3 . When Tal Golesworthy was told he needed _________ heart surgery in 1993, he said no. Golesworthy has Marfan syndrome (马凡氏综合症), a genetic condition _________ the strength and elasticity of connective body tissues, including blood vessels. Back in 1993, when he was living in Cheltenham, in the west of England, his doctor told him that the aorta (主动脉) in his heart was so enlarged that it would unavoidably _________ unless he underwent major surgery.

“They _________ the surgical options,” says Golesworthy, “and I was not interested. The operation really didn’t look attractive.” _________ he particularly didn’t like was having to be on blood thinners after the operation, something that would prevent blood clots(血栓) but _________ its own risks: “I was riding motorbikes then; and skiing, so my whole lifestyle _________.” By 2000, however, his condition _________. Realizing something had to be done, Golesworthy put his years of _________ as research-and-development engineer with the United Kingdom’s National Coal Board to good use. He decided he would __________ himself. “Learning new stuff and developing new ideas, that was my job,” Golesworthy says.

A bulging aorta, he thought, was much like bulging hydraulic hose (凸起的液压软管)—it needed __________ support. And wrapping something around the outside of the aorta would require a less invasive __________. So Golesworthy subjected himself to 30 hours of an MRI scanner; used 3D printing to create a physical copy of the faulty part of his heart (the aortic root); and then used soft, porous textile mesh (网眼织物) to make a sleeve to fit around it. “Luckily, I’d done a lot of work with technical textiles, looking at filters (过滤器) for flue gases (烟气) in coal-fire processes,” he says.

Sheer determination combined with a(n) __________ yet practical solution won him the support of two leading cardiothoratic (心胸的) surgeons and helped him raise the money to __________ his idea. In May 2004, at the age of 47, he became the guinea pig for his own invention, the Exo Vasc Personalised External Aortic Root Support. The operation was __________.

4 . It’s been well over a year since COVID-19 first appeared. Although the virus continues to be a problem in many parts of the world, things are starting to turn back in our favor with the help of vaccines (疫苗).

Vaccine development started in February 2020, when it became clear to scientists that a solution to the pandemic would need a global effort to vaccinate as many people as possible. Of course, this would take great effort, since vaccines typically take years to develop. However, COVID-19 needed faster development. The first COVID vaccine — the Pfizer vaccine — was approved by UK health authorities on Dee 2, 2020.

However, these vaccines must be stored at very low temperatures, which is not possible everywhere. In response, Chinese companies like Sinopharm and Sinovac have developed vaccines using dead viruses instead of spike proteins. These vaccines can be kept at regular temperatures.

As it stands now, vaccines are being rolled out all over the world, with millions of people being vaccinated every day. In China, as of May 4, 285 million vaccine doses (剂量) had been given so far. Meanwhile, the US has given out 247 million doses, according to Our World In Data. The UK now stands at 50 million doses.

Although there have been rumors about vaccines being unsafe, the majority of people seem to realize the importance of vaccination for building mass immunity (大规模免疫) in order to stop the virus from spreading.

Zhang Wenhong, China’s leading expert on infectious diseases, said it’s good that the world has come to understand that the vaccines will protect us. Zhang added that human beings belong to one family. Vaccines are a kind of medicine that we all must share in order to stay safe and healthy.

5 . 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.

7 . Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you had a hundred dollars less. Also imagine what it would be like spending the rest of your life with your eyes closed. Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your finger­tips.

With existing medical knowledge and skills, two thirds of the world’s 42 million blind should not have to suffer. Unfortunately, rich countries possess most of this knowledge, while developing countries do not.

ORBIS is an international non­profit organization which operates the world’s only flying teaching eye hospital. ORBIS intends to help fight blindness worldwide. Inside a DC­8 aircraft, there is a fully­equipped teaching hospital with television studio and classroom. Doctors are taught the latest techniques of bringing sight back to people there. Project ORBIS also aims at promoting peaceful cooperation (合作) among countries.

ORBIS tries to help developing countries by providing training during three-week medical programs. ORBIS has taught sight­saving techniques to over 35,000 doctors and nurses, who continue to cure tens of thousands of blind people every year. ORBIS has conducted 17 plane programs in China so far. For the seven to ten million blind in China ORBIS is planning to do more for them. At the moment an ORBIS is working on a long­term plan to develop a training center and to provide eye care service to Shanxi Province. ORBIS needs your help to continue their work and free people from blindness.

For just $ 38, you can help one person see; for $ 380 you can bring sight to 10 people; $ 1,300 helps teach a doctor new skills; and for $ 13,000 you can provide a training programme for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again. Your money can open their eyes to the world. Please help ORBIS improve the quality of life for so many people less fortunate than ourselves.

8 . Acupuncture (针灸) is a traditional Chinese medical practice of treating various physical and mental (心理的) conditions. It won respect and interest in the United States after New York Times reporter James Reston visited China with President Nixon and needed an operation. Chinese doctors used acupuncture on James after surgery (外科手术) to reduce his pain, and his recovery was quick. Curious about this, James was allowed to watch surgery on patients who received acupuncture for anesthesia (麻醉). Patients talked with their doctors during the operation and then walked back to their rooms on their own.

The effectiveness of acupuncture left James such a deep impression that he wrote a front- page article in New York Times about his operation upon returning to the United States. “A leading medical expert sent by Premier Chou En-lai removed my appendix (阑尾). I was awake in the whole process. ”

The National Institutes of Health began to organize some of their top doctors to visit China to investigate acupuncture and its possible functions in western medicine. With years going by, acupuncture has become popular across the world with magical effect.