Helen因为头疼和胃疼到药店买了一些药，可是不管用。所以她今天约了医生看病.
Professor: That’s right, Winnie. In this first part, Helen is describing her symptoms to the doctor. Let’s listen.
Helen: I hope you can help me doctor. I really haven’t been feeling well the past few days.
Doctor: I see. Can you describe your symptoms for me?
Helen: I’ve had a persistent pain in my stomach, and I’ve been getting really bad headaches too.
Doctor: Can you describe the stomach pain? Is it a dull pain or a sharp pain?
Helen: It’s mostly a dull pain. No matter what I do, nothing seems to make it go away.
Professor, Helen说她的头疼和胃疼都是persistent是什么意思？
Professor: You can call a symptom persistent if it won’t go away. For example, “I get a persistent headache every afternoon as soon as my children come home from school.”
哦，persistent pain就是持续的疼痛。
Professor: Exactly. And do you know what sharp and dull pains are?
我知道，dull pain就是隐隐作痛，而sharp pain是剧烈疼痛。
Doctor: Do you have a history of these kinds of symptoms?
Helen: Well I’ve had stomach aches and headaches before, but never this serious and for so long.
Doctor: Right. How long have you been feeling ill? Is it every day?
Helen: It’s been on-and-off for a few months. I’ve tried taking aspirin to lessen the pain, but it doesn’t help.
Professor: So Winnie, how long has Helen had these symptoms?
她说已经疼了几个月了，不过，她说这些症状是on-an-off，这是什么意思呢？
Professor: That means that sometimes she has them, and sometimes she doesn’t.
哦，on-and-off 就是说有时候疼，有时候不疼，时好时坏。
Professor: Right. You can use this phrase for other things too. For example, “Chris and Tammy keep breaking up, but then getting back together. Their relationship has been on-and-off for the past year.”
哦，形容恋人的关系是on-and-off，就是说他们总是分分合合。Professor, 医生还问Helen是不是有a history of these symptoms，这就是问她是不是有这个病史，是不是老毛病吧？
Professor: Right again! The doctor might also ask if you have a “family history” of a disease, meaning that other people in your family have had the same thing.
Family history of a disease? 也就是家族病史。
Doctor: I’m not sure what the problem is. I need to do some tests before I can diagnose you.
Helen: How long will that take?
Doctor: It will take about a week for the test results to come back. Until then, I can give you some pain killers to help alleviate the pain.
Helen: Thanks doctor. I think that would be really helpful.
看来，医生一时也不能判断Helen到底有什么病，所以要 do some tests – 做一些化验，看看结果再说。
Professor: Yes, Winnie. And what does the doctor say he will do to help Helen alleviate the pain while they are waiting for the test results?
医生说先给Helen开一些pain killers – 止痛药，希望这样能alleviate – 缓解她的疼痛。
Doctor: I have just one last question. Have there been any big changes in your life that have affected your mental health?
Helen: Actually, my dog died a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been really sad about it.
Doctor: You know, sometimes when you are under a lot of mental stress, it can cause physical health problems. Have you thought about talking to a therapist?
Helen: No, I haven’t. Do you think that would help?
Doctor: It might. You should think about it.
原来，Helen的狗几个星期前死了，医生说，心理压力也可能引起身体不适，所以建议Helen去看看therapist–治疗师。
Professor: That’s right. Usually when Americans mention “therapist”, they refer to someone who you talk to about your mental health, but a “physical therapist” is someone who helps people recover from physical injuries.
哦，therapist一般指心理治疗师， “physical therapist,” 就是物理治疗师了。Professor, 你说Helen会去看therapist么？
Professor: Let’s listen next time to find out!
这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。