It /He should be /should do.

(Very) Probably.

Very likely.

I think so./l should think so.

I expect so.

(No,...)

Probably not.

That's not very likely / probable.

I don't think so.

I shouldn't think so.

I don't expect so.

I doubt it.

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English Games: Squash

Squash is another of those peculiarly English ball games. It was once confined to Britain and her colonies and played almost exclusively by members of the upper classes, but it must now be one of the world's fastest-growing sports, for the number of participants has increased three or fourfold in the last few years, and new courts are springing up in almost every corner of the world.

The court consists of a square room in which two players, equipped with rackets similar in shape to tennis rackets, have to strike a small rubber ball. When a player strikes the ball, it may rebound from any of the four walls, but it must strike the front wall of the room before it touches the ground. His opponent then has to hit the ball in his turn. The ball must not bounce on the floor more than once before each player hits it; if a player fails to return the ball to the front wall or to hit the ball before it bounces twice, he loses the point.

One advantage of the game is that, since the court is covered, you don't have to rely on the weather. Moreover you needn't be a great athlete and it isn't necessary to possess exceptional coordination to play the game competently. At top levels players have to be extremely fit and talented, but the average person can get good exercise and enjoy him­self thoroughly even at his first attempt.

TOPIC: MEDICAL MATTERS

Diseases and illnesses

flu / influenza cholera

quinsy heart disease

sore throat food poisoning

grippe indigestion

asthma blood pressure

bronchitis appendicitis

cancer the measles

pneumonia consumption

scarlet fever AIDS

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Medicines

drug pill tablet powder

mixture drops ointment antibiotic

Complaints

feel bad7 sick / ill / dizzy / giddy / feverish / faint

have a sore throat / headache / temperature

have a running / stuffed-up nose

have a nervous breakdown

be depressed / tired

catch (a) cold / have a cold (a chill)

have a heart attack

have / develop pain in the back (in the knee, in the stomach, etc.)

twist one's ankle

lose appetite / voice

be short of breath / be out of breath

be out of condition

be worn out

be ran down

fall ill / be taken ill

suffer from v

complain of/ about v

hurt v

ache v

cough у

sneeze v

Doctor's activity

feel smb. 's pulse

examine a patient (smb. 's throat, etc.)

test smb. 's blood / blood pressure

check / sound smb.'s heart, lungs, etc.

make / give an injection

pull / take out a tooth

stop / fill a tooth

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do blood test

do X-ray

remove tonsils

operate on v

treat v

cure v

write out a prescription

prescribe v

Patient's activity

go to a chemist's (drugstore)

follow the doctor's instructions (directions)

consult (see) a doctor

keep to a diet (of...); go on a diet, follow a diet

take medicine (a spoonful of, etc.)

take one's temperature

make an appointment with a doctor

A Victim to One Hundred and Seven Fatal Maladies

(from 'Three Men in a Boat' by Jerome K. Jerome)

I remember going to the British Museum one day to read up the treat­ment for some slight ailment. I got down the book and read all I came to read; and then, in an unthinking moment, I idly turned the leaves and began to study diseases, generally. I forget which was the first, and be­fore I had glanced half down the list of 'premonitory symptoms', I was sure that I had got it.

I sat for a while frozen with horror; and then in despair I again turned over the pages. I came to typhoid fever — read the symptoms — dis­covered that I had typhoid fever — began to get interested in my case, and so started alphabetically.

Cholera I had, with severe complications; and diphtheria I seemed to have been born with. I looked through the twenty-six letters, and the only disease I had not got was housemaid's knee.

I sat and thought what an interesting case I must be from a medical point of view. Students would have no need to 'walk the hospitals' if they had me. I was a hospital in myself. All they need do would be to walk round me, and, after that, take their diploma.

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Then I wondered how long I had to live. I tried to examine myself. I felt my pulse. I couldn't at first feel any pulse at all. Then, all of a sudden, it seemed to start off. I pulled out my watch and timed it. I made it a hundred and forty-seven to the minute. I tried to feel my heart. I could not feel my heart. It had stopped beating. I patted myself all over my front, from what I call my waist up to my head but I could not feel or hear anything. I tried to look at my tongue. I stuck it out as far as ever it would go, and I shut one eye and tried to examine it with the other. I could only see the tip, but I felt more certain than before that I had scarlet fever.

I had walked into the reading-room a happy, healthy man. I crawled out a miserable wreck.

I went to my medical man. He is an old chum of mine, and feels my pulse, and looks at my tongue, and talks about the weather, all for noth­ing, when I fancy I'm ill. So I went straight up and saw him, and he said:

'Well, what's the matter with you?'

I said:

'I will not take up your time, dear boy, with telling you what is the matter with me. Life is short and you might pass away before I had finished. But I will tell you what is not the matter with me. Everything else, however, I have got',

And I told him how I came to discover it all.

