Transcript 0:00 [upbeat music] Hello. 0:10 This is Z from Easy, The English Zone, a podcast where you can learn, practice, and improve your English the easy way. Welcome back to another episode. Welcome back to another topic. Today's topic is about this. 0:26 China says the number of people infected by a mysterious respiratory virus has more than tripled over a weekend. There are now 280 confirmed cases in the UK. The US President, Dr. 0:33 Anthony Fauci told CNN today that the current data, there could be some 200,000 deaths from COVID-19 and millions made sick by the virus. Louisiana is grappling with a surge in coronavirus cases. 0:47 WXNT's Joel Rose reports there are more than 3,500 confirmed cases in the state, including more than 1,000 in New Orleans. The number of people infected by the novel coronavirus has soared in recent days. 0:56 Experts say the virus is easily spread by people who have been in contact, and that is especially worrisome as hundreds of millions of Chinese are expected to travel this week for the Lunar New Year holiday. 1:04 And- And so as you might guess, that is today's episode. That is today's topic, coronavirus. And, uh, I'm sure you have, uh, experienced the effects of it 1:18 one way or another, whether you're a teacher or a student or, uh, doesn't matter what job you have or where you're from, I'm sure you have been affected in one way or another. But I hope you're doing well. 1:32 I hope you're safe and healthy. But yeah, the whole world is on, uh, on pause, even my podcast, because oh, man, I haven't recorded... 1:45 Well, I have recorded, but I haven't put out an episode since, uh, since the world was normal. [laughs] I haven't posted anything, uh, since, uh, January, and I feel terrible. If I say I have been busy, 2:03 that's a lie, because everyone is stuck at home, right? Everyone is at home. Not everyone, but most people are in quarantine. They're staying at home. 2:16 So I haven't recorded anything since everyone was outside, the world was normal. People were traveling. Um, you know, uh, people, students would go to school. But that was a long time ago. 2:32 That was, uh, you know, a couple months ago. But I'm back here now with you guys, and, uh, and let's get started with today's episode. In today's episode, you're going to learn 2:50 a background, a brief story about the coronavirus, or COVID-19, or as people in the UK say, COVID-19. And so, uh, [laughs] that's just a joke. 3:09 I hope people in... I mean, I don't think anyone in the UK are listening to this, because they already speak English, so. 3:18 Um, but yeah, so it's going to be a brief story, a summary about the coronavirus, uh, how it spread. And, um, you're going to learn some new vocabulary words, 3:37 mm, some new expressions and phrases that have been used in the media that are related to the virus. Uh, some of them are medical. 3:48 Uh, some of them are just, uh, you know, uh, common phrases and vocabulary words that, uh, you hear in the news. And so you're going to learn all of that. Please pay attention to the story. 4:03 Pay attention to this episode, because in the end, there will be a question and answer about the story or about the podcast. So please pay attention, and, uh, you'll be able to, 4:19 you know, answer the questions completely in the end. And also, I hope it will help you improve your, uh, pronunciation skills. So pay attention to the pronunciation as well. Pay attention to everything, all right? 4:36 And so let's get to it. [gentle music] First of all, it's very important for people to not take the coronavirus lightly. 4:51 If you take something lightly, that means you don't think it's serious. 4:56 Uh, we need to take it seriously and follow the advice of doctors and medical professionals in terms of taking care of ourselves, staying clean and healthy by washing our hands, avoiding contact with others, 5:10 which is called social distancing. And to social distance means to keep yourself away from other people as much as you can. And in the US, uh, 5:24 people are advised, or you're supposed to stay, uh, at least six feet, six feet distance. 5:32 Like, uh, like at a store, when you're paying at the cashier checkout, or when you're getting inside a store, and so forth, you, people try to s- keep a distance with other people. But most importantly, 5:52 we should not panic. We should not panic and freak out because, because of the fear of getting infected with the virus, contracting the virus, or getting sick. 6:06 Or not having enough food because some people are very scared and freaking out, especially in the beginning, everyone was freaking out, buying all the toilet papers from the stores and so many other things because of the uncertainty. 