1 . Rolland and Adeline are proud parents to nine beautiful children. Their youngest two, daughter Lanto, and son, Rindra, were both born with cleft lip (唇裂) conditions. In Madagascar, many families have never seen a cleft lip before, so it’s a condition often greeted with fear and misfortune in some rural communities.
However, the news of Lanto and Rindra’s cleft lip wasn’t much of a shock for Rolland and Adeline because Rolland’s cousin—a man in his fifties — had lived his entire adult life with an untreated cleft lip. Although seeing a relative with a cleft lip meant the family weren’t fearful of the condition, they knew the negative impact an untreated cleft lip can have on a person’s health and life. As all loving parents would, Rolland and Adeline wanted a better future for their children.
Rolland heard an advertisement on the radio about an Operation Smile surgical programme in Antsirabe, Madagascar. Finding out that Rindra and Lanto could have the cleft lip surgery they needed, for free, was a dream for the family. Unlike here in the UK, health services aren’t free in many parts of the world, and the costs of treatment — or even travelling to reach medical facilities — are out of reach for most families.
When Rolland and his children arrived at the patient village, they were surprised to see so many other families in the same position. After a thorough medical evaluation by medical volunteers, Lanto was found to be fit enough for surgery, and later got the new smile her parents had dreamed of for her. But, for younger brother Rindra, the journey to a new smile would take a little longer.
Operation Smile has provided hundreds of thousands of safe surgeries for children with cleft lip conditions worldwide. For more information about our work or to find out how you can help, visit www.operationsmile.org.
1. What do most people think of cleft lip in Madagascar?| A．It is incurable. | B．It is normal. | C．It is unavoidable. | D．It is unlucky. |
| A．Their relative’s experience. | B．Their children’s smile. |
| C．Their love for their children. | D．The advertisement they saw. |
| A．Paying for the surgery. | B．Staying in hospital. |
| C．Having a health check. | D．Seeking for a doctor. |
| A．For donations. | B．For copyright. | C．For commitment. | D．For clarification. |
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an ancient health care system in which patients
According to the World Health
Increasingly, however, modern medicines also contain substances
For instance, TCM uses about 1,000 plant and 36 animal species, including the tiger, rhinoceros (犀牛), and sea horse, which are all in danger.
3 . In the 19th century, an Arab physician known as Ibn Zuhr conducted some animal research to assess the surgical procedures that could be applicable to humans. Since then, animal testing has been considered to be the most efficient way to develop new drugs. New medical treatments and drugs are tested on animals first to determine their effectiveness or safety levels before they are finally tested on humans. However, it remains controversial whether it is morally right or wrong to use animals for medical or commercial experiments.
The use of animals for medical purposes is seen to be necessary by many scientists. Researchers usually begin their trials using rats. If the tests are successful, further tests are done on monkeys before using human beings. For testing, such tiered (分层的) rounds are important because it reduces the level of error and any negative side effects. Some argue that animal testing has contributed to many life-saving cures and treatments and that there is no adequate alternative to testing on a living, whole-body system. Moreover, there are regulations for animal testing that limit the misuse of animals during research, which serves as evidence that animals are well taken care of and treated well instead of being intentionally harmed.
However, some other experts and animal welfare groups have opposed such practice, terming it inhumane and claiming it should be banned. According to Humane Society International, animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force-feeding, radiation exposure, operations to deliberately cause damage and frightening situations to create depression and anxiety. They also hold the view that animals are very different from human beings and therefore make poor test subjects. Drugs that pass animal tests are not necessarily safe. Animal tests on the arthritis (关节炎) drug Vioxx showed that it would have a protective effect on the hearts of mice, yet the drug went on to cause more than 27,000 heart attacks before being pulled from the market.
It’s safe to say that using animals for tests will continue to be debated in many years to come. Despite the benefits of animal testing, some of the animal welfare organizations’ concerns need to be addressed with adequate regulations to ensure that animals are treated humanely.
