Episode 93 B

EPISODE 93
LEVEL B2

 

READING COMPREHENSION 

 

FLU:          

You’re feeling rotten (= very bad)– weak, shivery (= shaking slightly because you feel cold, frightened, or ill) , with an aching head, back and limbs. Your temperature’s up over 38 degrees. Probably you are sweating a lot, you’ve lost your appetite and you feel sick. You’ve got flu. 

There’s no quick cure. Flu- influenza – is caused by the virus. And viruses can’t be killed with antibiotics. Only the body’s own defence system (= the cells and tissues in the body that make it able to protect itself against infection) can get rid of them. So for most of us there’s no point in seeing a doctor when we’ve got flu. But while a bout (= a short period of illness) of flu lasts, which may be anything from 24 hours to several days, you should:

– Stay indoors, keep warm and keep away from other people as much as possible so you don’t pass on the infection.

–  If you feel feverish (=suffering from fever, high body temperature), with a high temperature or aches or pains, try taking a soluble (= able to be dissolved to form a solution) aspirin.

– Try to have 3 meals a day. But don’t force yourself to eat if you’ve lost your appetite.

Flu vaccination (=to give someone a vaccine, usually by injection, to prevent them from getting a disease) is usually only given to people who are especially at risk because of their health and to people who cannot miss work. Nurses, doctors, policemen may be offered a vaccine once a year before the winter epidemics

 

EXERCISE 1 

Decide which of these statements are true of false:

1. One symptom of flu is an aching back.
2. Antibiotics can help you to get better from flu.
3. If you have flu, it’s essential to eat three times a day.
4. Flu is not a serious illness for anyone.
5. Flu is infectious –other people can catch it from you.
6. If you have flu badly, you should lie in a darkened room.
7. One vaccination gives several years’ protection against flu.
8. The wors time of year for flu is the autumn.

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

EXERCISE 2

Have a look at some prepositional phrases and use them below in the sentences:

at all   at first   at first sight   at last   at least   at a loss   at the moment   at once   at peace   at a profit   at any rate   at a time   at the same time   at war

1. I thought ………………that I had flu but then I realized it was only a cold.
2. ……………… it looked like a new car and I didn’t realize it was second-hand.
3. Sorry to keep you waiting so long, I’ve finished ……………..
4. A business sells its products ………………… and not …………………
5. The two countries used to be ………………….. but now they are ……………..
6. The receptionist only allows one patient to see the doctor……………..
7. You can’t lose weight just by taking exercise, …………….. I don’t think so.
8. When you receive the report, please pass it on to me……………
9. The twins always speak…………………. as each other.
10. He is so lazy –he doesn’t take any exercise……………….

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

EXERCISE 3

ON THE MEND = GETTING BETTER AFTER AN ILLNESS OR INJURY
GO DOWNHILL = GET WORSE IN HEALTH
BE OFF COLOUR = LOOKING OR FEELING SICK

 

Rewrite the sentences using the correct form of the word in capitals. Keep the meaning the same:

1. After the operation my father seemed to be getting better. MEND = 
2. After a long illness he even turned for the worse and got really bad. GO =
3. I don’t feel really god today, I’m afraid. COLOUR =

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

Many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning:

COME OUT IN = become covered in spots or a rash
PICK STH UP = catch an infectious disease
WEAR OFF = ( of a pain, feeling) gradually disappear or stop
KEEL OVER = fall over, esp. when you are ill

 

EXERCISE 4

Fill in in the gaps with phrasal verbs:

When I looked in the mirror, I saw that my eyes had swollen up and I’d ……… …………….. a rash. I must have ……………………this infection somewhere. I felt really bad, I had a splitting headache and even …………..… and nearly passed out. Luckily after a few days of taking some tablets it’s just starting to …………...

 

 

NEWS

FLU EPIDEMICS

“The early start and fast spread of flu this season – especially after 2011-2012’s very mild outbreak – has overwhelmed doctors’ offices and hospitals, forcing some patients to wait through the night to be seen in emergency departments.

Nine of the 10 U.S. regions had „elevated” flu activity last week, confirming that seasonal flu has spread across the country and reached high levels several weeks before the usual late January or February, CDC reported.

Only one region – the Southwest and California – had „normal” flu activity last week.

Tens of thousands of Americans die every year from flu, even in non-epidemic years. The threshold for an epidemic is that it causes more than 7.2 percent of deaths, but as yet there is no definitive count of the total caused by flu this year.

In Boston, flu cases are 10 times higher than they were last year, causing Mayor Thomas Menino to declare a public health emergency on Wednesday.

In Illinois, 24 hospitals struggling to cope with the flood of flu cases had to turn away people arriving in the emergency department, while in Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley Hospital outside Allentown has set up a tent for people who arrive with less-severe flu.”

OUTBREAK = a time when something suddenly begins, especially a disease or something else dangerous or unpleasant

OVERWHELMED = to cause someone to feel sudden strong emotion

ELEVATED = raised/ greater than is normal or reasonable 

THRESHOLD = the level or point at which you start to experience something, or at which something starts to happen

SEVERE = causing very great pain, difficulty, worry, damage

 

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