Tag: health and medicine

Drink Water Often to Live Longer

B1 – Intermediate

Drinking water on a regular basis is the best thing we do to our bodies. Water can make us stay alert and focus. When we are properly hydrated, the circulation in our body will be good, too.

Read the article below about the benefits of staying hydrated.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2301/230105-staying-hydrated.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “more likely” mean here, “They added that adults who did not drink enough water were more likely to die at a younger age.“? Use it in a sentence.
  2. What does the word “prolong” mean? “The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down ageing and prolong a disease-free life.” Use it in a sentence.
  3. What does the verb “encourage” mean in this sentence, “She encouraged people to drink more fluids, like water and juice, and fruit and vegetables with a high water content.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on this, “half of people worldwide do not drink enough”?
  2. What might be some reasons people do not drink as much water as they should?
  3. What is the importance of drinking water?
  4. How does drinking water benefit our health? What are the benefits of drinking water for your mind?
  5. Do you think you drink enough water? Why or why not?

Health News in 2022

B1 – Intermediate

The year 2022 had yet been another memorable year for all. Each industry has had their breakthroughs and outstanding developments, including, the health and medical field. Loads of life-changing progress were achieved in the health sector in the said year.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about some advancements in the health sector for the year 2022.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/2022-health-news-level-3/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the expression “to keep one’s eye on something” mean? “A driving simulator teaches teens with ADHD to keep their eyes on the road.” Use it in your own sentence.
  2. Give 1-2 synonym/s of the word “glance”. Use them in your own sentences.
  3. What does “immersive” mean? Use it in your own sentence. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of these new technologies?
  2. Which one do you think is the most helpful and why?
  3. What other medical technologies do you know were invented in 2022? Describe them and their uses.
  4. What health device have you started using? Talk about how it helps you in your day-to-day life.

Prepare for the Next Pandemic

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The COVID-19 cases may have declined significantly in the two years since the pandemic began, but our experiences are still fresh in our minds. We didn’t see that coming and were totally unprepared for it.

There have been a number of outbreaks in recent decades, thus future outbreaks of infectious diseases are regrettably unavoidable. If we are ready for them, we may be able to prevent them from spreading and becoming pandemics.


Read this article to learn how to prepare for the next pandemic.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03362-8

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “inevitable” mean? “Finally, governments must abandon the idea that spread of a respiratory pathogen is inevitable.” Use this word in a sentence.
  2. Based on the context of the sentence, “This necessitates the participation of the private sector alongside governments, given its role in vaccine research, production, and distribution.”, what does the word ‘necessitate’ mean?
  3. Explain the meaning of the word “emerge” in your own words. “It is crucial that we quickly obtain and share the genetic sequences of viruses as they emerge.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think the five ways to prepare for the pandemic in the article are effective? Why or why not?
  2. How else can we prepare for the pandemic?
  3. In your opinion, do you think doing these things would actually prepare us for the next pandemic?
  4. Are you physically, mentally, and financially prepared for future pandemics? How so?
  5. How does your national government prepare for pandemics?

Amazon Alexa’s Symptom Checker: The Pros and Cons

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Amazon’s digital voice assistant Alexa seems to have the answer for nearly every question one might have and that includes your health or medical queries.

Read the article to know more about the pros and cons of using Alexa’s symptom checker in monitoring one’s health.

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/electronics/amazon-alexa-symptom-checker

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “nuance” mean? Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “narrow down” mean here, “From there, Alexa will ask a series of yes-or-no questions to help narrow down which underlying medical conditions might be related.”? Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What does “resounding” mean? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the pros and cons of Alexa Symptom Checker?
  2. When it comes to your health, would you entrust it with a digital voice assistant? Explain.
  3. How often and for what do you use your AI assistant for? Do you think people would be more dependent on them in the near future? Why or why not?

Young People Lose Hearing

B1 – Intermediate

What would the world be without music? Well, what would your world be without any sound? Or how would it be like if you couldn’t hear quite well?

According to studies, young people’s sense of hearing are getting worse. This could be because the volume on their headphones is too high or the sound at bars or clubs or concerts they go to is too loud.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about how more and more young people are having problems hearing well.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/young-people-lose-hearing-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news?
  2. What are the reasons people’s sense of hearing is deteriorating? 
  3. What do you think about loud noises/music/places/people?
  4. What is your favorite sound and why?
  5. What would you do if or how would you feel if you had lost your ability to hear properly?

Smart Plaster

B1 – Intermediate

Waiting for a wound to heal could be a little stressful. But taking the plaster off to check it every so often isn’t a good thing.

So, three Polish students thought it would be a good idea to invent a plaster that has a sensor. This tells you and your doctor exactly how the would is healing.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about smart plaster.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/a-smart-plaster-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion about this smart plaster?
  2. What do you think could be the good and bad things about the smart plaster?
  3. Would you be interested to use this plaster? Why or why not?

Medieval Plague Shaped Human Immunity

B2 – Upper Intermediate

One of the things that helped early humans escape imminent death during the plague is their genes. This is also the same thing that may have a direct impact on our immune systems today.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about how the medieval plague may have affected human immunity today.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/study-medieval-plague-may-have-shaped-human-immunity/6798355.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to what this study says?
  2. What are your thoughts on this, “The same version of a gene can protect people from a bad infection, but and also put modern people at risk for other illnesses.”?
  3. How important was the Black Death to the evolution of the human immune system?
  4. What do you know about the bubonic plague/the Black Death?
  5. How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic will affect human evolution?
  6. What do you think about this, “In the future, more deadly pandemics will continue to shape us at the most basic level.”?

World’s First Intestine Transplant

B1 – Intermediate

A baby girl from Spain named Emma was born with an intestine that is too short. This prevents food from being absorbed properly by her body and her health rapidly got worse and worse. She was too young but was already diagnosed with intestinal failure. Emma had to get a new intestine. She became the first to have an intestine transplant. Thankfully, the procedure was a success and her health is now in good condition after the transplant was done.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about the first intestine transplant in the world.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/worlds-first-intestine-transplant-level-2/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news?
  2. What do you think of the progress in medical technology?
  3. What comes to your mind when you hear the word “transplant”? Why?
  4. What are your thoughts on organ transplantation?

Problems with E-cigarettes

B1 – Intermediate

In the hopes of avoiding smoking cigarettes and its adverse effects on health, some people turn to e-cigarettes. However, are these actually a good alternative or an even worse thing to smoke?

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about the problems with e-cigarettes.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/problems-with-e-cigarettes-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree that e-cigarettes can be a problem? Why or why not?
  2. Do you think e-cigs are better than cigarettes? Explain.
  3. Health officials do not know what chemical is in the e-cigarettes. What is your opinion on this?
  4. Some people also smoke marijuana in the e-cigarettes. What is your opinion on this?
  5. Do many people use e-cigarette in your country? Why or why not?

Eating Late at Night

B1 – Intermediate

We already know that what we eat is important in making sure that we have a healthy body. But did you know that eating very late at night can have some negative effects on your health?

A new study finds that eating very late hours in the night affects how your body burns calories and increases the risk of gaining weight more.

Read the article about how late-night snacking can affect one’s health.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2210/221013-eating-late-at-night-1.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree or disagree that late-night eating is bad for us? Explain.
  2. What time do you normally have dinner? Why is it this early or late?
  3. How often do you eat or have a snack at very late hours?
  4. Tell us about your own eating habits.
  5. How important is it for you to maintain your weight? Explain.