On Monday morning I wake up醒来 and my throat喉咙 /θroʊt/ hurts疼 /hɜːrts/. My nose鼻子 /noʊz/ is blocked堵塞的 /blɑːkt/ and my head头 /hed/ aches酸痛 /eɪks/. I try to swallow咽 /ˈswɑːl.oʊ/ but it stings刺痛 /stɪŋz/. I drag拖着 /dræɡ/ myself downstairs下楼 /ˌdaʊnˈsterz/ and collapse瘫倒 /kəˈlæps/ onto the sofa沙发 /ˈsoʊ.fə/. Mum takes量 /teɪks/ one look at me and says, "You have a cold感冒 /koʊld/."
She fetches拿来 /ˈfetʃ.ɪz/ a thermometer体温计 /θɚˈmɑːm.ɪ.t̬ɚ/ and checks检查 /tʃeks/ my temperature体温 /ˈtem.prɪ.tʃɚ/. Thirty-eight degrees度 /dɪˈɡriːz/. "You have a fever发烧 /ˈfiː.vɚ/," she says. " Rest休息 /rest/ today. No school上学 /skuːl/." I would normally be happy高兴的 /ˈhæp.i/ about that, but right now I feel too感觉太 awful难受 /ˈɔː.fəl/ to care.
Mum brings端来 /brɪŋz/ a glass玻璃杯 /ɡlɑːs/ of water水 /ˈwɑː.t̬ɚ/ and two pills药片 /pɪlz/. " Swallow these," she says. "They will bring the fever down." I obey照做 /əˈbeɪ/ without arguing争辩 /ˈɑːr.ɡjuː.ɪŋ/. She also makes me a bowl碗 /boʊl/ of soup汤 /suːp/ with ginger姜 /ˈdʒɪŋ.ɚ/ in it. " Ginger is good有益的 /ɡʊd/ for a sore酸痛的 /sɔːr/ throat," she says. I sip小口喝 /sɪp/ it slowly慢慢地 /ˈsloʊ.li/. It is warm温热的 /wɔːrm/ and soothing舒缓的 /ˈsuːð.ɪŋ/.
By afternoon I cough咳嗽 /kɑːf/ so much that Dad decides决定 /dɪˈsaɪdz/ to take me to带我去 the clinic诊所 /ˈklɪn.ɪk/. The waiting等候 /ˈweɪ.tɪŋ/ room候诊室 /ruːm/ is quiet安静的 /ˈkwaɪ.ət/. A young nurse护士 /nɜːrs/ calls叫号 /kɔːlz/ my name and weighs称体重 /weɪz/ me. Then the doctor医生 /ˈdɑːk.t̬ɚ/ comes in — a tall man with grey灰白的 /ɡreɪ/ hair头发 /her/ and a gentle温和的 /ˈdʒen.tl̩/ voice嗓音 /vɔɪs/.
He examines检查 /ɪɡˈzæm.ɪnz/ my throat, listens听诊 /ˈlɪs.ənz/ to my chest胸部 /tʃest/ and checks my ears耳朵 /ɪrz/. " Breathe呼吸 /briːð/ in deeply深深地 /ˈdiːp.li/," he says. I do. "And out呼出 /aʊt/." He nods点头 /nɑːdz/. "Your lungs肺 /lʌŋz/ are clear清晰的 /klɪr/. It is a viral病毒性的 /ˈvaɪ.rəl/ infection感染 /ɪnˈfek.ʃən/ — a common cold. No antibiotics抗生素 /ˌæn.ti.baɪˈɑːt.ɪks/ needed需要 /ˈniː.dɪd/."
He writes a prescription处方 /prɪˈskrɪp.ʃən/ for medicine药 /ˈmed.ɪ.sɪn/ to ease缓解 /iːz/ the symptoms症状 /ˈsɪmp.təmz/. " Rest for two days, drink喝 /drɪŋk/ plenty of water, and avoid避免 /əˈvɔɪd/ the cold," he says. "Your body身体 /ˈbɑːd.i/ will recover恢复 /rɪˈkʌv.ɚ/ on its own." He smiles微笑 /smaɪlz/. "You are young年轻的 /jʌŋ/ and healthy健康的 /ˈhel.θi/. Give it three days."
On the way home, Dad stops停下 /stɑːps/ at the pharmacy药店 /ˈfɑːr.mə.si/ and collects取 /kəˈlekts/ the medicine. That night I sleep睡 /sliːp/ for ten hours小时 /aʊɚz/. By Wednesday my fever is gone消退 /ɡɔːn/ and my throat feels感觉 /fiːlz/ better好多了 /ˈbet̬.ɚ/. The doctor was right说对了 /raɪt/. Three days was all it took需要 /tʊk/.