Page 4 - Book IV Unit 1

Using a lower temperature to draw out the extract, she found a substance that
worked. After failing more than 190 times, the team finally succeeded in 1971.
Tu Youyou and her team members even insisted on testing the medicine on
themselves to make sure that it was safe. Later, the medicine was tested on
malaria patients, most of whom recovered. This medicine, which was called
artemisinin, soon became a standard treatment for malaria.

According to Tu Youyou, the discovery of artemisinin was a team effort. Upon
hearing that she had been awarded the Nobel Prize, she said, “The honour is
not just mine. There is a team behind me, and all the people of my country.
This success proves the great value of traditional Chinese medicine. It is indeed
an honour for China’s scientific research and Chinese medicine to be spread
around the world.”

3 Circle the answers to the questions below.

1 Where would you most likely find this passage?
A In a blog. B In a book. C In a letter. D In a newspaper.

2 Passages like this are most often written in and .
A the active voice/offer many opinions B the first person/talk about feelings
C both active and passive voices/mostly contain facts

3 Which two pieces of information were not included in the passage?
A A quote from Tu Youyou.
B The details of how artemisinin was discovered.
C Tu Youyou’s important contributions other than the discovery of artemisinin.
D Tu Youyou’s personal life.
E Tu Youyou’s road to discovering artemisinin.
F What Tu Youyou was awarded.
G Why artemisinin is an important discovery.

4 Read the text again and answer the questions.

1 Why is the discovery of artemisinin important?
2 What was the key to getting a good extract from the wormwood?
3 What numbers are mentioned in the text? What do they suggest?
4 Why is Tu Youyou considered a great person?

5 Complete the flow chart. Then tell the story of how artemisinin was discovered.

Tu Youyou’s team examined They found a medical text They tested They tried
, and suggesting . . ,
evaluated . but .

The medicine became They tested the They tested the
for medicine on medicine They used a the
malaria. . to see if safe. sweet wormwood extract.

UNIT 1 PEOPLE OF ACHIEVEMENT 3