2008年ESL之旅行 10 Traveling and Medical Needs（打印版）

2008年ESL之旅行 10 Traveling and Medical Needs（在线收听）

10 Traveling and Medical Needs

GLOSSARY

straight – consecutive; without stopping; without interruption

* Inez practiced playing the clarinet for three hours straight yesterday!

blister – a small part of one’s skin that is higher than usual and filled with liquid,usually created because one was doing an activity where something rubbedagainst that skin many times

* Orlando got a blister on his hand from playing tennis yesterday.

bruise – a temporary, dark spot on one’s skin, usually caused by being hit or by falling

* Jin has a bruise on his hip because he accidentally hit it against the car door.

band-aid – a small piece of paper or plastic that has cotton padding and is sticky on one side, used to cover a cut in one’s skin so that it heals more quickly

* The doctor put a band-aid on the child’s arm after giving her an injection.

sunscreen – a cream or lotion that is rubbed into one’s skin to protect it from sundamage so that the skin does not burn

* When I’m swimming outdoors, I need to put on more sunscreen every hour.

sunburned – having a burn on one’s skin from the sun; having painful, red skinfrom being in the sun for too much time

* People with red hair and green eyes get sunburned much more easily thanpeople with black hair and brown eyes.

to peel – to come off in small, thin pieces; to fall off in thin pieces

* The paint is peeling off the walls in the bathroom.

stomachache – a dull pain in one’s stomach that lasts for a long period of time

* My mother said to us, “You’re going to get a stomachache if you eat that wholebag of candy!”

street vendor – a person who sells something, especially food, on the streetinstead of in a restaurant or store

* Businesspeople in New York City who don’t have very much time to eat lunchsometimes buy hot dogs from street vendors.

irritated – painful; uncomfortable; sore

* Their eyes became red and irritated when they stood near the smoke from thefire.

diarrhea – a condition where the solid waste from one’s body temporarily comes out very wet and very frequently

* The tour guide told us that we might get diarrhea if we drink unclean water.

salmonella – a bacteria found in uncooked eggs and chicken that makes peoplesick if they eat it

* Everyone who ate the chicken salad got sick from salmonella.

food poisoning – a condition where a person is temporarily sick from eatinguncooked or unclean food

* Bobby was vomiting from food poisoning all day yesterday.

to suffer – to experience pain, discomfort, or a difficult or sad situation

* Harriet suffers from allergies in the summer.

Will miracles never cease? – a phrase used to show that one doesn’t believethat something will happen, or that it is very unlikely and extremely surprising

* Eleodoro normally isn’t a very good student, but he got 100 percent on his mathtest yesterday. Will miracles never cease?

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these might be caused by food poisoning?

a) bruises

b) sunburn

c) stomachache

2. Which medical problem can be improved with a band-aid?

a) blisters

b) peeling skin

c) diarrhea

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

straight

The word “straight,” in this podcast, means consecutive, or without interruption:

“He worked for two years straight without a vacation.” The word “straight” canalso mean right away or immediately, without waiting: “Please come straighthome after school today.” The phrase “to come straight out with it” means to say something directly and honestly, without trying to hide or change anything: “Justcome straight out with it and tell me the truth!” The word “straight” also means honest and truthful: “Stop lying and just give me a straight answer!” Finally, thephrase “to think straight” or “to see straight” means to be able to think or seeclearly, with full understanding: “Katie hasn’t slept in two days, so she isn’t ableto think straight.” Or, “The sun has been in my eyes all afternoon and I can’t seestraight.”

to peel

In this podcast, the verb “to peel” means to come off in small, thin pieces: “Theplastic cover is peeling off of her driver’s license.” The verb “to peel” also means to take off the thin, top layer of something, especially fruits and vegetables:

“Could you please peel the cucumber before cutting it for the salad?” The phrase“to keep (one’s) eyes peeled” means to keep one’s eyes open, looking forsomething: “Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for the street sign, or elseyou’ll miss the turn to our home.” Finally, “to peel off (something)” means toremove a piece of wet clothing that is sticking to one’s skin: “After getting caughtin the rainstorm, he had to peel off his jeans and change into dry clothes.”

