The Discovery of Penicillin IELTS Reading: Translation & Answer Key

The discovery of Penicillin is regarded as one of the most significant milestones in medical history, having saved millions of lives from once-fatal infections. The reading passage “The Discovery of Penicillin” recounts the journey from Alexander Fleming’s accidental find to the mass production efforts led by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain. This text falls under the History of Science category, a common theme in the IELTS Reading test. With this detailed analysis from ECE Language Center, you will be provided with a comprehensive breakdown and thorough explanations for Matching Paragraph Information, Summary Completion, and Table Completion question types.

Reading Passage & Questions

The Discovery of Penicillin

Paragraph A

The Scottish bacteriologist Dr Alexander Fleming (1881 – 1955) is credited with the discovery of penicillin in London in 1928. He had been working at St Mary’s Hospital on the bacteriology of septic wounds. As a medic during World War I, he had witnessed the deaths of many wounded soldiers from infection and he had observed that the use of harsh antiseptics, rather than healing the body, actually harmed the blood corpuscles that destroy bacteria.

Paragraph B

In his search for effective antimicrobial agents, Fleming was cultivating staphylococcus bacteria in Petri dishes containing agar. Before going on holiday in the summer of 1928, he piled up the agar plates to make room for someone else to use his workbench in his absence and left the windows open. When he returned to work two weeks later, Fleming noticed mould growing on those culture plates that had not been fully immersed in sterilising agent. This was not an unusual phenomenon, except in this case the particular mould seemed to have killed the staphylococcus aureus immediately surrounding it. He realised that this mould had potential.

Paragraph C

Fleming consulted a mycologist called C J La Touche, who occupied a laboratory downstairs containing many mould specimens (possibly the source of the original contamination), and they concluded it was the Penicillium genus of ascomycetous fungi. Fleming continued to experiment with the mould on other pathogenic bacteria, finding that it successfully killed a large number of them. Importantly, it was also non-toxic, so there was a bacteria-destroying agent that could be used as an antiseptic in wounds without damaging the human body. However, he was unsuccessful in his attempts to isolate the active antibacterial element, which he called penicillin. In 1929, he wrote a paper on his findings, published in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology, but it failed to kindle any interest at the time.

Paragraph D

In 1938, Dr Howard Florey, a professor of pathology at Oxford University, came across Fleming’s paper. In collaboration with his colleague Dr Ernst Chain, and other skilled chemists, he worked on producing a usable drug. They experimented on mice infected with streptococcus. Those untreated died, while those injected with penicillin survived. It was time to test the drug on humans but they could not produce enough – it took 2,000 litres of mould culture fluid to acquire enough penicillin to treat a single patient. Their first case in 1940, an Oxford police officer who was near death as a result of infection by both staphylococci and streptococci, rallied after five days of treatment but, when the supply of penicillin ran out, he eventually died.

Paragraph E

In 1941, Florey and biochemist Dr Norman Heatley went to the United States to team up with American scientists with a view to finding a way of making large quantities of the drug. It became obvious that Penicillium notatum would never generate enough penicillin for effective treatments so they began to look for a more productive species. One day a laboratory assistant turned up with a melon covered in mould. This fungus was Penicillium chrysogeum, which produced 200 times more penicillin than Fleming’s original species but, with further enhancement and filtration, it was induced to yield 1,000 times as much as Penicillium notatum. Manufacture could begin in earnest.

Paragraph F

The standardisation and large-scale production of the penicillin drug during World War II and its availability for treating wounded soldiers undoubtedly saved many lives. Penicillin proved to be very effective in the treatment of pneumococcal pneumonia – the death rate in WWII was 1% compared to 18% in WWI. It has since proved its worth in the treatment of many life-threatening infections such as tuberculosis, meningitis, diphtheria and several sexually-transmitted diseases.

Paragraph G

Fleming has always been acknowledged as the discoverer of penicillin. However, the development of a commercial penicillin drug was due to the skill of chemical scientists Florey, Chain and others who overcame the difficulties of converting it into a usable form. Fleming and Florey received knighthoods in 1944 and they, together with Chain, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945. Heatley’s contribution seems to have been overlooked until, in 1990, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of medicine by Oxford University – the first in its 800-year history.

Paragraph H

Fleming was mindful of the dangers of resistance to penicillin early on and he expressly warned on many occasions against overuse of the drug, because this would lead to bacterial resistance. Ironically, the occurrence of resistance is pushing the drive today to find new, more powerful antibiotics.

Questions

Questions 1 – 6

The Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-H.

1. results of animal experiments

2. recognition of the scientists’ valuable work

3. a statement about the beginning of mass production

4. Fleming’s cautionary advice

5. examples of uses for penicillin

6. the starting point for Fleming’s original research

Questions 7 – 10

Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Dr Fleming’s Accidental Discovery

In a bid to find a safe and effective antiseptic, Dr Fleming was growing staphylococcus aureus bacteria in his lab. On his return from (7) ……………….., he found mould on an unsterilised plate and saw that it had destroyed the bacteria around it. A (8) ……………….. helped him identify the mould. Fleming found that it was active against several different (9) ……………….. and, because it was (10) ……………….., it was safe to use in humans.

