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Health Hero Honoured | English Listening Practice
In today’s English language lesson we pay tribute to the remarkable Dr. Michael Mosley, who revolutionized public health through BBC television programmes. Join us to improve your English fluency while learning about his incredible contributions to health and wellness.
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āļø Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/english-listening-practice-dr-michael-mosley-health-influencer/
We are but shadows and dust, motionless travellers on the ship of life.
ā Mark Pelrine
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Life is as fragile as a butterfly’s wing. One small gust of wind, and it’s gone forever.
ā Unknown
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More About This Lesson
Learn about Dr. Michael Mosleyās health tips while improving your English fluency; start listening now.
Terrifyingly fragile life, born of cosmic forces.
ā Yiyun Li
Improve your English through listening:
- You learn about an influential figure, enriching your cultural knowledge.
- You improve your listening skills with real-life English language use.
- You expand your vocabulary with medical and health-related terms.
- You understand the significance of public figures in UK culture.
- You practice listening to different accents and pronunciation.
- You get introduced to health tips and advice you can use.
- You engage with a storytelling approach, making learning more enjoyable.
- You learn idiomatic expressions and colloquial language.
- You improve your comprehension by following a narrative.
- You enhance your ability to follow and understand detailed information.
Practice regularly to build confidence. Our listen and learn lessons are great practice! In today’s listening lesson we discover Dr. Michael Mosley’s journey from banker to renowned health advocate. Learn practical health tips that can improve your well-being. Enhance your English skills by listening to varied and engaging content. Contextual learning helps you understand and retain language better.
How fragile we are, clutched in mortality’s hand.
ā Mark Doty
Join our podcast and subscribe for more engaging English lessons! Improve your fluency while learning about health and wellness from Dr. Michael Mosley. Let’s begin this journey together!
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Who is Dr. Michael Mosley and why is he important in the field of health and wellness?
Dr. Michael Mosley was a British doctor turned broadcaster who significantly impacted public health through his innovative approach and television programs. He gained prominence for his research into physical health and his influential ideas on healthy living. His work, particularly in promoting lifestyle changes for health, has had a substantial effect on people’s lives, potentially saving thousands of lives and encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their own health. - What were Dr. Michael Mosley’s key contributions to public health and wellness?
Dr. Michael Mosley’s contributions to public health and wellness were multifaceted. He effectively communicated health messages through television programs, advocating for lifestyle changes to improve health outcomes. Notably, he promoted ideas such as the reversal of Type 2 diabetes through diet and lifestyle changes, challenging traditional medical approaches and empowering individuals to take control of their health. Additionally, his openness about his own medical challenges, such as his experience with Type 2 diabetes, helped humanize health issues and encouraged dialogue about preventive measures and lifestyle choices. - How did Dr. Michael Mosley engage with his audience and communicate health concepts effectively?
Dr. Michael Mosley engaged with his audience through his personable and relatable approach, making complex health concepts accessible to the public. He utilized television programs and self-experimentation to demonstrate health principles, often using himself as a “guinea pig” to test theories. By sharing his own experiences and challenges, he fostered a connection with viewers, encouraging them to consider their own health choices critically. His engaging style, combined with scientific rigor, made his messages compelling and memorable. - What impact did Dr. Michael Mosley have on the medical community and public health discourse?
Dr. Michael Mosley’s impact on the medical community and public health discourse was significant, challenging conventional medical practices and encouraging a more holistic approach to health and wellness. His advocacy for lifestyle interventions, such as diet and exercise, as alternatives to medication for conditions like Type 2 diabetes, sparked discussions within the medical community and prompted shifts in treatment paradigms. Moreover, his ability to communicate complex health concepts to a wide audience helped bridge the gap between medical research and public understanding, fostering greater health literacy and empowerment. - How can individuals incorporate Dr. Michael Mosley’s health tips into their daily lives to improve their well-being?
Individuals can incorporate Dr. Michael Mosley’s health tips into their daily lives by adopting a proactive approach to health and wellness. This may involve making dietary changes, implementing intermittent fasting practices like the 5:2 diet, prioritizing quality sleep, and engaging in regular physical activity. By following evidence-based recommendations and staying informed about the latest research, individuals can take meaningful steps towards improving their overall well-being and longevity, drawing inspiration from Dr. Michael Mosley’s pioneering work in the field of public health and wellness.
