Pain

 Callum: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I’m Callum and with me today is Jennifer. Hello Jennifer. 

Jennifer: Hello Callum 

Callum: Now Jennifer, would you like to help me with a little experiment? 

Jennifer: Sure, what do you need me to do? 

Callum: Just stay there, don’t move. 

(Sound of slap) 

Jennifer: OW! Why did you do that? 

Callum: Did it hurt? 

Jennifer: Of course it did! 

Callum: All in the name of science and learning¹ English Jennifer because today we’re talking about pain! And I wanted to find out if you have a high pain threshold². 

Jennifer: Well you could have just asked - you didn’t have to hit me! 

Callum: Ah, yes, I suppose I could have. Sorry about that. Anyhow, moving on, here’s today’s question. 

 An anaesthetic is a drug or gas used to stop pain, particularly during medical procedures³, but which language does the word come from? 

Greek, Latin⁴ or Old Norse? What do you think Jennifer? 

Jennifer: Well I think there are a lot of words from the Greek language when it comes to medicine and things like that so I’ll say Greek. 

Callum: OK, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme. Now Jennifer, do you think pain is a good thing. 

Jennifer: Well, I’d rather not have it, but I suppose it does tell us that something is wrong. 

Callum: Do you think it would be better not to be able to feel pain. 

Jennifer: Well I think that would be great, particularly after the introduction to this programme! 

Callum: Steve Pete from Washington State in the United States was born with a rare condition which means he has never been able to feel physical pain. He was interviewed on BBC radio about his condition. When was it first diagnosed⁵?  

Steve Pete  Well I was diagnosed with it at a young age. I was a toddler when I began chewing pretty much the whole front portion⁶ of my tongue off.  

Callum: So Jennifer, when was it diagnosed? 

Jennifer: Steve says that it was diagnosed when he was a toddler - which means when he was very young and just starting to walk, so he’s maybe 12 months, 18 months old, something like that.  

Callum: Children that age love to chew on things, don’t they? 

Jennifer: Yes, they do, and in Steve’s case it was his own tongue that he chewed on! 

Callum: Ouch! His parents then took him to a paediatrician, which is a children’s doctor. Listen now to what this doctor did to test Steve. 

Steve Pete My parents took me to my paediatrician where he took a lighter⁷, placed it underneath⁸ my foot, held it there for a moment until my skin began to blister⁹ and then he had a pretty good idea of what it was that my condition was. 

Callum: So what did the doctor do? 

Jennifer: He used a lighter to put fire under the toddler’s foot until it started to burn.  

Callum: And because the child didn’t react in any way he was able to figure out that he had this rare medical condition which is called Congenital Analgesia¹⁰. 

 Steve’s brother shares this condition, so what kinds of problems did it cause them when they were growing up? 

Steve Pete We were always getting into trouble, we kind of pushed things to the extreme. We’d always end up with broken bones, we’d be visiting the hospitals frequently, wearing casts throughout most of our childhood. So it was quite difficult. 

Callum: Jennifer, what was his childhood like? 

Jennifer: He says it was difficult. They made regular visits to hospitals and spent a lot of time wearing casts - a cast is the thick plaster¹¹ protection that is put on to broken arms and legs. They got lots of broken bones because they didn’t feel pain. 

Callum: So they didn’t know when to stop doing something which could be damaging their body. Have you ever had to wear a cast? 

Jennifer:  Luckily I’ve had no broken bones so no, I’ve never worn a cast. 

Callum: I’ve never had a cast either, but I did have a major operation this summer and there was a lot of pain after it. But because of the pain I wasn’t able to move around very much, but that was good, because it meant it gave my body time to heal¹². If I hadn’t had that pain, I would probably have caused even more damage. 

Jennifer: I find it hard to imagine what it must be like to never feel physical pain. 

Callum: I know, and in the same way Steve Pete finds it hard to imagine what it must be like to feel pain.  

