模块七Unit2阅读材料中英文对照版

1、Unit 2 Fit for lifeTwo life-saving medicinesThis article will focus on two drugs that started revolutions in medicine. If you open up any medicine cupboard or go to any medicine counter in the world, it is likely that you will find aspirin and penicillin. Both of these medicines have saved millions

2、of peoples lives and have proved beneficial to mankind since they were invented.AspirinAspirin was invented in 1897. However, the basic chemical used to make aspirin can be found in nature. Nearly 3,500 years ago, people chewed on leaves or drank a kind of tea made from leaves possessing a special c

3、hemical to reduce body pains and fever . About 2,500 years ago, the Greek physician Hippocrates, father of all doctors, made a juice from a tree bark containing salicylic acid for the same effect. It was in 1897 that a European chemist called Dr Felix Hoffmannproducedaspirin from this chemical . The

4、 first trials of this medicine took place in 1899, when the company Hoffmann worked for began distributing the medicine in powder form to physiciansto use withpatients. A year later, in 1900, aspirin was sold in shops in the form of tablets . Within a short time, aspirin became the best-selling medi

5、cine in the world for pain relief .Not only has aspirin proved vital for reducing fever and helping stop pain, but there are also other things that aspirin can help with. Lawrence Craven, a doctor from the USA, introduced the idea in 1953 that aspirin had the potential to reduce the risk of heart at

6、tacks , because it helped the blood circulate better. The report was ignored . However, in 1971, Smith and Willis from the UK proved that aspirin could have that effect, and in 1977 a study carried out in the USA showed that aspirin could prevent strokes, as well. Eleven years later, Dr Thun from th

7、e USA showed that aspirin could reduce the risk of some cancers by 40 per cent . In 1999, aspirin was over 100 years old, and yet there have been more discoveries about how it can help increase the length of peoples lives . In 2003, a Chinese doctor, Dr Yuan Minsheng, found that aspirin could reduce

8、 blood sugar levels and, therefore, help people with diabetes.PenicillinAnother drug that has helped increase the standard of peoples health is penicillin, which is considered by many to be one of the most important medicines in contemporary society . It was discovered by a Scottish scientist named

9、Alexander Fleming in 1928. He noted that a dish in which he was trying to grow bacteria for an experiment looked abnormal -there was blue mould in it. It astonished him to see the bacteria surrounding the mould dead, which meant that the mould had killed them. Fleming tried this mould out on another

10、 bacterium and found that it killed the bacterium too. He immediately realized that the mould might have an application in treating illnesses caused by bacteria. He named the liquid made from the mould penicillin. However, the development of penicillin as a drug faced two problems. First, he was una

11、ble tofind a procedureto make penicillin pure enough to work as a medicine . Second, it was difficult to produce penicillin in the ample quantities needed to be effective. In 1940, two other scientists, Howard Florey (Australian) and Ernst Chain (German-born English), helped solve these problems, an

12、d managed to make and test the new drug in large quantities . Since the new drug was needed for World War II, the government approval process for penicillin was accelerated, and mass production began in 1944. Due to the widespread use of penicillin , many lives were saved during the war. If penicill

13、in had not been available, many people would have died from sickness or even small wounds. Penicillin became the greatest drug of the 20th century, saving millions of lives. In 1945, the three scientists, Fleming, Florey and Chain, shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work.Magic needles: Chi

14、nese acupunctureOne of the most famous Chinese medical treatments is the art of magic needles, or Chinese acupuncture. It was developed long ago, perhaps as early as 2000 BC. There is evidence that acupuncture began during the Stone Age, when stone tools called bian （ 砭 ） were used to press areas of

15、 the body.As acupuncture developed, the simple bian stones were replaced by stone needles. Eventually, metal needles began to appear and took their place . There were nine different kinds of needles. These included a needle with a head like an arrow , used for making shallow holes in the surface of

16、the skin; a needle with a round tip , used for pressing the tissue under the skin; a dull needle, used for tapping against pressure points ; and a needle like a small sword, used for letting liquid out of body parts which had swollen up . These needles could be made of different metals, such as gold

17、 and silver. Some acupuncturists today still use gold and silver needles, but the majority use only stainless steel ones. The main needle now used for acupuncture is fine and sharp. Most of the others have been replaced by more complex medical instruments . For example, the needle looking like a swo

18、rd has been replaced by a sharp knife that doctors use in operations.Acupuncture uses stainless steel needles that are put into the skin at certain points on the body so that a disease can be cured or a health problem solved. These points are called acupuncture points . When acupuncture was first pr

19、actised, there were 365 such points. The number of acupuncture points was the same as the number of days in a year. However, over the last 2,000 years, this number has gradually increased to about 2,000 . Some acupuncturists insert needles at or near the body part affected by the disease, while othe

20、rs select points according to the symptoms that the patient has.If you go to an acupuncturist, he or she will ask you questions about your medical history and your way of life. The acupuncturist will look at the colour of your skin and your tongue, listen to your breathing, and check your pulses.Wes

