ESL Podcast 630 - Making a Medical Diagnosis
battery - a series of things; a group of many similar things
Applicants have to pass a battery of tests before they are admitted to this special school.
to zero in on - to identify one object or explanation among many, usually by eliminating or removing the other options
What are the police doing to zero in on the criminal?
to make a diagnosis - for a doctor to identify someone's illness or other medical problem
Before making a diagnosis, I want to consult with some other doctors who are specialists in this area.
symptom - a physical problem that shows one has an illness or disease
A high fever can be a symptom of a bacterial infection.
intermittent - coming and going; not constant; present at some times, but not present at other times
As they were driving through the mountains, the cell phone signal was intermittent.
to flare up - for a disease to become worse, often with no warning
Omid's acne flares up whenever he uses sunscreen.
under observation - being seen, monitored, or tracked; being watched carefully
We're going to keep your son under observation overnight to see how he responds to the medication.
ambiguous - with more than one possible explanation; confusing and unclear; difficult to understand
That was a horrible test! The questions were so ambiguous that we didn't even know what the professor was really asking.
root cause - the main reason why something is happening
What do you think is the root cause of the recent increase in crime?
mystifying - confusing, unclear, and strange; leaving one wondering about something
Her ability to always know what I'm thinking is mystifying.
mild - not very strong or serious; not severe
The weather report says today will be sunny with mild wind.
chronic - continuing for a long time, especially when talking about a disease that does not have a cure
Nigel has had chronic asthma ever since he was a little boy.
severe - very strong and serious; not mild
When Kenneth came to work with a severe sore throat, all his colleagues got sick, too.
occasional - happening only once in a while, not regularly, often, or frequent
We get the occasional letter from friends, but normally the mailman just delivers bills.
poked and prodded - touched many times, in many ways, often as part of a test, experiment, or medical exam
The artifact was poked and prodded by scientists who were trying to determine when it was made.
guinea pig - a small animal like a large hamster that is often used in biological or medical experiments, used to talk about people who are being used to test something
Now that we've finished the first version of the software, we need to find some guinea pigs who will use it and tell us what they do and don't like about it.
to curl up with - to relax comfortably, often on a couch or sofa, perhaps with a blanket, book, magazine, TV show, movie, and/or drink
Terry loves curling up in front of the window with a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate to watch the snow as it falls outside.