MODULE 3 HEALTH/Aches, pains and Excuses

1. A d a p t e d b y T e a c h e r Y i d i s F l o r e s 1 | 3
Aches, Pains and Excuses
(Building Vocabulary and Language activity)
Most people at some point during a year will be ill. Although when you are in pain
you can still go to work, there will be times when you can't go to work because the
symptoms (e.g. a high temperature, a pain in the head, tiredness etc...) of the
illness (e.g. diabetes, allergy etc.) are very painful. And if you can't go to work or
go to a client meeting, you will have to call in sick and describe how you feel?
We will look at the English vocabulary used for describing the symptoms of a few
of the most common illnesses that affect the health of most people during a normal
year.
Read the following phone calls where some employees (Mark /John) informs his
manager at the company (Sonia and Sally) that they are feeling ill and can't go to
work.
From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are.
Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.
Phone Call #1:
Mark: Hello?
Sonia: Hi, Mark. How are you feeling?
Mark: Awful. I still have this terrible cold.
Sonia: That’s too bad. Are you taking anything for it?
Mark: Just some cold medicine.
Sonia: Hmm. I never take that stuff when I have a cold. But if I get a really bad
cold. I drink hot vinegar with honey. I can make you some.
Mark: Oh, no thanks! I don’t feel that bad!

2. A d a p t e d b y T e a c h e r Y i d i s F l o r e s 2 | 3
Phone Call #2:
John:'Hi Sally, its John. I'm afraid that I won't be able to come into work today.'
Sally:'Why? Are you feeling OK?'
John:'No, I am not. I'm feeling really ill. I've got a terrible headache, my throat
is very sore and my nose is blocked. I was coughing all night, so my wife hasn't
slept because of the noise.'
Sally:'You looked tired yesterday.'
John:'I didn't feel well yesterday. I was sweating in the office. I thought I was
sweating because of the heating being high. But that wasn't the reason.'
Sally:'It sounds like a cold. Three other people in the office already have this
illness at the moment.'
John:'I don't think I have a cold.'
Sally:'Have you checked your temperature? Do you have a fever?'
John:'No I don't have a high temperature, so I don't think I have flu, which is
also a common illness at this time of year. It got a lot worse last night, at first I
had a bad stomach ache and a headache. So I thought that it was something that
I had eaten, that I had food poisoning. But, my stomach is OK now and I haven't
been sick or had diarrhoea. When I woke up this morning, my head hurt like
somebody had hit me over the head with a stick. And all my muscles are aching.
A continuous soft pain. I also feel a bit confused and dizzy, the room seems to be
moving around when I stand up.'
Sally:'You don't sound well at all. You need to stay in bed and rest.'
John:'I think I will. But I'm going to the doctor's later.'
Sally:'Don't worry, let me know how you are tomorrow. Take care of yourself.

3. A d a p t e d b y T e a c h e r Y i d i s F l o r e s 3 | 3
QUIZ:
1. Another way to say that somebody has a 'very high temperature', is
___________________.
2. When a person finds it difficult to breathe through the nose, their nose is
________________________.
3. A verb that means a 'soft' or 'mild' pain that normally affects the muscles, is
_________________.
4. When you have pain inside of your head, you have a ______________________.
5. When you feel confused and everything seems to be moving, you are
_____________________.
6. Another way to say 'vomit' something you have eaten, is
_____________________.
7. An illness that begins with the letter 'c', is ________________.
8. When water leaves the body through the skin, is_________________.
9. A verb that is used to describe a sharp/intense pain, is________________.
10. When you have a pain in your stomach, it is called ______________________.
11. When somebody has a pain in their throat, it is called
_____________________.