A young man from Germany, named Marius, did something very kind. He gave a part of his body, called stem cells, to a sick doctor in Britain named Dr. Embleton. Dr. Embleton was very sick with a rare blood sickness and needed help to get better. They didn’t know each other, but Marius’s stem cells matched with Dr. Embleton’s body. This helped Dr. Embleton get better and not be sick anymore.

Dr. Embleton was very thankful to Marius for helping him. They met for the first time and were very happy to see each other. They talked about how important it is to help others by giving parts of our body, like stem cells, to make them healthy. Marius felt good about helping and said it made his life better too. They want to stay friends because they now share something very special.

Original news source: The strangers who saved each other’s lives (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a slip of paper with a word related to the article (e.g., stem cells, sick, help, thankful). One person from each group will act out the word without speaking, while the others guess what the word is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with different words.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students take turns summarizing the article to each other. They should try to include the main points and key details. After each summary, the listener can ask questions to clarify anything they didn’t understand. Switch roles and repeat.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write two statements related to the article on the board (e.g., “It is important to help others” and “Giving parts of our body is too risky”). Students indicate their opinion on each statement by standing on one side of the room for “agree” and the other side for “disagree”. Once everyone has chosen, ask a few students to explain their reasoning.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write key words from the article on slips of paper and place them in a bag or hat. Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team takes turns drawing a word from the bag and trying to convey its meaning through a picture. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with different words.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: In pairs, students take turns sharing two true statements and one false statement related to the article. The partner listens and tries to guess which statement is false. After both have shared, they can discuss why they chose the false statement and what they learned from the true statements. Switch roles and repeat.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who gave a part of his body to help a sick doctor?
2. What did Marius give to Dr. Embleton?
3. Why did Dr. Embleton need help?
4. Did Marius and Dr. Embleton know each other before?
5. How did Marius’s stem cells help Dr. Embleton?
6. How did Dr. Embleton feel about Marius helping him?
7. Why do Marius and Dr. Embleton want to stay friends?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A (1)______ man from Germany, named Marius, did something very kind. He (2)______ a part of his body, called stem cells, to a sick doctor in Britain named Dr. Embleton. Dr. Embleton was very sick with a rare blood (3)______ and needed (4)______ to get better. They didn’t know each other, but Marius’s stem cells matched with Dr. Embleton’s body. This helped Dr. Embleton get better and not be sick anymore.

Dr. Embleton was very thankful to (5)______ for helping him. They met for the first time and were very happy to see each (6)______. They talked about how important it is to help others by giving parts of our body, like stem cells, to make them healthy. Marius (7)______ good about helping and said it (8)______ his life better too. They want to stay friends because they now share something very special.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What did Marius give to Dr. Embleton to help him get better?
2. How do you think Dr. Embleton felt when he found out Marius’s stem cells matched with his body?
3. Why do you think Marius felt good about helping Dr. Embleton?
4. Do you think it’s important to help others when they are sick? Why or why not?
5. How would you feel if you needed help from someone and they gave you a part of their body?
6. Do you think Marius and Dr. Embleton will be friends forever? Why or why not?
7. What do you think it means to share something very special with someone?
8. Have you ever helped someone when they were sick? How did it make you feel?
9. Do you like to help others when they need it? Why or why not?
10. What is a rare blood sickness? Do you know anyone who has been sick with a rare blood sickness?
11. How do you think Marius and Dr. Embleton will remember this experience in the future?
12. Why do you think it’s important to talk about helping others and giving parts of our body to make them healthy?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Germany
2. kind
3. body
4. sick
5. rare
6. match
7. thankful
8. healthy
9. friends
10. special

Meanings:
(A) When two things are the same or very similar
(B) Very important or not like anything else
(C) Feeling happy because someone did something nice for you
(D) Something you don’t see or find very often
(E) Not feeling good, like when you have a cold
(F) Feeling good and strong, not sick
(G) When you do something nice for someone
(H) A country far away
(I) People who like to spend time together and care about each other
(J) The part of you that has your arms, legs, and everything else
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who gave stem cells to Dr. Embleton?
(a) Marius
(b) Emma
(c) Michael
(d) Sarah

2. What did Marius give to Dr. Embleton?
(a) Money
(b) Toys
(c) Food
(d) Stem cells

3. Why did Dr. Embleton need help?
(a) He wanted to make friends
(b) He needed a new job
(c) He wanted to go on vacation
(d) He was sick with a blood sickness

4. How did Marius and Dr. Embleton feel when they met?
(a) Sad
(b) Happy
(c) Angry
(d) Scared

5. What did they talk about when they met?
(a) Playing video games
(b) Going on a trip
(c) Helping others by giving parts of our body
(d) Eating ice cream

