Everybody's talking about... #StephenHawking

Hi everyone! I'm Charlene from BBC Learning English.

This week, the world said goodbye

to one of the most gifted scientists

the world has ever seen: Professor Stephen Hawking.

Famous for his work as a physicist and cosmologist,

Stephen Hawking lived with motor neurone disease

for over 50 years. Everybody's talking about it,

and I'm asking three questions to find out

the actual words people are saying.

Question one. What does the name

Professor Stephen Hawking mean to you?

It means no boundaries, no limits, to infinity

and beyond - literally, you know?

So, I know that he's an astrophysicist.

He studied in Cambridge and he...

there was a movie that was made about him

and he studied, I think, the origin of the universe.

That's pretty much all I know about him.

I think about his book, A Brief History of Time,

and I think about the movie that he was in.

And The Simpsons.

What do you know about his work?

I'm not gonna lie - I don't really know much about him.

I know very little, unfortunately.

What do I know about his work?

Well, he talks about the big bang theory,

and how the universe is expanding,

and one day there will be a big crunch

and it'll stop expanding.

What do you think he will be most remembered for?

I think he's gonna be a great source of

inspiration for many people.

It's kind of hard for me to answer but...

besides science, just kind of like that wit -

grit and determination that he

was able to show the world, so...

For the ability to prevail,

to go beyond boundaries

and to believe in himself.

So, there you go. Everybody's talking

about #StephenHawking and now you can too!

There's a quick recap coming up in just a second -

but don't forget you can find out more about this

topic at BBC Learning English dot com.

You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

and YouTube - and get talking! See you next time!