2 . The skin is an essential part of your body and is its largest organ. Your skin acts as a barrier against disease, toxins, and the sun’s rays. It also helps control your body temperature, prevents your body from losing too much water, warns you when things are too hot or cold, and gives you your sense of touch. As you can imagine, getting burnt can lead to very serious injuries. The first and most important step in the treatment of burns is giving first aid.

CAUSES OF BURNS

You can get burnt by a variety of things: hot liquids, steam, fire, radiation, the sun,electricity, acids, or other chemicals.

TYPES OF BURNS

Burns are divided into three types, depending on the depth of skin damage.

• First-degree burns These affect only the top few millimetres of the skin. These burns are not serious. Examples include mild sunburn and burns caused by other minor household incidents.
• Second-degree burns These go below the top layer of the skin. They are serious and take a few weeks to get better. Examples include burns caused by hot liquids.
• Third-degree burns These affect every layer of the skin, and sometimes the tissue under it.Examples include burns caused by electric shocks, burning clothes, or petrol fires. These burns cause very severe internal injuries and the victim must go to the hospital at once.
CHARACTERISTICS OF BURNS
First-degree burns
• dry, red, and mildly swollen
• mildly painful
• turn white when pressed
Second-degree burns
• red and swollen; blisters; watery surface
• extremely painful
Third-degree burns
• black and white
• swollen; the tissue underneath can often be seen
• little or no pain if nerves are damaged; may be painful around the edges of the burn
FIRST-AID TREATMENT
1. Place burns under cool running water, especially within the first ten minutes. The cool water stops the burning process and reduces the pain and swelling.
2. Dry the burnt area gently with a clean cloth.
3. Remove any clothes using scissors if necessary, unless you see the fabric sticking to the burnt skin.
4. Cover the burnt area with a loose clean cloth. Applying oil to the injured areas is a bad idea, as it will keep the heat in the wounds and may cause infection.
5. If burns are on the face, make sure the victim can still breathe.
6. If the victim is suffering from second or third-degree burns, there is an urgent need to take him/her to the hospital at once.
1. 阅读文章，完成以下语篇结构

______________ ______________ ______________
2. Which kind of burns is usually considered to be caused by hot liquids?

A．First-degree burns.	B．Second-degree burns.
C．Third-degree burns.	D．Not mentioned.

3. What are the characteristics of first-degree burns?

A．Dry, red and mildly swollen.	B．Black, white and mildly painful.
C．Red and swollen with watery surface.	D．Black, swollen and extremely painful.

4. What should be avoided when a person gets burnt?

A．Applying oil to the burns.	B．Cooling burns immediately.
C．Drying the burned area gently.	D．Removing clothing if necessary.

5 . Read the article again and choose the correct words to complete the sentences.

Chen Wei, a high school student in Beijing, had his dinner interrupted when he heard someone screaming from another table. A fellow diner at the restaurant, Zhang Tao, was choking on some steak. He was now holding his throat with his face turning red, while his desperate friends were slapping him on the back.

Chen wasted no time. He got up and ran to Zhang’s table at once. With the help of Zhang’s friends, he was able to help Zhang to his feet. Then, standing behind Zhang, Chen did the Heimlich manoeuvre. The food was instantly forced out, and Zhang began to breathe again. Ten minutes later, an ambulance arrived. The doctors checked Zhang and made sure that he was fine. They suggested he eat more slowly and take smaller bites before they left.

Choking victims usually have only about four minutes before they collapse and sometimes die, leaving no time for an ambulance to arrive. To solve this problem, in 1974, an American doctor, Henry Heimlich, created the Heimlich manoeuvre, saving thousands of lives around the world. Doing the Heimlich manoeuvre is quick, practical, and easy. It is so easy, in fact, that almost anyone can learn how.

If you see someone choking, first call the emergency services. Then, make sure that the victim is really choking: A choking person cannot speak. Slapping the victim’s back will often force out the obstruction. If this does not work, you can perform the Heimlich manoeuvre by standing behind him and wrapping your arms around his waist. Make a fist with one hand and place it in the upper part of his stomach. Grabbing your fist with your other hand tightly, push up and into his stomach in one motion. Continue doing this until the obstruction is forced out.

Doing the Heimlich manoeuvre on a small child is not recommended, as you may hurt him. Instead, lay the child face down on your lap with the head lower than the rest of his body, and then give firm slaps to his upper back until he can breathe again.

With choking victims, every minute counts. You cannot just stand by and do nothing. Luckily, Chen had learnt how to give first aid in school. Seeing Zhang choking, he remained calm and reacted immediately. Chen later said about the incident, “How could I justify sitting there and doing nothing? We are all humans and we all have a responsibility to look after one another’s welfare.”

1. Chen Wei was a friend/complete stranger to Zhang Tao. ______________
2. When Chen Wei reached Zhang Tao, Zhang Tao was sitting on the chair/standing. ______________
3. The Heimlich manoeuvre is quite easy/difficult to do. ______________
4. You will know that the victim is choking if he cannot speak/stops breathing. ______________
5. To help a small child who is choking, you need to lay the child face up/down on your lap and slap his upper back. ______________
6. Chen Wei was able to save Zhang Tao because he learnt the Heimlich manoeuvre at school/from a first-aid manual. ______________

8 . Where does the conversation take place?

A．On a beach.

B．In a hospital.

C．Over the phone.

9 . What are the speakers talking about?

A．A physics exam.

B．An experiment.

C．A medical check-up.

10 . 语法填空

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a health care system in which patients     1     (treat) with natural plant, animal, and mineral remedies (药物). It is believed, for a person to be healthy,     2     yin and yang forces should be in balance. Imbalance causes illness or injury. TCM is about     3     (restore) the balance between yin and yang forces in patients. It has been a major part of traditional Chinese culture and continues to play     4     vital role in medical treatment in China today.

According to the World Health Organization, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population depends for its primary health care needs     5     , medicines from plants and animals. This is especially true in countries where traditional medicines are     6     (wide) used.

Increasingly, however, modern medicines also contain substances from animals and plants. Given growing populations, increasing wealth, and the     7     (spread) popularity of natural remedies around the world the demand for these medicines and remedies     8     (rise) now .The rising demand,     9     (combine) with reduced habitat, has put a number of plant and animal species used for medicinal purposes at risk for many years.

For instance, TCM uses about 1,000 plant and 36 animal species, including the tiger, rhinoceros (犀牛), and sea horse,     10     are all in danger.