Warm-up
Answer a few quick questions before today’s lesson about health.
Listening
Listen carefully to the recording and answer each question. You can replay the audio up to two times.
Listening — Young Athletes and Extreme Sports: A Growing Health Concern
Read all the questions carefully before the recording begins. You will hear the recording twice.
Reading
Read the passage on the left, then work through the questions on the right.
Reading — When Doctors Say No: Understanding Medical Risk
Read the passage on the left, then answer the questions one by one.
When Doctors Say No: Understanding Medical Risk
Every day, doctors around the world face patients who want to take medical risks. Some demand antibiotics for viral infections; others refuse vaccines despite clear health threats. But what happens when we ignore medical advice? The consequences can range from minor setbacks to life-altering complications. Consider the case of Sarah, a 34-year-old marathon runner from Canada who decided to ignore her doctor’s warning about a heart condition. Rather than following the recommended treatment plan, she believed her fitness level would protect her. If she had accepted the medical intervention, she might have avoided the heart attack that struck her during a race in 2019. Today, she uses her story to educate others about the importance of heeding professional medical guidance. Her experience illustrates a critical truth: athletic ability does not guarantee immunity from serious health risks. Research from the University of Melbourne found that 42% of patients with chronic conditions skip or delay prescribed medications for reasons ranging from cost to side effect concerns. Dr. Elena Vasquez, the lead researcher, emphasizes that many of these decisions are made without full understanding of potential consequences. If people understood the long-term complications of untreated conditions, they might make different choices. Some patients worry that medications could harm them, yet the risks of going untreated often far exceed the risks of treatment itself. The key to better health outcomes lies in dialogue. Rather than viewing doctors as authority figures to resist, patients could benefit from asking questions and expressing concerns openly. If patients and healthcare providers worked as true partners, countless preventable complications would be avoided. This collaborative approach respects patient autonomy while ensuring that decisions are based on accurate medical evidence rather than fear or misinformation.Use of English
Transform the root word in brackets to fit the sentence.
Taking Health Risks: The Cost of Convenience
Use of English — Word formation
Choose or type the correct word for each gap in the passage above.
Writing Task
B2 First — Writing Part 2
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Speaking
Speaking task. Read the instructions, then complete the task.
After the Lesson
Reflect on what you learned and how confident you feel now.
Teacher Guide
Practise with
- avoidableadjective
(of something negative) able to be prevented or avoided; not inevitable or unavoidable.
- boringadjective
not interesting or exciting
- consequencesnoun
The results or effects of an action or decision, especially negative or unwanted ones.
- ignoringverb
Deliberately refusing to pay attention to something or someone; disregarding.
- impulsivelyadverb
Acting or deciding suddenly without thinking carefully about the consequences.
- insignificantadjective
Too small or unimportant to have much effect or be worth considering.
- medical guidancenoun
Professional advice from doctors or healthcare experts about how to stay healthy or treat an illness.
- recklessnessnoun
Careless behaviour that ignores danger or possible negative consequences.
- strengthnoun
the quality of being physically strong
- structured mentoringnoun
Organized guidance from an experienced person who helps develop skills and knowledge in a systematic way.
- undeniableadjective
Impossible to deny or refuse; so obviously true that no one can argue against it.