14 July - Today in History (Advanced)

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00:26

Hi, I’m Sen and this is Today in History — the audio journey through time where you’ll learn about interesting moments from the past, all while improving your listening skills.

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00:39

As usual, I’d suggest listening to today’s historical events twice. The first time through, listen as if it’s a piece of music. Just take in the sounds and rhythm of what is said. Don’t try and focus too much on the individual words. You can do this the second time through.

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01:02

Let’s begin. So, what happened today in history?

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01:13

On July 14, 1957, Rawya Ateya became the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world. She was voted in following the 1957 Egyptian elections in which only 16 of the 2,000 candidates were women. While in office, she championed women’s rights. As well as introducing a fully paid two-month maternity leave, she presented a law abolishing polygamy.

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01:49

On the same day in 2013, a statue of American biologist, conservationist and author Rachel Carson was unveiled in Massachusetts, in the U.S. She was a trailblazer in the global environmental movement. Her 1962 book, “Silent Spring”, brought awareness of environmental concerns to an unprecedented number of American people.

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02:21

On July 14, 2017, Iranian mathematician and Stanford University professor Maryam Mirzakhani died of cancer aged 40. In 2014, she became the first woman and first Iranian to be awarded the Fields Medal — the most prestigious honor in mathematics.

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02:51

How was that? This kind of listening is great for getting a general understanding of what is said. Now, rewind, and have a second listen. See if you can make even more sense of the episode this time.

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03:08

That’s it for now. But, I’ll be back tomorrow with more historical facts. So join me then for another episode of Today in History.

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End

Rawya Ateya joins the Egyptian Parliament, Rachel Carson, and Maryam Mirzakhani… Join us and discover what happened on this day in the past, all while improving your listening skills and learning a few new words along the way. We’d love to hear your feedback or suggestions – you can email us at podcasting@babbel.com. We've simplified these events to give you short and snappy listening practice. Facts are accurate as of April 2022.