Jane Goodall - an inspiring woman
Reading practice for English learners
Hello!
In this post, I want to tell you about a woman I admire: Jane Goodall. This is part of a new series I’m writing to help you improve your English while reading real stories about inspiring women.
Reading is one of the best ways to build your vocabulary and feel more confident in English. When you read in English, you see grammar and sentence patterns in context. You also learn new words naturally.
If you want to get more from the text, here are a few simple ideas:
– Try reading the story the first time without a dictionary. Guess the meanings of new words from the context. You don’t need to understand every word to enjoy the story.
– Read it again, and this time, use a dictionary to check the words you weren’t sure about. There’s also a glossary of the most difficult words at the end of the story.
– Write down and learn any new words you find useful.
– Try reading it out loud to practise your pronunciation.
Jane was born in London on 3rd April 1934. When she was a child, her father gave her a toy chimpanzee instead of a teddy bear. She had lots of pets, and she loved reading books like “Dr Dolittle” and “Tarzan of the Apes”. It was her dream to travel to Africa and work with animals.
After finishing school, she trained to be a secretary. At the age of 23, she went to Kenya to visit a friend who lived on a farm. While she was there, she met Dr. Louis Leakey, a famous archaeologist and anthropologist. He was impressed by her passion for animals and offered her a job at a natural history museum.
Shortly after, he chose her for a very unusual and exciting project: to go and study wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. Jane had no formal scientific training, but Dr. Leakey believed she had the patience, curiosity, and determination needed for the work.
So in 1960, at just 26 years old, Jane set off for Tanzania. Because it wasn’t considered safe for a young woman to travel alone, her mother came with her, along with a cook called Dominic.
She didn't see any chimpanzees at first because they were afraid and kept their distance. Eventually, they began to trust her and she was able to get close enough to observe them. She saw that they had close family relationships and showed some behaviour that was surprisingly similar to humans, such as hugging, kissing and comforting each other when upset.
One of her most important discoveries was that chimpanzees use tools. She saw them take long pieces of grass, put them inside a termite mound, and pull them out covered in termites, which they could eat. Before this, scientists thought that only humans used tools, so this was a major discovery.
However, not everyone believed her at first. Some scientists suggested that she might have taught the chimpanzees to do this, or that her methods weren’t scientific enough. They also criticised her for naming the chimpanzees instead of giving them numbers. Because Jane didn’t have a university degree or formal training, it took time for the scientific community to take her seriously.
In 1962, National Geographic sent a photographer, Hugo van Lawick, to Tanzania to take pictures and film the chimpanzees. Hugo and Jane fell in love, got married in 1964, and had a son. But later, Hugo had to travel a lot to make films in other parts of Africa, and Jane wanted to stay with the chimpanzees. Eventually, they got divorced in 1974 but stayed on good terms.
Jane continued her work in Tanzania for many years, but over time, she began to see the threats facing chimpanzees in the wild: deforestation, hunting, and the illegal pet trade. In the 1980s, she left Tanzania to focus on global conservation work. Since then, she has travelled the world, speaking about animal welfare, environmental issues, and the importance of protecting our planet. She has written many books and started several projects and organisations to support conservation and education.
Jane Goodall is someone I admire because she made an important contribution to our understanding of chimpanzees and the natural world. This is even more impressive when you consider that back in the 1960s, there weren't very many women in science. Her dedication to conservation and education continues to inspire people around the globe.
Glossary
chimpanzee – an African animal like a large monkey
archaeologist – a scientist who studies the past by looking at old tools, bones, buildings, and other remains buried in the ground
anthropologist – a scientist who studies people, cultures, and how humans have developed over time
natural history museum – a museum with collections about animals, plants, fossils, rocks, and other parts of the natural world
determination – the strong will to keep going and not give up, even when something is difficult
observe – to watch something carefully over a period of time, especially to learn something
behaviour – the way a person or animal acts
comfort – make someone feel better when they are sad or upset
termite – an insect similar to an ant
termite mound – a large structure which termites build and live in
criticise – to say that you think something is wrong or not good enough
on good terms – having a friendly or polite relationship, even after a disagreement or separation
deforestation – the cutting down of large areas of forest, usually for farming or building
illegal pet trade – the buying and selling of animals as pets when it is against the law
animal welfare – the health, happiness, and protection of animals
environmental issues – problems related to the natural world, like pollution or climate change
conservation – protecting nature, animals, and the environment from damage or loss
inspire – to make someone feel excited, hopeful, or motivated to do something
I hope you enjoyed reading about Jane Goodall. I plan to write some more posts about inspiring women soon.
See you next week!
Katie 💙
PS My Friday emails are free for everyone and that’s not going to change. Everyone is welcome here, whether you subscribe for free or upgrade to paid.
But if you decide to upgrade, you’ll have access to exclusive content and extra learning opportunities. You’ll get:
💙 access to my library of past locked lessons and PDFs, plus new lessons as they are added.
💙 extra emails with learning tips and discounts on my e-books.
💙 an invitation to join a monthly Zoom call so you can practise your English in a small, friendly group, ask me questions, and get direct feedback.
It's very interesting story.