A: billy, you don’t look too well. Maybe you should take the day off school.
B: but Mom! Today we’re playing football! I love football!
A: you’ve god a fever and playing football isn’t a good idea for a boy with a fever. What’s that on your arm?
B: I don’t know. It was there when I woke up this morning.
A; it’s rash. I’d better take you to see the doctor. How did you get that bruise1 on your leg?
B: I bashed it against the chair in my room.
A: does it hurt?
B: a little , but not much.
A: here. Put this wet towel on your face to keep your temperature down. I’ll take you to the doctor’s after breakfast.
B; if I’m better this afternoon, can I go to school?
A; if you are better, but I doubt you will be.
Intermediate
A; have you seen bill recently?
B: yes. He’s in hospital with a bad back. One morning, he just couldn’t get out of bed. His wife called an ambulance and they took him to hospital. He’s been there for a few days now.
A; daisy’s in hospital too .she god food poisoning last week. She thinks she got it from some bad seafood2.
B: you have to be very careful with seafood. It tastes lovely, but it often causes upset stomachs. Have you heard anything from tom?
A; he’s fine, but he had a fever last week. He probably just had a cold.
B; he might be allergic3 to pollen4. My niece is allergic to pollen. It seems like she has a cold, but in fact it’s her allergy5.
A: I see. My niece just flew back from Australia to visit. She’s got jetlag now. she’s just resting today, but we’ll probably go out somewhere tomorrow.
B; it’s nice that she’s back for a while. Thinking of all these ailments6, I got a splinter the other day. It took a long time for me to get it out of my skin. Look.
A; oh, your hand is still sore. You should put some ointment7 on it to stop the swelling8.
B: that’s a good idea. You’ve got a nasty bruise on your hand.
A: yes, I banged it against to cooker yesterday. It really hurt, but it’s OK now. the bruise will disappear soon.
Words
Ailment pill/tablet rash doctor bruise jetlag sore fever(ish) burn pain headache earache
Stomach ache back pain allergic allergy swollen ointment/cream graze splinter