Steve Pete I’ve never really tried to imagine what it would be like to feel physical pain. I do understand the emotional¹³ pain part though. But when it comes to empathy which is kind of interesting it is 

hard for me to feel sorry for an individual who’s going through a painful situation when it’s regarding¹⁴ physical pain. I do have difficulty with that. 

Callum: He talks about the difficulty he has with empathy. What’s empathy Jennifer? 

Jennifer:  Empathy is the ability to understand someone else’s feelings and appreciate what that they are experiencing. Because he can’t feel physical pain, he doesn’t really feel sorry for people in painful situations. 

Callum: After hearing about the problems of this condition, do you think you’d still like not to feel pain? 

Jennifer: Well I still don’t like feeling pain but I think after hearing this I realise that it’s very useful. What about you? 

Callum: I agree with that. Sometimes I would like the pain to be less but I think on balance it’s good to have it. 

 Well just about time to go but before we do the answer to today’s question, which was about the language origin of the word anaesthetic. 

 Which language does the word come from? Greek, Latin or Old Norse? Jennifer, you said? 

Jennifer: I thought it was Greek. 

Callum: And you were absolutely right, well done, congratulations with that. 

 That’s all from us today. Thanks very much Jennifer.  

Jennifer: Thanks. 

Callum: And I should say in case anyone was worried, no presenters¹⁵ were harmed during the making of this programme. Goodbye. 

Jennifer: Goodbye. 

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 threshold   

n.界限，门槛，入口，开端

参考例句：

• I'll never cross the threshold of your house again.我再也不进你的家门了。
• He stopped at the threshold of the bedroom.他在卧室门口停住了。

3 procedures   

程序； 手续； 步骤； 常规； 程序( procedure的名词复数 )； 手续； [计算机]过程； （为解决一个特殊问题而专门设计的）文字程序

参考例句：

• procedures that must be followed to ensure full compliance with the law 为确保严格遵守法律所必须遵行的程序
• You need to become fully conversant with the company's procedures. 你得对公司的程序了如指掌。

4 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

5 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

6 portion   

n.部分，份，命运；v.将...分配，分配

参考例句：

• You are paid your portion not later than a week. 不会晚于一周你就可以得到你那一部分报酬。
• Three thousand dollars is no more than a portion.3000美元只不过是一部分。

7 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

8 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

9 blister   

n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡

参考例句：

• I got a huge blister on my foot and I couldn't run any farther.我脚上长了一个大水泡，没办法继续跑。
• I have a blister on my heel because my shoe is too tight.鞋子太紧了，我脚后跟起了个泡。

10 analgesia   

n.无痛觉，痛觉丧失

参考例句：

• Acupuncture anesthesia and acupuncture analgesia has promoted the acupuncture therapy.针灸麻醉和针灸止痛促进了针灸疗法的发展。
• Scientists believe swearing elicits an emotional response which leads to what is known as "stress-induced analgesia."科学家们认为，咒骂引发情绪反应，该反应引起被称作“压力诱发止痛”的现象。

11 plaster   

n.石膏，灰泥，膏药；v.涂以灰泥，敷以膏药，使...平

参考例句：

• He mixed up some plaster to repair the wall.他和了一些灰泥去补墙。
• She applied the plaster on his shoulder.她将膏药贴在他的膀子上。

12 heal   

v.使愈合，治愈，使康复；平息(争吵等)；消除，解决(分支等)

参考例句：

• Time helped heal the old wounds.时间有助于治愈旧创伤。
• This wound will soon heal if yon keep it clean.如果你保持伤口清洁，它很快就会痊愈。

13 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

14 regarding   

prep.关于，至于；就…而论，在…方面

参考例句：

• Regarding John,I will write to him at once.至于约翰，我将立即给他写信。
• Regarding these facts,a special committee is to be appointed.鉴于这些事实，必须成立一个专门委员会。

15 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网