Then he opened me and looked down me, and took hold of my wrist, and then he hit me over the chest when I wasn't expecting it — a cow­ardly thing to do, I call it. After that, he sat down and wrote out a pre­scription, and folded it up and gave it to me, and I put it in my pocket and went out.

I did not open it, I took it to the nearest chemist's, and handed it in. The man read it, and then handed it back. He said he didn't keep it.

I said: 'You are a chemist?'

He said: 'I am a chemist. If I was a cooperative store and family hotel combined, I might be able to oblige you.'

I read the prescription. It ran:

' 1 lb. beefsteak, with

1 pt. bitter beer

every six hours.

1 ten-mile walk every morning.

1 bed at 11 sharp every night.

And don't stuff up your head with things you don't understand.'

I followed the directions with the happy result that my life was pre­served and is still going on.

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Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was named after the city where she was born in 1820. Her parents were rich English people who were living in Italy at the time. But soon afterwards, they returned to England, and Florence was brought up and taught at home by her father. When she was seven­teen, she thought she heard the voice of God telling her that she had a mission but she did not realise what it was until she read about a school for nurses in Germany. She went there to qualify as a nurse in 1850.

When the Crimean War began in 1854, Britain and France invaded Russia, and British women were asked to go to the hospitals for the troops in Turkey. Florence was put in charge of the nurses, but when she arrived she found that the soldiers were living in very dirty conditions, and the doctors did not let the nurses go into the wards to look after them. She worked to change the situation, and in the end she was in complete control. She was the only nurse who visited the soldiers in the wards at night, and so she was called 'The Lady with the Lamp'.

At the end of the war she was recognised as the authority on nursing matters, and as a result the first school to train nurses was established in London and named after her. She was now famous and for the rest of her long life had considerable political influence. Political figures came to see her and ask her advice on the many subjects she was interested in.

There is a mystery about Florence Nightingale's personality. She apparently became an invalid when she came back from the Crimea and spent the rest of her life at home. But it has never been proved that she was really ill, and she lived to be ninety years old, dying in 1910. It is thought that she pretended to be ill because in that way she could do more work. She wrote and received thousands of letters.

Florence Nightingale is remembered nowadays as the woman who founded the nursing profession in Britain, and as a symbol of self-sacri­fice in the cause of others.

Food and Health

Scientists say their studies show that some foods may help prevent, pos­sibly even treat, some diseases such as cancer and disorders of the heart and blood system. And their advice is similar for both. We would be much healthier if we sharply cut the amount of fatty, salty and sweet foods that we eat. We also should limit the amount of alcohol we drink.

And we should eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, and foods that are high in fiber and in vitamins A and С

Cancer and heart experts all agree. Eat less fat. This includes fatty red meats and poultry, whole eggs, whole milk and other dairy products, and cooking oils. Studies seem to show that people who eat large amounts of fat face an increased danger of suffering breast or colon cancers. Breast cancer is rare in Japan, where little fat is eaten. But in the United States, where much fat is eaten, breast cancer is a major killer. One study in England and Wales found a reduced rate of breast and colon cancer during World War Two when people did not eat foods rich in sugar, meat and fat. But the cancer rate rose after the war when such foods were available again.

Doctors also say eating less fat will reduce the amount of dangerous cholesterol in the blood. This cholesterol can stick to the wall of blood passages blocking the flow of blood. In the arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle, such blockages cause a heart attack. Instead, eat more foods low in fat. This includes low-fat milk and dairy products, lean meats, poultry without the skin, and fish and shellfish. Experts also say cooking foods in olive oil, canola oil and fish oil will help lower choles­terol. And they say it is best to steam, bake, roast or broil foods, not to fry. They also say eating dried peas and beans helps lower the amount of fat in the blood.

Health experts also say we should eat more fruit and vegetables, and foods high in fibers such as whole grain breads and cereals and brown rice. Some fibers help lower levels of dangerous cholesterol. This would help reduce the danger of heart disease. Most experts agree that fiber can protect against cancer. They are not sure how fiber does this. Some believe it helps the body to quickly remove fat that may cause cancer to develop.

Medical experts also say some vegetables seem to contain agents that block cancer. These include asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and mustard greens.

Other studies show that persons who eat large amounts of foods that contain the substance beta-carotene are less likely than others to deve­lop cancers in the skin, lung, bladder, breast and colon. Vegetables with beta-carotene include beet greens, bell peppers, carrots, kale, lettuce, spinach, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Fruits that contain the substance include apricots, cantaloupes, cherries, papaya and watermelon.

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The body changes beta-carotene to vitamin A. Some health experts say eating more foods with vitamin A may also help protect against cancer. These include liver, eggs and dairy products.

The experts also agree. Cut the amount of salt in your food. Salt helps raise blood pressure. High blood pressure is linked to heart dis­ease. We also should eat much less smoked and salt-cured foods. This includes ham, smoked fish, sausages, bacon and bologna.

Health experts say we should drink only moderate amounts of alco­hol. Researchers say large amounts of alcohol seem to increase the danger of cancer. This seems especially true if the person smokes cigarettes.