6. How did Marius feel about helping Dr. Embleton?
(a) Bad
(b) Tired
(c) Good
(d) Hungry

7. Why do Marius and Dr. Embleton want to stay friends?
(a) Because they now share something very special
(b) Because they don’t like each other
(c) Because they want to go on adventures
(d) Because they want to eat pizza together

8. What did Marius say about helping Dr. Embleton?
(a) It made his life worse
(b) It made his life better too
(c) It made him sad
(d) It made him angry

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Marius and Dr. Embleton talked about how important it is to help others by giving parts of our body.
2. Dr. Embleton didn’t thank Marius for helping him and they had met multiple times before.
3. Marius and Dr. Embleton don’t want to stay friends because they now share something special.
4. Marius felt indifferent about helping and said it had no impact on his life.
5. A young man named Marius gave his stem cells to a sick doctor named Dr. Embleton.
6. The stem cells helped Dr. Embleton get better and not be sick anymore.
7. Dr. Embleton had a rare blood sickness and needed help to get better.
8. Marius and Dr. Embleton knew each other before, and Marius’s stem cells matched with Dr. Embleton’s body.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What did Marius give to Dr. Embleton to help him get better?
2. Why did Dr. Embleton need help?
3. Did Marius and Dr. Embleton know each other before?
4. How did Marius feel after helping Dr. Embleton?
5. Why do Marius and Dr. Embleton want to stay friends?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who gave a part of his body to help a sick doctor?
– Marius gave a part of his body to help the sick doctor.

2. What did Marius give to Dr. Embleton?
– Marius gave his stem cells to Dr. Embleton.

3. Why did Dr. Embleton need help?
– Dr. Embleton was very sick with a rare blood sickness and needed help to get better.

4. Did Marius and Dr. Embleton know each other before?
– No, Marius and Dr. Embleton did not know each other before.

5. How did Marius’s stem cells help Dr. Embleton?
– Marius’s stem cells matched with Dr. Embleton’s body and helped him get better and not be sick anymore.

6. How did Dr. Embleton feel about Marius helping him?
– Dr. Embleton was very thankful to Marius for helping him.

7. Why do Marius and Dr. Embleton want to stay friends?
– Marius and Dr. Embleton want to stay friends because they now share something very special and important.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) young
(2) gave
(3) sickness
(4) help
(5) Marius
(6) other
(7) felt
(8) made
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Germany
Answer: (H) A country far away

2. kind
Answer: (G) When you do something nice for someone

3. body
Answer: (J) The part of you that has your arms, legs, and everything else

4. sick
Answer: (E) Not feeling good, like when you have a cold

5. rare
Answer: (D) Something you don’t see or find very often

6. match
Answer: (A) When two things are the same or very similar

7. thankful
Answer: (C) Feeling happy because someone did something nice for you

8. healthy
Answer: (F) Feeling good and strong, not sick

9. friends
Answer: (I) People who like to spend time together and care about each other

10. special
Answer: (B) Very important or not like anything else
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who gave stem cells to Dr. Embleton?
Answer: (a) Marius

2. What did Marius give to Dr. Embleton?
Answer: (d) Stem cells

3. Why did Dr. Embleton need help?
Answer: (d) He was sick with a blood sickness

4. How did Marius and Dr. Embleton feel when they met?
Answer: (b) Happy

5. What did they talk about when they met?
Answer: (c) Helping others by giving parts of our body

6. How did Marius feel about helping Dr. Embleton?
Answer: (c) Good

7. Why do Marius and Dr. Embleton want to stay friends?
Answer: (a) Because they now share something very special

8. What did Marius say about helping Dr. Embleton?
Answer: (b) It made his life better too
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Marius and Dr. Embleton talked about how important it is to help others by giving parts of our body. (Answer: True)
2. Dr. Embleton didn’t thank Marius for helping him and they had met multiple times before. (Answer: False)
3. Marius and Dr. Embleton don’t want to stay friends because they now share something special. (Answer: False)
4. Marius felt indifferent about helping and said it had no impact on his life. (Answer: False)
5. A young man named Marius gave his stem cells to a sick doctor named Dr. Embleton. (Answer: True)
6. The stem cells helped Dr. Embleton get better and not be sick anymore. (Answer: True)
7. Dr. Embleton had a rare blood sickness and needed help to get better. (Answer: True)
8. Marius and Dr. Embleton knew each other before, and Marius’s stem cells matched with Dr. Embleton’s body. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