1 . I always do voluntary work in the hospital. As a patient visitor, my important ______ is to deliver quality services to patients and families. By ______ companionship (陪伴) for patients in a sometimes ______ environment, I try my best to serve them and help to reduce the loneliness and frustration patients may feel after ______ in a hospital for weeks or even months.

Every Saturday afternoon for three to four hours, with a list of patients who ______ a patient visitor service, I head up to the 5th, 6th or 7th floor to first visit my priority (优先) patients. At the nurse’s station, I ______ ask the nurses or the medical staff about the condition of the patients in that unit and ______ that the patients would like a visitor. After receiving an update from the nurse, I gently ______ the door of the patients and enter with a friendly “Hello”. Then, I introduce myself and again politely ask if they would like a patient visitor. I usually try to prepare a few starting conversation ______ such as the current news, sports scores and fun facts. However, the patients usually engage (使加入) me first in an interesting conversation.

When volunteering as a patient visitor, I spent a lot of time communicating one-on-one with patients. Individual patients had individual needs and had extraordinary personal stories. ______,I found every visit ______. From generous and kind patients I have learned about their diseases and their course of ______. Additionally, I learned about literature, life during the Great Depression and wilderness of Northern Minnesota. On the whole, not only did I learn about the hospital settings and system, but I learned about the different ______ of others.

Many of the patients I have visited were truly inspiring and I always ______ them for their strength. Although their situations were somewhat difficult, they were often willing to share their stories of pain, suffering, hopes and optimism. I realize that I am truly grateful and ______ that they would share their personal stories with just a volunteer like me.

4 . Some people look forward to getting braces (牙箍) on their teeth, thinking they look cool. Other people avoid visiting the orthodontist (正齿医生). But anyone who benefits from the orthodontist’s trade today should be thankful for the progress this science has made over the centuries.

Remains of crooked (弯曲的) human teeth date back tens of thousands of years. Greek and Roman texts describing the treatment of irregular teeth by the application of pressure date back as far as the fifth century B. C. Archaeological evidence indicates even earlier use of orthodontic appliances, including man-made objects found in considerable burial (埋葬的) sites in ancient Italy. Another early attempt at braces may have been discovered on Egyptian mummies with recognizable metal bands around their teeth. Thus, from at least 1,000 BC, it was known that teeth move in response to pressure.

Techniques for correcting dental (牙齿的) irregularities did not advance much until the eighteenth century. French dentists led the way to building orthodontic practice on scientific foundations. The greatest contribution came from Pierre Fauchard. In 1728, Fauchard published the first general study of dentistry. In it, he described the process of straightening. He made smooth (光滑的) a crooked tooth to create space around it. Then he repositioned the tooth using a tool called a “pelican”. And he bound it to its neighbors and let it set. French and English dentists improved on Fauchard’s work through the eighteenth century. Patients of Fauchard’s treatment may have been grateful when the work was completed. While many of them faced the treatment with fear and cried during the procedures, there were many Frenchmen who flooded to Fauchard to improve their looks with dental work.

Pioneering European orthodontists introduced new techniques and instruments in the nineteenth century. By midcentury, American dentists began to take the lead in research and invention. Electricity changed the operating room completely, and the proper medicine made surgery less painful. John Farrar developed guidelines for using tools to move teeth by applying force on a regular basis.

The twentieth century saw improvement in the materials and methods of orthodontics. But the basic principles of the science were developed during the days of Fauchard.

5 . In the past, westerners were not familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), but now it is becoming globally popular. According to a government report, TCM has been introduced into 183 countries and regions around the world.

However, westerners only have a little knowledge of TCM. Their understanding of TCM may be limited to acupuncture(针灸), cupping and massage(按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on a U.S. famous swimmer’s back from cupping to relax his muscles and reduce pain became the centre of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.

In fact, Chinese herbs(药草) play a more important role in curing diseases and keeping the body in good condition in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. Therefore, it is disappointing to know that although 103 World Health Organisation member countries have given approval to the practice of acupuncture, not many recognise Chinese herbal medicine. TCM is much less popular than Western medicine partly due to the slow development of Chinese herbs.

Herbs can be made into pills, powder and soup. The kind of herbs used, their quality, quantity and the processing together determine the effectiveness of the prescription(处方). Compared with Western medicine, which has standardised drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardisation. The chemical composition and functions of its medicine are still unclear and their effects are unstable. Fortunately, standardisation has improved in recent decades and a number of factories are increasingly producing patented TCM drugs.

Another reason why TCM prescription drugs have developed slowly is that it lacks creativity. While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicine according to prescriptions handed down from the past. That Chinese chemist Tu Youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria(疟疾)treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China’s TCM industry.

However, Rome was not built in a day. The current situation cannot be changed within a short time.

8 . CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation 心肺复苏术) and first aid are related topics. It could be said that first aid is the more general of the two, and training in first aid might include instructions and practice on how to respond to a variety of medical emergencies that could be causing danger to life or to a part of a person’s body. One such medical emergency could be the stopping of breathing or heartbeat, and the right response, in this case, might be to perform CPR. Thus, CPR can be seen as a type of first-aid response.

There can be differences in the amount of first-aid training people learn, and courses can sometimes be broken down into emergency and standard training. Standard training is actually the more extensive of the two, and would include teaching and learning how to handle a variety of medical situations like bites from insects or animals, broken bones, poisoning, childbirth, and care of wounds. Emergency first aid tends to be limited to the teaching of CPR, how to handle choking emergencies, and instructions on wound care for heavy bleeding.

CPR and first aid may be taught together or are sometimes taken as separate courses. People may need a whole day of practice or longer before getting CPR certification, which should be obtained from recognized agencies like the Red Cross. The big difference between CPR and first aid, in terms of taking classes, is that CPR focuses only on learning to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and recognize those situations as soon as possible in which it should be performed, while first-aid classes may teach this too, but they will teach in the broader context of how people need to respond to lots of different injuries or illness.

The issue of CPR and first aid may get confusing when people are asked to get training in one or both of these. Some people may be asked to take a first-aid course and have CPR training. Those who need more extensive training in standard first aid certainly won’t satisfy this need by only taking a CPR course. Those confused about what training they need should get this issue clear with the person (usually an employer) requesting the training.

Being able to respond first in a medical emergency usually means needing to know CPR, but other knowledge could be just as necessary. For instance, how to stop uncontrollable bleeding or how to handle an episode of anaphylactic shock (过敏性休克) could be vital too.