openMind Level 3
class video worksheet teacher’s notes
Unit 9  Body talk
Synopsis
The video is about influenza, commonly known as the flu.
It starts by looking at everyday flu, which can be treated
easily, and then goes on to talk about the much more
deadly 1918 flu virus. The video first explains just why
the disease was so dangerous, and then goes on to
look at some of the reasons for the fast and far-reaching
spread of the disease, for example, the First World War,
which caused people to be traveling much more and
meant that sick soldiers were crowded together. Finally,
the video concludes by commenting on the importance
of continued research to help prevent the spread of
disease around the world.
Target Language
Grammar: infinitive clauses with impersonal it; wish and
if only for regrets
Vocabulary: injuries; health problems and symptoms
Language points: talking about health problems
Procedural Notes
Before you watch
1 In pairs. Ask the students to talk together about the
flu and make a list of symptoms. This should mostly
be review from the unit.
2 In pairs. Then ask the same pairs to try and
complete the sentences with their advice for
someone who has the flu.
As a class. Elicit some answers and ideas.
© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014
While you watch
1 As a class. Watch the first section of the video to about
0.45 and ask the students to compare their ideas.
Answer key:
1 Symptoms mentioned: cough, headache, blocked
nose, high temperature, sore throat, severe
tiredness, aching all over the body (Note that
blocked nose, tiredness, and aching have not been
taught in the unit.)
2 Advice: It is important to get lots of rest and drink
a lot of liquids. Sometimes it is also necessary to
take medication to lower your temperature.
2 In pairs. Let the students look at the sentences and
check they understand the key vocabulary (e.g.
recover, pandemic, disease, spread). Let them make
predictions about the kind of word needed to fill in
each blank (e.g. question 1 is probably a number).
As a class. Play the whole video and ask the
students to try to fill in the blanks with one, two, or
three words, or a number.
In pairs. Let the students check in pairs. Monitor and
play the video again if necessary.
As a class. Check answers together.
Answer key:
1  one or two   2 1918  3 healthy
4  First World War   5 celebrating  6 five
After you watch
Individuals. Ask the students to rewrite the second
sentence in each case so that it means the same as the
first. Remind them that they are practicing infinitive
clauses with it.
In pairs. Let the students check their answers with a partner.
As a class. Go through the answers.
openMind Level 3

Answer key: When people are very ill with the flu, they usually stay
1 It’s essential to take all the pills. at home. When they don’t feel too bad, they go back
2 It’s better to stay in bed. to their normal routines. In this way, it is the less serious
3 It isn’t necessary to take medicine for form of flu that spreads more quickly. However, during
a headache. the war, the soldiers who were slightly ill stayed in their
4 It’s not common to go to the doctor for hay fever.
beds, but those who were very ill were put on crowded
trains and sent to crowded hospitals. This meant that
5 It’s good to drink water when you have
the most serious form of the disease spread.
food poisoning.
6 It’s better to be in the dark when you have
When the war ended in November 1918, the huge
a migraine. crowds that gathered to celebrate helped the virus to
spread even more quickly. Many soldiers survived the
war, but were killed by the flu.
The effects of the 1918 flu pandemic are hard to
Over to you believe. The virus killed five times as many people as
In pairs or small groups. Ask the students to discuss the the war itself. Around the world, 500 million people
questions in pairs or small groups. caught the disease, and between 50 and 100 million
As a class. Elicit some answers. Try to elicit some people died—3 to 6% of the global population at
sentences using infinitive clauses with it, for example: the time.
It’s important to wash your hands regularly. Today we have a better understanding of how
diseases spread. This knowledge, as well as advances
Video script in medicine, helped doctors deal with the 2009
Most of us have had influenza, or flu, at some point. flu pandemic. Even so, many thousands of people
At first, the symptoms of this virus are not so different died. It is therefore essential to keep researching and
from the common cold—cough, headache, blocked improving our understanding of disease, even those
nose, and sore throat. But people with flu can also diseases that are normally harmless.
have a very high temperature and experience severe
tiredness and aching all over the body. If you have
the flu, it is important to get lots of rest and drink
lots of liquids. Sometimes it is also necessary to take
medication to lower your temperature. The flu can be
very unpleasant, but most people—especially young,
healthy people—make a full recovery within one or
two weeks.
However, there are very serious forms of flu, which have
spread around the world and killed millions of people.
The 1918 flu pandemic is thought to be one of the
worst natural disasters in human history. The virus was
so deadly that it killed people in a single day: people
started to feel ill in the morning and were dead
before dinner.
Usually, other forms of the flu are only dangerous
for the very young, the very old, or people who are
already ill. The 1918 flu, on the other hand, was
most dangerous for people who were very healthy at
the time. This was because the flu made the body’s
immune system—the body’s form of self-defense—
react too strongly. People with a healthy body were
attacked more strongly by their own immune system.
Another reason why the 1918 flu pandemic was so
serious was its timing. In 1918, countries were still
fighting the First World War, and soldiers were still
moving all over the world to fight. This helped the
disease to spread quickly, and to all corners of
the globe.

© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014