Vocabulary
Word:
Definition:
Word:
Definition:
BEGIN
DAY 3
Literal: Why is Hawking confined to a wheelchair? He has Lou
Gehrig’s Disease. It kills nerve cells that control muscles.
Inferential: What kind of person do you think Hawking is?
He has used his disease as motivation to do more and said the
years of his career were “a glorious time to be alive.”
remarkable
unusual, worthy
of being noticed
gravity
a force in nature
that pulls things
toward Earth
160 Stephen Hawking: A Legendary Scientist and Man
Generate Questions
Hawking’s scientific accomplishments are amazing all
on their own. However, they are especially remarkable
considering that he has suffered from a terrible disease for
almost fifty years. Lou Gehrig’s disease (named after a
famous baseball player who suffered from it), kills nerve
cells that control muscles. This affects arms, legs, and the
ability to speak, swallow, or breathe. Most people die
three to five years after learning they have the disease.
Hawking learned he had Lou Gehrig’s disease when he
was twenty-one. But the diagnosis didn’t slow him down.
Instead, he worked even harder, thinking he had only a
few years to live. Hawking taught mathematics at
Cambridge University for thirty years and studied the
universe from a wheelchair. For years he has not been
able to move his arms or legs or to speak. He uses a
computer program to speak, and assistants have helped
him write numerous articles and best-selling books. He
has received countless awards and honors.