Health and Medical Expressions

Spring Temperature Gaps and Health Care

In spring, the daily temperature gap (일교차, 日較差) is large, so it is easy to catch a cold. During the day the temperature rises and it feels warm, but after the sun sets it becomes chilly in the morning and evening, so you should adjust your clothing to the weather.

For coping with changes in body temperature, it is better to layer several thin pieces of clothing than to wear one thick garment. If you wear one thick piece, you tend to sweat during the day and get cold at night. Layered clothing lets you take off or put on one piece at a time to regulate your body temperature.

In questions about the flow of a passage, the content that a demonstrative such as '이런 날씨'(this kind of weather) refers to must appear in the preceding sentence. The connection is natural only when the heat during the day and the chill in the morning and evening are explained before the clothing preparation is mentioned.

When choosing a word for a blank, you must distinguish '습관'(habit), which shows a repeated action, from '이유'(reason), which shows a cause. The idea that you repeatedly prepare clothes according to the weather is expressed with '습관'. A season is the background in which the weather changes, so it cannot go in a blank that describes an action.

When yellow dust is severe, wearing a mask and reducing time outdoors is a measure to prevent respiratory disease. After going outside, wash your hands and face to remove dust, and children and the elderly, whose immunity is weak, should be especially careful.

• 일교차(日較差) — the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures within one day. e.g.) 일교차가 커서 아침에는 겉옷이 필요하다.
• 황사(黃沙) — yellow dust, a yellowish sand dust that blows in from the dry regions of the Chinese continent. e.g.) 황사가 심한 날에는 실외 활동을 줄인다.

Health Checkups

A health checkup is an examination taken to detect diseases early, even when there are no symptoms. High blood pressure and diabetes have almost no noticeable symptoms in the early stages, so it is important to find them through regular checkups.

When a checkup result shows a value higher than the standard, it is necessary to review the lifestyle habits that cause it and try to correct them. If you acknowledge the cause, such as late-night snacking or lack of exercise, and change your diet and exercise, the values can improve.

'마음이 한결 가벼워지다'(to feel much lighter in mind) expresses relief as worry decreases. In contrast, '마음이 무겁다'(to feel heavy in mind) expresses a stifled feeling caused by great worry.

'반성하다'(to reflect on and regret) means to look back on and repent one's own mistakes or habits. '실천하다'(to put into practice) means to turn what one has thought into actual behavior. e.g.) 그는 아침마다 줄넘기를 하며 건강 관리를 실천했다.

When judging what a notice is about, check items such as the subject, period, place, items to prepare, and contact information together. Depending on the type of examination, a notice may also instruct you to restrict food intake from the night before the checkup.

• 자각 증상(自覺症狀) — a symptom that the patient feels by himself or herself. e.g.) 이 병은 자각 증상이 적어 검진을 받아야 발견된다.
• 정기 검진(定期檢診) — an examination taken repeatedly at fixed intervals. e.g.) 직장인은 정기 검진으로 몸 상태를 점검하는 것이 좋다.
• 기준치(基準値) — a reference value that sets the normal range. e.g.) 콜레스테롤 수치가 기준치를 넘으면 식습관을 점검한다.

Sleep and Immunity

Sleep is the process of relieving the fatigue accumulated during the day and restoring the body and mind. While we sleep, the brain organizes the information received during the day and stores it as memory, and immune cells build the strength to fight germs.

If you do not get enough sleep, your concentration drops and your immunity weakens, making you more likely to catch illnesses such as colds. Adults are known to need about seven hours of sleep per day.

The regularity of sleep is as important as the length of time spent sleeping. If the times you go to bed and wake up are irregular, your biological rhythm is disrupted and the risk of various diseases increases. For this reason, the habit of going to bed and waking up at similar times as usual, even on weekends, is recommended.

When a blank is at the conclusion of a passage, an expression that echoes the importance of sleep presented earlier and evaluates it positively fills it. e.g.) '건강을 지키는 데 효과적이다'(effective in protecting health) is used to mean that regular sleep helps health.

'지름길이다'(a shortcut to) indicates that a certain behavior ultimately leads to harmful results. This expression is used when concluding that reducing sleep time harms health.

The theme of a passage is the central content that the whole passage repeatedly states, condensed into one idea. When the problem of sleep deprivation and the need for regular sleep both appear, they are grouped as something like '규칙적인 잠이 건강의 출발점이다'(regular sleep is the starting point of health). A choice that contains only the method of reducing phone use cannot be the theme.

