Amazing Women: A2
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Cover
Title Page
Introduction
The Grading Scheme
Harriet Tubman
Emmeline Pankhurst
Maria Montessori
Helen Keller
Eva Perón
Nancy Wake
Glossary
Keep Reading
Copyright
About the Publisher
Collins Amazing People Readers are collections of short stories. Each book presents the life story of five or six people whose lives and achievements have made a difference to our world today. The stories are carefully graded to ensure that you, the reader, will both enjoy and benefit from your reading experience.
You can choose to enjoy the book from start to finish or to dip into your favourite story straight away. Each story is entirely independent.
After every story a short timeline brings together the most important events in each person’s life into one short report. The timeline is a useful tool for revision purposes.
Words which are above the required reading level are underlined the first time they appear in each story. All underlined words are defined in the glossary at the back of the book. Levels 1 and 2 take their definitions from the Collins COBUILD Essential English Dictionary and levels 3 and 4 from the Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary.
To support both teachers and learners, additional materials are available online at www.collinselt.com/readers.
The Amazing People Club®
Collins Amazing People Readers are adaptations of original texts published by The Amazing People Club. The Amazing People Club is an educational publishing house. It was founded in 2006 by educational psychologist and management leader Dr Charles Margerison and publishes books, eBooks, audio books, iBooks and video content, which bring readers ‘face to face’ with many of the world’s most inspiring and influential characters from the fields of art, science, music, politics, medicine and business.
The Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme has been created using the most up-to-date language usage information available today. Each level is guided by a brand new comprehensive grammar and vocabulary framework, ensuring that the series will perfectly match readers’ abilities.
CEF band Pages Word count Headwords Level 1 elementary A2 64 5,000–8,000 approx. 700 Level 2 pre-intermediate A2–B1 80 8,000–11,000 approx. 900 Level 3 intermediate B1 96 11,000–15,000 approx. 1,100 Level 4 upper intermediate B2 112 15,000–19,000 approx. 1,700For more information on the Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme, including a full list of the grammar structures found at each level, go to www.collinselt.com/readers/gradingscheme.
Also available online: Make sure that you are reading at the right level by checking your level on our website (www.collinselt.com/readers/levelcheck).
Harriet Tubman
I escaped from slavery in the south of the USA. I then helped hundreds of other slaves to escape to the north of the USA and Canada. I also freed hundreds of slaves who wanted to fight in the Civil War.
My parents were slaves for the Brodess family in Maryland, USA. I was the fifth of nine children. At the age of 6, I started work as a nursemaid for another family. After that I had to work in the woods and fields. Our owners did not think of us as people. For them, we were like animals or machines. If we did something wrong, they hit us or punished us in horrible ways.
In 1831, at the age of 11, I started to do the same work as the adult slaves. Every day we had to work for many hours in the fields. Around this time, I received an injury, which I never forgot. I refused to stop a slave who was escaping. The slave’s owner threw a metal weight at the slave, but it hit me on the head. It hurt a lot and this injury gave me headaches for the rest of my life.
In 1849, I was brave and tried to escape. I was married by then, but my marriage was very unhappy and I hated the thought of another year of slavery. Two of my brothers agreed to come with me. We wanted to reach the north of the USA, where slavery was illegal. I could live there as a free woman.
We made good progress towards the north, but then we heard some bad news. Our owner was offering $300 to anyone who caught us. My brothers became frightened and we decided to return to Maryland. We were punished when we returned, but I still wanted to escape.
A short time later, I escaped again. This time I went alone. I travelled at night along quiet roads and paths. Some kind people helped me on the way. They gave me food and a place to sleep. Finally, I arrived in the city of Philadelphia in the north. The journey was long and difficult, but it felt wonderful to be free at last.
In Philadelphia, I got a job and began to earn money. I missed my parents and my brothers and sisters. I was free and I wanted my family to be free, too. Maybe I could help them to escape?
In 1850, I received some bad news. My niece and her daughters were in danger. Their owner wanted to sell them and they didn’t want to go to different families. I decided to return to Maryland to free them. I had to help them to escape. We travelled at night and used the stars to find our way to the north.
After helping my niece and her daughters, I helped many other slaves to escape. I offered to help my husband, John Tubman, too, but he didn’t want to leave the south. He didn’t want to be with me any more, so our marriage ended.
Soon, a new law made things a lot more difficult for me. It became illegal to help a slave to escape in the USA. I had to find a new route – to Canada, where slavery was illegal.
In 1857, I went on a very special journey to help my parents. They weren’t slaves any more, but their life in the south was very difficult. They were very happy to see me again and wanted to go with me to Canada. Our journey was very slow and difficult because my parents were old. We had a big celebration when we finally arrived in Ontario, Canada.
In 1861, the American Civil War started. The Confederates from the south wanted slavery to continue. The Unionists from the north wanted slavery to become illegal. I joined the Union Army, which fought for the north. An army captain, James Montgomery, heard about me. He discovered that I helped slaves to escape before the war. And he wanted my help. He wanted slaves to fight for freedom in the Union Army. I took a team of spies to the south and found slaves who wanted to join us. It was dangerous work, but we were very successful. On one trip, 700 slaves agreed to escape and they became soldiers.
On 9th April 1865, the war ended. What could I do with my life now? I decided to fight for equal rights for black people and for women. I spoke at public meetings and I tried to help black people who were poor and old.
In 1896, I bought some land and, in 1903, I gave the land to my church. I wanted the church to start a home for black people who were poor and elderly. In 1908, the home opened for the first time.
As I looked back at my life, I was very proud. I was happy that I helped so many people to find freedom.
The Life of Harriet Tubman
c.1820 Araminta Harriet Ross was born in Maryland, USA. Her parents were slaves for the Brodess family. 1826 She started to work as a nursemaid when she was 6 years old. 1831 When she was 11 years old, she started to do the same work as adult slaves. She was hit by a metal weight. The head injury gave her pain for the rest of her life. 1844 She married John Tubman, a free man. 1849 She escaped for the first time with two of her brothers. $300 was offered to anyone who caught them. They decided to return to their owner. A short time later, Harriet escaped again and reached Philadelphia in the north of the USA. 1850 She helped her niece and many other slaves to escape to Philadelphia. It became illegal to help a slave to escape in the USA. Harriet found a new route to Canada. 1857 She helped her parents to escape to Ontario, Canada. 1860 She went on her last journey to help slaves to escape from the south. 1861 Harriet joined the Union Army in the Civil War. 1863 She worked for Colonel James Montgomery, a captain in the Union Army. She found slaves who wanted to join the Union Army. 1865 She wrote a book Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman with Sarah H. Bradford. 1869 She married Nelson Davis who was a soldier in the Civil War. 1899 She started to receive money for her work during the war. 1903 She bought some land to build a home for black people who were poor and old. 1908 The Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged opened for the first time. 1913 Harriet died when she was 93 years old. She spent her final years in the home that she helped to build.Emmeline Pankhurst
I campaigned all my life for equal rights for women. I started a political group which fought for the vote for women in Britain. After many years of protests, we finally won the right for British women to vote.
When I was born in 1858, women in Britain didn’t have the same rights as men. Most women couldn’t go to school or university. They were only allowed to work in certain jobs. And they didn’t have the right to vote.
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