Last weekend, I accompanied my grandma with acupuncture (针灸). As she has been suffering some health issues, she decided to try this traditional Chinese medical treatments. The acupuncturist greeted us warmly and asked about my grandma’s symptoms while we arrived at the clinic. After a thoroughly examination, he explains the process and benefits of acupuncture. My grandma was a bit nervous so I held her hands calm her. After the session, my grandma felt a sense of relief. The acupuncturist told her to rest and drink a plenty of water. We thanked him for his care and left the clinic. While walking back home, my grandma shared his experience with me, express the admiration for the magic of acupuncture.

2 . “Tooth loss and gum disease, which is inflammation (发炎) of the tissue around the teeth that can cause shrinkage (萎缩) of the gums and loosening of the teeth, are very common, so evaluating a potential link with brain diseases is incredibly important. Our study found that these conditions may play a role in the health of the brain area that controls thinking and memory, giving people another reason to take better care of their teeth,” said study author Satoshi Yamaguchi, Ph.D. of Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.

The study involved 172 people with an average age of 67 who did not have memory problems at the beginning of the study. Researchers found that the number of teeth and amount of gum disease was linked to changes in the left hippocampus of the brain. For people with mild gum disease, having fewer teeth was associated with a faster rate of brain shrinkage, which was the same for people with severe gum disease having more teeth. After adjusting for age, researchers found that for people with mild gum disease, the increase in the rate of brain shrinkage due to one less tooth was equal to nearly one year of brain aging. By contrast, for people with severe gum disease, the increase in brain shrinkage due to one more tooth was equal to 1.3 years of brain aging.

“These results highlight the importance of preserving the health of the teeth and not just maintaining the teeth,” Yamaguchi said. Though the study does not prove that gum disease or tooth loss causes diseases like Alzheimer’s, it only shows an association. Yamaguchi added, “Future studies are needed with larger groups of people.” The current experiment involved only a small group of people in one region of Japan, and that too from one particular region of the world.

3 . Growing up in a small village in southern Ghana, Osci Boateng watched many of his family members and neighbors struggle to access basic health care. In many regions of the country, it can take hours to get to the nearest hospital. Boateng said many people lost their lives due to preventable or treatable diseases. His grandmother and aunt were among them.

Feeling an urgent call to help, Boateng decided he would make it his life’s mission to bring health care to remote communities in Ghana where education and preventative health care were lacking.

Boateng wanted to find a way to remove these barriers to health care access and education. He started his nonprofit organization, OKB Hope Foundation. In 2021, he converted (转变) a van (面包车) into a mobile doctor’s office and started bringing health care directly to those in need. A few times a week, the mobile clinic and medical team travel long distances to remote communities and provide free routine medical care.

On each trip, Boateng’s team consists of a nurse, a physician assistant, a doctor, and an operation assistant. In the van, they can run basic labs like bloodwork and urinalysis (尿液分析) as well as provide medicine. “It’s like a one-stop shop for people, ” said Boateng, adding that most of the people they see have one health issue or another. Since its launch, the Hope Health Van has served more than 4,000 Ghanaians across more than 45 rural communities who otherwise don’t have easily accessible medical care, according to Boateng.

Boateng has gone all in on his OKB Hope Foundation, recently quitting his job to dedicate his time to bringing health care to his home country. But for him, the sacrifices (牺牲) are well worth. “Words cannot describe the feeling that you provide care for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be alive if your mobile health van wasn’t there.” He has big plans for the future. He hopes to expand them to provide more consistent and high-quality medical care not only to those living in remote areas of Ghana but those in other countries.

4 . Last year while I was in Madrid, Spain, my back hurt. So I went to the local hospital for an examination.

I was _______ to a small room, and soon a surgeon came to _______ me. He told me to remove my _______ and he gave me a gown (罩衣) which hardly _______ anything.

He then asked me in Spanish if I was embarrassed. “Si, unpoco (Yes, a little )”, I replied with my face turning red. He looked at me as though _______ me and then he quickly _______ down the passage.