• 면역력(免疫力) — the power of the body to fight germs and viruses and protect itself. e.g.) 규칙적으로 자면 면역력을 유지하는 데 도움이 된다.
• 숙면(熟眠) — sleeping deeply and comfortably. e.g.) 자기 전 조명을 어둡게 하면 숙면에 도움이 된다.
• 생체 리듬 — the flow of bodily activity that repeats in a fixed cycle, such as day and night. e.g.) 야간 근무가 잦으면 생체 리듬이 깨지기 쉽다.

Benefits of Walking

Walking is an exercise that anyone can easily do because it requires no special equipment or supplies. Walking steadily helps lower blood pressure and blood sugar, and it can also reduce stress and improve your mood while you walk.

Walking places little strain on the joints when you walk at a pace suited to you. Conversely, walking too long and too hard can cause pain in the ankles or knees, so you should adjust the time and pace to your physical condition.

In questions about the main idea, avoid choices that contain only detailed content such as equipment or time, and choose the one that summarizes the conclusion of the whole passage. A choice that combines the health benefits of walking with the value of the habit of walking steadily is appropriate.

• 관절(關節) — the part where bones meet and move by bending and straightening. e.g.) 운동 전에 관절을 풀어 주면 부상을 줄일 수 있다.
• 혈당(血糖) — the amount of glucose contained in the blood. e.g.) 식후 혈당이 지나치게 오르지 않도록 식사량을 조절한다.

Neck and Shoulder Pain and Stretching

Staring at a smartphone or computer screen for long periods with the head bent forward tends to stiffen the neck and shoulder muscles and cause pain. Bending the head forward puts a great strain on the neck, so it helps to raise the screen closer to eye level.

To prevent this, it is necessary to develop the habit of getting up from your seat often and stretching your neck and shoulders. If symptoms persist for a long time, it is advisable to consult a department such as pain medicine.

'-다 보면' (while continuing an action, a certain result naturally occurs) means that while you keep doing one action, another result naturally happens. Check whether the actions and results before and after the blank are connected, and choose the connecting expression. Example: 책을 읽다 보면 시간 가는 줄 모른다.

• -는 김에 — meaning that while doing one task, you also do another thing. Example: 장을 보는 김에 과일도 샀다.
• -는 대신 — meaning that instead of doing one thing, you do another in its place. Example: 택시를 타는 대신 지하철을 탔다.
• -는 셈치고 — meaning that you act as if you consider something to be so. Example: 공짜로 받은 셈치고 한번 써 본다.

Taking Antibiotics Correctly

Antibiotics are medicines that treat bacterial infections, so they are effective only when taken to the end for the period prescribed by a doctor. If you stop taking them midway because your symptoms have improved, or buy and take medicine on your own, the risk of resistant bacteria that survive the drug increases.

If resistant bacteria develop, it becomes difficult to treat the illness with the same medicine, and the illness lasts longer. Therefore, when taking antibiotics, it is important to follow the instructions of a specialist rather than your own judgment.

When choosing the author's attitude in a passage, look at both the behavior the author questions and the behavior the author emphasizes. If the author sees a wrong medicine-taking habit as a problem and stresses following a specialist's advice, that attitude corresponds to concern and emphasis.

• 내성균(耐性菌) — resistant bacteria; bacteria that have the power to resist the action of a drug. Example: 항생제를 중간에 끊으면 내성균이 남기 쉽다.
• 임의로 — arbitrarily; according to one's own will. Example: 약의 양을 임의로 늘리면 부작용이 생길 수 있다.
• 처방(處方) — prescription; the act of a doctor deciding the medicine and instructions for taking it that a patient needs. Example: 처방받은 약은 지시한 기간 동안 먹는다.

Online Pre-Consultation Questionnaire

An online pre-consultation questionnaire is a service in which you enter your symptoms and the medicines you are taking on your mobile phone in advance, before visiting the hospital. Since medical staff check the entered information before treatment, the number of times the same questions are repeated in the examination room is reduced.

However, in an emergency you should not use the pre-consultation and must go to the hospital right away. In this way, it is good to remember exceptions by distinguishing them with '다만' (however; only).

• 문진(問診) — medical interview; the act of a doctor asking a patient about symptoms, medical history, medicines being taken, and so on. Example: 진료 전 문진표를 작성하면 의사가 병력을 빠르게 파악할 수 있다.
• 응급(應急) — emergency; a situation that requires an urgent response. Example: 호흡이 갑자기 어려우면 병원 응급실을 바로 찾는다.

Preventing Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain is a common health problem of modern people that tends to arise from a lifestyle of sitting in the same posture for long periods.