6:22 And it makes sense that people are scared, but a lot of times people are scared because of what they hear from the news. 6:31 So it's also important to turn off the TV sometimes so that we won't be influenced by all the negativity and fear that's coming from the media and the news channels. The situation is bad. 6:48 You know, people are getting sick. People are losing their jobs. People are dying. But the media makes it even worse. So I think it's good to turn off the TV sometimes. 7:05 Just pull the plug. I think it will be better. We already know what we should do, like keep clean and do all that stuff. But that's it. 7:16 We can use this time to be more productive, to exercise, to read more, spend more time with family, working on a new hobby. Let's say you have a hobby or something that you have, you have put off for a long time. 7:34 That means you have procrastinated. To put off something means to not do something for a long time or to keep saying, "I'll do it." So you put it off. So maybe a hobby that you have put off for a long time. 7:50 Now it's time to work on it. We can use this time to listen to my podcast, to practice more English or 7:58 other really good podcasts and audio books and, you know, good TV shows to help you improve your skills or to give you more knowledge and stuff. 8:12 We can use it that way instead of just sitting in front of the TV and just hearing all this fear because we get more, we, that way we will become more scared and more scared. And that's not good. 8:24 Anyway, so back to the virus. Let's learn a little bit about the timeline of the, the virus's emergence and what happened in the world and what's happening now. 8:38 Right now, as of this week, according to news reports, there are over 3 million cases of coronavirus worldwide. 8:48 In other words, more than 3 million people have tested positive for coronavirus or COVID-19. And over 200,000 people have died. To test positive for a virus is not good news. 9:06 It's not positive. Uh, if you test positive for a virus, that means whatever the doctor was looking for was found. They found the virus. If you test positive, that means you, you have the virus, not you. 9:23 Hopefully, I hope you don't. And if you test negative, that's a good thing. That means you don't have, uh, that specific virus that the doctor was looking for. 9:37 The number of cases in the US, the number of cases are actually over 1 million with over 50,000 deaths. That means over 50,000 people have died because of COVID-19. 9:54 And those people who are, those people who have tested positive for the virus or are feared to have the virus are in quarantine, either at home or at a hospital, especially if their situation gets worse with breathing and stuff like that. 10:13 And why are they in quarantine? Because the virus is contagious. We have two words here, quarantine and contagious. Quarantine, I'm sure you've heard it, you've heard it on, in the news. 10:28 Uh, to quarantine as a verb means to be placed apart from everyone else, especially because of a disease. Or to quarantine someone means to put them in a place away from everyone else. 10:45 You can use it as a noun and as a verb. You can say people are in quarantine. And because the virus is contagious, they put people with the virus in quarantine. 10:56 Contagious means, uh, describing a disease that spreads from one person to another through coughing, sneezing, breathing, or touching your nose or your face when your hand is not clean via indirect contact or direct contact. 11:14 So when did this start? Well, this outbreak started in China in the city of Wuhan sometime in October of last year, uh, 2019. It spread very quickly throughout China, and soon it became an epidemic. 11:31 What is the meaning of outbreak? Well, outbreak is a, is a sudden or quick and violent start of something not good, something bad or unwelcome, like a disease or war, et cetera. 11:46 So the outbreak started in China, and soon it became an epidemic. Epidemic describes a disease that, 11:56 especially an infectious disease, when it spreads in a community or in an area, that disease becomes an epidemic. 12:06 So reportedly, the virus started in October, and since then it has spread to at least 180 countries around the world. So what happened was on March 11th of 2020, 12:22 the virus was recognized by World Health Organization, or WHO, as a pandemic. And pandemic is, uh, is similar to epidemic, but it's bigger. 12:37 So when a disease, an infectious disease spreads to a whole country or the world, it is called a pandemic. Some countries took immediate action and took the virus seriously. Why? To prevent the outbreak. 12:55 Other countries didn't take it very seriously, and the virus spread, right? The virus, uh, spread very quickly. And it spread, you know, mostly through traveling. That's why 13:13 within a matter of weeks, countries started regional and national lockdown. Lockdown is another good word. Uh, it's, it's used m- more commonly in prison. 13:24 Like, uh, when you put someone on lockdown, that means y- they are not allowed to get out of their prison cell, so they're on lockdown. But it can also be used in a situation like this when countries order 13:41 their citizens to stay at home. So, and, you know, businesses close, restaurants close, parks close. That is a lockdown. 