Vocabulary practice · Episode 86

Review the useful expressions from the episode

Study the episode’s central expressions with English definitions, nuance and examples, plus reviewed support-language versions where available.

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  1. Choose one expression. Read its definition, nuance and examples.
  2. Make it yours. Write one true sentence from your own life.
  3. Return to the episode. Listen for the expression in its original context.

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Vocabulary from the episode

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Expression 1

the emergency room

The hospital department that treats serious or urgent conditions.

Nuance: Emergency department and A&E are common alternatives in different countries.

They took him straight to the emergency room.

Ask where the emergency room is as soon as you arrive.

Expression 2

to affect the care you receive

To influence the treatment or attention provided to you.

Nuance: Affect is a verb here; care means medical support, not an emotion.

The words you use can affect the care you receive.

Accurate information may affect the treatment you receive.

Expression 3

to describe the pain

To explain where pain is, when it began and how it feels.

Nuance: Useful descriptors include sharp, dull, burning, constant and severe.

Try to describe the pain as clearly as possible.

She described the pain as sharp and constant.

Expression 4

to point to where it hurts

To indicate the location of pain with a finger or gesture.

Nuance: A practical phrase when the medical name of a body part is unknown.

Point to where it hurts while you explain.

The child pointed to where it hurt.

Expression 5

to make a note of something

To write down information so that it is remembered or acted on.

Nuance: Make a note of is stronger and more deliberate than simply notice.

I am allergic to penicillin—please make a note of that.

The nurse made a note of his medication.

Expression 6

a medication allergy

A harmful immune reaction to a medicine.

Nuance: Do not confuse an allergy with a side effect; medical staff need to know both.

Tell the doctor about any medication allergy.

Her records clearly show a medication allergy.

Expression 7

a high-stakes situation

A situation in which the consequences of mistakes are serious.

Nuance: High-stakes commonly describes medical, legal, financial and exam contexts.

An emergency room is a high-stakes situation.

Clear communication matters in high-stakes situations.

Expression 8

a telephone interpreter

A trained person who translates a conversation remotely by phone.

Nuance: Interpreter is for spoken language; translator normally refers to written language.

The hospital arranged a telephone interpreter.

Could we speak through a telephone interpreter?

Expression 9

around the clock

All day and all night without stopping.

Nuance: A fixed idiom meaning twenty-four hours a day.

Interpreters may be available around the clock.

The emergency team works around the clock.

Expression 10

to freeze in an emergency

To become temporarily unable to think or act because of fear.

Nuance: Freeze is one of the body’s common responses to danger.

It is normal to freeze in an emergency.

She had practised the phrase so she would not freeze.

Expression 11

vaccination history

A record of the vaccines a person has received.

Nuance: Medical history is broader; vaccination history refers specifically to immunisation.

The doctor asked about the child’s vaccination history.

Keep a copy of your vaccination history on your phone.

Expression 12

to ask for help

To clearly request assistance when it is needed.

Nuance: In urgent situations this is a skill, not a sign of failure.

Asking for help made the treatment safer.

Do not hesitate to ask for help if you feel worse.

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