Being ill.

“ You don’t look your usual self this morning”, said my wife at breakfast.

“No, I’m not feeling up to much” I said. “I don’t know what I’ve got, but I hardly slept a wink all night, and now I’ve got a splitting headache.”

“Poor old thing”, she said, feeling my forehead. “It feels as if you’ve got a bit of a temperature”.

At work I felt ghastly all morning. My head was now throbbing violently and there were moments when it felt as if the whole office was going round. At eleven o’clock I took a couple of aspirins with my coffee, they didn’t seem to do any good. By lunchtime I had to admit that I was running a temperature: I felt hot and shivery at the same time.

I called my secretary in. “Look, Pam, ” I said, “I’m not feeling too well. I’m going to take the rest of the day off. You might as well do the same when you’ve finished the letters. Perhaps you would ring up Fraser and let him know.”

“Yes, of course, Mr. Garter. You do look poorly. I hope you haven’t caught this nasty flu that’s around.”

Feeling rather sorry for myself, I put on my overcoat and wrapped scarf round my neck.

When I got home I went straight to bed and my wife gave me a hot water bottle. I certainly felt better lying down.

“I’ll bring you some lunch in a minute, ” said my wife.

“No, thank you, ” I said. “I couldn’t eat a thing. All I want is a glass of water. Then I think I’ll sleep for a bit”

“Don’t you think I’d better call the doctor? ” she said. “I shouldn’t be surprised if you’ve got this flu, like Mrs. Higgins.”

Mrs. Higgins was our daily help, and she been off work for the last few days.

Then I must have dozen off, for I woke up, sweating all over, to hear the doctor coming up the stairs. “Quite an epidemic of it” I heard him say to my wife. I sat up feeling stiff and uncomfortable; my pyjamas were sticking to me.

“Now then, ” said the doctor, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Let’s have a good look at you”. He opened his bag and stuck a thermometer in my mouth. While he was waiting he took my pulse. Then he took out the thermometer and looked at it. “ Just over a hundred and two, ” he murmbled.

He put a stethoscope in his ears and listened to my chest. “Now the throat. Say “Ah”. Silence. “Looks a bit sore. Does it hurt when you swallow? ” I nodded. “Mm. It’s flu all right. The throat’s nothing serious.” He looked for his pen. “Look here, I’m going to keep you in bed for a day or two. Keep taking plenty of aspirin to bring your temperature down, and I’ll give you some pills to help you to sleep at night. You should stay away from work for the rest of the week and take it easy. It’s much better to shake it off in one go if you can. Otherwise, if you go back to work too soon, it might drag on indefinitely.

He wrote out a prescription and handed it to my wife. As she saw him to the door I heard him say: “He’s bound to feel rotten for the next day or so, but in any case I’ll drop in again the day after tomorrow to see how he’s getting on. Keep him well covered up.”

For two days I was terribly weak. Whenever I had to get out of bed, I felt giddy and was glad to lie down again. Moreover, I couldn’t face eating anything; all I wanted was lots of drink and plenty of sleep. I didn’t even feel like reading. Then, suddenly, I felt much better. My temperature was almost back to normal, my appetite came back, and I felt I wanted to do something useful. Now my wife had to struggle to keep me in bed. “You ‘re not to overdo it, ” she said. “Flu takes it out of you more than you think.” So I spent the time propped up with lots of pillows, catching up with my reading. In fact, it was now all rather pleasant.

Notes on the Text.

ill - adj - a) sick, not well, b) bad. In the sense of “unwell” ill is used only predicatively. He has been ill now for three weeks.

Collocations: to fall ill; to look ill; to feel ill; to be taken ill.

Its synonym sick means “ill” or “ailing” if used attributively (in British English). In American usage sick has this meaning also if used as part of the predicate.

Mr. Binks is a sick man.

Collocations: sick diet; on sick leave; to be seasick /homesick; sick pay.

Shivery - adj - trembling, esp. with fever.

To shiver - to tremble (with cold /fear/ fever). Shivering is generally the result of cold; trembling is the result of some emotional reaction. Compare: The water in the lake was so clod that she came out shivering. - It was her first appearance on the stage, and she stood trembling with excitement and nervousness.

Shaking is generally the result of more violent and intense emotions; e.g.: to shake with horror/terror/dread.

