Episode 0199

So let's take a look at vocabulary preview and find out just exactly what this phrase means.

Vocabulary preview.

Okay, so we have this word first aid. It's two parts. So first is

before.

Before.

Early.

Early. All right. And aid, so when you aid someone, you help them, right?

Right. So this is actually a noun, aid is help. So we're applying first aid, this means we're the first person to come and help someone.

So for example, if someone is bleeding, the first aid is to stop the bleeding.

Okay.

All right, so first aid, we're going to learn all about this, take a listen to today's dialogue and we'll be back in a moment.

I've been busy with a first aid course that I started about a week ago at the Red Cross.

Have you learned anything useful?

For sure. I mean, we learned how to apply pressure to stop bleeding, how to check for a pulse, and even how to apply CPR.

Have you treated any real emergencies?

Well, they took us along with some paramedics. There was this guy who fell off his motorcycle and suffered a concussion as well as a couple of compound fractures.

His wounds were pretty serious, so they had to rush him to the hospital.

It was intense.

I can imagine. I tend to faint when I see blood, so I think I won't be taking up a course like that anytime soon.

All right, we're back. So there are a lot of medical and like health-related terms in this dialogue, so why don't we take a look at a couple of those in language takeaway.

Language takeaway.

Well, starting us out here in language takeaway, we have the name of an organization that's not for profit that's very, very, very famous. This is called the Red Cross.

Okay, so the Red Cross.

And uh this is usually a place where you donate blood, you can also get some um some blood exams done.

Um what else do you do there?

Well, the Red Cross is an organization that has offices and clinics all over the world. And if you want to help, you can volunteer, you can donate money and you can donate blood.

But the Red Cross will take this and it will help other people, people who have been in disasters or wars.

And so um maybe the Red Cross office near you will have blood banks and blood donations, but really they help people, they provide aid to people who are unhealthy or sick or have been in a war.

In the dialogue, the two people are discussing real emergencies. And one person says he went along with some paramedics.

So a paramedic is a person.

It's a person, it's a profession, right? To be a paramedic.

Exactly, but it's not really a doctor. So what's the difference here?

So paramedics are something like nurses, right? That travel in an ambulance and get to an emergency or get to the scene of an accident and help out a person. So they immobilize the person, they give them oxygen, they make sure that they stay alive until they reach the hospital.

Okay, so a paramedic, you might hear the word medic, it's the same thing. A paramedic is like a nurse. They're not a doctor, but they're usually the first person to help when there's been an accident or a disaster.

Right. Exactly.

So if there is an earthquake and many people are stuck in the buildings, usually paramedics will be the ones on the scene trying to get them out and helping them by applying first aid.

Great. Well, after that, we have finally some of the injuries that a paramedic might see.

The first injury is usually associated with the head.

This is called a concussion.

You suffered a concussion.

Sounds painful.

Yeah, it does. And actually, it's very common I think, right? If you fall and you hit your head.

That's right. So a concussion is really when your brain hits your skull. That's the bone that protects your brain. So really you're you're you're hitting your head really, really hard.

And usually this can have some bad side effects like you lose your memory, or you're a little bit confused.

It's very common with football players.

Yeah, yeah, with any contact sport if uh people suffer concussions. And it's just like, imagine when you have a DVD player and you hit it and the disk skips or it goes back. That's kind of what happens to your brain so you can suffer memory loss, you can even lose your sight temporarily.

That's right. So this is, this can be very serious and obviously should be looked at by a paramedic.

Um we also have another situation that is similarly serious, is called a compound fracture.

Okay. So what is a fracture or two fractures?

A fracture is a thing, it's a break. Okay? So you could say, I broke my arm.

But you could also say I fractured my arm. This is the more medical term.

But of course there are different ways to break something. And so in medicine we have a compound fracture.

So a compound fracture is a pretty painful and it's a little bit more serious. You have a simple fracture which is when your bone just breaks.

Or a hairline, which means that there's a little thin part where it's not, it's broken, but it's not really serious.

In this case, it's your bone's actually pushed towards each other, they kind of form like a little uh mountain, right? Or they, they're on top of each other.

Think about when two cars hit and they kind of

crash up into each other.

It's like that but it's your bone. So it's extremely painful.

Yeah, yeah, it's very, very painful.

So the person suffered a concussion and a compound fracture. Now, the friend that he was talking to said wow, you know, it sounds amazing. It's really cool that you're doing that, but you know what? I faint when I see blood.

Do you do this?

No.

No, me neither. Um well some people when they when they see blood, they feel very, very uncomfortable or sick.

And so to faint is to fall down on the ground. It's almost like you're falling asleep, but it's not sleep.

Have you ever fainted?

I fainted twice in my life. Um one time I fainted because of heat. It was very, very, very hot and I couldn't breathe for a moment and then I woke up on the ground.

Wow, yeah.

Yeah.

That's what happens.

Exactly. So yeah, if you ever faint, it's basically that. You're just standing there, you're sitting somewhere and all of a sudden everything goes black and you wake up and you're on the ground.

And you feel very, very weak before that.

And very pale I think as well.

Yeah, your blood goes away from your brain and you pass out. It's a very strange sensation.

Because then everyone else around you, they know what happened, they saw you and so they're looking at you like you're crazy or maybe sick.

Right. To faint.

All right, so that's to faint.

So those are the key words that we have for you in language takeaway. Let's take a listen to our dialogue again, and we'll be back shortly to take a look at some phrases on fluency builder.

