英语博客(A cup of English):043 Which medicine do I take?

　　Beginners.

How are you feeling? Are you well? I hope you stay well for the rest of the year, but that is not likely, is it? We all get ill sometimes. Here in the United States, people use the word 'sick' to mean ill. That word in the UK means vomit 1, so it is important to know which word to use. It is wonderful to be healthy, to feel strong, to have energy to do lots of activities and to think clearly. However, when we are ill, which is common, it is certainly not wonderful. The common cold typically gives us symptoms like: a runny nose, a cough, and perhaps a temperature. The flu can make us feel even worse. Aches and pains, fatigue 2, headaches, and nausea 3 are things we have to deal with. The best thing to do is to get good rest, sleep, and lots of fluids. It is a great thing that our body can fight illness very well. Sometimes, though, if we have an infection, we will need medicine. Antibiotics 4 are useful at killing 5 infection, but we should only take the minimum amount necessary. Too much will make them ineffective. So, eat your fruits and vegetables, sleep a lot, exercise, and stay well!

Grammar notes.

Useful expressions: the rest of the..., unlikely/not likely, healthy, strong, energy, common, certainly, typically, even worse/better, the best thing to do is/ the worst thing to do is, however/though.

Related vocabulary: to be ill/ to be sick, the common cold, cough, runny nose, a temperature/fever, aches, pains, fatigue, nausea, sore throat (and other body parts) ex: he has a sore leg; I have a sore lip.

Advanced.

There is a famous film called 'Mary Poppins' in which a magical nanny sings a song called 'A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down'. I suppose she is right. Some medicines are downright ghastly. Thankfully, I don't have to take them very often, and even if I do, I don't. I'm not what you would call a pill-popper, a person who enjoys the drama of illness. For me, it's a complete waste of time. Mind you, illness has it's place, for sure. It can certainly make you stop and think. Being generally strong and healthy can make one feel invincible 6 and in control, whereas a bout 7 of sickness certainly makes one remember our fragility and mortality. But, right now, I don't want to be too morbid 8. In retrospect 9, illness, and everything related, can be quite funny. The other day I was in the walk-in-clinic waiting to see a doctor. I felt awful, and, as is usually the case, I had to wait for quite a while. Well, I had the opportunity to people watch. There was an old man with a terrible cough; I didn't sit near him. There was young man with a bad limp, obviously from a recent accident. And then, a person with his head almost completely bandaged up. He looked like he had escaped from a museum of Egypt. A poor lady rushed in crying, holding her wrapped, bloody 10 finger up high. She had chopped the end of it off. Oooo! I certainly couldn't feel sorry for myself anymore. And what a sight we were! Gosh, it's nice to feel well again.

Grammar notes.

Useful vocabulary: Nanny, downright, ghastly, pill-popper, waste of time, invincible, awful, limp, recent, bandage, to wrap, to chop.

Verbs: to feel (feel, felt, felt),. Exs: He feels dizzy when he is up high. She felt ugly in her new dress. They felt it was unfair of the coach to not let them play on the team.

Expressions: Sunrise at the Taj Mahal is spectacular. What a sight!

She wore polka dots and I wore stripes; what a sight we were!