Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Believe it or not, medicine wasn’t invented in the 20th Century. Ancient peoples had a variety of ways of curing problems that people continue to suffer from today. In fact, in recent years, older, natural forms of healing like acupuncture and herbs have been getting more and more popular.
Marni recently went to an acupuncturist, a person who cures pain by putting needles in specific points on the body. When she tells Amanda about it, it turns out that she too has had success with natural healing.
3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Marni: So I was having a little bit of pain in my shoulder recently and I went to get some acupuncture done and it was fantastic.
Amanda: Did it hurt?
Marni: No, it works like a charm.
Amanda: You didn’t feel the pinprick you at all?
Marni: The pinprick, it’s pretty minimal. And the pain relief…I also kinda have this thing where I kind of have a little obsession with getting weird things done. Well, not that acupuncture is weird, it’s an ancient healing art, but just the concept of like getting pricked with needles is just kind of a…
Amanda: So you might like tattoos too?
Marni: Yes, but on the healing aspect of it…
Amanda: Not the pain aspect of it.
Marni: Exactly.
Amanda: See I suffer from irritable bowel syndrome…
Marni: Really?
Amanda: ...so I was on every medication known to man for seven to ten years and then finally my parents and my grandparents recommended I see a Chinese herbal doctor. Put me on Chinese herbs that smelled so pungent and disgusting that when I took it at work everyone would run…
Marni: Really? Huh…
Amanda: But, I took it three times a day for a year and nothing had had the effect like those had on my stomach. Nothing. Isn’t that amazing? I mean there was roots in there and ginger…rhinoceros nose…
Marni: Wow. So do you still have to take this, or…
Amanda: I should but it was so spendy because insurance did not cover it.
Marni: Oh yeah, that’s the thing about it, you know.
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Discussion
Marni went to get acupuncture because she had some pain in her shoulder. Amanda, like most people who have never had acupuncture, finds it hard to believe that the needles don’t hurt, but Marni says she could barely feel them. In fact, Marni says that she likes the idea of healing through needles.
Amanda says that she has irritable bowel syndrome, a disorder that causes stomach pain. For years she took many different medicines, and eventually her family recommended she try a doctor of Chinese herbs. He gave her medicine that smelled very strongly because it had many strange ingredients, but it worked really well. She says she would still be taking it if it weren’t so expensive. Insurance companies usually don’t cover natural medicine.
Have you ever had acupuncture or tried herbs? Do you use natural medicine? Would you if insurance covered it?
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