Most Unusual Words:
- Tribute: An act to show respect or admiration for someone.
- Influential: Having the power to affect others.
- Fragility: The quality of being easily broken or damaged.
- Anticipated: Expected or predicted.
- Psychiatrist: A doctor who treats mental health problems.
- Experimentation: The act of trying out new ideas or methods.
- Ingest: To take food or medicine into your body by swallowing.
- Psilocybin: A natural substance found in certain mushrooms that can cause hallucinations.
- Venom: Poison produced by some animals like snakes.
- Guinea Pig: A small animal used in scientific experiments, or a person who is used in an experiment.
Most Frequently Used Words:
| Word | Count |
|---|---|
| Michael | 19 |
| Mosley | 15 |
| Health | 14 |
| People | 10 |
| Through | 9 |
| About | 9 |
| Himself | 6 |
| Because | 5 |
| Could | 5 |
| Which | 5 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
Transcript: English-Fluency And Health-Dr-Michael Mosley
Sad news, but a celebration
Hi there. Today in this English lesson, Iād like to pay tribute to Dr Michael Mosley, someone who transformed public health through his novel approach and his television programmes on the BBC. Michael Mosley is the man who died while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi this month. You may have heard of him or you may not – but he was an example of someone I admire, because he was, in one sense very ordinary, but also one of those people who really make a huge difference in the world. And certainly for many people in the UK, Dr Michael Mosley is important and influential because of the way he successfully encouraged people to make lifestyle changes for health.
His influence is actually massive and he did more for public health than any number of government campaigns to make people in the UK healthier. His name has appeared in three of my previous podcasts – thatās episode 441 about āFastingā, episode 503 about āImproving your balanceā and in episode 589 about āSleepā. All of them mention Dr Michael Mosley. To find those podcasts, go to adeptenglish.com and our āLessonsā page and you can type the episode number into the search. Iāll share with you some of his health tips at the end of this podcast – ones I still follow!
Hello, Iām Hilary, and youāre listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.
Who was Michael Mosley?
So you may have read about Dr Michael Mosley in the news. Heās the British man who went for a walk from a beach on the Greek island of Symi and for a few days was lost, only to be discovered lying dead on 10th June, very close to a bar on the Greek coast. If nothing else, this news story underlines the fragility of our lives – who could imagine that you would die, going on a walk on your holiday? Not what anyone would have anticipated. And the loss is a very sad one – itās not that often that I feel genuinely sad at the loss of a public figure – people like Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, the Queen perhaps. But in this case I certainly do feel sad. And Iāll explain a little about why he was important and more about his influence. Michael Mosley was a BBC ādoctor turned broadcasterā so he was a medic who made TV programmes, showing his own research into physical health. And he was enormously influential, in the UK and around the world. And his ideas on healthy living are well-worth listening to. Michael Mosley first worked as a banker in the City of London before studying medicine, with the intention of becoming a psychiatrist, thatās PSYCHIATRIST meaning āa doctor of the mindā.
He met his wife Claire on the first day at medical school and they went on to have four children. His wife did become a GP – thatās āGeneral Practitionerā in English, meaning the sort of doctor who is the āfirst point of contactā if you want to access healthcare in the UK. If you think you have a health problem, the first thing you do is make an appointment to see your GP. So through his wife, Dr Michael Mosley was aware of the issues facing GPs in our NHS. I think also one of his sons is a doctor as well. But like several other doctors in the UK, Dr Michael Mosley found he could perhaps make a more difference to peopleās health through television than by working for the NHS. And he made lots of programmes promoting health ideas. Where government campaigns to improve health really arenāt listened to and donāt often succeed, Dr Michael Mosleyās messages were effective because of his personality – the type of person that he was. Michael Mosley has probably changed the course of thousands of peopleās lives. Itās difficult to measure. But heās probably helped thousands of people lengthen their lives. And his contribution has saved lives.
