Hello and welcome to The English
We Speak with me, Feifei...
...and me, Roy.
Roy, why are you hitting that table
with a hammer?
Well, I got your message about flattening
the curve, and then I saw that this table
had a bit of a bump in it, so I wanted
to make sure you were happy.
No, Roy. When I talked about 'flattening
the curve', it relates to
lowering and smoothing
out the peak on a graph or chart.
Oh, because you were talking about
the rate of infection in the UK.
It's really important
to 'flatten the curve' of the infection
to avoid our healthcare services
being overwhelmed
with too many patients at one time.
That's right - now let's listen
to these examples.
The government have introduced social
distancing measures to try
and flatten the curve.
We need to flatten the curve to prevent
too many admissions into hospital.
Flattening the curve is vital
to help save lives.
This is The English We Speak from
BBC Learning English and
we're talking about the expression
'flatten the curve', which has been used
a lot during the coronavirus crisis.
It means
to reduce the peak of a graph or chart.
Yes, people have been in lockdown and
social distancing to flatten
the curve. It seems
that the rate of infection
in the UK has decreased of late.
Yes, it seems that way. But I can't believe
you were hitting that table!
Well - I was just trying to make
you happy - sorry.
Roy - now my chair is broken - what
happened to the wheels?
I flattened the curves on your wheels! I've
fixed everything - you should see what I've
done to your car.
Working with you is never
a boring experience!
Thanks!
Bye, Roy.
Bye, Feifei.