Rosie:Hi there and welcome to Question and Answer of the week. I’m Rosie and joining me here in the studio is Helen.

Helen:(Sniffing) Hi. 在《你问我答》节目中我们会解答大家提出的英语疑问。

Rosie:You don’t sound too well today, Helen?

Helen:(Sniff) I’m not well. I’ve caught a horrible cold. 我感冒了。你看，我都流鼻涕了，头好疼，还有喉咙也特别难受。

Rosie:Oh, poor you! That’s just like our listener, Isabel. She is full of cold at the  moment – that means she’s caught a really bad cold. She says:

Question

“I’d like to know how I can describe the symptoms when I get a cold. Should I say one plug of phlegm or a mouthful of phlegm? And which one is correct: “runny nose” or “running nose?” When I feel pain in my throat, I say “sore throat,” but when I feel itchy in my throat, what should I say?” 

Helen:Poor Isabel. 她的病症也挺多的，咳嗽有痰，流鼻涕还有喉咙疼。

Rosie:Oh dear. Well, I’m no doctor, but let’s see if we can deal with Isabel’s  symptoms one by one. The first symptom she mentions is phlegm. It is a tricky word, which is spelled P.H.L.E.G.M. but pronounced “phlegm”. Phlegm is a type of mucus that you cough up when you have a cold.

Helen:Yuck. 痰是一种粘液，感冒了咳嗽的时候会出现。Isabel 问英语里要说一口痰，是a plug of phlegm 还是a mouthful of phlegm.

Rosie:Well, in English, you’d simply say that you’ve coughed up a lot of phlegm. 

Helen:(Coughing) 在英语里，你可以说咳出了很多痰coughed up a lot of phlegm. 不过大多数人不会直接说起phlegm 痰这个词。
Rosie:Often, though, it’s not polite to talk about it so literally, so people might say “I’ve got a chesty cough,” instead. That lets people know in a more polite way that you have a lot of phlegm!
 

Helen:Well, I definitely have a chesty cough - have coughed up mouthful after mouthful, it was disgusting, it was gree…

Rosie:OK, thanks Helen, it’s not polite to talk about all of the gory details! And make sure that you don’t spit it out in public – use a tissue or the bathroom sink!

Helen:Sorry! Isabel 还问流鼻涕英语是怎么表达的？是“runny nose” 还是“running  nose”? 

Rosie:It’s a very common symptom. In English you would say “I have a runny  nose”.

Helen:I do have a runny nose!

Rosie:Well, don’t drip all over the desk! Here’s a tissue. You can also say “my nose is running,” if it is dripping there and then, like yours is! 

Helen:(Sniff) Thanks. 你可以说“runny nose” 来表达你流鼻涕了。或者“my nose is  running”. 意思是一样的。别忘了要纸巾擦擦！

Rosie:Yes, it’s not pleasant to look at a runny nose in action! Isabel said she had a sore throat too.

Helen:Isabel 的喉咙也很痛，这很容易说sore throat. 要是我的喉咙很痒，怎么说？How do you describe an itchy throat?

Rosie:If your throat feels a bit itchy, the best way to describe this is to say you have a tickly throat.

Helen:A tickly throat. 像有人用细毛在刷你的喉咙，很痒。

Rosie:Exactly, and if it is making you cough, you can also say that you have a tickly cough!

Helen:A tickly cough. 痒痒的咳嗽，这个特别难过，有时候都停不住。好了，Isabel 希望我们今天的词汇能够帮到你， 也希望你的感冒能早日康复。
 

Rosie:I would suggest plenty of rest and relaxation by listening to more of our programmes.

Helen:Good idea! 如果你有英语问题，可以和我们联系，我们的邮箱是questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. But Rosie, one more question?

Rosie:Fire away.

Helen:What should you say when someone sneezes? 如果有人在你面前打了喷嚏，你可以说是什么？

Rosie:You can say “bless you”. Why?

Helen:Because I’m about to… about to… ah…ah… ah… atchoo! (Big sneeze)