Doctors and Nurses
2022-01-09
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Whenever there is a health crisis, two groups of people can bring help - doctors and nurses.
3A nurse is a person skilled or trained in caring for sick or injured people.
4We also use the word "nurse" as a verb. You can nurse a person or animal back to health.
5And you can nurse a patient, helping that person heal or get better.
6But you can also nurse a symptom, something unhealthy like a headache after a late-night party.
7You can nurse other bad things too, like a grudge.
8A grudge is a strong feeling of anger toward someone that lasts for a long time.
9If you nurse a grudge, you keep the anger alive. You make sure it doesn't lessen over time.
10You can use the verb "nurse" in other ways. For example, you can "nurse a drink."
11That doesn't mean you are trying to heal it, but rather you drink it very slowly, to make it last longer.
12For example, if I go to a costly restaurant and buy a $15 drink, I might nurse it to make it last the whole meal.
13The word "doctor" is also used as a verb.
14The Merriam-Webster online dictionary says that one meaning of the verb "doctor" is to give medical treatment.
15For example, she doctored her sick friend.
16That makes sense.
17But personally, I have never heard the term used that way.
18In my opinion, it is more common to nurse someone back to health.
19Sometimes people say "doctor" to mean "fix."
20For example, he has doctored that clock several times. But again, this usage is rare.
21A more common usage of the verb "to doctor" is to change something in an honest or dishonest way.
22For example, the school board official was accused of doctoring her study results.
23She was caught changing the results to fit her policy needs.
24When we change something, either in an honest or dishonest way, we sometimes add the word "up" to "doctor."
25For example, the writer doctored up the script to better fit the actor.
26Here is a dishonest example: The legal team was accused of doctoring up photographs of evidence.
27Now, let's hear two expressions using the word doctor.
28If something is exactly what you want or need, it is "just what the doctor ordered."
29This expression can be used in many situations.
30For example, if I worked all week, a night on the couch with a good movie might be just what the doctor ordered.
31In a recent Words and Their Stories, we talked about another expression that means the same thing.
32If something "hits the spot," it is just what you need at that time.
33Our last expression is this: Doctors make the worst patients.
34This means it is difficult to give people advice about something which they do for a living.
35This is because they might feel they know better than the person giving the advice.
36For example, Mary tried to persuade her boss at the bank to seek help for his growing debt.
37But he got angry.
38He said he knew best how to deal with his money.
39She just shook her head and said to herself,
40"It's true. Doctors make the worst patients."
41Now, let's hear two neighbors use some of these nurse and doctor expressions.
42A: Hi there! I see you're cleaning up your garden. It was so beautiful this summer.
43B: Thanks! I was pretty proud of it. Are you good with plants?
44A: I'm only good at killing them, unfortunately. Like this one. It's pretty brown. (holds up dead plant)
45B: Oh dear.
46A: Do you think you can nurse it back to health?
47B: Um...I'm sorry. But this plant is dead. You need to water your plants.
48A: Good advice. You should tell Celia across the street the same thing.
49She owns a plant store but still the plants at her house look awful!
50B: I tried to give her some advice once.
51She did NOT like that one bit.
52You know how it goes: Doctors make the worst patients.
53But as for your plant...it's dead.
54There's no nursing a plant back from the dead.
55A: That's too bad. I wanted to use it for some photos for my website.
56B: Maybe you could add a plant.
57A: What do you mean?
58B: You know, doctor the photo on your computer and add a plant.
59A: Isn't that dishonest?
60B: The photo is just for your website. It's not like your doctoring official evidence in a criminal case. Now THAT would be dishonest.
61And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Whenever there is a health crisis, two groups of people can bring help - doctors and nurses. 3A nurse is a person skilled or trained in caring for sick or injured people. We also use the word "nurse" as a verb. You can nurse a person or animal back to health. And you can nurse a patient, helping that person heal or get better. 4But you can also nurse a symptom, something unhealthy like a headache after a late-night party. You can nurse other bad things too, like a grudge. A grudge is a strong feeling of anger toward someone that lasts for a long time. If you nurse a grudge, you keep the anger alive. You make sure it doesn't lessen over time. 5You can use the verb "nurse" in other ways. For example, you can "nurse a drink." That doesn't mean you are trying to heal it, but rather you drink it very slowly, to make it last longer. For example, if I go to a costly restaurant and buy a $15 drink, I might nurse it to make it last the whole meal. 6The word "doctor" is also used as a verb. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary says that one meaning of the verb "doctor" is to give medical treatment. For example, she doctored her sick friend. That makes sense. But personally, I have never heard the term used that way. In my opinion, it is more common to nurse someone back to health. 7Sometimes people say "doctor" to mean "fix." For example, he has doctored that clock several times. But again, this usage is rare. 8A more common usage of the verb "to doctor" is to change something in an honest or dishonest way. For example, the school board official was accused of doctoring her study results. She was caught changing the results to fit her policy needs. 9When we change something, either in an honest or dishonest way, we sometimes add the word "up" to "doctor." 10For example, the writer doctored up the script to better fit the actor. Here is a dishonest example: The legal team was accused of doctoring up photographs of evidence. 11Now, let's hear two expressions using the word doctor. 12If something is exactly what you want or need, it is "just what the doctor ordered." This expression can be used in many situations. For example, if I worked all week, a night on the couch with a good movie might be just what the doctor ordered. 13In a recent Words and Their Stories, we talked about another expression that means the same thing. If something "hits the spot," it is just what you need at that time. 14Our last expression is this: Doctors make the worst patients. 15This means it is difficult to give people advice about something which they do for a living. This is because they might feel they know better than the person giving the advice. 16For example, Mary tried to persuade her boss at the bank to seek help for his growing debt. But he got angry. He said he knew best how to deal with his money. She just shook her head and said to herself, "It's true. Doctors make the worst patients." 17Now, let's hear two neighbors use some of these nurse and doctor expressions. 18A: Hi there! I see you're cleaning up your garden. It was so beautiful this summer. 19B: Thanks! I was pretty proud of it. Are you good with plants? 20A: I'm only good at killing them, unfortunately. Like this one. It's pretty brown. (holds up dead plant) 21B: Oh dear. 22A: Do you think you can nurse it back to health? 23B: Um...I'm sorry. But this plant is dead. You need to water your plants. 24A: Good advice. You should tell Celia across the street the same thing. She owns a plant store but still the plants at her house look awful! 25B: I tried to give her some advice once. She did NOT like that one bit. You know how it goes: Doctors make the worst patients. But as for your plant...it's dead. There's no nursing a plant back from the dead. 26A: That's too bad. I wanted to use it for some photos for my website. 27B: Maybe you could add a plant. 28A: What do you mean? 29B: You know, doctor the photo on your computer and add a plant. 30A: Isn't that dishonest? 31B: The photo is just for your website. It's not like your doctoring official evidence in a criminal case. Now THAT would be dishonest. 32And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 33Anna Matteo wrote this for VOA Learning English. 34________________________________________________________ 35Words in This Story 36symptom -n. a change in the body or mind that shows that a disease or sickness is present 37grudge - n. a strong feeling of anger toward someone that lasts for a long time 38garden - n. an area of ground where plants (such as flowers or vegetables) are grown 39proud -adj. very happy and pleased because of something you have done