a bottle filled with pills sitting on top of a wooden table

Pharmacists Say England Throws Away Medicine

curiousAugust 8, 2026·124 words·2 min read

This is a A2 (elementary) English article about pharmacists say england throws away medicine. Read the article below, then check the key words and test your understanding with 5 exercises. You can also listen to the audio and tap any word to see its meaning.

Key Vocabulary Exercises Dictation Practice Memorize Practice

How to practice

Key Vocabulary

Tap any underlined difficult word to see its definition in your language and hear it pronounced.

Exercises

Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and ordering tasks check that you understood what you read.

Dictation Practice

Listen to each sentence, then type what you hear word by word. Trains your ear and spelling.

Memorize Practice

Read a sentence, then reconstruct it from memory by filling in the blanks. Active recall locks vocabulary in.

Read & Listen

0:00 / 0:55

Pharmacists Say England Throws Away Medicine

England throws away a lot of medicine every year. A pharmacy group says people threw away 3,400 tonnes of medicine last year. That is enough to fill about 75 big swimming pools.

The NHS is the health service in England. The waste costs it at least 480 million pounds a year. A pharmacy can not use a medicine again after it gives it to a patient. This is true even if the box is still closed. Unused medicine must be destroyed in a special way.

The pharmacy group asks people to order only the medicine they need. It also wants doctors to check people's medicine more often. One expert says old antibiotics at home can be dangerous. People take them later without asking a doctor.

Key Vocabulary

n.: a shop that sells medicine
n.: pills you take when you are ill
n.: using things badly, not using them
n.: one thousand kilos of weight
v.: break something so it is gone
n.: medicine that kills very small things making you ill
n.: someone who knows a lot about something

Vocabulary Translations· 7 words · 12 languages

Every definition is context-aware — translated based on how the word is used in this article, not a dictionary.

pharmacyn.

a shop that sells medicine

nhà thuốcfarmácia薬局eczanefarmaciaaptekaصيدليةapotheekаптека药房약국

medicinen.

pills you take when you are ill

thuốcmedicamentos薬ilaçmedicamentoslekiدواءmedicijnenлекарства药品약

wasten.

using things badly, not using them

sự lãng phídesperdício無駄、廃棄israfdesperdiciomarnotrawstwoهدرverspillingрасточительство, потери浪费낭비

tonnen.

one thousand kilos of weight

tấntoneladasトンtontoneladastonyأطنانtonтонны吨톤

destroyv.

break something so it is gone

tiêu hủydestruído廃棄するimha edilmekdestruirzniszczyćيُتلَفvernietigenуничтожать销毁폐기하다

antibioticn.

medicine that kills very small things making you ill

thuốc kháng sinhantibióticos抗生物質antibiyotiklerantibióticosantybiotykiمضادات حيويةantibioticaантибиотики抗生素항생제

expertn.

someone who knows a lot about something

chuyên giaespecialista専門家uzmanexpertoekspertخبيرdeskundigeэксперт专家전문가

Check Your Understanding

Question 1: True or False

The medicine that people throw away could fill about 75 big swimming pools.

A pharmacy can give a medicine to another patient if the box is still closed.

People can put unused medicine in a normal bin at home.

An expert warns that antibiotics left in the house can cause problems later.

Question 2: Multiple Choice

How much does the wasted medicine cost the health service every year?

Question 3: Multiple Choice

What does the pharmacy group want doctors to do?

Question 4: Matching

Tap a word, then tap its meaning.

Question 5: Fill in the Blank

People should think carefully and ask for only as much ______ as they will really take.

Dictation Practice

Sentence 1 / 120/9 words

Memorize Practice

Sentence 1 / 12

Read at Other Levels

A1Beginner89w

A2Elementary124w(current)

B1Intermediate184w B2Upper-Intermediate258w C1Advanced361w

Pharmacists Say England Throws Away Medicine

Read & Listen

Key Vocabulary

Check Your Understanding

Question 1: True or False

Question 2: Multiple Choice

Question 3: Multiple Choice

Question 4: Matching

Question 5: Fill in the Blank

Dictation Practice

Memorize Practice

Read at Other Levels

More stories

Europe Says: No World Cup

Deaf Godzilla Actress Dies

Harry's Family Meets King Charles