Briefing
This dialogue takes place between Mrs Xu, a Chinese-speaking patient, and Doctor Waters, her GP. Mrs Xu has been experiencing pain in her neck.
Listen to Dialogue
Mandarin-English Dialogue #10 – Stiff Neck
Transcript
Dr Waters: Hi, Mrs Xu. Nice to see you again. Before we get started I’ll like to introduce you to Sally. She’s a medical student from the University of Melbourne. Do you mind if she observes our session today? (你好，许太太。很高兴再次见到你。在我们开始之前，我想要向你介绍萨利。她是墨尔本大学的一名医学生。你介意在我们会诊期间，她在旁边看着吗？)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 这个没问题。[No that shouldn’t be a problem.]
Dr Waters: Great. Please take a seat and we’ll get started. So tell me how can I help you today? (太好了。请坐，我们开始吧。那今天有什么能帮你的吗？)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 是这样的，医生，我落枕了一个星期多。有一天我从药店买了贴膏药但是没有什么作用啊。特别痛。但愿没什么大事。[Well, the thing is, doctor, I’ve been suffering from a stiff neck for over a week. The other day I bought a herbal patch from the chemist but it hasn’t had much effect. It’s quite painful. I hope it’s not serious.]
Dr Waters: I see. Firstly, can you tell me if you can you move your neck from side to side? (我明白了。首先，请问你的脖子还能左右动吗？)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 可以啊，但是我脖子转到右边时还是会疼。[I can, but it still hurts when I move it to the right.]
Dr Waters: Have you been involved in a car accident, or sustained any other kind of injuries as of late? (你遇到过车祸吗，或者最近有受伤吗？)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 没，没有。[No. Not at all.]
Dr Waters: And can I ask what do you do for a living? (请问，你是做什么工作的？)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 我是做数据输入工作的，每天得盯着电脑看，而且手也酸痛酸痛的。[I do data entry. Every day I stare at a computer screen. My hands are also getting pretty sore.]
Dr Waters: If you are experiencing those symptoms you may have RSI – that’s Repetitive Strain Injury. I definitely recommend you take short breaks from time to time to make sure it doesn’t get any worse. (根据你的症状，你可能患有RSI——重复性劳损。我强烈建议你时不时地休息一下，以确保你的病情不会恶化。)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 重复性劳损？听起来很严重啊，不会这么离谱吧？[Repetitive Strain Injury? That sounds quite serious. Surely that can’t be the case.]
Dr Waters: It’s not terribly serious, but it is something you need to be wary of. As for your stiff neck, that’s another common occupational disease. Does it affect your sleep at night? (不是特别严重，但是还是要小心。至于落枕，也是常见的职业病。它影响你晚上睡觉了吗？)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 我一般晚上十点左右上床睡觉，早上八点起床。我以前从没有失眠过或类似的症状。[I normally go to bed at around 10pm each night and wake up at 8. I’ve never had insomnia or anything like that before.]
Dr Waters: I see. In that case your stiff neck and RSI problems could be attributed to your work, but do keep in mind it’s certainly not anything too serious. (我明白了。如果是这样的话，你的落枕以及重复性劳损都是工作带来的。不过要记得是，这不是太严重的问题。)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 那我松了一口气了。可是我怎么缓解疼痛呢？[Well, that’s a relief. What can I do to ease the pain?]
Dr Waters: Well, I recommend you try Deep Heat. It’s a cream, and you can apply it directly to your neck and hands which will ease the stiffness. You can get it over the counter at any chemist. (我建议你试试摩擦膏，牌子叫做Deep Heat。它是一种膏药，可以涂在脖子上和手上，以缓解僵硬。你可以在任何药店的柜台上都能买到。)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 我觉得我以前听说过这种药膏。但是我不知道它怎么拼写。您能帮我写下吗？[I think I’ve heard of that type of cream before but I don’t know how to spell it. Could you write down the name for me?]
Dr Waters: Sure, I’ll do that now. (没问题，我现在就写给你。)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 谢谢您医生。我会让我丈夫帮我按摩按摩。[Thanks doctor. I’ll be sure to get my husband to rub it in my neck.]
Dr Waters: Yeah that’s a good idea. A gentle massage will stimulate the blood flow in the area, which will help it heal as well. (这是一个好主意。轻柔的按摩能促进血液循环，有助于治疗。)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 那我需要做些运动吗？以防以后会有什么后遗症。[Are there any exercises I can do to prevent any future complications?]
Dr Waters: There are, yes. I think we have a pamphlet about that, you can ask at the reception. (嗯，有一些推荐的运动。我记得我们有个专门的小册子，你可以问一下接待处的工作人员。)
Mrs Xu (许太太): 非常感谢您医生。[Thank you very much doctor.]
Dr Waters: Sure, no worries. If the problem persists don’t hesitate to make another appointment. But I imagine the problem will subside after a week or so. (不客气。如果疼痛没有缓解，请立刻再和我们预约。不过我认为大概一周后，疼痛就会缓解了。)
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