Soon he reappeared with a group of _______ students, and again asked the same question in Spanish. Now I was feeling _______, and shouted in English, “Yes, I’m extremely _______.” Then a female doctor in the group held my arm gently and ________ in perfect English, “I think I see the ________. My tutor wants to take a ________ of your back — an X-ray — so he wants to know if you are ________ a baby. You see, embarazada means pregnant in Spanish.”

No sooner had she told me this than I realized the ________ of the misunderstanding We all had a ________, although I must admit that I felt rather stupid as well.

7 . Natural Therapy（疗法）

The great outdoors: it’s the place to head for when you’re in need of peace and quiet, open spaces, beautiful scenery and exercise. Whether a huge mountain range or a local country park, these natural areas are perfect for us to refresh ourselves when we live a stressful life.     1    .

As an example, in the foothills of the Snowdonia National Park in the UK, specialist therapy sessions are held to help people who suffer from depression, anxiety and stress.    2     Actually, it’s believed that the setting alone can improve the mood of patients. Art psychotherapist Pamela Stanley told the BBC that there was a “growing body of evidence” to support eco-therapy.

It’s true that for most of us connecting with the natural world definitely lifts our spirits. But the mental health charity Mind says eco-therapy has been recognized as a formal type of treatment that can sometimes be prescribed to someone by a doctor. It doesn’t involve taking medication.    3    . This natural treatment can take on many forms, including doing yoga in a forest, gardening or even hugging a tree.

Evidence has shown there are many benefits of this “green” therapy.    4    . Dr. Rachel Bragg from the University of Essex calls it “psychological restoration” She told the BBC’s All in the Mind programme that nature-based therapies should be part of a “ toolkit” of care for patients.    5    . However, it is an option for therapists to use. And as we become more aware of the causes and effects of mental health, it’s good to know that help might lie outside our towns and cities, and that nature can give us a helping hand.

Some years ago, SARS    1    (break) out in the mainland of China, causing some    2    (death). The situation was    3     severe that there was no time to debate who was to blame. The    4    important thing for the government    5    (do) was find out the cause of this deadly disease. They invited all the top experts in this field to have a    6    (discuss) sand quite a few suggestions were put forward. Some of the top experts picked out those suggestions and tested them to see whether they were    7    (effect). Doctor Zhong Nanshan chose one patient who was    8    (serious) ill and had the new medicine tested on him. To his great joy, this patient recovered! He made his way to his office and telephoned the top officials,    9    (tell) them the exciting news. For convenience, he moved to live in his office. His method did make sense. It wasn't long    10     the other hospitals also controlled this terrible disease finally.If no efforts had been made, China couldn’t have defeated SARS.

10 . A hospital is needed by every living person at the time of birth, death, physical injuries, or sickness. It is always a _______ place where family members can gather around the person who needs the _______ of well-trained medical doctors and nurses.

As Nicole Hagen and Ricky Beebe were born into the Hagen family in 1998, the parents were both in the delivery (分娩) room. This is a _______ as the tradition has been for the father to be in the next room. _________ hospitals have a birthing room where there is an extra sofa and a chair for the father to either sit or even to sleep on next to his wife. Many _________ are taken of the new baby within a few minutes of his or her _________. Even a video can be made with the proud father taking pictures of the doctor, nurses, mother, and baby. A nurse may take a _______ picture of the father, mother, and baby. Young children will not see the baby _______ the doctor and nurses allow them into the room many hours later.

At the death of Grandma Hagen, the adult children _______ at her bedside. As she was dying, her children talked to her, read the Bible, and even sang some of her ________ songs. The nurses would check on her very often and the doctor came as his time ________. She was given pain pills ________ her last few hours would be as __________ as possible. When she died the family cried together in sorrow for the loss of their mother. Grandpa Hagen had died fourteen years __________. Grandma Hagen was 82 when she died.

Doctors operate on broken bones __________ by accidents in factories or car accidents. Children sometimes fall down stairs where an arm is __________. Athletes get hurt in ________ of football, basketball, baseball, track, and soccer. Most injuries are repaired very successfully __________ the great skill of the doctor.

Illness from disease, alcohol, or smoking often requires a person to stay a long period in the hospital. People like to recover __________. However, if medical care is needed, a hospital may be the __________ home for some patients.