#3 COVID: One year on

BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English
COVID: One year on  (25 FEB 2021)

podcast link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-210225

vocabulary

1. pandemic （疾病）大規模流行的，廣泛蔓延的
(of a disease) existing in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals, or plants
→ In some parts of the world malaria is still pandemic.

2. take hold 變強；確立地位
to become strong; to be established
→ The economic recovery is just beginning to take hold now.

3. wimpy 懦弱的
not strong, brave, or confident
→ I'm far too wimpy to go rock climbing.

4. sheer 完全的，徹底的
used to emphasize how very great, important, or powerful a quality or feeling is; nothing except
→His success was due to sheer willpower/determination.

5. kicks in 開始見效；起作用
to start to have an effect or to happen
→ It takes half an hour for the medication to kick in.

6. genome 基因組，染色體組
the complete set of genetic material of a human, animal, plant, or other living thing
→ For the last 20 years researchers have been able to calculate genome sizes and mutation rates.

7. outbreak 尤指疾病、危險或不快之事的）發作，暴發，突然發生
a time when something suddenly begins, especially a disease or something else dangerous or unpleasant
→ There's been an outbreak of food poisoning at the hotel.

8. take stock 仔細考慮；作出判斷；評估
To take stock (of something) is to think carefully about a situation or event and form an opinion about it, so that you can decide what to do.
→ After two years spent teaching overseas, she returned home for a month to take stock of her life.

9. lockdown （建築或地區）因緊急情況而被封鎖了
a situation in which people are not allowed to enter or leave a building or area freely because of an emergency
→ The Secret Service is imposing a virtual lockdown on the city.

10. feeble 虛弱的；衰弱的，無力的
weak and without energy, strength, or power
→ He was a feeble, helpless old man.

11. vaccine 疫苗
a substance containing a virus or bacterium in a form that is not harmful, given to a person or animal to prevent them from getting the disease that the virus or bacterium causes
→ This vaccine protects against some kinds of the bacteria.

12. pneumonia 肺炎
a serious illness in which one or both lungs become red and swollen and filled with liquid
→ People who are bedridden can easily get pneumonia.

13. death toll 死亡人數
the number of people who die because of an event such as a war or an accident
→ The day after the explosion the death toll had risen to 90.

14. recap 扼要重述；摘要說明；概括
to repeat the main points of an explanation or description
→ Finally, the teacher recapped the main points of the lesson.

#2 English Learning Podcast

◎ Name of the podcast: Voicetube 英語口說挑戰

◎ Host: Each broadcast is hosted by different presenters.

◎ Link to the podcast: https://voicetube.castos.com/

◎ What is the podcast about?

   VoiceTube podcast is an 《English speaking challenge》program which is from《Watch video to learn English》. They update different types of videos everyday. In each program, the host selects a good sentence that teaches you how to pronounce it more natively. You can also post your speaking challenge on the website or application so that everyone can listen to your best, and you can interact with the host or other users in real-time. It can improve English listening and speaking skills.

◎ Why I recommend this podcast?

    VoiceTube is my favorite English program. It offers not only podcasts but also videos. When we don't have time to see the screen, we can listen to the podcast. They are so kind that every podcast has its video and transcript. It also tidies up the keywords and an excellent sentence for us. Because of that, we can be sure to understand all the words which we hear it.