Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA-certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning!
And we're here again.
This week's topic is health.
Let's hear the story.
Last Friday, I woke up really excited.
I had lots of plans for the weekend and I was looking forward to the end of the workday.
I went into work feeling as fit as a fiddle.
As soon as I walked in, I realized a lot of my co-workers were there.
I asked the secretary why, and after blowing her nose, she said everybody was sick.
Ha, but not me.
I never get sick.
Well, lucky me.
Or so I thought.
At around 10.30, I started to feel a bit under the weather.
I made myself some tea, hoping it would help.
But 12.30, the first knees came.
That's when I knew I was coming down with something.
By 4.30, I couldn't even speak properly.
I was all stuffed up, and by 5 o'clock, I felt so sick, I had to leave work early and go home.
Now it's Monday, the perfect weekend is over and I'm still in bed because I haven't gotten over the stupid cold.
All right, and we're back.
I'm not sick anymore.
Actually, wasn't sick.
That was my great interpretation of someone being sick.
So let's take a look at expression number one, as fit as a fiddle.
I went into work feeling as fit as a fiddle.
So if you are as fit as a fiddle, are you very healthy or very sick?
Well, the girl we were talking about, she went into work feeling super well.
She was feeling very healthy, as fit as a fiddle.
How do you feel when you're as fit as a fiddle?
Do you feel tired or full of energy?
Well, again, it's something super positive.
So you're feeling full of energy.
You're feeling great.
Are you as fit as a fiddle at the moment?
I want to say I am.
I don't want to jinx it.
I think I'm fine.
I haven't gotten really sick in a while, so hopefully I'll stay this way.
But yeah, so far, so good.
I'm feeling as fit as a fiddle today.
I hope you too.
Word number two, feel under the weather.
I started to feel a bit under the weather.
If you feel under the weather, do you feel good or sick?
Hmm.
If you feel under the weather, that means you feel sick.
And do you feel very sick or just a little bit?
If you're feeling under the weather, you're just a little bit sick.
All right?
You're not in bed, dying.
It's just like, eh, you're not feeling your best.
If your ankle hurts a little bit, can you say that you feel under the weather?
No, you do not say that you feel under the weather.
You know why?
Because you're talking about your ankle.
When you're talking about feeling under the weather, it's more about your whole body.
Maybe you feel like you're coming down with the flu.
There's something wrong in general, but it's not like physical pain connected to one part of your body.
If you feel under the weather, do you go to work or stay at home normally?
Well, that is up to you.
There's no right or wrong answer. answer to this question.
I personally, if I feel under the weather, I'll think I'll just go into work.
Well, now I work from home, so I just stay in bed, but still work.
I usually don't go to work if it's something serious, but if I just feel under the weather I'll just go see what happens.
If it gets worse, then I may take a day off.
And if not, well, great.
What about you?
Expression number three, calm down with something.
I knew I was coming down with something.
If you have calmed down with something, do you feel good or sick?
If you have calmed down with something, you feel sick.
There's something wrong with your body, all right?
You know that things are not going well, that you're probably getting sick.
And if you come down with an illness, is it usually serious or not?
Normally, it's not very serious.
People use this expression when they talk about the flu or a cold.
So I'm coming down with a cold or I'm coming down with the flu.
And it's not something that really affects your body in a way.
When was the last time you came down with something?
Yeah, I want to say it was a few months ago and I came down with the flu.
I was sick for a few days.
I had a fever.
It was nothing bad, but I definitely was not feeling my best.
But luckily enough, it doesn't happen very often.
Word number four or phrasal verb number four, be stuffed up.
I was all stuffed up.
If you're stuffed up, can you breathe well?
What though?
If you're stuffed up, you cannot breathe well.
Could you hear it?
I was stuffed up.
My nose was stuffed up.
So I couldn't breathe well.
And obviously you cannot speak well.
That's why the girl from the story was speaking in that funny way.
And if you're stuffed up, Is there something wrong with your nose, your mouth, or your eyes?
Whoopsie, I kind of gave that one away earlier.
There's something wrong with your nose, okay?
That's what makes you not speak properly.
And what causes you to be stuffed up?
A cold or a headache?
Well, if you're stuffed up, it's because you have a lot of mucus in your nose.
Okay, this is getting really gross and really disgusting, but this is what being stuffed up is like.
And so yeah, it's connected to a cold.
When you have a cold, a lot of times, if it's a serious cold, you might be stuffed up.
And do you have any remedies for when you are stuffed up?
Not really.
I personally just wait for it to go away, wait for my body to heal itself.
But I remember when I was a child and I couldn't breathe because of a cold.
My mom used to use this, it looks like a cream and it smells like mint.
It's got a very, very strong smell and she would spread it right underneath my nose and that would help me breathe.
Word number five, get over.
I still haven't gotten over the stupid cold.
So if you get over an illness, are you still sick?
Well, you got over an illness and so you're not sick anymore.
It's gone.
How long does it usually take to get over a cold?
I feel like that depends on the person.
Personally, it probably takes me three to five days to get over a cold.
Maybe you know the first three days are like very intense and then the fourth and fifth day are kind of like more chill.
If you have a cold, maybe you may sneeze from time to time, but it's not that bad.
You're not super stuffed up.
What is the best way to get over a cold?
Again, I don't have any wonderful remedies and this is not a medical talk or a medical podcast, so I don't have anything to give you.
I'm very old school, so I don't take any medicine.
There's some people that do take.
For example, in America Tylenol is very popular if you're not feeling great, if you have a cold or something.
But personally, I don't do anything.
Some people have warm food or soup, but Yeah, that's pretty much it.
You know, most of the times you don't need to take anything.
Just wait and it's going to go away on its own.
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
