HEALTH ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE

 

ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE UNIT 20 HEALTH

 

A Common problems What’s the matter? What you should do A: I’ve got a sore throat1 and a temperature.2 B: That sounds like flu. You should see a doctor. A: I’ve cut my arm; it’s bleeding.3 B: Put a bandage4 round it. A: I’ve got a terrible cough.5 B: Go to the chemist and get some cough medicine [something you take to treat an illness]. A: I’ve got a headache. B: Take some tablets6 for the pain. (also pills) A: I feel sick.7 B: Go to the bathroom quickly! B Describing pain We can use different words to describe pain. An ache describes pain that is not always strong, but often continues. It is used with certain parts of the body. I’ve got a headache. Aria’s got stomach ache. My dad suffers from [often has the pain of] backache. For other parts of the body we often use pain. I’ve got a pain in my shoulder/foot. Ache can also be a verb to describe pain that continues for some time. By the end of the day my feet were aching. For stronger or more sudden pain, we usually use the verb hurt. My throat hurts when I speak. I hit my leg on the table and it really hurts / it’s very painful. C Serious illnesses For serious [bad] illnesses, you will probably go into hospital. A person who stays in hospital is called a patient. Many patients need an operation [when special doctors, called surgeons, cut into the body for medical reasons; also called surgery]. Lung cancer can be caused by smoking. Heart attacks can happen very suddenly. Hepatitis is a disease affecting the liver.   Language help   Disease is used to talk about more serious medical problems, often affecting certain parts of the body, e.g. heart disease. Illness is used to talk about serious and minor medical problems and those affecting the mind, e.g. mental illness. Disease is not used about a period of illness, e.g. He died after a long illness. (NOT He died after a long disease.)   EXERCISES 20.1 Look at the underlined letters in each pair of words. Is the pronunciation the same or different? Use the index to help you. 20.2 Complete the sentences with a or nothing (–). 1 She’s got ____-____ hepatitis. 2 I’ve got ____a_____ cough. 3 I’m getting ______ sore throat. 4 Ben’s got ______ headache. 5 Luis’s got ______ temperature. 6 I’ve got ______ backache. 7 Zarita’s got ______ flu. 8 My uncle had ______ heart attack. 9 She’s got ______ cancer. 10 I’ve got ______ pain in my foot. 20.3 Complete the dialogues. 1 A: Does your finger hurt? B: Yes, it’s very ____painful ______. 2 A: What’s wrong with Dimitrios? B: He feels ____________. I think it’s something he ate. 3 A: Did you hit your foot? B: Yes, and it really ____________. 4 A: My hand’s bleeding quite badly. B: Well, put a ____________ round it. 5 A: Your finger’s ____________. B: I know. I cut it using that knife. 6 A: Does Tanya still ____________from bad headaches? B: Yes, she gets them all the time. 7 A: What’s the matter? B: My back ____________from sitting at that computer all day. 8 A: I understand Lena has had quite a ____________illness. B: Yeah. She was in hospital for over a week. 20.4 Find five more pairs of words. Why are they pairs? lung and cancer - because you can get lung cancer. _______________________________________           20.5

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