Pharmacy and Nutrition
Listen and Read: Listen to the recording, answer the questions, and then read along with the audio recording.
I was feeling under the weather yesterday, so I went to the doctor, and she prescribed some medication for my illness. I took the prescription she wrote out, and I went to a local pharmacy near my house. I gave the prescription to the pharmacist, and he said it would take a few minutes to fill it. In the meantime, I walked around the pharmacy to find some over-the-counter medication for my flu symptoms. After a while, the pharmacist called my name, explained how to take the medication, and reviewed with me some of the potential side effects. As it turns out, I have to take two capsules, twice a day, for one week for one of the medications, and I have to take one pill after eating, once a day, for the other medication. The pharmacist said that the medication could make me drowsy, so I shouldn’t drive after taking it. He said that my problem should clear up within two weeks. However, when I told my grandmother about my visit to the doctor, she claimed that if I took her home remedy for the problem—eating her secret onion and garlic chicken soup—I wouldn’t need to take all the other medicine.
Discussion
Talk about a time when you were sick and had to go to the doctor. What was the problem or diagnosis? What medication did the doctor prescribe? How often did you have to take the medicine? Did your problem clear up quickly? Share any unusual circumstances surrounding the illness.
Online Investigation
In some cases around the world, home remedies or cures for different illnesses are commonplace, and people who are ill resort to them instead of going to the doctor. Use the internet to see if you can find different home or folk remedies for the following medical conditions: a cold, poison ivy, a headache, sore muscles, a sore throat, an insect bite. Share your findings with others.
Online Listening Practice (from www.esl-lab.com):