Passage 2

Florance Nightingale was born in Florance, Italy, on 12 May 1820. She was well educated and when she grew up into a young woman, her family was concerned about finding her a good husband. But Florence refused to marry and, at the age of twenty-five, told her parents she wanted to become a nurse. Her family repeatedly opposed her. In those days, hospitals were often dirty and dark, and the nurses were untrained women. But she refused to change her mind and finally, in 1851, Florence,s father gave her permission to train as a nurse.

Florence went to Germany, where she studied to become a nurse. Two years later, she was appointed superintendent of a hospital for invalid women in Harley Street, London.

In March 1853, Russia invaded Turkey. Britain and France went to Turkey's aid in this conflict known as the Crimean War. Within a few weeks of their arrival, about 8000 soldiers were suffering from cholera and malaria. When Florence read a report on this in The Times, she volunteered her service. The government refused permission at first because women had never been involved in such things before. But eventually, it allowed her to take a group of thirty-eight nurses to Turkey.

Florence found the conditions in the army hospital in Scutari, Turkey, deeply shocking. The men were kept in dirty rooms without blankets or decent food and clothes. In these conditions, it was not surprising that diseases such as typhus, cholera, and dysentery were the main reasons for the high death rate amongst wounded soldiers.

At first, military officers and doctors objected to Florence's involvement in treating the wounded soldiers. But when her friends at the Times reported the way, the British Army treated its wounded soldiers, she was allowed to work in the barracks hospital. By improving the quality of sanitation, she was able to reduce the death rate among her patients considerably. She was called 'the lady with the lamp' by the British soldiers because of the late hours she worked tending to the sick and the wounded, carrying a lamp in her hand.

In 1856, Florence Nightingale returned to England as a national figure. In October 1856, she had a long interview with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert about improving the quality of nursing in military hospitals. This resulted in the formation of the Army Medical College.

In later life, Florence Nightingale suffered from poor health. She died in London on 13 August 1810.

Exercises

1. From passage 2, find the words that are similar in meaning to the following:

i. attacked	ii. presented oneself	iii. proper	iv.  lessen
v.  resisted	vi.  foul	vii. decree	viii. appearance
ix. weak	x.  transform	xi. worried	xii. denied
xiii. help	xiv. struggle; fight	xv. finally	xvi. injured
xvii. participation	xviii. a lot; significantly	xix. constantly; all the time	xx. caring for

Answer(1):

i. invaded	ii.involvement	iii. well	iv. reduce
v. opposed	vi. dirty	vii. result	viii. arrival
ix. poor	x. change	xi.concerned	xii.refused
xiii. aid	xiv. conflict	xv.eventually	xvi.wounded
xvii.involvement	xviii. considerably	xix.repeatedly	xx. tending

2. Write the words from the above passage which are opposite to the following words:

i. confessed	ii. primitively	iii. expert	iv. departure
v. harmony	vi. valid	vii. trained

Answer(2):

i. refused	ii. later	iii. untrained	iv. arrival
v. conflict	vi. invalid	vii. untrained

3. From the above passage 2, find the words that are closest to the following definitions:

1.  a person who has a lot of authority and manages and controls a group of workers, an activity, etc.
2.  enter a country or a territory to attack it
3. a serious infectious disease that causes fever, headache, purple marks on the body and often death
4. a private meeting between when questions are answered
5.  the number of death per 1000 people in a particular group during a year
6. the act of giving a lot of time and attention to sth you care about

Answer(3):

1. superintendent
2. invaded
3. typhus
4. interview
5. death-rate
6. tending

4.Rewrite the following sentences in the correct order:

1. The government was not ready to accept Florence's voluntary service.
2. The Crimean War broke out.
3.  Florence helped the sick and wounded soldiers.
4.  Soldiers started being sick.

Answer(4):

Correct Order:

1. (b)
2. (d)
3. (a)
4. (c)

5. Answer the following questions:

1.  What is the Crimean War?
2. Why didn't the government accept Florence's voluntary service?
3. How was the condition of the army hospital in Turkey?
4. Why was Florence called 'the lady with the lamp'?
5. What about her family was anxious?
6. What was her curiosity?
7. Why wasn't she permitted to be a nurse before 1851?
8. Who did she volunteer her services to?
9. Where was Florence Nightingale first appointed? And why?
10. What caused a large number of deaths amongst the wounded soldiers?
11. What did Florence Nightingale do to help bring down the death rate?
12. What was the result of her interview with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert?
13. Why did Florence Nightingale's parents oppose her decision to be a nurse?
14. Where and when did Florence Nightingale bear?
15. Why did Florence Nightingale go to Germany?
16. Name the countries that assisted Turkey in the Crimean War.
17. Why did the Government at first refuse her permission to go to Turkey?

Answer(5):

1. The war between Russia and Turkey in which Britain and France went to turkey's aid is known as CrimenaWar.
2. The government didn't accept Florence's voluntary service because women had never been involved in such things before.
3. The condition of the army hospital in Turkey was deeply shocking. The men were kept in dirty rooms without blankets or decent food and clothes.
4. Florence was called 'the lady with the lamp' because of the late hours she worked tending to the sick and the wounded, carrying a lamp in her hand.
5. Her family was anxious about finding her a good husband.
6. Her curiosity was to become a nurse.
7. She wasn't permitted to be a nurse before 1851 because in those days hospitals were often dirty and dark, and the nurses were untrained women.
8. She volunteered her services to the war victims of Turkey.
9. Florence Nightingale was first appointed as a superintendent of a hospital in Harley Street, London because she completed her training to become a nurse.
10. The diseases such as typhus, cholera, and dysentery which are caused due to the bad situation of the army hospital caused a large number of deaths amongst the wounded soldiers.
11. Florance Nightingale improved the quality of sanitation to help bring down the death rate.
12. The result of her interview with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was the formation of the Army Medical College.
13. Florence Nightingale's parents opposed her decision to be a nurse because in those days hospitals were often dirty and dark, and the nurses were untrained women.
14. Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, on 12 May 1820.
15. Florence Nightingale went to Germany the studying as a nurse.
16. The countries that assisted Turkey in the Crimean War are: Britain and France
17. The Government at first refused her permission to go to Turkey because women had never been involved in such things before.