George Washington Carver

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February 09

Listening Comprehension Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

In what conditions was George Washington Carver born? What did he do? What was his main interest? Where did this interest lead him? What did Dr. Louis uis H. Pommel think t of Carver? How did he change farm economics and sustainability To what did he devote his career What did this include for him? him How did he do this? What are some off his inventions? Who and what did his work inspire? How would Carver react to biotechnology today?

Transcript Born the son of American slaves and raised in the humbling conditions of poverty and prejudice, George Washington Carver overcame the barriers of his childhood to achieve world renown as a distinguished scientist, poet, oet, painter and teacher. From an early age, Carver er pursued an interest in plants, an interest that led d him to Iowa State University and a graduate degree in botany. Dr. Louis H. Pommel, the distinguished scientist for whom whom Carver worked at Iowa State, called him “a brilliant student, the best collector and the best scientific observer I have ever known.” Carver’s use of innovative agricultural methods and scientific scienti research to produce everyday consumer products would change forever the nature of farm economics and sustainability. Carver devoted his is career to teaching sustainable farming, farming which for him included developing new uses of agricultural products that could boost farm profits and move farmers away from monoculture. To help farmers adopt adopt sustainable practices, Carver and his students developed develop more than 300 industrial uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes and other crops that could be grown in rotation with cotton and corn. Carver’ss inventions in also included plastics, glue, soap, paints, paint dyes for cloth and leather, medicines and cosmetic ingredients. His work inspired leaders of the chemurgy, whose proponents looked for ways to replace petrol chemicals with farm-derived derived products. Leaders in the chemurgy movement, movement such as Charles Kettering and William J. Hale,, proposed that anything made from a hydrocarbon could be made from a carbohydrate. If Carver were alive today, he would marvel at the new tools t of modern biotechnology. biotechnology Tools that are helping achieve a brighter and more sustainable future. He would also see that his dreams are being realized by a new generation neration of scientists, farmers, business leaders and innovators. innov Today, BIO is proud to inaugurate the first annual George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology. (http://bio.org/news/pressreleases/newsitem.asp?id=2008_0428_03 http://bio.org/news/pressreleases/newsitem.asp?id=2008_0428_03 http://bio.org/news/pressreleases/newsitem.asp?id=2008_0428_03)

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February 09

Vocabulary





















humbling – ce qui te/vous rend plus humble prejudice – des préjugés to overcome – surmonter to achieve – atteindre, obtenir renown – le renom to pursue – se livrer à,, poursuivre innovative – innovateur sustainability – la viabilité, viabilité la durabilité sustainable farming – l’écoagriculture l’éco to boost – augmenter sustainable – durable l peanuts – des cacahuètes, l’arachide crops – des cultures glue – la colle soap – le savon dye – la teinture leather – le cuir chemurgy – la agrotechnie proponent – un partisan, un avocat to marvel – s’étonner, étonner, être émerveillé

Answers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

in poverty and in a society of prejudice to American slaves he overcame barriers to become a scientist, poet, painter and teacher plants Iowa State University and a graduate degree in botany brilliant student, best collector and the best scientific observer he had ever known through his use of innovative agricultural methods and research to produce everyday consumer products the teaching of sustainable farming developing new uses for agricultural products products that could boost farm profits and move farmers away from monoculture by developing more than 300 industrial uses for sweet potatoes, peanuts and other products that could be grown in rotation with cotton and corn plastics, glues, soap, paint, dyes for cloth and leather, medecines and cosmetic ingredients the leaders in the he chemurgy movement the replacement of petrol chemicals with farmderived products He would marvel

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