21、tern medicine only recognizes one pulse which indicates the heartbeat . However, according to traditional Chinese medicine, there are twelve different pulses, six on each wrist, and every one of them is connected with a major body organ or its function. By checking all the pulses, the acupuncturist

22、can find out which energy channel does not have enough energy.Some of the medical problems that can be treated by acupuncture include severe pains, headaches, injuries, stomach problems and high blood pressure. Some people have also used acupuncture to treat smokers, alcoholics and people who are ad

23、dicted to drugs.How acupuncture reduces pain is not clear. One theory explaining this phenomenon suggests that acupuncture blocks pain signals from reaching the brain. Another theory relates acupuncture to the production of chemicals in the body which reduce pain. A lot of people nowsubscribe to the

24、setheories.As a unique contribution of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture spread to many other Asian countries, such as Japan, as early as the 6th century. It was introduced to the West in the 17th century. Today acupuncture has become popular round the world, as have other traditional Chines

25、e medicines. The World Health Organization recommends acupuncture as a good treatment for over forty medical problems. While doubts about its safety have faded away, interest continues to grow.两种挽救生命的药物这篇文章将 着重讲述 两种引发了医学革命的药物。倘若你 打开世界上的任何一个药柜 ， 或者走到任何一个卖药的柜台， 都可能 找到阿司匹林和青霉素。 自这两种药被发明以来， 它 们已挽救了数百万人的

26、性命，并已 证实对人类有益 。阿司匹林阿司匹林发明于 1 897 年。但是，用于制造阿司匹林的基本化学物质却可在自然界中找 到。将近 3500 年前，人们咀嚼一种 含有特殊化学物质 的树叶或饮用这种树叶制成的茶，以 减轻身体疼痛或退烧 。大约 2500 年前，医生之父、古希腊医师希波克拉底就 用一种树皮制 成汁，这种汁含有水杨酸，也有同样的功效。1897年，一位名叫费利克斯霍夫曼的欧洲药剂师 提取这种化学物质 ，制成了阿司匹林 。对该药进行的首批试验发生在 1899年。当时， 霍夫曼供职的公司开始将 这种药以粉末形式分发给医师 ，在病人身上使用。一年之后，即 1900 年，阿司匹林被 制成片剂

27、 在药店出售。很快，阿司匹林成了世界上 最畅销的止痛药 。阿司匹林不仅被 证明对于退烧和止痛必不可少 ，而且还有其他用途。美国医生劳伦斯 - 克雷文在 1953 年提出一个观点 ，即阿司匹林可能有助于 降低心脏病发作 的风险，因为它能 改善血液循环。该 报告并未引起人们的注意。但是， 1971 年，英国医生史密斯和威利斯证 实阿司匹林的确有此功效。 1977年，美国的一项 研究表明，阿司匹林还能 预防中风 。 11 年 后，美国医生图恩证明，阿司匹林可以 降低某些癌症 40的发病率。到 1999年，阿司匹林 已有一百多年的历史，但是在它如何能够帮助 延年益寿 方面仍然有更多的发现。 2003

28、年， 中国医生袁敏生发现，阿司匹林可以降低血糖水平，从而帮助糖尿病患者。青霉素另外一种帮助人们 提高健康水平 的药物是青霉素。 许多人 认为这种药是当代社会 最重要 的药物之一。它是由一名叫亚历山大弗莱明的苏格兰科学家于1928年发现的。他注意到一个碟子 看起来有些异常 为了做实验， 他试图在这个碟子中培育细菌它里面有蓝色 的霉。使他十分惊讶的是， 他看到这种霉周围的细菌都死了， 这意味着是这种霉杀死了它们。 弗莱明 将这种霉用在另外一种细菌上做试验 ，发现它同样杀死了那种细菌。 他立刻意识到这 种霉或许能 用于治疗由细菌引起的疾病 。他将由这种霉制成的液体命名为 “青霉素”。然而， 青霉素的

29、药物研发面临两个难题。首先，他难以 找到一种方法来提纯 药用的青霉素。第二， 难以生产出足量的青霉素 以产生药效。1940年，另外两名科学家，澳大利亚人霍华德弗 洛里和德裔英国人恩斯特 -钱恩，帮助解决了这些问题，并设法 大量制造和试用这一新药 。 由于这种新药为第二次世界大战所需，政府 批准程序得以加快 ，大批量生产始于 l 944年。 正因为青霉素的广泛应用 ，战争期间的很多生命得以挽救。 如果没有青霉素， 很多人会死于 疾病，甚至是很小的伤口。青霉素挽救了无数人的性命，成了二十世纪最了不起的药物。由于他们的工作成果，弗莱明、弗洛里和钱恩于 1945 年共同获得了诺贝尔医学奖。Project神针：中国针刺疗法“神针”艺术， 或称中国针刺疗法， 是最有名的中医疗法 之一。很久之