Questions 11 – 13
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 11 – 13 on your answer sheet.

Timeline

1928 – Fleming’s discovery of penicillin

1929 – Fleming’s research published

1938 – Florey begins work on penicillin

1940 – The first human subject 11 

1941 – Collaboration with 12 

1944 – Two of the scientists are knighted

1945 – Three of them share a 13 

1990 – Heatley’s work is acknowledged

Detailed Passage Breakdown

Paragraph A: Dr. Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist, is credited with discovering penicillin in 1928. While working on septic wounds, his experiences as a WWI medic led him to observe that harsh antiseptics often did more harm than good by damaging white blood cells.

Paragraph B: While cultivating staphylococcus, Fleming went on holiday and left his lab windows open. Upon his return, he found mould on his culture plates that had inhibited the growth of the surrounding bacteria, leading him to recognize its potential.

Paragraph C: Consulting with mycologist C.J. La Touche, Fleming identified the mould as Penicillium. He found it killed various pathogenic bacteria and was non-toxic to humans. However, he struggled to isolate the active element and his initial 1929 publication garnered little attention.

Paragraph D: In 1938, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain began developing a usable drug based on Fleming’s work. Successful mouse trials followed, but human testing was hindered by production difficulties. Their first human patient initially improved but died when the penicillin supply ran out.

Paragraph E: Florey and Norman Heatley traveled to the U.S. in 1941 to seek mass production methods. They eventually discovered a more productive species, Penicillium chrysogeum, on a mouldy melon, which allowed large-scale manufacturing to begin.

Paragraph F: Mass production during WWII saved countless lives, particularly in treating pneumonia. Since then, penicillin has been vital in treating life-threatening diseases like tuberculosis and meningitis.

Paragraph G: While Fleming is the discoverer, Florey and Chain were essential in making the drug commercially viable. Fleming, Florey, and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize, while Heatley’s contributions were finally recognized with an honorary doctorate in 1990.

Paragraph H: Fleming warned early on about the dangers of antibiotic resistance caused by overuse. Today, the rise of resistant bacteria continues to drive the search for more powerful antibiotics.

Key Vocabulary

Answers & Explanations

1. D

• Question: Results of animal experiments.
• Location: Paragraph D: “They experimented on mice… Those untreated died, while those injected with penicillin survived.”
• Explanation: Paragraph D describes the experiments on mice and the clear survival/death outcomes.

2. G

• Question: Recognition of the scientists’ valuable work.
• Location: Paragraph G: “…received knighthoods… awarded the Nobel Prize… awarded an honorary doctorate…”
• Explanation: Paragraph G lists the awards and titles (Nobel, Knighthoods, Honorary Doctorate) given to recognize the contributions of Fleming, Florey, Chain, and Heatley.

3. E

• Question: A statement about the beginning of mass production.
• Location: Paragraph E: “…finding a way of making large quantities… Manufacture could begin in earnest.”
• Explanation: Paragraph E discusses finding a high-yield mould species and starting production “in earnest” (mass production).

4. H

• Question: Fleming’s cautionary advice.
• Location: Paragraph H: “…he expressly warned on many occasions against overuse of the drug…”
• Explanation: Fleming warned (cautionary advice) about the dangers of drug overuse leading to resistance.

5. F

• Question: Examples of uses for penicillin.
• Location: Paragraph F: “…treatment of pneumococcal pneumonia… tuberculosis, meningitis, diphtheria…”
• Explanation: Paragraph F lists several diseases that can be treated with penicillin.

6. A

• Question: The starting point for Fleming’s original research.
• Location: Paragraph A: “…witnessed the deaths of many wounded soldiers… observed that the use of harsh antiseptics… harmed…”
• Explanation: Witnessing the deaths and the harmful effects of old antiseptics during WWI served as the motivation (starting point) for his research.

7. holiday

• Location: Paragraph B: “Before going on holiday… When he returned…”
• Explanation: Fleming went on holiday and discovered the mould upon his return.

8. mycologist

• Location: Paragraph C: “Fleming consulted a mycologist called C J La Touche…”
• Explanation: He consulted a mycologist (a fungus expert) to identify the mould.

9. pathogenic bacteria

• Location: Paragraph C: “Fleming continued to experiment with the mould on other pathogenic bacteria…”
• Explanation: He tested the mould against various disease-causing (pathogenic) bacteria.

10. non-toxic

• Location: Paragraph C: “Importantly, it was also non-toxic…”
• Explanation: Because it was non-toxic, it was safe for human use.

11. died

• Location: Paragraph D: “…when the supply of penicillin ran out, he eventually died.”
• Explanation: The first human subject (the police officer) eventually died because the drug supply was exhausted.

12. American scientists

• Location: Paragraph E: “…went to the United States to team up with American scientists…”
• Explanation: They collaborated (teamed up) with scientists in America.

13. Nobel Prize

• Location: Paragraph G: “…were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945.”
• Explanation: The three scientists shared the Nobel Prize.

The passage “The Discovery of Penicillin” is a powerful testament to how a combination of keen observation and persistent collective effort can change the world. Through this analysis, you have mastered key medical and historical vocabulary while refining your information-locating skills. ECE Language Center hopes this detailed guide empowers you on your journey to conquering the IELTS.