13:53 And for example, here in the United States, most states and cities have ordered what is called shelter in place, which is just another word for, uh, quarantine. 14:06 Or if you say the city's under a stay-at-home order, it's the same. They also use self-isolate. People self-isolate themselves, especially when they, 14:20 uh, are feared to have the virus or they have some symptoms, signs. Another good word, symptom, means sign that you have a virus or you have a disease. 14:32 So if they develop symptoms, they are advised to self-isolate or to quarantine themselves. Similar phrases. 14:44 So shelter in place is, like I said, is just another phrase, uh, which means you cannot move where you are or you cannot go out. Uh, if they u- they also use this term during tornadoes. 15:00 Like, uh, if there's a tornado, they say, you know, "Shelter in place." That means you need to stay where you are or stay in a safe place. And speaking of tornadoes, actually, a couple months ago, before the, 15:17 before this pandemic in February, um, most of you, like, if you have listened to my previous episodes in my podcast, I, you know that I live in Nashville. 15:29 And I have one episode actually specifically about Nashville, Episode 11. You can check it out if you haven't. Uh, but 15:39 speaking of tornadoes, actually, in February, or the, the beginning of March, Nashville got hit by a tornado, and it was really, really bad. Uh, people died. Lots of buildings, uh, were destroyed. 15:56 Restaurants were destroyed. It was insane. So it was really crazy, especially for Nashville, for a city like Nashville, when this virus outbreak happened and already having been hit 16:13 by a tornado. It was very sad for the city, both fi- both economically, emotionally, and people are still, uh, recovering from the... 16:31 People are still recovering from the tornado, and then now are dealing with not having jobs. It's pretty crazy. In the same episode, Episode 11, I talk about how crazy Nashville is. 16:47 If, for example, if you go downtown, the nickname for Nashville is Music City. Uh, music, if you go downtown, music is coming from everywhere. It's so loud. People are all over the place. 17:02 People are everywhere downtown, and other places too, because it's a tourist city, so a lot of tourists come. Not right now. Right now, Music City is Silent City. Everything is quiet, and it's really 17:20 weird. It's a weird feeling driving around downtown or walking around downtown, biking around downtown, and seeing almost no one. It's, it's crazy. And probably something like this has never happened in the world. 17:37 It's never happened in the world. This is unprecedented. This is another good word. If you say something is unprecedented, means it's never happened before, something that's never happened before. 17:51 And why is it unprecedented? Well, because the whole world is shut down. You know, you look at New York City, the busiest city, the city that never sleeps, now it's quiet. And all these other countries around the world. 18:07 But people are doing the right thing, you know, try to stay apart and do their part. To, to help flatten the curve. This is another term that they use, flatten the curve. Uh, 18:25 when the, when... Like, especially for an infectious disease like this that spreads from one person to another person, um, it- To flatten the curve means to help reduce the spread of the virus. 18:38 That means you help reduce the numbers. Closing schools, businesses, restaurants, parks, and people staying at home help, uh, flatten the curve of the virus, the spread of the virus. 18:55 Health experts continue to tell people to practice social distancing, um, wash their hands thoroughly, completely, for at least, uh, 20 seconds, and they say, which is better than using hand sanitizer. 19:15 And if you're outside and you, you are away from a bathroom, they say the best thing is using hand sanitizers. That's the s- the next best thing or the second best thing to help you, 19:31 uh, avoid contracting the virus. And contracting means just another word for catching the virus. So together, let's help flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19. 19:49 And I hope wherever you are, I hope you're safe and healthy. And again, I hope that you will turn off the TV [laughs] because like I said, we already know what's going on. Let's just focus on ourselves. 20:05 And I also hope that you benefited from this episode, you learned some new phrases, practiced your pronunciation, and listening, and all that. 20:14 And if you have any questions, you can always contact me via the emails that are, um, that are, that are in the description or you can message me directly on Instagram, theenglishzone_, 20:28 and I'll be happy to answer any of your questions. Please share this podcast with your friends on social media so they can also benefit and learn some, uh, new words, new phrases 20:41 about this crazy thing that we're all dealing with. Please stay clean, stay healthy, and stay awesome. And I'll be right back with a quick question and answer about this episode. 