At real hospitals – VB / notes
The photo in the newspaper is of a scene from a medical series called "Grey’s Anatomy." This is the name of a standard textbook for medical / dental / anatomy / veterinary students.
Stanford university is an American university based in California.
A staple = a main and important ingredient / element of sth.
prime time – time at which radio and TV audiences are expected to be greatest
take issue with – challenge
mistaken / false impression – in the original American text the word ‘misimpression’ is used which does not exist in British English, although its meaning is clear
kindle – to light (a fire); to give rise to, arouse, trigger (an emotion)
residency – presumably the doctors who work in emergency services live in the hospital. To live in = to be resident in one’s place of work. A living-in allowance is payment for being resident, or sleeping at the place of work overnight, for instance, at a hostel / care home.
to show up = to turn up – informal for to arrive, to put in an appearance. He didn’t show up at the station = he didn’t arrive / appear
"Only in a fairy tale!" – the same meaning as ‘in your dreams!" both informal = this is totally unlike what actually happens in real life.
GR I don’t feel as if I am at work is actually more correct than I don’t feel like I am at work, as the clause is followed by a verb, although like is often used in the same context, and many British people do not know this distinction. eg I feel like a change (noun).
‘I feel as if‘ means ‘I have the sensation / impression’, with the sense that I may be wrong to have this impression.
Eg "I feel as if she dislikes me" – ie she has said nothing that suggests she dislikes me, but somehow I have that idea in my mind, although I may be wrong.
Eg "I feel as if I shouldn’t have come" – "I have the impression that I shouldn’t have come / it was a mistake for me to have come, I think"
To feel like sth (+ noun / gerund (ie a noun formed from a verb’s -ing form)) is to have a desire for something (noun), to fancy sth –
eg I feel like a coffee = I would like a coffee.
Do you feel like a holiday? = Do you feel a need for a holiday? Are you interested in having a holiday / inclined to have a holiday?
We often feel like going out for a walk on Saturdays. (We often feel keen to go out for a walk on Saturdays.)
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – a method used to keep someone alive in a medical emergency, in which you blow into their mouth then press on their chest and then repeat the process. In everyday language this is sometimes referred to as ‘the kiss of life‘. To give someone the ‘kiss of life’ = to administer/perform CPR
still = all the same
pretty darn good = absolutely fantastic
VB in the gap exercise
A perk – the informal word for benefit is a ‘perk‘ – a particular benefit to which someone is entitled because (s)he works in a particular organisation / company / career. A perk for someone in one career might be the high pay; for someone working in a department store it might be that (s)he is entitled to reductions on what they buy in that shop. A ‘perk‘ for a teacher might be the holidays.
Perks which are common in some companies are free membership of a gym, subsidised canteen meals, a coffee-machine or water-dispenser in the office.
A perk can also be an unexpected benefit – eg, the perk of getting a lift to Cornwall is that it saves me (the cost of) the train fare.
drift – noun – general meaning / intention / opinion "I get your drift" – I understand the general meaning of what you’re saying / implying.
eg You may not understand every word of English that you hear or read, sometimes – but aim just to get the drift.
This is similar to, but slightly different from the gist – which is the essence / substance, so the key points of a matter.