1 . Since 2001, robotic tools have revolutionized the practice of surgery. They have greatly reduced the stress and physical demands normally placed on surgeons and have made certain procedures possible.
One example is "keyhole surgery", or minimally invasive (微创) surgery, which normally requires surgeons to stand at awkward angles and make difficult movements with their hands to make a cut inside the patient. But in June 2022, surgeon James Ansell used 3D glasses and two joysticks (操纵杆) to control four robotic arms to perform a procedure to remove a cancerous tumor (肿瘤). "My colleague said . that this feels like cheating, " Ansell said to The Guardian.
Another area of surgery that has had major technological breakthroughs in recent years is telesurgery. Telesurgery, or remote surgery, is the use of technology that allows a surgeon to perform a procedure on a patient not in the same physical location.
Normally, telesurgery relies on a wired connection due to concerns of harming the patient if a wireless connection were to drop during surgery, but China made several advancements in wireless telesurgery based on 5G technology.
China achieved the first 5G-based remote operation in March 2019 involving a brain surgery procedure between a surgeon in Sanya and a patient in Beijing, a distance totaling nearly 3, 000 kilometers, reported CGTN. More recently, a team of surgeons successfully completed remote micron-level eye surgery on rabbits located in a different city, reported China Daily. The rabbits were at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, whereas the surgical team who operated on them via a 5G robot were at the Hainan Eye Hospital in Haikou, Hainan province.
Looking to the future, people hope that remote surgery could become commonplace to help heal injured soldiers on the battlefield while keeping surgeons at a safe distance. Some even believe that robotic systems, combined with AI, could one day surpass human surgeons. In 2022, engineers at Johns Hopkins University in the US used their Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) to suture (缝合)the ends of a severed intestine (断肠) in four pigs, showing that certain procedures can be done autonomously by robots.
But, given current technological limitations and the high costs of these robots which can cost millions of dollars, the complete robot takeover of surgery may still be a while off.
1. What does the "keyhole surgery" example intend to show?| A．The complexity of robotic surgery. |
| B．The challenges in using robotic tools. |
| C．The progress enabled by robotic tools. |
| D．The need for advanced 3D technology. |
| A．Achieving remote surgery using a wired connection. |
| B．Completing remote eye surgery on humans successfully. |
| C．Conducting the first 5G-based remote operation on rabbits. |
| D．Performing the first wireless brain surgery with 5G technology. |
| A．They have not yet been in use. |
| B．They are currently in high demand. |
| C．They have surpassed human capabilities. |
| D．Their development still has a long way to go. |
| A．Unavailability of 5G technology. |
| B．Resistance from medical institutions. |
| C．Technological limitations and high costs. |
| D．Lack of skilled surgeons to operate them. |
| A．The benefits of remote surgery. |
| B．China's achievements in surgery. |
| C．The advancements in medical robotics. |
| D．The use of 5G technology in robotic surgery. |
2 . Guidelines on How to Use AED
An automated external defibrillator (AED)is a device that is strongly recommended to use in time to analyze the heart rhythm, provide electric shock when necessary and save life when SCA (Sudden Cardiac Ares) patient is discovered whose heart unexpectedly stops beating without any warning.
1. Check the patient’s condition, call for help and look for an AED:
If a person collapses in your presence, he or she has likely experience shock or fainting due to SCA, consistently pulseless, unresponsive and not breathing. Then call for medical help immediately and let the patient lie flat on the ground and ask someone nearly to get an AED. Place the AED net to the victim’s left ear, switch on the power and quickly check if the machine and accessories are working property. Voice instructions will sound.
2. Attaching the AED pads
Attach the AED pads to the designated locations of the victim’s bare chest following the animation and voice prompts. The rule of anterolateral AED pad placement for adults: the right pad is placed on the upper right side of the chest, while the left pad is on the lower let side, 7cm below the left armpit. For children under 8, the anterior pad should be placed lo the middle point of the line connecting the two nipples, and the posterior pad on the opposite side of the back.
3. Analysis of the heart rhythm
Insert the electrode pads wires into the AED host device. Press the “Analyse” key and it will automatically analyze the patient’s heart rate to determine the necessity of an electric shock. Never touch the victim during this process. Even a slight touch can affect the analysis. Upon completing the analysis (S-15 seconds). AED will recommend whether to perform defibrillation.
4. Delivering a shock
If an AED shock is required, then a fully automatic APD will ask you to step back and deliver the electric shock automatically. In the case of a semi-automatic AED device, you need to press a button to deliver the shock. If the effective heart rhythm is not restored, the operator should conduct CPR (心肺复苏), and then analyze the heart rhythm again. Repeat until emergency medical personnel arrive.
