FCE READING 1

  FCE READING 1 – CHOOSE FROM THE SENTENCE A-G THAT FITS EACH GAP (1-6)

The legend of Florence Nightingale, "the lady with the lamp', conjures up the image of the caring nurse on duty at night, going from ward to ward checking on wounded soldiers in the Crimea. There is no doubt that Nightingale did bring comfort to those men but her success in raising their life expectancy is exaggerated and her real achievements neglected. Following the war and after her return to Britain, she became a well-known health reformer, publishing works on childbirth, public healthcare and hospitals and the treatment of wounded soldiers. Florence Nightingale was born into a wealthy family and was lucky enough to have a father who believed that women should be educated. This, for him, did not mean simply in the classics, music and painting, which was the limit for even the most accomplished women of the day. 1 The last of these proved especially helpful to her later work in the field of medical statistics.
Her work during the Crimean War was legendary even then, though many improvements made at that time were not her doing. She was not a promoter of antiseptics, for example, since understanding of infection was still basic at that time. However, she did believe people in bad health needed rest and a good diet in order to give their bodies the best chance of recovery. She also used her growing fame to great effect. 2 She used her public reputation on her return to Britain to set up the Nightingale Training School for nurses. Up to that point, nursing had been under the control of the church: nurses were either nuns or they were trained by nuns. Nightingale's school was the first was independent of the church and her book, Notes Nursing, published in 1859, carefully emphasised the fact that a nurse practised a profession just as a doctor did. 3 What was perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book was the importance she placed on 'bedside manner and how to treat bedridden patients in hospital. Doctors came in for some pointed criticism for their failings in this area and nurses were encouraged to make the patients: well-being, physical, mental and emotional, their mission 4 By 1882, a number of graduates were head nurses at some of the largest hospitals in the country. She lobbied the British government again in 1858 and 1859 to look into healthcare for the British army in India. She believed the lack of medical care and the poor sanitary conditions were contributing to the high mortality rates amongst army personnel serving in that country. A comprehensive report was prepared and her careful and clear presentation of data made her arguments hard to ignore. After ten years of reform, there was already a massive improvement. 5 In later life, Florence Nightingale suffered from a disease called brucellosis and, as a result, was often bedridden herself. 6 Her expertise in field medicine was sought after by the Union government during the American Civil War and in 1883 she was awarded the Royal Red Cross by Queen Victoria. She died of natural causes in 1910 at the age of 90, passing away in her sleep. Her personality, work and theories still influence nursing to this day.
A The first nurses who trained at the Nightingale School started working in 1865.
B Nightingale received a well-rounded education which included science, history, philosophy and mathematics.
C This was something that, as a nurse, Nightingale had witnessed first-hand.
D it is still in print - and studied - today.
E Despite often being in great pain, she never tired and she carried out some of her most pioneering work in hospital planning from her bed.
F. For example, deaths among soldiers had fallen to 18 per 1,000 from an original rate of 69.
G It was through her efforts that the British government commissioned the engineer Isambard Brunel to design a field hospital.