12 Visiting the Doctor.

Making a Doctor's Appointment

Secretary: Doctor Conelly’s surgery. Can I help you?

Mrs Jones: Oh, good morning. This is Mrs Jones speaking.

Secretary: Good morning, Mrs Jones.

Mrs Jones: I’d like to make an appointment to see Doctor Conelly.

Secretary: Well, his surgery hours today are from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Mrs Jones: I’m afraid I can’t come today.

Secretary: Well then, I can give you an appointment for tomorrow morning at 8.a.m.

Mrs Jones: That’s fine. Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.

Secretary: Yes, don’t eat anything in case you need a blood test.

Mrs Jones: Right. Thank you very much. Goodbye.

Secretary: Goodbye Mrs Jones.

Mrs Jones enters the office and greets the secretary. She explains that she would like to make an
appointment. There is an appointment available that day in the afternoon. Unfortunately, Mrs
Jones already has an appointment that day at 3 p.m. So the secretary asks Mrs Jones if she can
come the next day at 10 a.m. Mrs Jones confirms that she is able to come in the morning and takes
the appointment. The secretary tells Mrs Jones that it is better not to eat before the appointment.
Mrs Jones thanks the secretary and says goodbye.
The doctor made a blood test .

That's fine . I'll come tomorrow at 6 o'clock.

Come to my surgery at six o'clock.

Surgery hours are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The doctor gave me a prescription for some tablets.

Where is Janet? Is she ill ?

I'd like to make an appointment .

Right , I'll come tomorrow.

What time is your appointment ?

I'll ask the doctor for some medicine

Feeling Unwell - Describing Symptoms

Tommy has a temperature. He’s got spots all over his tummy.

Mister Blake has got a bad cough. He’s afraid he’s got bronchitis.

Miss Bell has hurt her ankle. It’s swollen. She’s afraid it’s broken.

Mrs Simpson has a bad pain. She’s worried. She thinks it’s appendicitis.
My foot hurts a lot. Look! My ankle  is all swollen!

The pain is very bad. I'm worried  that it is going to get worse.

He is coughing a lot. The doctor thinks that he has bronchitis 

The child has red spots  all over his tummy.

The mother is worried because her baby fell and hurt  his head.
Tommy has spots  all over his back.

My arm is all swollen 

These tablets  will relieve your allergy.

Mary has sprained  her ankle.

She broke her ankle 

He soon got better  from his illness.

Mr Jones has bronchitis

Does your arm hurt 

I think I've got a temperature

The doctor put a tight bandage  round her ankle.

Why are you worried

I'm afraid  of an operation.

I've got a pain in my tummy

You must take some antibiotics 

I have a pain  in my arm

Is my ankle broken 

I've had this cough  for a week now.

I hope it isn't appendicitis 

There's a slight infection

The doctor gave me a prescription  for some tablets.

 General Practitioner
Hello, Dr Dean. Thank you for seeing me.

My pleasure, Mr Russel. So, explain your situation to me, I'm listening.

Well listen, I have a lot of problems. I've not been feeling very well in a
while. I am always tired and constantly have back pain. Well, that's not
new. But for two or three days now, I've been
having muscular pains everywhere. I think I may have caught the flu or a
similar virus.

Okay. Well, this is not the flu season yet, but you might have a viral
infection or bacterial infection. Do you have any other symptoms?

I've had pressure in my head that goes back and forth for a few days, and
yesterday I had what felt like abdominal pain all morning.

I see. Did you have nausea or vomiting?

No, and thankfully! I am not coughing, but I still have a slight sore throat. It's
painful when I eat or drink.

Hmm ... And no pain in the sinuses or the ears?

Hmm, maybe. I feel like I've got mild otitis in my left ear. Well, I think so. I
haven't been hearing very well for two days, either. I also have toothache.
It started at the same time as the otitis.

