Unit – 4
LOUIS
PASTEUR, CONQUEROR OF DISEASE
E.H. Carter
Comprehension Questions
I. Answer the following questions briefly:
1) “Louis Pasteur was not a soldier, but he
was a fighter.” What does the statement mean?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
fought with diseases whole life and found a cure for numerous diseases. Thus,
he was not a soldier but he was a fighter.
2) What are bacteria?
Ans: Bacteria are
little red shaped plants which exist in the air, water, soil and animal bodies.
3) As a scientist, how was Louis Pasteur unique?
Ans: As a scientist
Louis Pasteur was very unique person. He performed several experiments and
discovered about a range of germs and bacteria which he used in a realistic way
to help who were suffering from many diseases.
4) How did Pasteur try to solve difficult
problems?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
sat for hour, quite silent and motionless, thinking hard about difficult
problems faced by other scientists.
5) a) How would Pasteur react whenever he
solved a problem?
Ans: a) Louis
Pasteur’s face would brighten up with pleasure and thrill and he would hurry
around to share his finding with his wife and others who helped him whenever he
solved a problem.
b) What does this reveal about him as a
person?
Ans: b) Louis
Pasteur was simple, open and kind person and he would feel very happy for
helping people and cure their diseases.
6) What discoveries did Pasteur make about
yeast?
Ans: Louis Pasteur discovered
that yeast was alive, made up of tiny living cells. When these cells were
healthy, the yeast acted well, but if they diseased the yeast and the beer went
wrong.
7) What does “spontaneous generation” mean?
Ans: “Spontaneous
generation” means germs occurred by themselves without any parent germs.
8) Did Pasteur believe in spontaneous
generation? If not, what did he believe in?
Ans: No, Pasteur
did not believe in spontaneous generation. He believed that germs were carried
in the air and might infect other things.
9) In the statement, “Pasteur proved that he
was right” (Para 9), what did he prove?
Ans: Pasteur proved that germs were carried in the
air and might infect other things that came in contact with them by a simple
experiment with soup.
10) In the second soup experiment (para 10)
which soup was the worst, which was the best and which one was better?
Ans: In the second
soup experiment, he filled some bottles of soup potted and kept it in closed
hotel bedroom the other in an open field and some on a mountain. The bottle in
the hotel room was entirely moldy and the worst, in the open field the bottles
were somewhat moldy and was better and the soup opened on the mountain was
clear, there were no germs and it was the finest.
11) What is Pasteurization?
Ans: Pasteurization
is the process of heating the wine or milk of any other liquid to a temperature
of 50 to 60 degrees centigrade to make the germs harmless.
12) The writer says, “It would be impossible
to imagine Pasteur experimenting with explosives or poisonous gas” (para 13).
What quality of Pasteur is highlighted here?
Ans: The writer
felt that it was impossible to imagine Pasteur experimenting with explosives or
poisonous gas that would harm human beings. Louis Pasteur conducted experiments
to help human beings and cure them form many diseases.
13) On what study did Pasteur spend all his
time and energy for three years?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
for three years spent all his time and energy in tracking down a disease which had
ruined the silkworm industry.
14) How is vaccination different from
inoculation?
Ans: Inoculation is
to treat a person by injecting a weak form of the disease itself into the body.
Vaccination is injecting a vaccine to protect against a particular disease, to
stimulate immunity to fight against disease.
15) What made Pasteur believe that a cow could
not have anthrax twice?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
found that a cow could not have anthrax twice, as its body previously had weak
germs of that disease and it could not be attacked by the disease again.
16) What made many scientists angry? (para
16)
Ans: Louis Pasteur
had injected weak anthrax germs into the cows and sheep, it was dangerous idea and
he had already experimented that animal which had anthrax already would have
weak germs. So, the scientists were annoyed.
17) What is rabies?
Ans: Rabies is a
dangerous disease that virus attacks a person when a mad dog or a dog with
rabies bites a person.
18) How was Pasteur a better scientist than
Jenner?
Ans: Dr. Jenner had
found vaccination against small pox, and he was unable to understand about
bacteria. Whereas Louis Pasteur spent his whole life to find cure for many
diseases as he understood about germs and bacteria.
19) How was the very low death rate among the
troops during the First World War a great tribute to Pasteur’s work?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
had inoculated the troops against diseases like typhoid and enteric fever, the
death rate was very low from illness. Thus that was the great tribute to Louis
Pasteur’s work.
20) At the opening ceremony of Pasteur Institute
in Paris, Pasteur talked about two opposing laws.
a) Which are the two laws?
Ans: a) The first
law was of blood and death, opening out each day new methods of destruction,
forces nations to be ready for battle. The second law was of peace, work and
health, whose aim was to deliver man from the disasters which surround him.
b) Which one did he favor?
Ans: b) Louis
Pasteur had favored the second law which brought respite to human beings.
21) What was his message to young students on
the occasion of his 70th birthday celebration?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
message to young students on the occasion of his 70th birthday
celebration was: “First ask yourselves, ‘What have I done for my education?’
