A young man from Germany, named Marius Werner, did something very kind. He donated his stem cells to a British doctor named Dr. Nick Embleton, who was very sick with a rare blood cancer. Dr. Embleton needed a special kind of help called a bone marrow transplant to get better, but he couldn’t find anyone in the UK who matched him. After looking all over the world for two years, they finally found Marius, and he was a perfect match.

Dr. Embleton was very worried when he got sick because he didn’t want to leave his family alone. He needed a bone marrow transplant to live, but finding someone who matched him was hard. A group called Anthony Nolan helped look for a donor all over the world. Marius, who had signed up to be a donor when he was younger, was found to be the right match. Thanks to Marius, Dr. Embleton got better and was very thankful for his help.

When Marius and Dr. Embleton met, they were both very emotional. Marius had been through a tough time himself, feeling very sad and even trying to hurt himself. But helping Dr. Embleton made him feel like he had a reason to be happy and keep going. They now share a special connection and consider each other “blood brothers.” Their story shows how important it is to help others and how doing something kind can create a strong friendship.

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 word or phrase related to the article (e.g. stem cells, bone marrow transplant, blood cancer). One person from each group will act out the word or phrase without speaking, while the others try to guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with different words or phrases.

– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students work in pairs. Each pair should read the article and then summarize it in their own words. After they have finished, have them share their summaries with another pair. Encourage them to discuss any differences or similarities between the summaries.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write the following question on the board: “Do you think it is important to help others? Why or why not?” Have the students discuss the question in small groups, sharing their opinions and reasons. After a few minutes, have each group share their opinions with the class. Encourage respectful listening and open-mindedness.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board (e.g. stem cells, bone marrow transplant, blood cancer, donor). Divide the class into small groups. One person from each group will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it, while the others in the group try to guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with different words.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. One group will discuss the pros (benefits) of donating stem cells, while the other group will discuss the cons (drawbacks). Give the students a few minutes to brainstorm their ideas, and then have each group share their thoughts with the class. Encourage respectful listening and open-mindedness.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who donated his stem cells to Dr. Nick Embleton?
2. Why did Dr. Embleton need a bone marrow transplant?
3. Why was it hard for Dr. Embleton to find a donor?
4. Who helped look for a donor all over the world?
5. How did Marius feel when he met Dr. Embleton?
6. Why did helping Dr. Embleton make Marius feel happy?
7. What is the special connection between Marius and Dr. Embleton?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A young man from Germany, named Marius Werner, did something very kind. He (1)______ his stem cells to a (2)______ doctor named Dr. (3)______ Embleton, who was very sick with a rare blood cancer. Dr. Embleton needed a special kind of help called a bone marrow transplant to get better, but he couldn’t find anyone in the UK who matched him. After looking all over the world for two years, they finally found Marius, and he was a perfect match.

Dr. Embleton was very worried when he got sick because he didn’t want to leave his family alone. He needed a (4)______ marrow transplant to (5)______, but finding someone who matched him was hard. A (6)______ called Anthony Nolan helped look for a donor all over the world. Marius, who had signed up to be a donor when he was younger, was found to be the (7)______ match. Thanks to Marius, Dr. (8)______ got (9)______ and was very thankful for his help.

When Marius and Dr. Embleton met, they were both very emotional. Marius had been through a tough time himself, feeling very sad and even trying to hurt himself. But helping Dr. Embleton made him feel like he had a reason to be happy and keep going. They now share a special connection and consider each (10)______ “blood (11)______.” Their story shows how important it is to help others and how doing something kind can create a (12)______ friendship.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What did Marius do to help Dr. Embleton?
2. How do you think Dr. Embleton felt when he couldn’t find a match?
3. What is a bone marrow transplant?
4. Why do you think it was hard for Dr. Embleton to find a match?
5. How do you think Marius felt when he found out he was a perfect match?
6. How would you feel if you were in Marius’ position?
7. What does it mean to be “blood brothers”?
8. Do you think it’s important to help others? Why or why not?
9. Have you ever helped someone in need? How did it make you feel?
10. Do you think Marius and Dr. Embleton will be friends for a long time? Why or why not?
11. Why do you think Marius felt sad and tried to hurt himself before helping Dr. Embleton?
12. How does this story show the importance of kindness and helping others?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. donated
2. rare
3. transplant
4. matched
5. worried
6. donor
7. emotional
8. tough
9. connection
10. consider
11. important
12. friendship

Meanings:
(A) A person who gives a part of their body or blood to help someone else
(B) A relationship or bond between people or things
(C) Feeling scared or nervous about what might happen
(D) Moving something from one place to another, in this case, a part of the body to help someone get better
(E) Gave something to help someone else without wanting anything back
(F) A close and caring relationship between people
(G) Being exactly the same or very similar in some way
(H) Hard or difficult
(I) Something that is very needed or has a lot of value
(J) Having strong feelings, like being very happy or very sad
(K) Not common, very unusual
(L) To think of someone or something in a certain way
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who donated his stem cells to Dr. Nick Embleton?
(a) Marius Werner
(b) Anthony Nolan
(c) Dr. Embleton
(d) A random person

2. Why did Dr. Embleton need a bone marrow transplant?
(a) He wanted to help Marius
(b) He had a rare blood cancer
(c) He wanted to leave his family alone
(d) He wanted to find a perfect match

