The new device could alleviate fear for patients
Alice and Stephen talk about a very common phobia – a fear of the dentist – and a possible new treatment.
This week's question:
Which of these is NOT a real phobia (a persistent and sometimes irrational fear)?
a) agoraphobia,
b) arachnophobia,
c) televiphobia
Listen out for the answer at the end of the programme!
Listen
Dentist's Drill
End of Section
Grammar
- phobia
a fear that there is no clear reason for
- persistent
something that happens repeatedly for a long time
- irrational
something that we cannot understand because there doesn't
seem to be any real reason for it- patients
people who are being given medical care
- tense up
when the muscles tighten up because of fear or anxiety
- it puts them off
it discourages or stops them from doing something
- prototype
the first form of something that may be made in large
numbers in the future- gadget
a machine or piece of equipment that is used for a
particular purpose- a cancelling signal
here, a sound which covers up or prevents another sound
from being heard- drill
here, an instrument used by dentists to cut into a tooth so
that it can be repaired- anxious
nervous or worried
- symptoms
unpleasant things that happen to your body as a result of an
illness or infection
