Practice Lesson 1

A Medical Revolution

It was July 6, 1885, when Louis Pasteur, looking up from his microscope, saw nine year old Joseph Meister
1 come limping into his laboratory in Paris. Joseph was with his mother and a neighbour, Monsieur Vone. The
three had left their little French village near Swiss border and started for the city of Paris in search of the
one man who might save the life young Joseph.

5
Pasteur loved children, and the heart of this great scientist filled with horror when he learnt that two days
2 previously Joseph had been furiously attacked by a mad dog. The boy’s hands, arms, and legs were badly
bitten. Cuts in one arm were very deep. All in all, there were fourteen ugly wounds. It had happened at 8
O’clock in the morning when Joseph was on his way to school in the village of Meissemgott in Alsace. The
dog jumped on him and threw him to the ground. A nearby bricklayer ran to his rescue and with an iron bar
10
beat off the dog, which ran home only to bite its master, Mr. Vone, who grabbed a gun and shot it dead.

When the brick layer picked Joseph up, he found him bleeding and covered with saliva from the dog.
3 Examination of the contents of the dead dog’s stomach showed that it was filled with hay, straw, and stick
of wood. The dog had been biting anything and everything it met as it madly tore about. There was not
doubt about it, this angry dog had rabies – a deadly disease found among wild animals, especially wolves.
15
Animals with this disease are called rabid, and the dog that attacked Joseph had sometime previously been
bitten by a rabid animal. For centuries, the people of Alsace had lived in dread of mad wolves that strayed
down from the Jura mountains and attacked dogs and human beings, spreading the disease among their
victims. To bitten by a rabid animal was almost always fatal. Joseph’s parents were terrified. It did not seem
possible that their son could live.

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That evening, twelve hours after the accident, they had taken him to a country doctor, Dr, Weber, who
burned Joseph’s wound with Carbolic Acid. He urged them to take him at the once to Paris – a two-day
4 journey. There they must find and consult Louis Pasteur who, although not a physician, would know more
than anyone else whether there was any chance of saving their son. “Pasteur has saved dogs from Rabies,”
Said Dr. Weber. “Perhaps he can save Joseph.” Joseph and his mother accompanied by Mr. Vone, started at 25
once on the long journey.

Pasteur was deeply moved at the sight of these three strangers: the frightened and suffering young boy, his
grief-stricken mother, and the anxious and bewildered Mr. Vone. He carefully examined the man and soon
assured him that he need have no concern about himself, for his coat sleeve had been heavy enough to
protect his skin against the dog’s teeth when it had grabbed his arm. Since his skin showed not even the
5 30
slightest scratch, the rabies virus in the dog’s saliva could not possibly have entered his system. Pasteur
assured him that he could safely return home. Relieved but with a heavy heart, he went back to
Meissemgott, knowing that Joseph’s life hung in the balance.

Pasteur turned to examine the young boy. The kindly face of this great scientist was sad and grave, for he
knew that he must quickly make a serious and most difficult decision. What should he do for this boy? Did
35
6 he dare to risk using the preventive rabies vaccine that he had successfully used on dogs? He had never tried
his treatment on a human being. But he was sure of his experiments with dogs, because he had repeated
them many times during the past four years. In all his experiments he had used over one hundred dogs, and
he was very sure of his results. But he was not a physician and therefore had no legal right to treat a human
being. Then, too, no one could be absolutely sure how the human body would respond to these injections.

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.
 Practice Lesson 1
He must first consult Professor Vulpian, a physiologist, and Dr. Grancher, a physician, who were both
scientists familiar with his work. He hurried off to see them, for there was not time to waste. 40

The experts who Pasteur consulted were off one opinion: Joseph must be given the Pasteur treatment
against rabies. There was no other choice. If only the boy had been taken at once to the blacksmith’s shop
had had his wounds cauterized with a red-hot iron, he might have had some slight chance of recovering. But
7
there were fourteen wounds, some very deep, and they had been treated with carbolic acid twelve hours
45
after the accident. The skin was broken in too many places, and the carbolic treatment had been used too
late to give protection. His case was considered hopeless unless something drastic could be done. Pasteur’s
vaccine had saved the life of dogs. It might save the life of Joseph Meister. The first of the long series of daily
injection was begun that night, almost sixty hours after the accident.

It was agreed, for two reasons, that Dr. Grancher should give the injections. First, Pasteur’s left hand was
paralyzed from a stroke suffered when he was only forty-six years old, and it would have been difficult for 50
8 this to handle the Pravaz syringe. Most important of all, however, he was not a physician and had no wish to
treat Joseph illegally. Pasteur arranged for the lodgings of Joseph and mother at Rolling College, in Paris, and
anxiously watched over the boy day and night. With great care, he directed the preparation of the each
dose. He was always present when the injections were given, making detailed notes of every step of the
treatment. 55

From Paragraph 1

1. Which two single words in the paragraph suggest that Pasteur was a scientist?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… [2]

From Paragraph 2

2. What factor in the paragraph suggests that Joseph’s wounds were something really serious?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 3

3. In your own words, write what factor suggests that the dog was mad.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. [1]

4. Joseph’s parents were terrified (line 18). Why were they ‘terrified’?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………….. [2]

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.
 Practice Lesson 1

From Paragraph 4
5. Why did Dr. Webber advise Joseph’s parents to consult Pasteur?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………….. [2]

From Paragraph 5

6. What aspect of Pasteur’s behaviour shows that he was really sympathetic towards other?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. [1]

7. In your own words, explain what two factors help Pasteur be sure that the man did not possibly
have rabies.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

[2]

From Paragraph 6

8. Did he dare to risk using the preventive rabies vaccine....(line 34-35)? Why would that be a risk?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

[2]

9. Why did he decide to consult Prof. Vulpian and Dr. Grancher?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

[2]

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.
 Practice Lesson 1
From Paragraph 7
10. Why wasn’t the carbolic treatment effective?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

[2]

From Paragraph 8

11. What shows that Pasteur was really respectful to laws?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

[1]

12. What two aspects of Pasteur’s behaviour show that he was really concerned about Joseph.

(i)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(ii)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. [2]

From the passage as a whole:

Choose five of the following words. For each of them give one word or short phrase (of not more than
seven words) which has the same meaning that the word or phrase has in the passage.

limping (paragraph 1, line 2) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…

tore about (paragraph 3, line13) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

dread (paragraph 3, line 16) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…

fatal (paragraph 3, line 18) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…...

grief-stricken (paragraph 5, line 27) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

bewildered (paragraph 5, line 28) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

cauterized (paragraph 7, line 44) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Marks obtained
drastic (paragraph 7, line 47) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....

Remarks

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.