I. Phrases:
1. be diagnosed with
2. to make matters worse
3. take a bank loan
4. at half the cost
5. lay off
During the recession they laid us off for three months.
The doctor told him to lay off a couple of days.
He will lay off smoking.
6. get rid of
I’ve tried all sorts of medicine to get rid of this cold.
How can we get rid of all these flies?
7. put pressure on
8. aim…at
9. receive treatment
10. meet needs
11. make ends meet
He lost his job and what was worse, his wife was seriously ill, so he could not make both ends meet.
12. keep a healthy diet
13. be effective in
14. belong to
The developed countries should help the countries belonging to the third world.
15.take measures to do sth.
II. New words
abuse insurance income pressure 见优化设计
1. thanks to
owing to
because of
Thanks to your advice, I am keeping a healthy diet now.
Owing to the rain ,the match was cancelled.
2. as a result of （造成某种结果的）原因
as a result 结果是
result from 因…的结果发生
result in 结果是
She won the scholarship as a result of her hard work.
Illness often results from poverty.
I’m sure the government’s efforts to stop the spread of AIDS will result in success.
3．despite =in spite of 尽管；不管；纵使
Despite the bad weather we enjoyed our holiday.
Sir Fleming remained modest despite his achievements.
4. as is (was) the case with… 与…情况一样
He is late again this morning, as is often the case.
III Important sentences:
1. Three months later, however, Wang Lin was told about a health care project that provides treatment at half the cost or less, depending on the needs of the patient.
2. The project that saved Wang Lin’s life is one of the many government programmes aimed at improving the situation for the poorest people in China.
3. The government’s efforts to fight poverty and improve health care cover several aspects, reducing poverty, helping sick people get treated properly and providing medical insurance for the poor.
4. It was not until World War II that the importance of Fleming’s discovery was