The centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine scraping (刮) massage, gua sha, has become a fashion among young people on the mainland! who show off the bruises (淤青) it creates.

    1     the youth lifestyle social media platform, a young woman using the account name @hua posted pictures of herself wearing a T-shirt, in which she showed her bruises and described them as “cool”. She is one of many who regard gua sha as an efficient way to ease muscle pains and    2     (tired).

Many shared     3     (they) gua sha experiences and tips, such as using homemade scraping tools and different meridians (经脉) on the body to relax.

The meridians     4     (translate) from jing mai in Chinese, refer to paths through which the life energy     5     (flow) in the body and to organs.

The practice, also known as scraping and coining, is     6     exceptional form of traditional Chinese massage (按摩) that uses a small and flat tool to scrape the surface of skin along the meridians,     7     (leave) red bruising as a sign of released toxins.

The folk-treatment     8     originated in ancient China has enjoyed huge popularity among the older generation. The treatment is used for     9     (condition) considered not serious enough to go to hospital, according to an article in the magazine Sanlian Life Lab.

Some describe gua sha as “the Chinese way to cure the stress from the workplace” saying the pain and stress that     10     (bring) by a session bear more pleasure than parties or a weekend at the seaside.

4 . The National Health Service (NHS) in England is to pay for 10 people, to whom a “bionic eye” will be implanted (植入). It is a pioneering technology that can help those who have been blind for years to gain some sight.

Only a small number of people have received surgery in trials so far to equip them to use Argus Ⅱ, which uses a camera fixed in a pair of glasses and a tiny computer to send signals directly to the nerves (神经) controlling sight. Those who will get the equipment can currently see nothing more than the difference between daylight and darkness. The system allows the brain to decode (解读) flashes of light, so that they can learn to see movement.

One of three patients who have had the implant into the retina (视网膜) in trails at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital is Keith Hayman, 68, from Lancashire, who has five grandchildren. He was blind in his 20s. The disease causes cells in the retina gradually to stop working and die. Hayman was forced to give up his work. “Having spent half my life in darkness, I can now tell when my grandchildren run towards me and make out lights,” he said. “I would be talking to a friend, who might have walked off and I couldn’t tell and kept talking to myself. This doesn’t happen anymore, because I can tell when they have gone. They may seem like little things, but they make all the difference to me.”

After the surgery, 10 patients will be carefully followed, to gather data on their progress and assess how much the bionic eye improves their daily lives. If the results are good, more patients will be likely to receive the treatment in the future. The “bionic eye” treatment, including surgery, follow-up, equipment and recovery, costs £150,000.

7 . A new medicine developed in China has been recently introduced, which is expected to significantly enhance the prevention and control of malaria in Africa. Compared with the previous medicines, this latest medicine is not only more efficient but also easier to administer. Its introduction is anticipated to result in a sharp decline in the number of deaths caused by malaria.

In case studies conducted in Kenya, second-generation artesunate(青蒿琥酯) for injection, developed by Chinese medicine company Fosun Pharma, has proved highly effective in treating severe malaria in children, Kenyan health experts said.

In addition, the new drug—produced under the brand name Argesun—can be easier and faster to prepare, and safer to inject, than its previous generation, which was produced under the name Artesun, and which was widely used in dozens of countries for more than10 years.

“We think that this is a very good development. It is really going to cut our rate of deaths and also the complications caused by malaria,” Walter Otieno said, a Kenyan Medical researcher.

Argesun was pre-qualified by the World Health Organization in June and has been registered in 18 African countries, according to Fosun Pharma.

Both Artesun and Argesun are innovative antimalarial drugs based on artemisinin (青蒿素), which was discovered by Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou in the 1970s,and which has made significant contributions to malaria control and prevention in the world during the past two decades.

Wu Yifang, chairman of Fosun Pharma, said the company recognized the strategic value of antimalarial drugs based on artemisinin and restructured its sub company Guilin Pharmaceutical in 2004 to start introducing the drugs to the international market. Its first antimalarial drug entered Africa in 2007,and the company launched a training program for front-line medical workers in Africa in 2014.

“To win the battle against malaria, we have to get rid of it worldwide,” Wu said, adding that the company is pushing to transform its antimalarial drugs from “made in China and used in Africa” to “made in Africa and used in Africa”, in order to increase the accessibility and affordability of the drugs there.

9 . If you get a cotton (棉花) ball out of a brand-new bottle of pills (药片), you may probably wonder what it is used for. This soft ball seemingly only blocks your way to your pills. Adding to the confusion, it’s not any kind of special object. It’s just a common cotton ball. Then what purpose could it possibly serve?     1    

The first-ever cotton balls started showing up in pill bottles in the early 1900s. The medical company Bayer was the first one to add them.     2     It worried that the customers might end up taking too much or too little medicine due to the small pieces.

Decades later, pill coatings made the cotton balls useless. The coatings on pills ensured they were no longer in danger of breaking apart in the bottle. Bayer itself actually stopped putting cotton balls in the bottles just decades ago.     3     Why? It had become a custom.

According to a report, consumers expected to see the cotton balls there and most didn’t know they were useless.     4     They might be an annoyance, surely. But customers have been used to the cotton balls. Many have believed their pills are somehow safer or fresher because of them.

    5     The cotton balls don’t preserve quality or freshness in any way. And in fact, they might have the opposite effect. It’s said that the cotton can actually draw moisture (潮气) into the bottle. Too much moisture could affect pills’ effect.

10 . Prihardinni, from the Indonesian city of Surabaya, is amazed at how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM中医) has continued to develop since she began studying it a year ago.

When Prihardinni was 10 years old, she suffered from serious headaches. So, her mother took her to see a TCM doctor near their home. The doctor checked her pulse, examined her face and tongue, and wrote down a prescription(处方). After several weeks of drinking Chinese medicine, she didn’t have headaches any more.

“His medical skills were like magic,” Prihardinni recalled. The experience of being cured by TCM impressed her and it encouraged her to choose TCM study. Now, she is a freshman at the Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, which has thousands of years of history and widespread international popularity.

“TCM is becoming more and more popular worldwide and has become an important cultural symbol(象征) for China,” said Zhao Zhongting, a professor at the Gansu University of Chinese Medicine. “Many foreign students face difficulties in fully understanding the meaning and function of TCM medical terms because of cultural and language barriers,” Zhao said, adding that in order to help them, the university offers various training courses for freshmen, including chemistry, language study and Chinese medicine culture. Activities between local and international students, lectures and study tours are also provided to help students better understand the courses.

“More people in my country are becoming interested in TCM. Many social media(媒体) are sharing their experiences with Chinese medicine,” Prihardinni said, adding that she plans to return to her hometown after graduation and open a TCM clinic(诊所). “I want to tell my parents and friends that Chinese medicine is also a good and believable choice.”