1. The automated external defibrillator (AED)is not primarily used to________.| A．analyze the heart rhythm | B．provide electric shock |
| C．save the victim’s life | D．monitor heart disease |
| A．Run for help and wait far emergency personnel to arrive. |
| B．Perform CPR and use an AED to shock the person’s heart |
| C．Call for help and try to rescue the victim with the assistance of an AED. |
| D．Move the person to a safe location and seek medical assistance. |
| A．By following the voice prompts and animations provided by the ARD device. |
| B．By sticking the pads to the designated locations of the victim’s chest on the coat. |
| C．On the upper left side of the chest, directly over the heart. |
| D．On the left and right sides of the chest,7cm below the armpits. |
| A．Press a button on the AED to deliver the analysis. |
| B．Step back and let the fully automatic AED deliver the shock |
| C．Perform CPR until the victim’s heart starts beating again. |
| D．Seek help from emergency medical personnel. |
| A．A heart attack that occurs without warning. |
| B．A heart attack that is preceded or other symptoms. |
| C．A heart attack that only affects people with heart disease. |
| D．A heart attack that always makes the victim dangerous. |
3 . There was a time when the word “surgery” used to scare people, and they would try their best to avoid a surgical procedure. The feeling is understandable, as the idea of a large cut on your body is discomforting in many ways. However, thanks to the advances in medical science, surgical techniques have improved considerably.
Compared with the traditional open surgery, minimally invasive surgery (微创手术)has several benefits to offer. Not only is the procedure quick and less painful, but also ensures rapid recovery. Now, surgical procedures, either big or small, are done within a few minutes to a few hours. The best part about the minimally invasive surgery is the painless procedure. The advanced techniques are helping with quality treatments to patients who have to undergo (进行) surgical procedures.
Unlike the traditional open surgery that requires a large cut, a surgeon makes multiple tiny cuts of less than an inch. For the process, the surgeon uses small surgical instruments, such as a tiny tube with a mini camera at one end. Once the surgeon marks the cuts, he then passes the tiny tube through one of the cuts. The doctor monitors the images taken by the mini camera on the screen and uses them as a reference. These images give the surgeon a clear picture of the area undergoing the surgery. After the surgery, the surgeon cleans the cuts and sometimes places a bandage for additional support.
Minimally invasive surgery has become the first choice of patients with multiple medical conditions. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that these surgeries are now the standard surgical procedures for many routine operations. Whether you have a minor issue or want a surgical intervention for a major health condition, it is the best option.
1. What makes people afraid of surgery?| A．The large cut. | B．The great risk. |
| C．The high expense. | D．The slow recovery. |
| A．The previous treatment plan. |
| B．The images by the mini camera. |
| C．The standard surgical procedures. |
| D．The advice from other surgeons. |
| A．Patients in need of additional support. |
| B．Patients lack of regular checkups. |
| C．Patients with several medical conditions. |
| D．Patients scared of surgical instruments. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Objective. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Supportive. |
| A．A medical magazine. |
| B．An online medical forum. |
| C．A technique discovery. |
| D．An advertisement for a medical product. |
4 . As medical science develops rapidly with new technology, what is left for the doctor to do?
For medical humanist Dr. Abraham Verghese, the answer is simple: Spend more time getting to know your patients as people. Take the time to read a poem and other literature. Do your part to bridge the gap (鸿沟) between the two cultures of science and the humanities.
It takes a doctor who knows a patient’s life history well to make the best use of these tools, Verghese said. And that means paying more attention to human character.
Verghese said machines “have gone beyond human beings in their ability to care for the patient,” that is, in diagnosing illnesses and indicating the best treatment.
But doctors can awaken the human spirit, the knowledge of human beings and their motivations (动机), which can pull together a life picture of a patient and understand them as more than a collection of symptoms.
Case history: A 64-year-old man was admitted to the hospital after repeated falls, pains, and the loss of two teeth that just fell out, with no obvious cause.
What was wrong? Was it his medicine? Was it alcohol abuse (酗酒)?
The man rapidly improved after being hospitalized. It turned out he had bachelor scurvy, a disease among older men who live alone, which results from a lack of nutrition (缺乏营养).
“He was surviving on no fruits or vegetables, just alcohol and processed meats, I would guess,” Verghese said. “My point here is that this diagnosis, as clever as it was, also might have been made much, much earlier had we had a good relationship with this patient and had some sense of who that person was, as an individual.”
