Sick and worsening, French teacher Sophie needs stronger medicine—but China's rules demand a prescription she doesn't have. Can she find a doctor in time?
苏菲是法国人，在中国教英语。早上她嗓子疼，头也很重，以为是小感冒。到了下午，病越来越严重了。她明天有三节课，很着急，就去药店买药。
Sophie is French and teaches English in China. In the morning her throat hurt and her head felt heavy, and she thought it was just a small cold. By the afternoon she was getting worse and worse. She had three classes the next day, so she was very worried and went to the pharmacy to buy medicine.
苏菲对店员说：“我感冒了，嗓子和头都疼，想买好一点的药。”店员问：“发烧吗？”苏菲说：“不知道，越来越难受了。”他拿出普通的感冒药：“先试试这个吧。”
Sophie said to the pharmacist: “I have a cold. My throat and my head both hurt. I'd like some stronger medicine.” The pharmacist asked: “Do you have a fever?” Sophie said: “I don't know. I feel worse and worse.” He took out some ordinary cold medicine: “Try this first.”
苏菲皱着眉说：“这种药我上次吃过，没用。”店员说：“好一点的药要有医生开的处方。”“我在中国没有医生。”“那我不能卖给你，这是规定。”苏菲又急又烦。
Sophie frowned and said: “I took this kind of medicine last time. It didn't help.” The pharmacist said: “For stronger medicine you need a prescription from a doctor.” “I don't have a doctor in China.” “Then I can't sell it to you. That's the rule.” Sophie felt both worried and annoyed.
苏菲走出药店，想找医生开处方。她站在街上用手机查到一家医院的电话，打了过去。她说了哪里不舒服，护士说：“请等一下，医生马上跟您说。”她等了几分钟，心里有点紧张。
Sophie walked out of the pharmacy. She wanted to find a doctor to write her a prescription. Standing in the street, she found a hospital's phone number on her phone and called it. She explained where she felt unwell, and the nurse said: “Please wait a moment, the doctor will talk to you right away.” She waited a few minutes and felt a little nervous.
医生问了她哪里不舒服，然后说：“不太严重，但是要换一种药，我在网上给你开个处方。”“谢谢医生！”她回到药店，给店员看了手机上的处方，这次终于买到了药。
The doctor asked her where she felt unwell, then said: “It's not too serious, but you need a different medicine. I'll write you a prescription online.” “Thank you, doctor!” She went back to the pharmacy and showed the pharmacist the prescription on her phone, and this time she finally got the medicine.
回到家，她吃了药，躺在沙发上。她心想：“规定是有点麻烦，但那也是为了安全。以后要先冷静，再想办法。”第二天她好多了，去上课了。
Back home, she took the medicine and lay down on the sofa. She thought: “The rules are a bit of a hassle, but they're there for safety. Next time I'll stay calm first, then figure out what to do.” The next day she felt much better and went to teach her classes.