40 percent of Spaniards stay _________ work and school with a cold

STAFF REPORTER

MADRID
SOME 40 percent of Spaniards stay away from work and school if they go down
_______ a cold.
A study undertaken by Vicks entitled “Effects of the Common ______ in Spain”
showed that of this figure, 20 percent suffering __________ the virus paid a
_______ to the doctor, four percent said they stayed at home to __________,
another four percent said that they didn’t carry on with their normal lives for fear
of passing the cold ___________ to companions and friends and three percent
claimed there was no point in their going to work or school because they felt so
under the __________ that they wouldn’t be able to perform anywhere near up
_________ standard.

Vocabulary:

- go down with (BrE): to ~ down with flu/hepatitis caer en cama con

gripe/caer enfermo de hepatitis

- undertake /'ʌndər'teɪk / || /ˌʌndə'teɪk/ verbo transitivo (past -took; past p

-taken)
‹responsibility› asumir
‹obligation› contraer
‹task› emprender
to ~take to + INF comprometerse A + INF;

- up to

1. (as far as, as much as) hasta

~ to here/now hasta aquí/ahora

2. (equal to) “acorde a": it isn't ~ to the usual standard no es del alto
nivel al que estamos acostumbrados

3. (capable of): she's not ~ to the job no tiene las condiciones

necesarias para el trabajo;
I'm not ~ to going out no me siente con fuerzas (como) para salir

- Under the weather: somewhat ill or prone to illness. Enfermizo

Other words to express that you are ill: ailing, indisposed, peaked, poorly,
sickly, unwell.

Examples:

"my poor ailing grandmother"; "feeling a bit indisposed today"; "you look a little
peaked"; "feeling poorly"; "a sickly child"; "is unwell and can't come to work"
KEY:

40 percent of Spaniards stay off work and school with a cold

STAFF REPORTER

MADRID
SOME 40 percent of Spaniards stay away from work and school if they go down
with a cold.
A study undertaken by Vicks entitled “Effects of the Common Cold in Spain”
showed that of this figure, 20 percent suffering from the virus paid a visit to the
doctor, four percent said they stayed at home to recuperate/ recover, another
four percent said that they didn’t carry on with their normal lives for fear of
passing the cold on to companions and friends and three percent claimed there
was no point in their going to work or school because they felt so under the
weather that they wouldn’t be able to perform anywhere near up to standard.