1. What is Verghese’s suggestion for doctors?| A．Use machines less frequently. |
| B．Remember to care for patients. |
| C．Try to make an early diagnosis of patients. |
| D．Keep up with the development of technology. |
| A．It needs to be improved greatly. |
| B．It will replace doctors sooner or later. |
| C．It may give patients incorrect treatment. |
| D．It is of great help in diagnosing illnesses. |
| A．He lives on his own. |
| B．He lives a healthy lifestyle. |
| C．He suffers from a rare disease. |
| D．He is a regular visitor to the hospital. |
| A．By giving an example. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By providing explanations. |
| D．By showing facts and opinions. |
| A．To introduce some medical tools. |
| B．To advise doctors to get to know patients better. |
| C．To describe the development of medical science. |
| D．To show the importance of machines in medical operations. |
5 . Many people love the Halloween season, particularly young ones. It’s not hard to understand. The Halloween season is a time for fun-sized candy, giving rocks to trick or treaters, apple cider donuts, and frights. The very last-frights, are generally all in good fun. But can they be dangerous? Can someone be scared to death?
The key factor in an imagined scare-caused death is a little chemical that anyone who’s played a particularly intense game of hide-and-seek is very familiar with: adrenaline (肾上腺素). Fear puts the body in a state of severe emotional anxiety, which in turn causes the autonomic fight-or-flight response.
The fight-or-flight response is an evolutionary defence mechanism (机制) which acts in your best interest when there is a noticed threat. You sweat a lot, your anxiety is exacerbated, your blood glucose (葡萄糖) levels are increased, and your heart rate is higher. Like a cornered animal, you’re a bit less reasonable, a bit stranger, but a bit more ready to survive.
Now, back to the adrenaline. Adrenaline causes all of these processes, but there’s just one organ, which, if overloaded, can lead to sudden death. The human body doesn’t immediately come to an end as soon as a kidney (肾) fails, but when a heart stops working, the whole business fails. This is what happens to your body during an adrenaline rush.
Adrenaline causes calcium (钙) to enter the heart at a higher rate, and when there’s more calcium rushing through the heart, it has harder time resetting to its normal resting rate. This can cause a dangerous condition, which prevents blood from pumping to the rest of the body. Without immediate treatment, this can lead to sudden death.
Of course, such cause of death isn’t unique to being scared. Any event that increases one’s adrenal level could lead to this dangerous condition. So if you are planning on scaring others the next Halloween season, be sure to do it in a controlled setting, especially if you have a history of heart problems.
1. What do we learn about the fight-or-flight response mentioned in Paragraph 2?| A．It makes us think in a better way. |
| B．It prevents adrenaline from rising. |
| C．It has nothing to do with little kids. |
| D．It is meant to help us survive better. |
| A．acquired | B．relieved | C．worsened | D．addressed |
| A．Having a failed kidney. |
| B．Having faster blood circulation. |
| C．Having too much calcium in our blood. |
| D．Having irregular heartbeats. |
| A．enjoy Halloween in a controlled way |
| B．avoid low blood glucose levels |
| C．exercise to protect ourselves from heart disease |
| D．avoid scaring others during the Halloween screen |
| A．Is it enjoyable to frighten others? |
| B．Is it possible to be scared to death? |
| C．Why is too much adrenaline dangerous? |
| D．What to watch out for during the Halloween season? |
6 . In US emergency rooms (ER), the average wait time to see a doctor is more than two hours. There are more patients in need than there are doctors, nurses and other staff to help them. Many parents have suffered through hours in the ER with a sick, upset child, only to get sent home because their case is not considered urgent. What if there was another choice—like a house call from an intelligent machine?
Now, a new study shows that AI systems can assess a child’s medical chart and come up with a diagnosis, a determination of what is wrong with that patient.
The study took place at Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center in southern China. First, a team of doctors reviewed 6, 183 medical charts. They summarized the information in these charts into a list of keywords linked to disease-related symptoms or signs, such as “fever”. Researchers then taught these keywords to the AI system. Once trained, the system scanned children’s charts for the key terms, checking if they were present or not in order to come to a conclusion. Finally, it offered diagnoses based on the charts, narrowing down from among 55 illness categories.
It agreed with real doctors about 90 percent of the time. It was especially effective at identifying illnesses of the ear, nose and throat. For these upper-respiratory infections, the Al system got it right 95 percent of the time.
Dongxiao Zhu, an assistant professor of computer science at Wayne State University who did not take part in the study, however, sees this as “augmented intelligence (增强智能)” rather than “artificial intelligence”, because the system handled only 55 illness categories. Compare that to thousands of possibilities in the real world. The machine cannot yet get into the more complex aspects of a medical decision.
