Hello and welcome to the English Like A Native podcast.
My name is Anna and you're listening to week 42, day one of Your English Five A Day, the second season.
I am your fluency guide here to help you to stick to your habit of dunking daily into the English language, so that you keep moving forward, keep progressing towards your goals.
Keep that fire burning so that over time your voice grows stronger and starts to truly represent who you are.
Now my promise to you is that this podcast will always be 100% my voice.
No AI vocals here.
So you keep giving me your human ears and I'll keep giving you my human voice.
Deal?
Fantastic.
Okay, let's begin this week. with another dose of fantastic vocabulary, starting with our snapshot.
When doctors first discovered that Margaret had Alzheimer's disease, her family felt sadness and hope in equal measure.
Sad about her diagnosis. but hopeful that new treatments might help.
Unfortunately, medical science cannot yet reverse the damage that this brain condition causes, and Margaret's memory loss seemed unstoppable, getting worse each month, despite all efforts to slow it down.
Now she lives in a care home where nurses inject her daily medication to help manage her other health problems, even though these medicines cannot cure her Alzheimer's.
Okay, let's dive into the vocabulary now, starting with the adjective unstoppable.
This makes me think of a song by Sia.
It's a very catchy song.
If you haven't heard it yet, I recommend you look it up.
Unstoppable.
We spell U-N-S-T-O-P-P-A-B-L-E.
Unstoppable.
Unstoppable.
If something is unstoppable, then it is impossible to stop or prevent.
It's continuing with great force or great determination.
Now, when it comes to learning English, I hope that you are unstoppable.
Just as this podcast is unstoppable, we'll keep going and keep going as long as you keep tuning in.
Here's another example.
The spread of new technology seems unstoppable these days.
Next we have the verb reverse.
Reverse.
We spell this R-E-V-E-R-S-E.
Reverse.
To reverse is to change a situation or change the order of things so that it becomes the opposite of what it was.
You might think very literally about being in a car.
If you put the car into reverse and you start to reverse, then you are going backwards.
Have you ever had to reverse your car a long way down a narrow lane?
Perhaps because you've met another car along the way and there's no space to cross and pass each other.
So one of you has to reverse.
I've done this a couple of times and I really don't like driving backwards, I can tell you that.
Here's another example.
The company is trying to reverse the damage caused by years of poor management.
Next we have the noun Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease.
Two words.
Alzheimer's, we spell A-L-Z-H-E-I-M-E-R apostrophe S. Disease, D-I-S-E-A-S-E.
Alzheimer's disease, often shortened to simply Alzheimer's, is a brain disease mainly affecting older people, which makes a person forget things or stops them from thinking clearly.
It's a very unpleasant disease and it does affect many, many people.
So here's an example sentence.
Her grandmother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease inspired her to volunteer at a care home.
Next we have the phrase in equal measure.
In equal measure.
N-i-n equal e-q-u-a-l measure.
M-e-a-s-u-r-e in equal measure.
This phrase is used for saying that two things have an equal effect or have equal importance.
So here's an example sentence.
Becoming a parent is wonderful and exhausting in equal measure.
Last today, we're looking at the verb inject.
Inject, we spell this I-N-J-E-C-T, inject.
To inject is to put liquid, especially a drug, into somebody's body by using a special needle.
For example, when I was giving birth to my children, the doctors injected me with a concoction of medication.
Drugs for pain relief and drugs for all sorts of other things that ladies need when they're giving birth.
So I was injected with a number of medications.
Here's another example sentence.
Doctors can now inject medicine that helps the body fight infection faster.
Alright, that's our five, so let's do a quick recap.
We started with the adjective unstoppable, which means that something is impossible to stop or prevent.
It's usually when someone or something continues with great force or great determination.
It is unstoppable.
Then we had the verb reverse, which is to change the order of things so that it becomes the opposite, or to change a situation.
To reverse.
Then we had the noun Alzheimer's disease, which is a brain disease, usually of old people, which makes them forget things and stops them from thinking clearly.
We had the phrase in equal measure, which is used for saying that two things have an equal effect or equal importance in equal measure.
And we finished with the verb inject, which is to put liquid, usually a drug, into a person's body by using a special needle.
To inject.
Fabulous.
Now I'd like you to repeat after me unstoppable unstoppable reverse, reverse Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease in equal measure, in equal measure inject inject, Fandabidosi.
OK, let's revisit our snapshot, shall we?
When doctors first discovered that Margaret had Alzheimer's disease, her family felt sadness and hope in equal measure.
Sad about her diagnosis, but hopeful that new treatments might help.
Unfortunately, medical science cannot yet reverse the damage that this brain condition causes, and Margaret's memory loss seemed unstoppable, getting worse each month, despite all efforts to slow it down.
Now she lives in a care home where nurses inject her daily medication to help manage her other health problems, even though these medicines cannot cure her Alzheimer's.
OK, now we head into my favourite part of the episode.
I want you to listen out for our target vocabulary once more as we head into Storytime.
Joachim was adjusting Mrs Patterson's pillow when he heard a familiar voice in the corridor.
Joachim, is that really you?
He turned to see Evelyn standing in the doorway, her face bright with surprise.
He recognised her immediately.
She'd been one of his regular customers at the supermarket in town, always pleasant when others had been difficult.
Evelyn.
What a lovely surprise.
He said, finishing with the pillows before walking over to greet her.
I can't believe it's you, she said, smiling warmly.
You look so different, happier, I think.
Joachim laughed.
I am happier, much happier than I was dealing with angry customers all day.
I remember those days, Eveline said.
You always looked exhausted.
What brought you here?
I needed a change, Joachim explained.
Retail was destroying me slowly.
Here, I feel like I'm doing something that matters.
Are you visiting someone?
Yes, my friend Elise.
She's been here for three months now.
Do you know her?
Elise Turner?
Of course.
She's one of my favourites.
Joachim's face lit up.
Even though she has Alzheimer's disease, she still has such wonderful moments.
Yesterday, she told me about her wedding day like it happened last week.
Evelyn's expression changed, showing sadness and happiness in equal measure.
That sounds like Elise.
Some days she knows me, other days she doesn't.
That's the nature of it, I'm afraid, Joachim said gently.
We can't reverse the condition, but we can make sure she's comfortable and cared for.
I help her inject insulin twice a day for her diabetes and she always thanks me afterwards, even when she doesn't remember my name.
You're good at this, aren't you?
Evelyn observed.
Joachim thought for a moment, but...
I try to be.
In the supermarket I felt like an unstoppable machine, working faster and faster but never getting anywhere.
Here, time moves differently.
I can actually sit with people, listen to their stories, help them feel safe.
Ah, Lise is lucky to have you looking after her, Evelyn said.
I'm the lucky one, really, Yakim replied.
These people have lived incredible lives.
Elise lived through the war as a child.
Mr Chung, in room seven, was a ship's captain.
They have so much to teach me, even now.
Evelyn reached out and touched his arm.
I'm glad you found your place, Yakim.
I really am.
As she walked towards Elise's room, Joaquin returned to his duties with a smile.
He'd finally found work that filled him with purpose rather than emptiness, and that made all the difference.
And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope you found today useful and entertaining.
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Let me know what it is you do when you listen to my podcasts.
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But whatever you're doing, let me know.
It's nice to feel connected.
Until tomorrow, take very good care of yourself and goodbye.
