Summary
During the coronavirus crisis, many people started to talk about ‘flattening the curve’. The idea was to reduce the peak of infections, and reduce the impact on hospitals. Find out more about ‘flattening the curve’, and why Roy is hitting things with a hammer in The English We Speak.
Transcript
Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak with me, Feifei…
Roy
…and me, Roy.
Feifei
Roy, why are you hitting that table with a hammer?
Roy
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.
Feifei
No, Roy. When I talked about ‘flattening the curve’, it relates to lowering and smoothing out the peak on a graph or chart.
Roy
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.
Feifei
That’s right – now let’s listen to these examples.
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.
Feifei
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.
Roy
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.
Feifei
Yes, it seems that way. But I can’t believe you were hitting the table!
Roy
Well – I was just trying to make you happy – sorry.
Feifei
Roy – now my chair is broken – what happened to the wheels?
Roy
I flattened the curves on your wheels! I’ve fixed everything – you should see what I’ve done to your car.
Feifei
Working with you is never a boring experience!
Roy
Thanks!
Feifei
Bye, Roy.
Roy
Bye, Feifei.