Zhu is also concerned about the amount of human work that went into the study—namely, the time and energy spent by human doctors. They spent hours grading the machine’s assessments and comparing them to their own. It’s no wonder that the process took four years. Considering that, it may be a while before you can skip the ER and see a robot-doctor instead.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 1?| A．Patients pay too much for the ER. |
| B．American doctors aren’t responsible. |
| C．Children are treated urgently in the ER. |
| D．The emergency rooms are crowded with patients. |
| A．AI systems still have a long way to go. |
| B．AI systems diagnose disease like doctors. |
| C．AI systems will take over from doctors someday. |
| D．AI systems get into complex medical decisions. |
| A．By examining a patient first. | B．By reviewing many medical charts. |
| C．By scanning keywords about a disease. | D．By observing disease-related symptoms. |
| A．Most of the medical judgments by the AI system are identical to doctors’. |
| B．The AI system trains the patients to assess their medical charts. |
| C．The AI system mainly focuses on the illnesses of the ear, nose and throat. |
| D．All of illnesses can be identified by the AI system. |
| A．They need to be improved a lot. | B．They will replace real doctors soon. |
| C．They are suitable for complex disease. | D．They help doctors make a quick analysis. |
7 . The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play an important role in helping patients to get better.
As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the museums and into public places, some of the countries’ best artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 Nation Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have very valuable collections of present art in passages, waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent movements were first started by one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in Northern England during the early 1700s. He felt that artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.
A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 5,000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold a regular exhibition of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the out-patients’ waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain’s first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is striking. Now in the passages and waiting rooms, the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colours, playful images and restful courtyards. The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto garden needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.
1. Some best artists have been gathered to ______.| A．pull down older hospitals and build up new ones |
| B．make the corners of the hospital buildings round |
| C．bring art into hospitals |
| D．help patients recover from illness |
| A．one of the best artists in Britain |
| B．a pioneer in introducing art into hospitals |
| C．one of the young art school graduates |
| D．a kind painter who brings only his paintings into hospitals |
| A．artists in Britain have completely lost their places in modern society |
| B．patients should be encouraged to learn art |
| C．hospitals in Britain should be changed into museums |
| D．art should be encouraged in Britain's hospitals |
| A．patients no longer need drugs to kill their pains |
| B．patients needn’t buy any expensive drugs |
| C．patients need fewer pain killers when they are getting better after illness |
| D．patients can take fewer pills each time |
| A．the role of hospital environment is being recognized |
| B．hospital artists have done a lot for patients |
| C．art exhibitions in hospitals attract more audience than those in museums |
| D．hospitals in Britain look more beautiful than those in other countries |
8 . 22-year-old New Jersey resident Joe DiMeo had a rare face and hands transplant last August. In 2019, DiMeo fell asleep at the wheel after working a night shift as a product tester for a drug company. The car hit a pole flipped over, and burst into flames. Another driver who saw the accident pulled over to rescue DiMeo.
Afterward, he underwent 20 surgeries and many skin grafts to treat his third-degree burns. Once it became clear that traditional surgeries couldn’t help him regain full vision or use of his hands, DiMeo’s medical team began preparing for the risky transplant. Almost immediately, the team encountered challenges including finding a donor. However, about two years later the team finally identified a donor in Delaware and completed the 23-hour procedure a few days later.
US surgeons have completed at least 18 face transplants and 35 hand transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing(UNOS), which oversees the nation’s transplant system. But the face and double hand transplant is extremely rare and had only been tried twice before. The first attempt was in 2009 on a patient in Paris who died about a month later from complications. Two years later, Boston doctors tried it again on a woman, but had to remove the transplanted hands days later.
As with any transplant, the danger of rejection is the highest early on, but lasts endlessly. “You’re never free from that risk,” a doctor said. “Transplantation for any patient is a process that plays out over a long period of time.” Still, the doctor was amazed to see that DiMeo was able to master skills like zipping up his jacket and putting on his shoes. “It’s very pleasing and satisfying to all of us.” So far, DiMeo has not shown any signs of rejecting his new face or hands. “You got a new chance at life. You really can’t give up,” he said.