Well, it is quite possible that you have a sinus infection. The sinuses are
connected to the ears, nose and throat. In the case of pain in the sinuses,
it can also spread to the teeth. And you may also have swollen glands; that,
too, is a symptom. We will examine that. Please, sit down.

Let me explain: the glands affected by a sinus infection are those

associated with the lymphatic system. And so, painful lymphatic glands, in
general, also cause a sore throat.

I see. So what can we do?

What I suggest is to measure your blood pressure and to examine your lungs.

We will make sure that no infection has spread to your respiratory system.
Well, you can get dressed. So, here is a list of foods I can recommend to
help boost your immune system because your body is actually fighting
the flu. Do you have any food allergies?

No, I do not think so... Although it's true that I often feel a bit tired after
eating bread or pizza...

Ah, that means you could have a gluten allergy. Unfortunately, gluten

sensitivity is a chronic disease and there are no medicines to cure it.

Oh, but ... uh, is it serious?

No, no; don't worry. Hmm... So what I'm going to do is take a blood
sample and check for the presence of gluten antibodies in your blood cells. A
gluten allergy would also explain the pain in your stomach and the pain in
the muscles. Do you know if anyone in your family has a gluten allergy?
Because it's a genetic disease...

Hmm, I'm not sure ...

Well, listen, I think we should schedule another appointment for a more

in-depth examination anyway. If you have a gluten allergy, we will have to
monitor your endocrine system, your blood flow and your liver to make sure
there are no abnormalities. But there is no need to worry for the moment.

All this is not very reassuring. Well, anyway, thank you, Dr Dean.

You're welcome. Most important of all is to rest well. See you soon.
A

D
Hormones are produced by the endocrine  system.

You listen to the patient describe his/her symptoms. You ask questions to
determine the severity of those symptoms, and the presence (or absence)
of other symptoms. You examine the patient to help you confirm his/her
condition. You identify the patient's condition and discuss treatment. You
prescribe medication, or call for further tests to be done.

She cannot eat bread because she has an allergy  to wheat.

It is important to treat a muscular  tear quickly because it causes intense

pain.

After a thorough examination of the patient's endocrine system  , the

doctor discovered that the patient was suffering from an abnormality of
the thyroid gland.

It's not the cold weather that causes the flu  ; it's viruses.

The doctor examined  the patient and took his pulse.

Among the complications of alcohol abuse, liver  diseases are the most
common.

The doctor gave him medicine to treat a bacterial infection

During a viral infection  , the virus multiplies while the body resists it.

Eating too much salt can cause an increase in blood pressure

Diabetes is a chronic disease  that affects many of the body's major

organs.

Smoke makes you cough

He experienced mild pain  during the intramuscular injection.

Leukemia affects the body's ability to produce healthy blood cells

A newborn who is breastfed receives antibodies  from the mother's milk.

Vomiting  is a symptom to be taken seriously.

Thyme essential oil can be beneficial for your respiratory system  ,

especially when you have bronchitis.

A genetic disease  can skip a generation and appear in future

generations.

The knee is swollen  due to an injury.

The doctor said he was tired because of a problem with his lymphatic
system 

Many pregnant women suffer from nausea  during the first months of
pregnancy

She has difficulty eating and talking because she has a sore throat

A problem with the thyroid gland  can lead to weight gain.

He felt abdominal  pain after eating too much ice cream.

She is often sick because she does not have a good immune system 

The symptom  of a dental abscess is acute and intense pain in and

around the infected tooth.

The tars contained in cigarette smoke are deposited in the lungs  of

smokers.

Otitis  is a common problem in young children.

My girlfriend's hands and feet are always cold because she has poor
blood flow 
 Indirect Questions

Marco  works at the sports centre; Jack  is a customer there.

The sports centre wants to collect information from  customers.

Marco is polite  to Jack.

Meaning - Summary
Example
Direct and indirect questions | Examples
Direct question (less polite) Indirect question (more polite)

Where is Jack?   Do you know where Jack is?  