CULTURE NOTE

Traveling to a foreign country is always exciting, but it requires a lot ofpreparation. This is especially true for medical “concerns” (things that one is worried about). When Americans travel to other countries, they often meet withtheir doctor first to get “vaccinations” (injections that protect against specific diseases) and learn whether the water is safe to drink. Similarly, people whotravel to the United States need to take medical “precautions” (things that onedoes to prevent something bad from happening).

Perhaps the most important thing that international travelers can do is to get“temporary” (for a short period of time) “health insurance.” One pays a smallamount of money so that, if there is a medical “emergency” (a very bad thing thathappens and cannot be controlled), the health insurance company pays formedical “treatments” (the things that a doctor does to make a person feel betterand become healthy again). Medical care in the United States is very expensive,so it is important to have health insurance. Otherwise, a minor medical problemwhile traveling in the United States can cost a lot of money.

International travelers also need to know that medicines can be very expensiveand difficult to get in the United States. Americans must have a “prescription”

(written permission) from their doctor to be able to buy many medicines. Ofteninternational travelers are surprised by this, because it may be easy to buy thosemedicines in their home countries. International travelers who take medicines should buy those medicines in their own country and bring enough for the“duration” (the amount of time that something lasts) of their trip.

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 391: Traveling andMedical Needs.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 391. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. You can download a Learning Guide for this episode to help you improve your English even faster.

This episode is called “Traveling and Medical Needs.” It’s a dialogue thatincludes lots of vocabulary related to the kinds of medical problems you mighthave when you travel. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Delia: Oh, my feet hurt! We must have walked for four hours straight today. Ihave blisters on my heels and bruises on my toes. Where are my band-aids?

Yoshi: Yeah, your feet look bad. I told you not to wear new shoes on vacation,but you wouldn’t listen.

Delia: Oh, yeah? Look at you! I told you to put on sunscreen, and did you? Your face and neck are sunburned. Your skin is going to be red and peelingtomorrow.

Yoshi: I’ll be fine. If it weren’t for my stomachache, I’d be ready to walk anotherfour hours.

Delia: I told you not to eat food from street vendors.

Yoshi: My stomach is just feeling a little irritated and I have a little diarrhea. It’s nothing serious.

Delia: You probably have salmonella or food poisoning.

Yoshi: No, I don’t! Don’t be ridiculous. Here are some band-aids. Now leaveme in peace.

Delia: Fine. I’ll let you suffer in silence. I won’t say another word.

Yoshi: Will miracles never cease?

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Delia complaining to Yoshi, “Oh, my feet hurt! We musthave walked for four hours straight today.” Delia is saying that she and Yoshihave been walking for four hours straight, meaning four hours consecutively, oneafter the other with no break in between. “Straight” has a couple of differentmeanings in English; take a look at our Learning Guide for some additionalexplanations.

Delia says, “I have blisters on my heels and bruises on my toes.” A “blister”

(blister) is a small part of your skin that is raised, or higher than another part,usually because it is filled with liquid and usually because it’s created when youare rubbing something against your skin. So for example, if you are walking,your feet are going up and down in your shoes and this creates pressure – this creates a certain friction on your skin, and the skin develops these little blisters. So if you walk a lot, you might develop blisters. A “bruise” is a temporary dark spot on your skin, usually caused by being hit. So for example, if you are in afight and someone comes up and hits you in your eye or hits you on yourshoulder, if it’s a very strong hit you could develop a bruise. Later on that day orthe next day you could see a big, dark spot on your skin, and that spot is called a“bruise” (bruise).

So, Delia has blisters and bruises on her toes, perhaps she fell and that’s why she has bruises. She says, “Where are my band-aids?” A “band-aid” is a smallpiece of paper or plastic that usually is used to put over some injury on your skin. If you cut yourself, or if you have a blister, you might put a band-aid over it. So,it’s a small piece of paper or plastic that has some sticky substance – it sticks toyour skin to cover your skin, allowing it to get better – to heal more quickly.

Yoshi says, “Yeah, your feet look bad. I told you not to wear new shoes onvacation, but you wouldn’t listen.” Yoshi is saying that he told Delia not to wearnew shoes on their vacation, because sometimes when you have new shoes,because your feet are not “accustomed to,” or used to the shoe, you can getblisters. The skin can develop these little – well, they’re almost like bubbles onyour skin.

