Read the following passage about Mary Kingsley, a famous British explorer. Answer the questions.
Mary Kingsley was born in London in 1862, the daughter of a doctor and a domestic servant. She received little formal education, as in those days, people did not think that it was necessary to educate girls. However, she spent time in her father's library, which was full of travel and science books.
In 1892, her parents died and Mary inherited £4,300, a considerable sum at that time. Mary had always dreamed of travelling to Africa, and with the money, she could now do this. She arrived in Sierra Leone in August 1893, lived with local people, and learned from them the skills needed to survive in the jungle. She often went alone into dangerous areas to collect plant and animal specimens. She returned to Britain in 1893 just to be back in Africa the next year. She daringly climbed the 4,040-metre-high Mount Cameroon by a previously unknown route wearing a long black dress.
In 1895, Mary went home again, taking some rare specimens, including a live reptile which she gave to a zoo. Mary wrote two books with her experiences - Travels in West Africa and West African Studies - in which she described the way of life of the indigenous people. She was very critical both of the missionaries who set out to convert the local people and of British colonial rule. She thought they damaged the African culture. Her fame grew and she gave lectures all over Britain. She went out to Africa again in March 1900, but before she could travel north to the part she loved, she died of typhoid in South Africa at the age of 37.
1 Why was Mary not sent to school?
2 How could she afford to travel to Africa?
3 What did she wear to climb Mount Cameroon?
4 What was her opinion of missionaries and of British colonial rule?
5 How many expeditions to Africa did she go on? 6 What did she die of?
