Quiz: William Kamkwamba's TED talk on "How I Harnessed the Wind"
It's time to test your listening comprehension of William Kamkwamba's TED Talk on How I Harnessed the Wind.
You can either print out the quiz or simply write down your answers on a sheet of paper.
Quiz Questions
1. This was William Kamkwamba’s first TED Talk.
a. True
b. False
2. William is from:
a. Tanzania
b. Malawi
c. Great Britain
d. South Africa
3. William was nervous at his first talk because: (check all of the correct answers)
a. There were so many white people there.
b. He forgot to bring his speech.
c. It was the first time he was away from home.
d. He couldn’t speak Swahili.
4. Before he built his windmill, William was a poor farmer who grew cotton.
a. True
b. False
5. In 2001, there was a famine in Malawi. What does this mean?
a. There was a war and the rebels killed many people.
b. People got malaria, a disease passed along by mosquitoes.
c. People did not have enough food to eat and many starved to death.
6. William had to drop out of school but he was determined to get an education so:
a. He used the internet at the library to study for free.
b. He read science books (especially physics books) at the library.
c. He took evening courses at the university.
d. He worked at a scrap yard to earn money for school.
7. Why did William want to build a windmill? (Select all answers that are correct).
a. To pump water.
b. To get a scholarship to school.
c. To generate electricity.
d. To help defend against hunger.
e. To frighten animals that were eating the crops.
8. The windmill was made from spare parts like a tractor fan and an old bicycle.
a. True
b. False
9. After he built the windmill, many people came to his house to charge their _______________.
Quiz Answers
1. b
False. He spoke at TED two years earlier in Arusha, Tanzania.
2. b
3. a, c
4. b
He was a simple farmer who grew maize, not cotton.
5. c
6. b
7. a, c, d
8. a
9. mobile phones
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