilty of rumour mongering, they can take comfort that
women spend 1 years longer on the phone than them in a working
lifetime.
For many long-suffering husbands and partners, it can feel as though their
wives or girlfriends are never off the phone.