Read the text and answer the questions given below.

At the doctor's

All citizens of Russia regardless of their income or occupation have the right to both home and hospital treatment free of charge.

If a person falls ill, he can go to a local polyclinic or call a doctor in. Many qualified specialists work in the policlinic: therapeutists, neurologists, eye specialists and so on.

During a medical examination a doctor usually asks the patient what he complains of. A patient may complain of a bad headache or cough and pain in the throat in case of a cold; of pain in the chest and behind the breastbone, early fatigue if he has a heart trouble, etc. When examining the patient, the doctor looks at his tongue, feels his pulse, listen to his heart and lungs, measures his blood pressure and, if necessary, asks him to have his temperature taken. After that the doctor makes his diagnosis and prescribes a proper treatment. The doctor may prescribe pills or powders for headache, mixture for cough, antibiotics or cardiac, injections or mustard plasters, depending on the kind of a disease the patient has.

Laboratory analyses of blood, urine, gastric juice, and others help the doctor to make a correct diagnosis. The patient may be recommended to be X-rayed or have his electrocardiogram taken.

For the period of his disease the patient is given a sickleave. If the patient’s condition is very poor and he has to follow a bed regimen, a nurse calls on him to give injections or carry out any of the doctor’s administrations. If the patient follows the doctor’s instructions, he recovers very soon. All the patient’s complains and everything about the administrations, changes in the patient’s condition and course of the disease are written down in the patient’s case history.

If the patient needs hospitalization, the doctor phones the emergency department and the patient is taken to hospital by an ambulance.

There the doctors are on duty all day long. The ambulances are equipped with everything necessary to give the first aid. The patient is transported to hospital. There he is taken to the reception ward first. After questioning and examination the doctor fills in the patient’s case history. Then a patient is given special clothes and is put to some ward for treatment. The doctors make their daily round there. They examine patients and prescribe different medicines and treatments.

Take care of your health! If you do not feel well, you should consult a doctor at once.

1. What right do all citizens of Russia have?

2. If a patient falls ill, he can call a doctor, can’t he?

3. Many specialists work at every polyclinic. What are they?

4. What do patients usually complain of in case of a) cold, b) a heart trouble?

5. What does a doctor do during a physical examination?

6. What helps the doctor to make a correct diagnosis?

7. In what cases are patients given sick-leave?

8. What is done if the patient needs a hospital treatment?

6. Complete the sentences using the example:

A: Have you got a headache?

B: No, I keep feeling dizzy.

1. A: ………. a cold?

B: …………..sick.

2. A: …. ………a cough?

B: ……… hot and cold.

3. A: ………. a temperature?

B: ………..faint.

4. A: ……………a pain?

B: ………….weak.

5. A: ……….. a sore throat?

B: ………..shivery.

7. You can say “a pain in my ear” or “ear-ache”. Change A’s statements in a similar way:

Example:

A: I’ve got a pain in my ear.

B: I’ve got ear-ache.

1. A: ……….tooth.

B: ……………...

2. A: ……….stomach.

B: ……………...

3. A: ……….back.

B: ……………..

4. A: …………..back.

B: ……………….

5. A: ……………head.

B: …..........a………...