Japanese awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine The Japanese biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine, for his research into the process of autophagy. The term comes from ancient Greek, meaning “eating oneself” and involves the process of cells consuming wasted components in order to keep the body healthy and free of contamination. Ohsumi conducted the research while at the University of Tokyo. Autophagy is connected to diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease and some forms of cancer.

autophagy: オートファジー
contamination: 汚染

your hard work paid off

Molly: How did the dance competition go? Did you win anything?

Natalie: Yes, I won first prize! I’m so happy, after so many months of practice.

Molly: That’s great news. Finally, your hard work paid off. Let’s celebrate with a toast of champagne.

Explanation: The phrase “your hard work paid off ” means that the work in the beginning brought a good result. We often use the phrase when someone wins a prize, passes an examination, or when they get accepted to a university program, etc.

hard work pays off: 仕事は成果をあげます
toast of champagne: シャンパンの乾杯

the patient fainted

Nurse Yong: We have a case in the emergency room. A teenage patient fainted in a restaurant. She recovered quickly, but her mother is afraid that there might be something wrong with her brain. Can you check on her?

Dr. Adams: The cause of a patient fainting might not be so serious. It might be due to a sudden drop in blood pressure or blood sugar. We’ll check her blood and urine. Her brain function is probably normal. But I want to know from the patient and her mother if this has happened before, and how often.

Explanation: The phrases “the patient fainted” or “my (daughter) fainted” are used when a person falls down suddenly, as if they are asleep. It is often connected to nutrition, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure. The technical medical term for fainting is “syncope.”

faint (verb) : 失神
syncope (noun) : 卒倒

price gouging

Hello Mr. Baker:

Our competitor has doubled their prices for life-saving medicines. Now the public is accusing them of price gouging. If we can keep our prices down, we can capture their market share and get more sales at pharmacies.

Explanation: The phrase “price gouging” means to force customers to pay high prices because there is no other choice. Price gouging can happen with medicine, such as the recent EpiPen scandal, or with basic goods during a disaster, such as gasoline or bottled water after an earthquake. When the 2011 disaster struck Japan, some supermarkets raised the price of bottled water to more than triple the normal price.

price gouging: 価格釣上げ