Acupuncture (针灸), an ancient Chinese medical practice, has been a treatment for countless patients for thousands of years. Before modern medicine came     1     life, ancient Chinese people used sharpened stone tools and bones     2     (relieve) pain. Over time, this practice evolved into     3     comprehensive and profound medical system and shaped the root of acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a treatment that aims to promote the body’s self-regulating functions. Its treatment principles are     4     (basic) connected with the philosophical concepts of traditional Chinese medicine,    5     emphasizes overall treatment and adjustment, balance of bodily functions and physiological well-being.

Practices can vary in forms, including needle insertion, cupping and scraping (刮痧). Needle insertion, the most common method,    6     (carry) out by inserting hair-thin needles into specific points on the body. Practitioners may gently twist needles to unblock the flow of energy, restore yin and yang balance, and stimulate the body’s innate potential to heal     7     (it).

    8     (look) beyond China, acupuncture is becoming more and more popular. Over the past decades, acupuncture     9     (see) many advancements in scientific research and modern medicine. It is now a mainstream alternative and complementary treatment for a variety of illnesses. According to a 2019 WHO report, acupuncture is used in 113 of its 120 member countries, illustrating its widespread     10     (recognize) and application.

As an ancient Chinese medical practice with a rich history and deep cultural significance, acupuncture is expected to go further.

5 . Get up at 6 a.m., arrive at the hospital one hour earlier to help patients check in, and accompany patients during consultations... In recent years, the patient escort has emerged as a new occupation, and those who have taken on this career are known as “people who sell time”. 26-year-old Zhang Tian is one of them.

September 4, 2022 was a lucky day for Zhang Tian. On this day, Zhang Tian saw a video about patient escorts on a short video platform. The daily routine of patient escorts shown in the video fascinated her and inspired her to take this on as a business. She browsed through many platforms and searched for information and found there indeed exists a certain demand for patient escorts, especially for the elderly, children and pregnant women. Since she had never engaged in this kind of work before, she spent two days in major hospitals in Wuhan, in order to familiarize herself with all the departments on different floors, as well as the processes of medical consultations and preparations for surgery.

After the preparations, Zhang Tian posted a video of self-introduction on major social media sites, talking about the help and services a patient escort provides, as well as some tips for a quick and convenient medical consultation. At first, she was a little worried that her video would go unnoticed. However, after she uploaded the video, it got over 100 likes and she received her first offer as a patient escort.

The memory of her first task is still vivid in her mind. She received a phone call on September 9 from a man whose father was seriously ill and might need surgery. He wanted Zhang Tian to accompany his father through his consultation and treatment. Zhang Tian made all the preparations before meeting her first client and did a very good job despite her nervousness.

“Later, the family expressed their gratitude to me over and over again, which warmed my heart and gave me a sense of achievement,” Zhang Tian said.

10 . Thousands of lives have been saved by giving blood-thinning drugs to people with a heart condition that leaves them at risk of a stroke (中风), according to the head of the NHS.

Since January 2022, about 460,000 people in England who suffer from atrial fibrillation (AF)—a dangerously irregular heart rate—have begun taking one of four anticoagulant (抗凝血的) drugs that are proved to reduce stroke risk. Speedy introduction of the drugs has kept 4,000 people alive who would otherwise have died and prevented about 17,000 strokes, according to Amanda Pritchard. Strokes kill about 27,000 people a year in England and lead to about 120,000 being taken to hospital.

A drive to encourage take-up of the drugs means 90% of the 1.5 million people in England with AF are using them. That should result in fewer strokes, which are a leading cause of death and disability, given that AF causes about one in five strokes.

“The rapid introduction of these drugs is a big step forward in providing the best possible care for patients with heart disease”, Pritchard, the leader of NHS (National Health Service) England, will say in a speech today at the King’s Fund health experts’ yearly conference.

The drugs, called direct oral anticoagulants, help keep blood from coagulating, therefore reducing the risk of a clot (凝块) developing and causing a stroke. In 2021 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended that doctors use four anticoagulant drugs.

Dr Maeva May, the Stroke Association’s director, thought of the widespread use of the drugs as “fantastic news”, because AF accounts for one in five strokes and strokes in people with AF are more likely to result in death or serious disability.

NHS England has used its spending power to cut deals with the makers of the four drugs, which has made them much more widely available. The British Heart Foundation praised the NHS’s “great progress towards its goal of reducing stroke deaths”.