Then as you advance in life, what have I done for my country? so that someday
that supreme happiness may come to you, the consciousness of having contributed
in some measure to the progress and welfare of humanity.”
22) What is the supreme happiness he talks
about?
Ans: The supreme
happiness he talks about is the consciousness of having contributed to some
measure to the progress and welfare of humanity was supreme happiness.
23) Here are Louis Pasteur’s thoughts at
various points in the lesson. Read the paragraphs mentioned against each and
explain how he came to each conclusion.
a) I am certain that yeast is alive, made up
of tiny living cells (para 7) ______
Ans: When one of
the brewers approached Louis Pasteur, he studied about yeast and found by
experiment that yeast was alive, made up of tiny living cells. He found out
that when the yeast was diseased, they spoiled the food.
b) Germs are carried in the air and may
______ infect other things that came in contact ______ with them, (para 8, 9)
Ans: Louis Pasteur
proved germs were present in air and infected all things by his experiment when
he placed soup in a long tube with narrow neck and a big bend in the middle. The
soup didn’t spoil which was kept in open air but the soup in bent tube had
spoiled.
c. Pure air is different from stale air (para
10) ______
Ans: Pure air is different
from stale air, Louis Pasteur had proved this by his experiment with soup in
bottles. He kept soup bottles in three different areas, one in hotel bed room, second
in field and third on mountain. He found that the soup in hotel was completely
moldy, the soup in field somewhat was moldy and there were no germs in soup
which he had kept on high mountain. Hence, he proved that pure air had no germs
comparing stale air.
d. Pasteurization makes the germs harmless,
(para 12) ________
Ans: Pasteurization
is the process of heating the wine or milk of any other liquid to a temperature
of 50 to 60 degrees centigrade to make the germs harmless.
II. Close Study:
Read the following extracts carefully.
Discuss in pairs and then write the answers to the questions given below them
1) “Do germs form from other germs, or do
they just come of themselves?”
a) What did people like Pasteur actually
believe about germs?
Ans: People liked
Louis Pasteur believed that germs were carried in the air and they infected
people when they came in contact.
b) Which of the two was called “spontaneous generation”?
Ans: The belief
that germs had no parent germs and they occurred by themselves were the two was
called “spontaneous generation”.
c) How did Pasteur prove that he was right?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
proved that he was right by his simple experiment which he had conducted with
soup and a bent tube.
2) “If you can cure animals, you can cure my
son.”
a) What had Pasteur cured the animals of?
Ans: Louis Pasteur
had cured the animals from a deadly disease called anthrax.
b) What was wrong with the “son” referred to?
Ans: The “son”
referred to was bitten by a mad dog.
c) Did Pasteur cure the boy? How?
Ans: Yes, Pasteur
cured the boy by inoculating him with weak rabies germs and the boy was cured.
III. Paragraph Writing:
Discuss in pairs/groups of 4 each, the
answers to the following questions. Individually, note down the important
points for each question and then develop the points into one paragraph
answers:
1) What was troubling the French
wine-growers? How did Pasteur solve their problem? What is the name of the
process which was the solution to the wine-growers?
Ans: The French
wine-growers were troubled by a germ that had turned the wine sour. Louis
Pasteur solved their problem by heating the wine to a temperature of 50 to 60 centigrade;
the germs could be made harmless. Pasteurization was the name of the process
which was the solution to the wine-growers.
2) How did Pasteur develop the idea of
immunity?
Ans: Louis Pasteur developed
the idea of immunity when he doing experiment on anthrax which was killing cows
and sheep in France. He found that cow would not have anthrax second time. He
thought of injecting the animals with weak germs to improve immunity. Later he
conducted experiment on cows and sheep and he found success in it.
3) What human qualities of Pasteur do you
admire?
Ans: The human
qualities of Louis Pasteur are: He was one of the greatest scientists who had
worked only for mankind. He always thought to study on diseases to find cure
and to help people. His experiments were never harmed human beings. He got a
lot appreciation from a medical congress. He advised students to think of, what
they did for their education and what they did for their country. They would
get supreme happiness by contributing in some measure for progress and welfare
of humanity.
4) “All the research which he did in his
laboratories was meant to help his fellow human beings”. Elucidate.
Ans: Louis Pasteur
whatever had discovered was purely meant to help his fellow human beings, he
never did any experiment which would harm people. He helped brewer who were worried
about their wine which was turning to sour. He discovered that germs were
carried in air. He introduced pasteurization which had made germs harmless by
the heating process from 50 to 60 centigrade. He found cure for anthrax and
saved a boy from rabies which was dangerous diseases too. Even he inoculated troops
so that they would fight against typhoid and enteric fever.
5) What would have been the fate of humankind
if Louis Pasteur had not discovered a vaccine against rabies?
Ans: Thousands of people would have died if Louis
Pasteur had not discovered a vaccine against rabies. Rabies is a fatal disease,
which is caused by the biting of a mad dog. Pasteur had discovered that by
injecting weak rabies germs in victims, the disease could be cured.