I've been busy with a first aid course that I started about a week ago at the Red Cross.

Have you learned anything useful?

For sure. I mean, we learned how to apply pressure to stop bleeding, how to check for a pulse, and even how to apply CPR.

Have you treated any real emergencies?

Well, they took us along with some paramedics. There was this guy who fell off his motorcycle and suffered a concussion as well as a couple of compound fractures.

His wounds were pretty serious, so they had to rush him to the hospital.

It was intense.

I can imagine. I tend to faint when I see blood, so I think I won't be taking up a course like that anytime soon.

All right, so quiz, Marco.

What is the first thing that a paramedic does when he or she finds a body at an emergency?

That paramedic checks for a pulse to make sure you're alive, right?

Right, a pulse, so

The pulse is the rhythm, it's the sound of your heart pumping blood. And you can feel someone's wrist or their throat.

Mhm. So to check for a pulse means to check and make sure their heart is pumping blood.

Right. And not only that, but to make sure that the heart is pumping blood relatively normal because sometimes your heart can be pumping blood too fast or too slow.

And if it's too slow, it's very possible that you will faint.

Mhm, very good.

All right, so we check for a pulse. Now, what else happens?

Well, if there's a very serious emergency and the paramedic needs help to give aid to the person who's injured, then they will rush that person to the hospital.

Okay, so the verb to rush, what does that mean?

All right, so to rush someone or to rush someone to the hospital means to take someone or to go with someone very, very quickly.

Okay? So let's give an example. I could say, listen, Marco, I don't want to rush you, but I really need the report done today.

Or I could say, I need to rush home, my parents need me.

Or if a woman is having a baby, you want to rush her to the emergency room.

Right. Okay. So you need to go quickly.

Mhm. All right. Now when we were talking about fainting, the person said before he used the word faint, he said, I tend to faint.

Okay, I tend to. I tend to is a really great verb that describes a normal or habitual behavior.

That's like saying, um I tend to faint when it's very, very hot outside. That means, I often faint when it's very, very hot outside. It's something that happens normally.

So it's a tendency.

Right, but it's not for everyone, it's for me. So I tend to. Um, what's something that you tend to faint when you see?

I, I never faint.

You don't faint.

No, just kidding. Um but you know what? I tend to leave the towel on the bed sometimes after I take a shower.

Oh.

I know, it's a bad habit.

And then the sheets smell.

No, they don't, because I leave it there for like five or 10 minutes and then I realize, I'm like, oh my god, and then I pick it up. But, you know, it's, it's hard to

That's gross.

No, it's not.

Well, I tend to forget my leftover food in the refrigerator for a long time.

Oh that's even worse and then it starts to smell.

That's gross. But I don't like to waste food.

But you like let it rot and then your fridge smells.

It happens. So, that's all we've got for fluency builder today, but we can talk about tendencies in a moment, maybe a homework assignment could be to think of something that you tend to do.

That's right, that could be an interesting homework assignment, but before we jump into that, why don't we listen to our dialogue for the very last time?

I've been busy with a first aid course that I started about a week ago at the Red Cross.

Have you learned anything useful?

For sure. I mean, we learned how to apply pressure to stop bleeding, how to check for a pulse, and even how to apply CPR.

Have you treated any real emergencies?

Well, they took us along with some paramedics. There was this guy who fell off his motorcycle and suffered a concussion as well as a couple of compound fractures.

His wounds were pretty serious, so they had to rush him to the hospital.

It was intense.

I can imagine. I tend to faint when I see blood, so I think I won't be taking up a course like that anytime soon.

All right, we're back. So that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to do your homework assignment.

Come to englishpod.com in the comment section tell us what do you tend to do?

Yeah. I know some people who tend to leave the house with a whole medicine kit in their bags or in their purses.

Really, we could say a first aid kit.

A first aid kit, exactly.

Wow. So do you do this? Let us know our website is englishpod.com. That's all we've got for today, so until next time.

The English part audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

To cure an illness by medical means.

Treat.

A jarring of the brain.

Concussion.

To be disposed or inclined towards something.

Tend to.

Move or act swiftly.

Rush.

Begin with.

Take up.

Let's try that faster.

To be disposed or inclined towards something.

Tend to.

Begin with.

Take up.

A jarring of the brain.

Concussion.

To cure an illness by medical means.

Treat.

Move or act swiftly.

Rush.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Treat.

I think you should go to the doctor and get treated for that rash.

Treat.

John is currently being treated for his wounds at the local hospital.

Treat.

Many patients in this clinic are being treated for swine flu.

Concussion.

I suffered a mild concussion when I fell off my skateboard.

Concussion.

A concussion is a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head or to the body.

Concussion.

I think you might have a concussion. We should go to the hospital.

Tend to.

My teacher always tends to undermark my tests.

Tend to.

All my friends tend to ignore me since I broke up with Andy.

Tend to.

Don't use this CD player. It tends to damage the discs.

Rush.

I'll do the dishes when I come back. Now I have to rush to school.

Rush.

I would like to stay with you, honey, but I have to rush to work.

Rush.

My grandma had a heart attack this morning and was rushed to the hospital.

Take up.

After my boyfriend criticized my cooking, I decided to take up a cooking class.

Take up.

I decided to take up Spanish, since I might move to Ecuador in the future.

Take up.

I would like to take up guitar lessons, but my parents want me to start playing the piano instead.