Reading Comprehension Worksheet - Florence Nightingale

Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Florence Nightingale

Read the passage. Then answer the questions. Florence Nightingale was born in Italy on 12th May, 1820. She was named after the city of Florence. Florence's father William Nightingale was a rich banker. By the time she was 12, she was determined to "do something worthwhile". She liked books. She enjoyed caring for sick farmers on her father's estate. She used every spare minute to learn from nursing books. She visited hospitals in London and the surrounding area. Her parents didn't want her working in those "dirty" hospitals, but she was determined. In 1851, Florence went to Germany, to a Christian nursing school for women. She learned nursing for three months. It was hard work, but she loved it. She was an excellent student, and after her graduation, she returned to London and got a job running a hospital. During the Crimean War, she was put in charge of nursing. She went to the battlefield with 38 nurses. The hospital was a huge, dirty barracks building. She got men to clean it up and managed to get the supplies they needed. At night Florence walked around the wards, she sat with dying soldiers. She wrote letters home for men who could not write. She carried a lantern, so the soldiers called her 'The Lady with the Lamp'. She saved thousands of lives. Florence worked so hard she became ill. But she went on writing letters, collecting facts and figures. In 1907 she was awarded the Order of Merit. She was the first woman to receive this honour. Florence Nightingale died on 13th August 1910. She showed that trained nurses and clean hospitals helped sick people get better. She was the founder of modern nursing.

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Answer each question:

1. What do you know about the early life of Florence Nightingale?

2. When did she go to Germany and what did she do there?

3. What did Florence do in the Crimean War?

4. How did she look after the soldiers?

5. When did she get the award?

6. When did Florence Nightingale die and what she did for the people?

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