French Nun Who Beat COVID-19 Celebrates 117th Birthday
2021-02-12
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1A French religious worker who survived COVID-19 celebrated her 117th birthday on Thursday.
2Sister Andre is a nun who lives in a retirement home in the southern city of Toulon.
3She also is believed to be the world's second-oldest person.
4A spokesman for the retirement home, David Tavella, said Sister Andre tested positive for COVID-19 in the middle of January.
5She was separated from others at the home, but experienced few signs of the disease.
6Her survival story made news across the world.
7Sister Andre, whose birth name is Lucile Randon, was to take part in a celebration with a small number of people at the home.
8Tavella said plans called for a big meal and a special religious observance in her honor.
9Some of Sister Andre's family members were also expected to join a video call with her.
10"It's a big day," Tavella said.
11"She is in great shape. I went to see her this morning. She is really happy. She wanted me to tell her the (plan) for the day again," he added.
12The meal was to include some of Sister Andre's food favorites, including a special chicken dish and Baked Alaska for dessert.
13"All of it washed down with red wine, because she drinks red wine," Tavella said.
14"It's one of her secrets of longevity."
15As for loading up the cake with candles, Tavella said they had stopped trying that a long time ago.
16"Because even if we made big cakes, I'm not sure that she would have enough breath to blow them out. You would need a fire extinguisher."
17Tavella added that when people around the world started talking about Sister Andre's story, he realized it was "because we all need a bit of hope at the moment."
18Sister Andre was born on February 11, 1904.
19She survived two World Wars.
20The Gerontology Research Group confirms details about people thought to be 110 or older.
21The organization lists her as the world's second-oldest living person.
22The oldest person on the list is Japan's Kane Tanaka, who turned 118 on January 2.
23When recently asked if she had been scared to have COVID-19, Sister Andre told France's BFM television, "No I wasn't scared, because I wasn't scared to die."
24She added: "I'm happy to be with you, but I would wish to be somewhere else -- join my big brother and my grandfather and my grandmother."
25I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A French religious worker who survived COVID-19 celebrated her 117th birthday on Thursday. 2Sister Andre is a nun who lives in a retirement home in the southern city of Toulon. She also is believed to be the world's second-oldest person. 3A spokesman for the retirement home, David Tavella, said Sister Andre tested positive for COVID-19 in the middle of January. She was separated from others at the home, but experienced few signs of the disease. Her survival story made news across the world. 4Sister Andre, whose birth name is Lucile Randon, was to take part in a celebration with a small number of people at the home. Tavella said plans called for a big meal and a special religious observance in her honor. 5Some of Sister Andre's family members were also expected to join a video call with her. "It's a big day," Tavella said. "She is in great shape. I went to see her this morning. She is really happy. She wanted me to tell her the (plan) for the day again," he added. 6The meal was to include some of Sister Andre's food favorites, including a special chicken dish and Baked Alaska for dessert. "All of it washed down with red wine, because she drinks red wine," Tavella said. "It's one of her secrets of longevity." 7As for loading up the cake with candles, Tavella said they had stopped trying that a long time ago. "Because even if we made big cakes, I'm not sure that she would have enough breath to blow them out. You would need a fire extinguisher." 8Tavella added that when people around the world started talking about Sister Andre's story, he realized it was "because we all need a bit of hope at the moment." 9Sister Andre was born on February 11, 1904. She survived two World Wars. The Gerontology Research Group confirms details about people thought to be 110 or older. The organization lists her as the world's second-oldest living person. The oldest person on the list is Japan's Kane Tanaka, who turned 118 on January 2. 10When recently asked if she had been scared to have COVID-19, Sister Andre told France's BFM television, "No I wasn't scared, because I wasn't scared to die." She added: "I'm happy to be with you, but I would wish to be somewhere else -- join my big brother and my grandfather and my grandmother." 11I'm Bryan Lynn. 12The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 13We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 14___________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16nun - n. a woman who is a member of a religious community and who usually promises to separate from the rest of society in order to serve God 17positive - adj. in a medical test, positive means the person being tested has a disease or condition 18dessert - n. a sweet food that is eaten after the main part of a meal 19longevity - n. living for a long time 20candle - n. a long shaped piece of wax with a piece of string in the middle that produces light as it slowly burns 21extinguisher - n. a device containing water or other substances that is designed to put out a fire 22scared - adj. frightened or worried