1. Why did DiMeo need surgeries?| A．He got injured after being hit by another driver. | B．He had an accident during his shift. |
| C．He was tested for a drug company. | D．He got burned in a car accident. |
| A．Lack of donors. | B．Repeated surgeries. |
| C．Serious complications. | D．No previous practice to follow. |
| A．To prove medical technology has greatly advanced. |
| B．To explain about the dangers of such surgeries. |
| C．To show DiMeo’s operation was a success. |
| D．To stress such surgeries should be avoided. |
| A．It is possible to avoid the danger of rejection. |
| B．DiMeo’s improvement gave them a sense of pride. |
| C．Transplantation is a life-saving chance for patients. |
| D．it is impossible for any high-risk patient to recover. |
9 . Jennifer Udler was in the middle of a 50-minute session with a patient when it started to rain. Walking and talking about anxiety and stress, she and her teenage patient got wet. But when they made it back indoors, Jennifer said, “Hey, look at us! We’re wet, but we got through it! Now you can use that next time you have anxiety before and during an event.” This kind of insight is key to her practice.
Jennifer, a social worker whose practice focuses on adolescents, has been a therapist(治疗师)for 20 years. For most of that time, she practiced in a traditional office, but she noticed how easy it was for her running partners to open up about their problems. After doing some research, in 2013, Jennifer founded Positive Strides Therapy, where she conducts sessions while walking outdoors. She conducts all of her sessions outdoors and in all kinds of weather.
“When somebody asks me if I specialize in walking therapy, I say, ‘No, that’s how I practice,’” Udler said. “I specialize in family systems theory. Walking in the park is just where I practice.”
Despite the lack of formal research, Jennifer believes strongly in the benefits, saying that it can be helpful. “We’ll be talking about ‘moving forward’ as we are actually moving forward on the path, building muscle memory of how they can move forward and leave the anxiety behind.”
And outdoor walking therapy doesn’t just benefit teens. Jennifer says the adults in her practice welcome the humanizing effect of taking therapy outdoors.
1. What lesson did Jennifer teach her teenage patient through the rain?| A．Rain and suffering are a part of life. | B．She is ready to help the young man. |
| C．We can beat our difficulty after all. | D．Rain can help us deal with our trouble. |
| A．Jennifer always talks with his patients in the rain. |
| B．Jennifer found it easy to talk with her patients in traditional office. |
| C．Jennifer conducts all of her sessions outdoors in Positive Strides Therapy. |
| D．Jennifer specializes in walking therapy. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Confident. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．The lack of formal research about the therapy. |
| B．Building physical memory of past experience. |
| C．Treating her teen patients in a traditional office. |
| D．Conducting walk-and-talk therapy for teens. |
| A．Walking outdoors is similar to managing worries. |
| B．Moving in the rain is a bit too difficult to tolerate. |
| C．The rain can make one excited and face the trouble. |
| D．Running in the rain or storm will make one healthy. |
Dressed in a white gown with pens in his pocket, 53-year-old Diarra Boubacar was welcomed by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in the Xindu district of Chengdu, Sichuan, as a specially invited expert.
Boubacar grew up in a small town in south-central Mali, a country in West Africa, which finds it challenging to provide affordable healthcare to its 19 million people.
Boubacar first came to China in 1984 on a student exchange program majoring in Chinese language and culture at Beijing Language and Culture University. After the two-year course, he decided to study traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine.
Since TCM is also related to Chinese history and culture, students have to study ancient Chinese literature as most of the medical texts were written in ancient Chinese characters. “That’s a subject even the Chinese find difficult; so think of me, a foreigner!” he said.
What inspired him to continue were the similarities between TCM and traditional African medicine, such as using certain herbs to treat the same diseases and letting out blood.
However, the greatest challenge for him was to convince people that even though he was a foreigner, he could still treat them effectively with TCM.
In 1997, he became the first foreigner to receive a doctoral (博士的) degree in acupuncture (针灸) from Chengdu University of TCM.
Besides his work in a private hospital, Boubacar has also been helping patients in remote villages in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. A major part of his work was treating leprosy (麻风病) patients.
Due to his work in the community, Boubacar is also known as the “African Norman
Bethune”. Bethune was a Canadian frontline doctor who ran mobile hospitals in north China in the 1930s.
“I want to build not only a hospital but also an educational center where people can come and learn about Chinese medicine,” he said. After 10 years, his dream is becoming a reality.
“If they learn TCM, they will be able to treat people in Africa in a very cheap and effective way,” said Boubacar.
1. What was Boubacar’s hometown in Mali like? (no more than 10 words)2. What is the main idea of Paragraph 4? (no more than 10 words)
3. What made Boubacar continue his study of TCM? (no more than 10 words)
4. Why does Boubacar want African people to learn TCM? (no more than 8 words)
5. What do you think of Boubacar’s work in China? And give your reasons. (no more than 20 words)
