Lost Property: Reporting and the Paper That Matters
First, two different statements: "I've lost my wallet." (lost — present perfect, still missing; the tense from our other course) versus "My wallet was stolen." (stolen — passive voice). At the police station: "I'd like to report a theft." — and make sure you leave with a police report: "I need a police report for my insurance."
I've lost my passport. I'd like to report it and get a police report.
At the Pharmacy: The 'Something For' Pattern
The shop is a pharmacy (Americans also say drugstore). The all-purpose pattern: "Do you have something for + symptom?" — a headache / a fever / a sore throat / a cold. The pharmacist will very likely ask one critical question: "Are you allergic to anything?" → if not: "No, no allergies."
Are you allergic to any medication?
No, no allergies. Do you have something for a headache?
Seeing a Doctor & Emergency Numbers
To get medical help: "I need to see a doctor." / "Where is the nearest hospital?" The doctor asks "Where does it hurt?" — point and answer: "It hurts here. It started last night." (location + onset: the two facts that matter most). Emergency numbers differ: US 911, EU 112, UK 999.
Where does it hurt?
Right here. It started last night.
自测 · 学完检查一下
想真正动手做题、记进度、攒连胜？到互动课里练。
Your wallet was stolen. Your opening line at the police station?
答案：I'd like to report a theft.
Report a theft is the fixed phrase for filing a report. "Lost ... by a thief" tangles losing and stealing into a broken structure; "Somebody take" has no tense; and disappear is intransitive — "is disappeared" doesn't exist.
The pharmacist asks: "Are you allergic to anything?" What's the question?
答案：Whether you have any allergies
Allergic / allergy is the safety-critical vocabulary of pharmacies and clinics — you must catch it. With a history: I'm allergic to penicillin. Without: No allergies.
Sore throat, at the pharmacy. The safest way to ask?
答案：Do you have something for a sore throat?
Something for + symptom is the all-purpose pharmacy pattern. "Give me" is blunt; the third option's **drugs** reads as narcotics in speech — the one word you must not use here (medicine is the word); "medicine of throat" is a literal possessive.
After a theft, why insist on getting a police report?
答案：Insurance claims and document replacement both require the official record
The police report is the core evidence for insurance claims, and embassies usually want it for replacing documents. Police don't pay compensation and airlines don't waive fees for it — its value is the official written record itself, which is why it's worth the hassle.
"I have a headache" (one word): I have a ___.
答案：headache
I have a + symptom is the basic pattern: a headache / a fever / a cold / a sore throat.
True or false: if you lose your passport, your first stop is the local police station — to apply for a replacement passport there.
答案：False
Local police only issue the report — **replacing a passport is your embassy or consulate's job**. The order: file the report → contact the embassy → apply with the report and your documents. The instinct that "police fix everything" doesn't hold abroad.