NO question about it, you're a hardworking student. But no matter how serious you are, you have to skip some lectures when you don't feel well. So this week we give you: words related to "请假".

　　1. John, hi, can you please tell the professor that I have to ask for leave tomorrow morning? I'm feeling sick and can't concentrate.

　　"Leave" (准假，休假) is a noun here. Ask for leave: 请假. Here, "ask for leave tomorrow morning" means "明天上午请半天假". Other examples include "ask for a 48-hour leave" : 请假48小时 or "ask for one week of leave": 请假一周.

　　2. Mr Smith, my dad's here visiting me and I'd like to take two days off to show him around the city.

　　"Take off" (请假，休假) is another common expression for "ask for leave". Another phrase with the word "off" is "to be off sick": 因病缺勤. For example:

　　Poor Sophie! She's been off sick for two days with a high fever. I hope she's getting better now.

　　3. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pull a sickie today, Helen, but I really do have a bit of the flu.

　　"Pull a sickie" (请假) is slang; "sickie" is slang word for "病假" and often refers to a day off. It is used in the case of genuine illness but often has a sense of avoiding work.

　　4. I don't feel well this morning. Perhaps I ought to call in sick.

　　Call in sick: 打电话请病假. You could say "call the secretary/boss/department head to tell her I'm sick" when you ask for leave. And you may need "a doctor's note" (病假条) to prove your illness.