The Doctor's Note — Easy English Story

Transcript

Introduction

A: Hello, and welcome to Recursio Easy English Stories. Today’s story is called “The Doctor’s Note.”

A: This is a B1 story about a woman who went to work when she should have stayed home.

A: Listen for these phrases: a sore throat, under the weather, call in sick, a doctor’s note, get some rest, and feel better.

A: After the story, we’ll go through all the useful phrases and practice them together.

A: You can practice today’s phrases in Recursio — the link is in the description.

A: Let’s begin. It’s Thursday morning, and Lena is awake before her alarm.

A bad morning

A: Lena opened her eyes at five forty. The room was gray, and the street outside was quiet.

A: She swallowed, and it hurt.

A: She swallowed again, carefully. She already knew the answer.

A: She had a sore throat. A sore throat is a throat that hurts when you swallow or talk.

A: She sat up slowly. Her head felt heavy, and her skin felt too warm under the blanket.

A: On a normal Thursday, this would be simple. She would send one message and go back to sleep.

A: But this was not a normal Thursday.

A: At eleven o’clock, Lena had to give a presentation. Three months of work, twenty minutes, and a senior manager in the room.

A: She had practiced it on Tuesday in front of her bathroom mirror. She knew every slide.

A: She went to the kitchen and made tea with honey. She drank it standing up, looking at the wall.

A: Then she opened her phone and typed a message to her manager: “I’m not feeling well, so I won’t be able to come in today.”

A: She looked at it for a long time. Then she deleted it, word by word, and put the phone down.

A: To call in sick means to tell your manager or workplace that you’re ill and can’t work.

A: Lena did not call in sick. She took a shower, put on her good shirt, and went to the train.

A: On the train, she leaned her head against the cold window and closed her eyes.

A: A man next to her was eating a sandwich. The smell made her feel sick.

A: She counted the stops instead. Six stops. Then a five-minute walk, and then coffee.

A: She thought: it’s one day. Twenty minutes at eleven, and then I’ll go home.

A: Every year at school, her mother had said the same thing: if you’re ill, you stay in bed.

A: And every year, Lena had gone anyway, because there was always a test, or a concert, or something.

A: That was the plan. It was a bad plan, and she already knew it.

The longest meeting

A: At the office, Priya was already at the next desk with two cups of coffee.

A: Priya had worked next to Lena for two years. She noticed things.

C: You look terrible.

B: Thank you. Good morning to you too.

C: I’m serious. Are you okay?

B: I’m feeling a bit under the weather. It’s nothing.

A: To feel under the weather means to feel slightly ill or not quite well.

C: A bit under the weather, or actually sick?

B: I have a sore throat and a headache. And the presentation is at eleven.

C: Lena. Go home.

B: After eleven.

A: Priya looked at her for a moment and then put one of the coffees on Lena’s desk anyway.

C: You should take a day off. One day. Nothing bad will happen.

A: To take a day off means not to work for one day.

B: I’ve worked on this for three months.

C: And it won’t be your best presentation if you fall over.

A: Lena laughed, and the laugh turned into a cough that went on too long.

C: That’s not the cough of a woman who is a bit under the weather.

B: It’s a dry office. Everyone coughs in here.

C: Nobody else is coughing.

A: Lena drank some water and looked at her slides again, and Priya let it go, for now.

C: Okay. Do the presentation. But after that, you go home. Deal?

B: Deal.

C: And you’re not answering messages tonight.

B: I’m not answering messages tonight.

C: You say that every time.

A: At eleven o’clock, Lena stood up in front of nine people and started to talk.

A: For the first five minutes, it was fine. Her voice was rough, but the words came.

A: Then the room got warm. The slides looked farther away than they were.

A: Her own voice sounded far away. She was saying a sentence she knew perfectly.

A: She stopped in the middle of it. For four long seconds, nobody said anything.

A: Then, quietly, from the back of the room, Priya spoke.

C: Take your time.

A: Lena drank some water, found her place, and finished. People clapped, the way people always do.

A: The senior manager said it was good work, asked one question, and Lena answered it.

A: And then she sat down at her desk and understood that she could not read her own screen.

A: Priya put a hand on the back of her chair.

C: How do you feel?

B: Honestly? Like the floor is moving.

C: Right. Coat. Now.

B: I need to send the slides first.

C: I’ll send the slides. Go.

A: At twelve fifteen, she picked up her phone and called her manager.

B: Hi, it’s Lena. I’m feeling worse, so I’m going home. I also need to call in sick tomorrow.

A: It was almost exactly the message she had deleted that morning.

A: On the other end, her manager said that she should have stayed home that morning. Which was true.

A: He also explained that company policy required a doctor’s note if she missed two days of work.

A: A doctor’s note is a document from a healthcare professional, often used to explain an absence from work or school.

A: So Lena called the clinic near her apartment, from the stairs, with her coat half on.

A: To make an appointment means to arrange a time to see the doctor.

B: Hello, I’d like to make an appointment, please. Today, if possible.

A: They gave her four o’clock. She went home, set an alarm, and slept until the alarm rang.

The doctor’s note

A: The clinic was warm and smelled like lemon soap.

A: Doctor Ruiz was a short woman with reading glasses on a chain and a very calm voice.

C: So, what seems to be the problem?

B: I have a sore throat, and I think I have a fever. It started this morning.

C: And what did you do today?

B: I went to work and gave a presentation.