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Dr Rangan Chatterjee – a doctor with a similar idea
Another good example of a āTV doctorā in the UK is Dr Rangan Chatterjee. In his podcast on YouTube and he covers health from an alternative angle, again finding that he could make more of an important contribution to peopleās general health through that and through what he publishes online and through television programmes, than he could as a GP working within the National Health Service. Dr Rangan Chatterjee did work as a GP in the NHS, but he gave it up because he felt that mainstream medicine is āmissing the big pictureā. For example, both Dr Chatterjee and Dr Mosley have made public the idea that you can reverse Type 2 diabetes through diet and lifestyle changes. Thatās now routinely accepted, but this was not the case a few years ago and people with Type 2 diabetes would simply have been put on medication forever more. Doctors like these have encouraged people to take responsibility for their own health, do their own research – rather than just following the sometimes way out of date advice from the NHS. Iām not blaming the NHS especially – I think itās wonderful in many ways. But its advice does move slowly – and its sometimes out-of-date health information and routine emphasis on taking medication doesnāt serve people well.
Dr Michael Mosley share his health problems
Dr Michael Mosley was also famous for his openness about his own medical challenges. His father died of complications from Type 2 diabetes and it was a sad fact that Michael Mosley cited that none of his male family members lived beyond the age of 72. And Michael Mosley himself was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, at the same age – 55 – as his father had been. That and being invited to be involved in TV programmes on diet and lifestyle famously spurred him on to discover how diet can help reverse disease. This subsequently changed both his health and the course of his professional life. He wrote the Fast Diet book with Mimi Rogers and from there became a household name.
Tapeworms leeches, headlice, snake venom and magic mushrooms!
Michael Mosley was a TV producer for many years before becoming a presenter and āthe experimenter and investigator with medical knowledgeā that we all came to know. His style included self-experimentation – he was well-known for experimenting on himself to prove a theory. He made a series in 2014 called āInfested! Living with parasitesā, which was shown on BBC4. In this programme, he was seen to āingestā or eat tapeworms and kept the worms in his stomach for six weeks, having swallowed a camera to film the effect in his stomach. He also attached a leech, thatās LEECH to his arm and gave himself headlice. Ugh! In 2011, in another programme, he took psychedelic Magic Mushrooms – or psilocybin in a series called āThe Brain: A Secret Historyā. All in the name of science, of course. And in another series, 2015 called āThe Wonderful World of Bloodā, he ate black pudding made from his own blood! And injected snake venom, VENOM to see how his blood clotted. These are the more āwildā variants of his experiments, but he also did a great deal of experimentation with diet, health, fitness and sleep. Things which are of interest to all of us. And he didnāt mind using himself as a āguinea pigā, thatās GUINEA PIG and theyāre little creatures, a bit like rats who are unfortunately used sometimes in scientific experiments. So he was his own āguinea pigā. Michael Mosley relayed everything in a relaxed and likeable style which people really took notice of. Instead of lecturing and putting himself above his audience, he was one of us – in the position of facing certain health challenges – and experimenting on himself for the good of all, just to see what would happen!
English Listening Practice | Speaking Without Prejudice
Little habits which come from Michael Mosley
Ideas which I originally came across through Michael Mosley and things I still do – every morning, when I brush my teeth, I close my eyes and stand on one leg. My electric toothbrush does 4 times 30 seconds – so this ensures that every day I do 2 minutes practising balancing with my eyes closed. Some days itās more of a challenge than others – but I know through doing this simple, if slightly strange exercise that my balance is less likely to be affected as I grow older. Iāve used fasting, thatās āto fastā, FAST – which means āto go without food, or to eat less foodā and Iāve successfully brought down my cholesterol level. And I did Michael Mosleyās 5:2 fasting diet for years. Even though Iām on a different diet now, I will probably do fasting from time to time for the rest of my life – having understood its benefits from him. And his advice on sleep is also very useful.
Look after your health – life is fragile and precious
So as you can see – an influential man – who appealed to many people, because he was kind, funny – and somewhat daring – and perhaps liked to challenge the status quo and take us along with him – all while remaining scrupulously scientific and professional. I hope you knew of him too. He leaves behind a great legacy of health advice and discussion.
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He also leaves behind a wife and four children – and of course peopleās thoughts are with them at the moment in their more profound loss. But actually I think this death was a loss to us all. Hopefully others will carry on his good work. And thereās something in it as well about the fragility of life – that someone could ājust disappearā while on holiday. Itās sad – and perhaps reminds us that although we can work hard to prevent illness and be healthy as possible, our lives are fragile and all the more precious for that.
Goodbye
I hope you enjoyed this podcast – let us know if youāve been touched by the ideas of Michael Mosley. And if you havenāt, perhaps look him up.
Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.
Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it. And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com
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