#3 COVID：One year on

COVID：One year on

1. pandemic → a disease that spreads over a whole country or the whole world.

Y  History teachers could set their pupils researching the influenza pandemic of 1918, a grim but fascinating topic.

2. take hold → to become strong ; to be established

Y  The economic recovery is just beginning to take hold now.

3. wimpy → not strong, brave or confident.

Y  She was too wimpy to say what she really thought.

4. sheer → used to emphasize the size, the degree or amount of something.

Y  The area is under threat from the sheer number of tourists using it.

5. kick in → to start to have an effect or to happen.

Y  The painkillers kicked in and he became sleepy.

6. genome → the complete set of genetic material of a human, animal, plant, or other living thing.

Y  For the last 20 years researchers have been able to calculate genome sizes and mutation rates.

7. take stock → to think carefully about the things that have happened in a situation in order to decide what to do next.

Y  After two years spent teaching overseas, she returned home for a month to take stock of her life.

8. lockdown → an emergency situation in which people are not allowed to freely enter, leave, or move around in a building or area because of danger.

Y  Police imposed a lockdown in the building until the shooter could be stopped.

9. virologist → a scientist who studies viruses and the diseases that they cause.

Y  The world-leading virologist has joined the new EU COVID-19 advisory team.

10. zoologist  → a person who scientifically studies animal.

Y  In the 1970s zoologists began to investigate these patterns to try to find out what determined a species' mating system.

11. vaccine → a substance containing a virus or bacterium in a form that is not harmful, given to a person or animal to prevent them from getting the disease that the virus or bacterium causes.

Y  This vaccine protects against some kinds of the bacteria.

12. pneumonia → a serious illness in which one or both lungs become red and swollen and filled with liquid.

Y  People who are bedridden can easily get pneumonia.