B.E.L.L. Tips – The Pharmacy

February 2, 2024 | Jeana Whitaker | Uncategorized

Issue #56

Learn English Here!

Tips and Tricks for Business English Language Learners (B.E.L.L.)

Photo by National Cancer Institute

The Pharmacy

Each week, I will send out some handy tips and useful exercises for adults learning to navigate and use English. Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends and colleagues. Use the link below for more in-depth language coaching and schedule a 1:1 consultation.

American pharmacies look much different than in other parts of the world. Many rows of over-the-counter medications are available, and prescriptions take a long time to fill because they are counted and checked by a licensed pharmacist and put into plastic bottles labeled with your name. It can be daunting to find the right medication when you are not familiar with the language, so today, we will briefly look at vocabulary and related pharmacy information.

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Vocabulary

NEW FEATURE! Use the button below to grab your own flashcards with vocabulary you can study on your phone. There is no need to come back to the newsletter. Spend a few minutes practicing your English vocabulary each day to strengthen your skills even faster.

Pharmacy Vocabulary

After studying the flashcards, practice the vocabulary with the quiz below:

Use the word list to match the vocabulary word with the definitions.

WORDS: Pharmacist, medicine, outlier, innovative, propensity, vaccination, Medicare, treatment, compare, health insurance, dispense, prescription, Big Pharma, protection.

The pharmaceutical or drug manufacturing industry.
Injection of a weakened or mild form of a pathogen to produce immunity.
Any drug used to cure, prevent, or treat illness or discomfort.
Insurance that covers medical illness or injury.
A U.S. federal program of health insurance for persons over 65 years of age.
Introducing something new.
Prepare and give out medicines.
A natural tendency.
When something is kept safe.
A value that “lies outside” most others in comparison.
Specialist in preparing and dispensing drugs.
Medical care given to a patient for an illness or injury.
To examine in order to note similarities or differences.
A written order from a doctor for a specific medicine.

Grammar

Watch this short video about prepositions of place and then complete the exercise below:

Complete the sentences below, using ACROSS, OUT OF, INTO, UP, OVER, UNDER, ALONG, DOWN, or AROUND in the blank space:

Steph takes the bridge ______ the river.
Jessica jumps ________ the snake pit easily.
Alan stops to help Jessica ________ the quicksand.
Jessica gets to other side of the river first, by taking the zipline __________ the river.
Steph has to crawl ________ the electric wires and then ______ one of the three pipes.
Alan ended up climbing ______ the dirty pond.
They must climb ____ the mountain and _____ a steep cliff.
Jessica decides to ski _______ the mountain.

Grammar Bonus

Pneumonic devices are tools we can use to help us memorize and remember things. So, I thought it would be fun to give you a few to help you in your language-learning process. Here is a little poem to help you remember how we use the parts of speech. It was written in 1855 by David B. Tower and Benjamin F. Tweed.

Reading and Listening Practice

Practice reading English with the article below about the U.S. and the EU pharmaceutical industry competition. Highlight any vocabulary you don’t know and want to practice. There is a button at the top of the article so you can listen as well.

If this reading level is too difficult at the moment, try practicing with only one paragraph.

Why Big Pharma might think twice about running away to America