5 A2 medicine

CHAPTER 1 Modern Medicine WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU FEEL SICK? TAKE MEDICINE? GO TO THE DOCTOR? When people get sick or injured, many take medicine to feel better. And sometimes people take medicine so they don't get sick. There are many different kinds of medicines and different ways to take them. Maybe people take a pill for a headache or drink something that tastes horrible to stop them from coughing. Other times people go to a doctor and get an injection because they don't want to get the flu. Today, medicine is a big business. Before 1970, there were many small businesses that sold medicine. In 1960, Americans spent only $27 billion on medicine. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s, small medical businesses started to come together to make very large businesses.

第一章现代医学当你感到不舒服的时候你会怎么做？ 吃药吗?去看医生？ 当人们生病或受伤时，许多人吃药来感觉好些。 有时候人们吃药是为了不生病。 有许多不同种类的药物和不同的服用方法。 也许人们头痛时吃一片药，或者喝一些难吃的东西来止咳。 其他时候，人们去看医生注射疫苗，因为他们不想得流感。 今天，医药是一门大生意。 1970年以前，有许多卖药的小企业。 1960年，美国人在医药上只花了70亿美元。 然后，在20世纪80年代和90年代，小型医疗企业开始聚集在一起，形成非常大的企业。

These businesses spent a lot of money on scientific research, and the cost of medicines started to go up. People were also living longer and so could buy more medicines during their longer lifetimes. In 2007, Americans spent $286 billion on medicines. In this book we are going to look at all kinds of things that can cure us, make us healthy, or help us if we get injured. And we will also see how our body itself can make us better.

这些企业在科学研究上花费了大量资金，药品的价格开始上涨。 人们的寿命也越来越长，因此可以在更长的寿命中购买更多的药物。 2007年，美国人在药品上花费了860亿美元。 在这本书中，我们将看到各种各样的东西，它们可以治愈我们，使我们健康，或者在我们受伤时帮助我们。 我们也会看到我们的身体本身是如何让我们变得更好的。

CHAPTER 2 Old and New Medical Practices SOME VERY OLD MEDICAL PRACTICES ARE STILL USED TODAY. From several thousand years ago until the mid-19th century, most doctors did something called bleeding. They cut the patient's skin and let some blood out. They believed that the blood had unhealthy things in it, so it was better outside the body than in it. However, bleeding was often dangerous because it let too much blood out or the cut became infected. Bleeding probably killed more people than it cured. Doctors at this time also used small animals called leeches to bleed people. The leeches were put on a patient's body and they sucked the blood. It was terrible, but it was safer than using a knife.

第二章新旧医疗方法一些非常古老的医疗方法至今仍在使用。 从几千年前到19世纪中叶，大多数医生都做了一种叫出血的手术。 他们切开病人的皮肤，放出一些血。 他们认为血液里有不健康的东西，所以它在体外比在体内更好。 然而，出血通常是危险的，因为它会让太多的血流出或伤口感染。 流血致死的人可能比治愈的人多。 当时的医生还用一种叫做水蛭的小动物给人放血。 把水蛭放在病人身上，让它们吸血。 这很可怕，但比用刀更安全。

Doctors thought leeches could cure just about anything from a headache to the flu. To cure a sore throat they put leeches in their patients' mouth and down their throat. Leeches were used as far back as 3,000 years ago for many different medical reasons and, surprisingly, they are still used today. Modern doctors put leeches on an area of the body where there is an infection or where they have done surgery. The leeches suck the blood that needs to be taken away from the area. They also put a chemical in the blood that helps it move around the body better. Acupuncture is another old medical practice that started in China several thousand years ago. It is still used today in many parts of the world. Acupuncturists put needles in parts of a patient's body to stop pain. Many people who play sports use acupuncture to help them with the pain from their injuries.

医生认为水蛭可以治愈从头痛到流感的任何疾病。 为了治疗喉咙痛，他们把水蛭放进病人的嘴里和喉咙里。 水蛭早在3000年前就被用于许多不同的医学原因，令人惊讶的是，它们至今仍在使用。 现代医生把水蛭放在身体感染或做过手术的地方。 水蛭吮吸需要从该区域带走的血液。 他们还在血液中加入一种化学物质，帮助血液更好地在体内流动。 针灸是几千年前起源于中国的另一种古老的医学实践。 今天，世界上许多地方仍在使用它。 针灸师把针放在病人身体的某些部位来止痛。 许多从事体育运动的人用针灸来帮助他们减轻受伤带来的疼痛。

CHAPTER 3 Nature as Medicine MANY THINGS IN NATURE CAN MAKE US FEEL BETTER, BUT SOME THINGS DON'T DO ANY GOOD AT ALL. "Quack" doctors are not real doctors. They make medicines from natural things, but their medicines don't work. William Bailey was a quack from the USA. His medicine, Radithor, had a very dangerous chemical called radium in it. One of his patients drank 1,400 bottles of Radithor. The radium ate away some of his face and then killed him. But many things in nature, like herbs and spices and different foods, were used long ago and did help people feel better. Many people still use these remedies today because they work. Let's look at some of them. If you have a sore throat, drink some warm water with salt. But don't swallow it. Hold the salt water at the back of your throat for a few minutes. Your throat will not hurt as much.

自然如药自然中的许多东西能使我们感觉好些，但有些东西一点好处也没有。 庸医不是真正的医生。 他们用天然的东西制造药物，但他们的药物不起作用。 威廉·贝利是一个来自美国的庸医。 他的药，Radithor，含有一种非常危险的化学物质，叫做镭。 他的一个病人喝了1400瓶镭射。 镭腐蚀了他的脸，然后杀死了他。 但自然界中的许多东西，比如草药、香料和不同的食物，很久以前就被使用了，确实能帮助人们感觉更好。 许多人至今仍在使用这些疗法，因为它们很有效。 让我们来看看其中的一些。 如果你喉咙痛，喝一些加盐的温水。 但是不要吞下去。把盐水放在喉咙后面几分钟。 你的喉咙就不会那么疼了。

You're studying hard for an exam and you feel a headache starting. Cut an onion into small pieces and put them on your forehead. You won't smell very nice, but the headache will usually go away. If you have a bad cold, eat some uncooked garlic. Once again, you won't smell very nice, but your cold will probably go away sooner. So the next time you are sick, before you buy medicine, look in your kitchen for some of nature's remedies.

你正在为考试而努力学习，你开始感到头痛。 把洋葱切成小片，放在额头上。 你身上的味道可能不太好闻，但头痛通常会消失。 如果你得了重感冒，吃一些生大蒜。 再说一次，你身上的味道不太好，但你的感冒可能会很快好起来。 所以下次你生病的时候，在你买药之前，看看你的厨房，寻找一些自然的疗法。