Amazing Scientists

B2

Katerina Mestheneou, Fiona MacKenzie, Katerina Mestheneou, Fiona MacKenzie

• Publisher: Collins
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780007545001
• eBook ISBN: 9780007556960
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: English Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

The inspiring stories of 6 people who changed history.

Contents:
Alessandro Volta, inventor of the battery
Michael Faraday, inventor of the electric motor
Marie Curie, famous for her work on radioactivity
Albert Einstein, creator of the Theory of Relativity
Alexander Fleming, discoverer of the first antibiotic
Linus Pauling, chemist and peace activist

BRITISH ENGLISH
Word count: 15,287
Headword count: 1,631

PLUS: visit www.collinselt.com/readers for videos, teacher resources and self-study materials.

This book is Level 4 in the Collins ELT Readers series.
Level 4 is equivalent to CEF level B2.

About the Amazing People series:
A unique opportunity for learners of English to read about the exceptional lives and incredible abilities of some of the most insightful people the world has seen.

Each book contains six short stories, told by the characters themselves, as if in their own words. The stories explain the most significant parts of each character's life, giving an insight into how they came to be such an important historic figure.

After each story, a timeline presents the most major events in their life in a clear and succinct fashion. The timeline is ideal for checking comprehension or as a basis for project work or further research.

Created in association with The Amazing People Club.

About Collins ELT Readers:
Collins ELT Readers are divided into four levels:
Level 1 – elementary (A2)
Level 2 – pre-intermediate (A2-B1)
Level 3 – intermediate (B1)
Level 4 – upper intermediate (B2)
Each level is carefully graded to ensure that the learner both enjoys and benefits from their reading experience.

GLOSSARY

agenda COUNTABLE NOUN

You can refer to the issues which are important at a particular time as an agenda.

agent COUNTABLE NOUN

An agent is a chemical that has a particular effect or is used for a particular purpose.

antibody COUNTABLE NOUN

Antibodies are substances that your body produces in order to fight diseases.

apprenticeship VARIABLE NOUN

Someone who has an apprenticeship works for a fixed period of time for someone who teaches them a particular skill.

arithmetic UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Arithmetic is the part of mathematics that deals with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers.

atmospheric ADJECTIVE

Atmospheric is used to describe something that relates to the Earth’s atmosphere.

atom COUNTABLE NOUN

An atom is the smallest possible amount of a chemical element.

benzene UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Benzene is a clear, colourless liquid that is used to make plastics.

blacksmith COUNTABLE NOUN

A blacksmith is someone whose job is making things out of metal, for example horseshoes.

bookbinding UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Bookbinding is the work of fastening books together and putting covers on them.

botanist COUNTABLE NOUN

A botanist is a scientist who studies plants.

chemist COUNTABLE NOUN

A chemist is a scientist who studies chemistry.

chlorine UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Chlorine is a gas that is used to disinfect water and to make cleaning products.

clinical ADJECTIVE

Clinical means involving or relating to the medical treatment or testing of patients.

common cold COUNTABLE NOUN

The common cold is a mild illness in which your nose is blocked or runny and you have a sore throat or a cough.

communist COUNTABLE NOUN

A communist is someone who supports a political system in which the state controls the means of production, and everyone is equal.

compound COUNTABLE NOUN

In chemistry, a compound is a substance consisting of two or more elements.

coordinate TRANSITIVE VERB

If you coordinate an activity or information, you organize it.

copper UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Copper is a soft reddish-brown metal.

crystal COUNTABLE NOUN

A crystal is a piece of a mineral that has formed naturally into a regular symmetrical shape.

damp UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Damp is slight moisture in the air or on the walls of a house.

despair UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

If you feel despair, you feel that everything is wrong and that nothing will improve.

diagnose TRANSITIVE VERB

If someone or something is diagnosed as having a particular illness or problem, their illness or problem is identified.

dilute TRANSITIVE VERB

If a liquid is diluted, it is mixed with water or another liquid in order to make it weaker.

disarmament UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Disarmament is the act of reducing the number of weapons that a country has.

doctorate COUNTABLE NOUN

A doctorate is the highest degree awarded by a university.

dye VARIABLE NOUN

Dye is a substance that is used to change the colour of something.

eclipse COUNTABLE NOUN

When there is an eclipse of the sun, the moon is between the Earth and the sun, so that part or all of the sun is hidden.

electrical tension VARIABLE NOUN

The electrical tension of an electrical current is its force measured in volts.

electro-magnetic induction UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Electro-magnetic induction is the process by which electricity or magnetism is passed between two objects or circuits without them touching each other.

element COUNTABLE NOUN

An element is a substance such as gold, oxygen, or carbon that consists of only one type of atom.

empire COUNTABLE NOUN

An empire is a group of countries controlled by one powerful country.

enzyme COUNTABLE NOUN

An enzyme is a chemical substance that is found in living creatures which produces changes in other substances without being changed itself.

explosive VARIABLE NOUN

An explosive is a substance or device that can cause an explosion.

exposure UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Exposure to something dangerous means being in a situation where it might affect you.

findings PLURAL NOUN

Someone’s findings are the information they get as the result of an investigation.

foundation COUNTABLE NOUN

The foundation of something such as a belief or way of life is the idea or experience on which it is based.

fungus (fungi) VARIABLE NOUN

A fungus is a plant that has no flowers, leaves, or green colouring, such as a mushroom or mould.

gas chamber COUNTABLE NOUN

A gas chamber is a room that has been specially built so that it can be filled with poisonous gas in order to kill people.

generator COUNTABLE NOUN

A generator is a machine that produces electricity.

geologist COUNTABLE NOUN

A geologist is someone who studies the earth’s structure, surface, and origins.

gravity UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Gravity is the force which makes things fall when you drop them.

Great Depression PROPER NOUN

The Great Depression was a period in the...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Alessandro Volta
• Michael Faraday
• Marie Curie
• Albert Einstein
• Alexander Fleming
• Linus Pauling
• Glossary
• Keep Reading
• Copyright
• About the Publisher