Learn English with this health English lesson

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• gluten
• throw off
• out of the blue
• sneak in

• allergic reaction
• allergen
• eat out
• bummer

• wussy

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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We eat so many different kinds of food every day, it’s no wonder that our bodies are confused by some of them. It’s no fun when you have an allergic reaction to something you ate.

Food allergies can be very serious. Some common allergens, like shellfish or peanuts, can even kill the people who are allergic to them. Other people are only mildly allergic to foods and simply feel a little bit sick when they eat them.

No matter how serious the food allergy is, when you can’t have something, it makes you want it more. Just ask someone who is allergic to milk how good an ice cream cone sounds, and you’ll find out.

Sara has to be very careful about what she eats. She has an allergy to a very common food. Listen to her tell Mason about it in this health English lesson.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Sara

Mason

Sara:  Sometimes it’s such a drag when I try to go out to eat. I have a pretty major food allergy.

Mason:  That can be a real bummer. I count myself pretty lucky that I don’t. I mean, I can’t do spicy food, but that’s just because I’m a wuss.

Sara:  I have an allergy to gluten, so I can have no wheat, no rye, and no barley, but wheat is the main thing.

Mason:  What happens to you if you do?

Sara:  It just really messes up my digestion. It sort of throws my whole system off and my body can’t even absorb nutrients properly if I eat any.

Mason:  That’s terrible! How long did you take to figure that out? Or was it just something that happened out of the blue?

Sara:  I found out about 6 years ago, but my whole life I knew I didn’t want to eat wheat. I would, instead of bringing sandwiches to school, I would bring a little baggie with bologna in it or something. I just knew I didn’t want to eat bread.

Mason:  Well, I guess you knew, when you have control, but how do you avoid it in stuff? Packaged food is probably pretty easy, but do you just not eat street food or things where it might be sneaking in?

Sara:  I try to ask really explicitly if I go to a restaurant, and if the waiter says,”Oh, I don’t think that has wheat in it,” I need to say, “Can you go and ask the chef if it has wheat in it please.” But I’ve been pretty lucky.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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