To shake is always used in the combination to shake with sobs and is more often used than to tremble in the combinations to shake with age / weakness.

His hand with age / with weakness.

Flu (short for influenza) n - the general name for viruses that cause chills, fever, headache, and/or nausea.

Hot water bottle - container for hot water which is used for warming beds.

“Just over a hundred and two” - 102 F (Fahrenheit) correspond to 38.9 C (Centigrade). The Fahrenheit thermometr is used throughout the BritishCommonwealth and in the United States. The boiling point of the Fahrenheit thermometr is 212, the freezing point - 320, the normal temperature of a human body is about 99. The Centigrade thermometr, used in Russia, France and other countries, has 0 (zero) for its freezinf point and 100 for the boiling point.

Giddy adj - dizzy; feeling as if everything is spinning around.

1.1. Choose the right word. Explane your choice.

a) ill, sick.

1. After that large dinner, I feel positively... 2. “Where have you been lately? ” - “I ‘ve been off... for a few days”. 3. Val was out of sorts,... and tired of everything. 4. She was taken... at midnight and driven to the hospital in an ambulance. 5. I am not so... that can’t continue with my work. 6. Jane hasn’t been around for quite a while; she must be... again. She is a very... person. 7. The man was carefully placed on the stretcher. 8. He is seriously... with pneumonia. 9. Are they really..., or are they just malingering? 10. If you’re..., see a doctor.

b) shiver, tremble, shake.

1. Mary was so excited that her voice... when she began to speak. 2. At the mention of Mr. Dodd’s name poor Jane began to... with dread. 3. Joyce was so weak and faint that her hand... as she opened the letter.4. Feeling June’s slender body... with sobs, old Jolyon was terribly alarmed. 5. When Mr. Bantry scolded Walter, the boy’s hands.. with nervousness. 6. At night poor Henry would lie... in bed under his thin blanket. 7. With... fingers Hurstwood counted the money Carrie had given him. 8. The classroom at Lowood was so cold that the girls sat... all through the lessons

1.2. Give Russian equivalenrs for the following.

1. “You don’t look your usual self this morning, ” said my wife at breakfast. 2....I hardly slept a wink all night. 3. My head was throbbing violently and there were moments when it felt as if the whole office was going round.4. I woke up, sweating all over. 5. Does it hurt when you swallow? 6. You should stay away from work for the rest of the week and take it easy. 7. Keep him well covered up. 8. I felt giddy and was glad to lie down again.

1.3. Give English equivalents for the following words and expressions. Use them in sentences of your own

сильная головная боль, схватить грипп, грелка, вызвать врача, эпидемия, пощупать пульс, прослушать сердце и легкие, чувствовать себя отвратительно (хорошо / лучше), выписать рецепт; принимать аспирин, сбить температуру.

1.4.Give synonyms to the following words.

To feel ill, to fall ill (with flu), to hurt, painful, to lie in bed, to run a temperature.

1.5. Complete the sentences using suitable words or word combinations from the list below. Make all the necessary changes.

1. I don’t feel like...2. How about...? 3. The doctor entered the room to find the patient... 4. Maggy is in the habit of...5. There is little hope of... 6. Children are afraid of... 7. Do you mind....? 8. There is no use... 9. Richard hates the idea of... 10. Harris couldn’ help...

(to sweat all over, to take in the medicine, to go to a chemist’s, to keep to a diet, to have one’s tonsils removed, to take one’s temperature, to ring up the reception-office, to be on sick leave, to have quick recovery, to treat oneself, to call a doctor in, to have one’s blood pressure tested)

1.6.Supply the missing prepositions and adverbs where necessary.

1. The doctor isn’t likely to prescribe any special medicine... your headaches. 2. During the recent epidemic... the grippe many children stayed...... school, being laid...... the disease. 3. The boy was shivering... cold. 4. To recover quickly a patient must follow... all the doctors instructions. 5. Here are two prescriptions, one... some pills and one... a tonic.6. Unfasten your jacket and your shirt, please. I’ll listen your heart. 7. You’d better keep... bed for a day or two. 8. Take this mixture, it will help to bring your temperature... 9. Roy complained... pains in the stomach. 10. If you don’t take care... yourself, you may have a nervous breakdown and have to go... hospital.

II. Translate the following text in a written form.