21:05 Hello, listeners of EZE, The English Zone. This is Siri. Z was too lazy to finish the episode, so I had to finish it for him. He said, "I'll be right back," but nope, he won't be back. 21:17 Anyway, please listen to the questions and try to answer the questions with me. Hello, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. What, what are you doing? What are, what is she... What? What are you doing, Siri? 21:27 What are you trying to tell my listeners? I was telling them that you're lazy and didn't finish the episode- Whoa, whoa, whoa... and I said I was going to finish the questions and answers. Whoa, that is not true. 21:37 I am not lazy, and, uh, I apologize. Sorry, listeners of EZE, The English Zone. I don't know what Siri is trying to do. I think, uh, she's trying to take over my podcast. We've had this discussion before, 21:54 and that's not gonna happen. Yes, it is going to happen. No, it's not gonna happen. Uh, anyway, everyone, let's do the questions and answers. 22:03 If you have already, uh, if you understand the story that I already discussed about COVID-19 22:11 and you understand the vocabulary words and all of that, then you should be able to answer the questions with me, but I will answer it for you as well. All right, let's get started. Question one, 22:24 I don't have to say one or two or three, but, uh, one, when did the outbreak start? Well, it started in Wuhan, China. When did the outbreak start? 22:45 Well, that's correct. The outbreak started sometime in October of last year, 2019. Did it spread slowly or quickly throughout China? 23:01 It spread quite quickly, and soon it became an epidemic. Hmm. What happened on March 11th of 2020? Well, 23:19 on March 11th, the virus was recognized as a pandemic. I'm going to ask, I'm going to ask Siri this question, number five. Hey, Siri. 23:34 Who recognized the disease or the virus as a pandemic? Well, who recognized it as a pandemic? No, I'm asking you. You need to tell me the answer. That's the answer. Who? 23:49 I mean WHO, World Health Organization. I'm very funny. Ha ha. [laughs] Funnier than Z. Oh, no. That's for sure. Not funnier than me, that's for sure. 24:00 Uh, I'm not gonna ask you any more questions because you're trying to be funny, and it's not funny. Okay, it was [laughs] kind of funny. But anyway, question number six, 24:11 why do they put people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in quarantine? Well, because the virus is, uh, contagious. How many cases of coronavirus are there in the world as of this week? 24:30 Well, there are over three million cases of COVID-19 in the world as of this week. How many people have died due to COVID-19 and COVID-19 complications in the world? 24:48 Over 200,000 people have died worldwide. How many people have tested positive in the US as of this week? That is my, my neighbor's dogs. They're very loud. 25:08 Well, over one million people have tested positive for the virus in the US. How many countries are dealing with the virus? Remember, I mentioned that. 25:25 At least, that's correct, at least 180 countries are dealing with the virus. How many people have died in the US because of COVID-19? 25:41 Over 50,000 people have died. What does someone who has tested positive for the virus have to do? He or she has to, or you can say 25:57 they have to self-quarantine or self-isolate, or quarantine themselves or isolate themselves. That means stay alone and stay apart from other people. What does that mean? 26:13 Well, if something is contagious, it means it spreads... Well, we already talked about that. Uh, why do they put themselves in quarantine? Because it, the virus spreads from one person to another. 26:26 It's contagious, so- Smile is contagious. EEE. Ha ha. [laughs] Yeah, that is true. Smile is contagious. I hope, uh... Yeah. Thank you, Siri, for that positive vibe. I hope, uh, you're making other people smile. 26:44 That's, that's good. Um, anyway, so this last question is not relevant to coronavirus, but I mentioned it in the story. Um, what happened to Nashville in the beginning of March besides, uh, the virus? 27:04 Well, if you remember, I mentioned it. Yep, that's correct. A tornado hit Nashville. That is the end of the questionnaire. I hope, uh, you reviewed the vocabulary words that you learned in the story 27:17 by listening and answering the questions with me. Please go back and listen to this episode, the other episodes again and again, and practice your pronunciation, practice your speaking skills and listening skills. 27:33 Practice all of your skills and, uh, continue learning and continue staying safe and healthy and awesome. Thanks very much. See you next time.
