ESL Podcast 254 – Good Hygiene

Juanita: Hey, where have you been? I was going to invite you to lunch, but you weren’t at your desk.

Bill: I was at a training.

Juanita: What was it on?

Bill: Office hygiene¹.

Juanita: Hygiene? You’re kidding. Your office is pretty messy but I wouldn’t say you needed hygiene training.

Bill: Very funny. Each department has to go through it. You’ll have your turn next week. Apparently², the management wants to reduce the spread of illnesses around the office. They say that people are taking too many sick days and it’s bad for productivity.

Juanita: So, we all have to sit through a training. What a pain! It’s not like we don’t know how to wash our hands.

Bill: Yeah, I know. The trainer did a pretty good job, though, explaining how germs spread around the office. It’s easy to infect other people when you have a cold or something else that’s contagious³. She said that viruses get around pretty easily. She gave us some pointers on how to prevent it, though.

Juanita: Well, I use antibacterial soap all the time, so I don’t worry about it.

Bill: You know, the trainer said that those soaps may not be that effective. People think they’re sterilizing⁴ their hands, but they may be doing more harm than good.

Juanita: Really? I’ve never heard that before.

Bill: Then you’d better go to the training. I guess you need it more than I do.

Juanita: Yeah, very funny.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

4 sterilizing   

v.消毒( sterilize的现在分词 )；使无菌；使失去生育能力；使绝育

参考例句：

• The nurse is sterilizing the surgical instruments. 护士在把外科手术器具消毒。 来自辞典例句
• By testing, steam is the ble sterilizing method for herbal medicine. 这些方法难以保证药性，或有残留，要不然就是费用昂贵。 来自互联网