What is this? Would you mind telling me what this is?

When does the film end? Could you tell me when the film ends?
 Direct question (less polite) Indirect question (more polite)

Is this the right train for London? Do you have any idea if this is the right train for London

Reminder
Indirect questions | Meaning and use
When asking for something or speaking to a person we don’t know well, it is often
necessary to be polite. We can sound more polite (or formal) by using indirect
questions instead of direct questions.
Other than being more polite than direct questions, indirect questions have exactly
the same meaning.

Indirect questions are usually  longer than  direct questions.

Indirect questions often  start  with a polite phrase like “Could you tell
me”.

In the sentence "Would you mind telling me what this is?"  , the subject
and verb change positions.

In the sentence "Do you know whether she is a student?"  , “if” or

“whether” is added to the end of the polite starting phrase.

In the sentence "Could you tell me when the film ends?"  , “do” is
removed and “s” is added to the main verb.
Direct question: What have you done? | Indirect question: Would you
mind telling me what you have done 
Direct question: How did you meet Anna? | Indirect question: Can you tell
me how you met Anna
Direct question: Where do you live? | Indirect question: I don't suppose
you could tell me where you live
Direct question: Has she done this before? | Indirect question: Could you
tell me whether she has done this before 
Direct question: Are you coming tomorrow? | Indirect question: Do you
have any idea if you are coming tomorrow

Form - Summary
 Reminder
Direct questions with a WH- question word and an auxiliary verb indirect
questions
direct questions* indirect questions

What is this? Would you mind telling me what this is?

Why were you late?  Can you tell me why you were late?

* These direct questions contain a WH- question word (“how”, “where”, “when”,
etc.) and an auxiliary verb (“be”, “do”, “have”, “can”, “will”, etc.)  
To create an indirect (more polite) question:  
1. Add a polite starting phrase. For example:  

 Could you tell me ... ? 

 Would you mind telling me ... ?  

 I don’t suppose you could tell me ... ? 

2. Change the order of the subject and verb.  

Reminder
Direct questions with a WH- question word but no auxiliary verb indirect
questions
direct questions* indirect questions

How did you make those biscuits?  Would you mind telling me how you made those biscu

When does the film end? Could you tell me when the film ends?

* These direct questions contain a WH- question word (“how”, “where”, “when”,
etc.), but as there is no auxiliary verb (“be”, “have”, “can”, “will”, etc.), “do” is used.
To create an indirect (more polite) question:  
1. Add a polite starting phrase. For example:  

 Could you tell me ... ?

 Would you mind telling me ... ?

 I don’t suppose you could tell me ... ? 

2. Remove “do”, “did” or “does”.  

3. If removing “does” or "did", change the main verb accordingly (possibly adding
“s” and changing its tense).  
Reminder
Direct questions without a WH- question word indirect questions
 direct question* indirect question

Is this the right train for London?  Do you have any idea if this is the right train for Londo

Is she a student? Do you know whether she is a student (or not)?

* These direct questions do not contain a WH- question word, and they result in a
yes/no answer.
To create an indirect (more polite) question:  
1. Add a polite starting phrase ending in “if” or “whether”. For example: 

 Could you tell me if/whether ... ?

 Do you have any idea if/ whether ... ?

 I don’t suppose you know if/whether ... ?

 2. Change the order of the subject and verb. 

A: Do you have any idea if I'm  in the right place for the chess club?
M: Yes, you are. Could I ask you  if you’ve been here before?
A: No, it’s my first time. I don’t suppose you could  tell me which room it’s
in? M: Mmm, I think it’s room 302. A: Super. Thanks for your help.
A: Hi! Could you tell me if this is  the right room for the chess club?
J: Um, sorry that’s on another floor. A: Ah, OK. I don’t suppose  you know
which floor it's on?  J: Yeah, on the top floor. There’s a lift just over there.
A: Lovely, thanks.