A: The doctor looked at her over the top of her glasses. She did not say anything.

A: Somehow, her silence was worse than any words.

C: Open your mouth, please. Say “ah.”

A: She looked at Lena’s throat, listened to her breathing, and took her temperature.

C: Thirty-eight point four degrees Celsius. That’s a fever. This may be a viral infection, and antibiotics don’t work on viruses.

B: Are you sure? It really hurts.

C: A sore throat can have several causes. If you feel worse or you’re not getting better, call the clinic again.

B: So what will help?

C: For now, warm drinks and sleep — real sleep, not sleep with your laptop next to the bed.

A: To get some rest means to relax and sleep, so your body can get strong again.

C: Get some rest. Two days at home, at least.

B: I need something for work. A doctor’s note.

C: Of course. I’ll write it now.

A: The doctor typed for a moment, and the printer made a small sound in the corner.

A: She gave Lena a piece of paper with a stamp on it, and Lena held it like a ticket.

A: Lena’s phone lit up with three new work messages.

A: She read the first line but did not open any of them.

B: I should answer those.

C: No. Your job for the next two days is to rest.

A: Lena held down the power button and turned off her phone.

B: There. It’s off.

C: Good. Now I believe you.

C: Two days. And if you’re not better by Monday, or if you feel worse before then, come back and see me.

B: Thank you. I will.

C: One more thing. Next time, if you need a note for work, call the clinic earlier.

B: I had a presentation.

C: Work will always be busy.

A: Lena didn’t have an answer to that, because there wasn’t one.

C: Take care.

A: “Take care” is a warm way to say goodbye, especially to someone who is ill.

A: Lena walked home slowly. The paper was in her pocket, and for the first time that day, she wasn’t in a hurry.

A: She sent the note to her manager, put her phone face down, and slept for eleven hours.

Three days

A: On Friday she did nothing at all. She drank tea, watched half a movie, and slept again.

A: On Saturday morning she woke up and swallowed, and it hurt much less.

A: To feel better means to start feeling healthier after being ill.

A: She sent a message to her friend from the office: “I feel better. Thank you for the coffee I didn’t drink.”

A: Priya replied in about nine seconds.

C: Told you. Are you resting?

B: I’m resting. I promise.

C: Good. See you at your desk on Monday. Take care.

A: On Monday, Lena came back to work, and her manager said the presentation had gone well after all.

A: The people in the room had liked it. Nobody had noticed the four seconds of silence.

A: But later that week, two of the nine were also at home with sore throats.

A: Lena could not know where they had become ill, but she thought about how easily sickness could spread in an office.

A: On her desk there was a fresh cup of coffee, and a small yellow note in Priya’s handwriting.

A: It said: “Next time, stay home.”

Phrase review

A: Now let’s go through the useful phrases from the story, one by one.

A: And if you’d like to remember them afterwards, you can save them in Recursio, and it will bring them back before you forget.

A: First: a sore throat. It’s a throat that hurts when you swallow or talk.

A: Lena woke up with a sore throat. “I have a sore throat and a headache.”

A: Next: to feel under the weather. It means to feel slightly ill or not quite well.

A: Lena told Priya, “I’m feeling a bit under the weather.” It’s soft and polite — you don’t have to explain everything.

A: Next: to call in sick. It means to tell your manager or workplace that you’re ill and can’t work.

A: Lena told her manager she was too sick to keep working, and she called in sick for Friday. “He called in sick this morning.”

A: Next: to take a day off. It means not to work for one day.

A: Priya said, “You should take a day off.” You can also say, “I’m taking Friday off.”

A: Next: to make an appointment. It means to arrange a time to see the doctor.

A: Lena said, “I’d like to make an appointment, please.” You can also make an appointment with a dentist or at a hair salon.

A: Next: a doctor’s note. It’s a document from a healthcare professional, often used to explain an absence from work or school.

A: Her manager asked for one. You can ask the doctor: “Could I have a note for work, please?”

A: Next: to get some rest. It means to relax and sleep, so your body can get strong again.

A: The doctor said, “Get some rest.” It was exactly what Lena needed that day.

A: Next: to feel better. It means to start feeling healthier after being ill.

A: On Saturday, Lena felt better. You can say to a friend, “I hope you feel better soon!”

A: And last: “Take care.” It’s a warm way to say goodbye, especially to someone who is ill.

A: The doctor said it, and so did Priya. “See you Monday. Take care.”

Mini recall

A: Now a short recall. I’ll describe the situation, you say the phrase. Then I’ll give you the answer.

A: Your throat hurts when you swallow. What do you have?

A: A sore throat.

A: You feel slightly ill or not quite well. How do you say it?

A: I’m feeling under the weather.

A: You tell your manager that you’re ill and can’t work today. What are you doing?

A: Calling in sick.

A: You want to arrange a time to see the doctor. What do you do?

A: You make an appointment.

A: Your workplace needs a document from a healthcare professional. What is it called?

A: A doctor’s note.

A: The doctor tells you to relax and sleep. What does she say?

A: Get some rest.

Outro

A: That was “The Doctor’s Note.”

A: Today’s phrases were: a sore throat. To feel under the weather. To call in sick. To take a day off.

A: To make an appointment. A doctor’s note. To get some rest. To feel better. And Take care.

A: If you’d like to review these phrases and remember them, open the link below and practice them in Recursio.

A: Thank you for listening. Lena will remember that deleted message next time.

A: See you in the next story.