3. How long did it take to find a perfect match for Dr. Embleton?
(a) Two years
(b) Two months
(c) Two weeks
(d) Two days

4. Who helped look for a donor all over the world?
(a) Marius Werner
(b) Dr. Embleton
(c) Anthony Nolan
(d) A random person

5. How did Marius feel after helping Dr. Embleton?
(a) Sad and wanting to hurt himself
(b) Angry and frustrated
(c) Happy and with a reason to keep going
(d) Indifferent and uninterested

6. What do Marius and Dr. Embleton consider each other?
(a) Best friends
(b) Blood brothers
(c) Strangers
(d) Enemies

7. What does their story show?
(a) The importance of being famous
(b) The importance of being rich
(c) The importance of being popular
(d) The importance of helping others

8. What can doing something kind create?
(a) A weak friendship
(b) A strong rivalry
(c) A weak rivalry
(d) A strong friendship

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Dr. Embleton needed a bone marrow transplant to get better, but couldn’t find a match in the UK.
2. Marius and Dr. Embleton now consider each other “blood brothers” and have a special connection.
3. Marius had gone through a tough time himself and supporting Dr. Embleton made him feel happier.
4. A group called Anthony Nolan helped search for a donor within the country.
5. Marius had signed up to be a donor when he was younger and was found to be a perfect match for Dr. Embleton.
6. Dr. Embleton was worried about leaving his family alone and needed the transplant to live.
7. A young man from Germany named Marius received stem cells from a sick doctor named Dr. Embleton.
8. Their story shows the importance of helping oneself and how kindness can create strong friendships.
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. Who donated his stem cells to Dr. Nick Embleton?
2. Why did Dr. Embleton need a bone marrow transplant?
3. Why was it hard for Dr. Embleton to find a donor in the UK?
4. How did Marius feel before he helped Dr. Embleton?
5. What did Marius and Dr. Embleton call each other after they met?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who donated his stem cells to Dr. Nick Embleton?
Marius Werner donated his stem cells to Dr. Nick Embleton.

2. Why did Dr. Embleton need a bone marrow transplant?
Dr. Embleton needed a bone marrow transplant because he had a rare blood cancer and it was the only way for him to get better.

3. Why was it hard for Dr. Embleton to find a donor?
It was hard for Dr. Embleton to find a donor because he couldn’t find anyone in the UK who matched him.

4. Who helped look for a donor all over the world?
A group called Anthony Nolan helped look for a donor all over the world.

5. How did Marius feel when he met Dr. Embleton?
Marius felt very emotional when he met Dr. Embleton.

6. Why did helping Dr. Embleton make Marius feel happy?
Helping Dr. Embleton made Marius feel happy because it gave him a reason to be happy and keep going.

7. What is the special connection between Marius and Dr. Embleton?
Marius and Dr. Embleton consider each other “blood brothers” and share a special connection because Marius donated his stem cells to help Dr. Embleton get better.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) donated
(2) British
(3) Nick
(4) bone
(5) live
(6) group
(7) right
(8) Embleton
(9) better
(10) other
(11) brothers
(12) strong
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. donated
Answer: (E) Gave something to help someone else without wanting anything back

2. rare
Answer: (K) Not common, very unusual

3. transplant
Answer: (D) Moving something from one place to another, in this case, a part of the body to help someone get better

4. matched
Answer: (G) Being exactly the same or very similar in some way

5. worried
Answer: (C) Feeling scared or nervous about what might happen

6. donor
Answer: (A) A person who gives a part of their body or blood to help someone else

7. emotional
Answer: (J) Having strong feelings, like being very happy or very sad

8. tough
Answer: (H) Hard or difficult

9. connection
Answer: (B) A relationship or bond between people or things

10. consider
Answer: (L) To think of someone or something in a certain way

11. important
Answer: (I) Something that is very needed or has a lot of value

12. friendship
Answer: (F) A close and caring relationship between people
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who donated his stem cells to Dr. Nick Embleton?
Answer: (a) Marius Werner

2. Why did Dr. Embleton need a bone marrow transplant?
Answer: (b) He had a rare blood cancer

3. How long did it take to find a perfect match for Dr. Embleton?
Answer: (a) Two years

4. Who helped look for a donor all over the world?
Answer: (c) Anthony Nolan

5. How did Marius feel after helping Dr. Embleton?
Answer: (c) Happy and with a reason to keep going

6. What do Marius and Dr. Embleton consider each other?
Answer: (b) Blood brothers

7. What does their story show?
Answer: (d) The importance of helping others

8. What can doing something kind create?
Answer: (d) A strong friendship
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Dr. Embleton needed a bone marrow transplant to get better, but couldn’t find a match in the UK. (Answer: True)
2. Marius and Dr. Embleton now consider each other “blood brothers” and have a special connection. (Answer: True)
3. Marius had gone through a tough time himself and supporting Dr. Embleton made him feel happier. (Answer: False)
4. A group called Anthony Nolan helped search for a donor within the country. (Answer: False)
5. Marius had signed up to be a donor when he was younger and was found to be a perfect match for Dr. Embleton. (Answer: True)
6. Dr. Embleton was worried about leaving his family alone and needed the transplant to live. (Answer: True)
7. A young man from Germany named Marius received stem cells from a sick doctor named Dr. Embleton. (Answer: False)
8. Their story shows the importance of helping oneself and how kindness can create strong friendships. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