Delia says, “Oh, yeah?” This is something you might say if someone is criticizingyou, like Yoshi is criticizing Delia, and you want to respond by saying somethingbad about the other person. You say, “Oh, yeah? Look at you,” meaning let’s talk about you. “I told to you,” Delia says, “to put on sunscreen, and did you?” “Sunscreen” is a cream or lotion that you put on your skin to protect it fromgetting burned – from being damaged by the sun. So, Delia told Yoshi to put onsunscreen and he didn’t, and now, his face and neck are sunburned. “Sunburned” means your skin is red; it is often painful because you have been inthe sun for too long. This happens to me all the time! Especially if you have very light skin you will get sunburned more easily. It’s not a very pleasant experience. Delia says, “Your skin is going to be red and peeling tomorrow. To “peel” (peel)means that the skin comes off in very small, thin pieces. The dead skin on thetop starts to come off of your body, we would say you are “peeling.” We use this verb, “to peel,” in a couple of different ways; take a look at the Learning Guide forsome additional explanations.

Yoshi says, “I’ll be fine. If it weren’t for my stomachache, I’d be ready to walk another four hours.” A “stomachache” is a pain in your stomach that lasts a longtime, usually because you, perhaps, have eaten something that is not good foryou or that your body doesn’t like, you may get a stomachache. So, Yoshi says he could walk more if he didn’t have a stomachache. Delia says, “I told you notto eat food from vendors.” Notice how Yoshi and Delia are saying to each other“I told you – I told you,” they’re obviously somewhat mad at each other – like any good married couple! That’s how you can tell that they are married, becausethey’re mad at each other!

Delia says, “I told you not to eat food from street vendors.” A “vendor” is someone who sells something. A “street vendor” is someone who sells something in the street – not in a building, not in a regular store but out on thestreet. Usually, or often, street vendors are selling food, so you can buy a hotdog or other types of food on the street. Some people think that this is not agood idea because sometimes the food is not prepared in a clean environment,and that can cause problems with your stomach.

Yoshi says, “My stomach is just feeling a little irritated and I have a littlediarrhea.” “Irritated,” here, means a little painful, a little uncomfortable. It’s not aword we would often use with a stomachache related pain, but it’s possible. “Diarrhea” is something that you might develop if you have eaten something bad,or your stomach doesn’t like what you ate, you might develop diarrhea. Diarrheais when your excrement – the part of your food that goes out of your bottom, thatleaves your body through...I think you can guess how – when it becomes suddenly very wet, very liquid instead of being solid; that’s diarrhea. Not apleasant condition!

Delia says, “You probably have salmonella or food poisoning.” “Salmonella” is abacteria that is found in uncooked eggs and chicken that can make you sick. Soif you eat a raw egg – an egg that isn’t cooked, or if you have certain kinds ofchicken that might have this bacteria, you can get sick. It’s a very, again,unpleasant illness, salmonella poisoning, it can make you very sick and be very dangerous. “Food poisoning” is a general term for any time you eat somethingthat makes you very, very sick. It may last 24 or 36 hours, but it’s notconsidered, normally, a serious condition, though it can be very uncomfortable.

Yoshi says, “No, I don’t,” meaning no, I don’t have salmonella or food poisoning. He says, “Don’t be ridiculous. Here are some band-aids. Now leave me inpeace,” meaning leave me alone. Delia says, “Fine. I’ll let you suffer in silence.” To “suffer” means to experience pain, or a difficult or sad situation. Yoshi, at thevery end, uses an expression in trying to be funny; he says, “Will miracles nevercease?” To “cease” (cease) means to stop. “Will miracles” – things that are notnormal; things that are not natural, usually good things – “Will miracles nevercease?” What he’s saying here is he doesn’t believe that something will happen,or that it is very unlikely to happen. He’s saying, well, if you did leave me alone,that would be a miracle – that would be a very unusual thing. He doesn’t actually think that Delia is going to leave him alone, so he uses this expression: “Willmiracles never cease?” He thinks it would be a miracle if Delia did leave himalone.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.