1. Why is animal testing considered necessary?| A．Because other testing alternatives may not replace the need for animals. |
| B．Because animal testing has been in practice since the 19th century. |
| C．Because animal testing can spare humans any side effect. |
| D．Because rats are more like humans than monkeys. |
| A．Having unnecessary operations. |
| B．Eating poisonous food. |
| C．Being killed deliberately. |
| D．Breathing in polluted air. |
| A．Arthritis is hard to cure. |
| B．Some drugs need to be pulled from the shelves. |
| C．A drug should be tested many more times before its release. |
| D．Animal tests cannot necessarily produce accurate results. |
| A．Experts try hard to determine whether animal tests are harmful. |
| B．Scientists reduce the number of animals used in research. |
| C．The authorities issue a new law to guarantee animal rights during research. |
| D．Relevant organizations show more concern about the animals’ welfare. |
To write his own medical text, Li Shizhen referenced over 800 medical texts, countless books on history and geography, and works of literature. He even studied the complete works of many ancient poets, from
After over a decade of field research, Li
Since its first publication in 1596, the book
Today, there are a
Incense (香) boasts a long history,
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, burning incense, hanging paintings, making tea, and enjoying music have been known as the “four arts for literati (文人)”.
Moreover, medical incense is an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which considers preventative healthcare as
6 . Growing up in a small village in southern Ghana, Osci Boateng watched many of his family members and neighbors struggle to access basic health care. In many regions of the country, it can take hours to get to the nearest hospital. Boateng said many people lost their lives due to preventable or treatable diseases. His grandmother and aunt were among them.
Feeling an urgent call to help, Boateng decided he would make it his life’s mission to bring health care to remote communities in Ghana where education and preventative health care were lacking.
Boateng wanted to find a way to remove these barriers to health care access and education. He started his nonprofit organization, OKB Hope Foundation. In 2021, he converted (转变) a van (面包车) into a mobile doctor’s office and started bringing health care directly to those in need. A few times a week, the mobile clinic and medical team travel long distances to remote communities and provide free routine medical care.
On each trip, Boateng’s team consists of a nurse, a physician assistant, a doctor, and an operation assistant. In the van, they can run basic labs like bloodwork and urinalysis (尿液分析) as well as provide medicine. “It’s like a one-stop shop for people, ” said Boateng, adding that most of the people they see have one health issue or another. Since its launch, the Hope Health Van has served more than 4,000 Ghanaians across more than 45 rural communities who otherwise don’t have easily accessible medical care, according to Boateng.
Boateng has gone all in on his OKB Hope Foundation, recently quitting his job to dedicate his time to bringing health care to his home country. But for him, the sacrifices (牺牲) are well worth. “Words cannot describe the feeling that you provide care for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be alive if your mobile health van wasn’t there.” He has big plans for the future. He hopes to expand them to provide more consistent and high-quality medical care not only to those living in remote areas of Ghana but those in other countries.
1. What is the purpose of mentioning the example in paragraph 1?| A．To show the importance of life. | B．To describe how hard Boateng’s family lived. |
| C．To point out what’s wrong with the hospital. | D．To stress the seriousness of lacking health care. |
| A．He operates on patients in the van. | B．He rents a doctor’s office wherever he goes. |
| C．He provides medical care by charging some fees. | D．He offers people health care using mobile clinic. |
| A．It really works. | B．It makes a profit. |
| C．It serves the whole Ghana. | D．It produces some good medicine. |
| A．Reliable and creative. | B．Caring and ambitious. |
| C．Considerate and humorous. | D．Determined and demanding. |
Acupuncture(针灸) has been used to treat countless patients for thousands of years. As an ancient Chinese medical practice, it has
Acupuncture is a treatment that aims to promote the body’s multiple self-regulating
Needle insertion(针刺), the most common method of acupuncture,
8 . 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?
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.
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.
According to a report, consumers expected to see the cotton balls there and most didn’t know they were useless.
| A．Actually, the idea is not right. |
| B．They’re out of place and harmful. |
| C．Many other companies, though, still kept them in. |
| D．The truth is that it used to have an important function. |
| E．It was the first time that people had found the cotton balls’ secret. |
| F．Moreover, many companies thought there was no need to remove them. |
| G．It did so to prevent the pills from shaking around and potentially breaking. |
9 . If you followed the Rio Olympic Games, you may have noticed that several athletes, including US swimmer Michael Phelps, had circular bruises (青肿) on their bodies. These bruises were the result of “cupping (拔火罐) therapy”, a traditional Chinese medicinal practice that has been around for more than 2,000 years.
Many athletes say that they have benefited from the therapy. Phelps used the therapy in the fall of 201 and has used it about twice a week since, reported ABC News. Another US swimmer, Dana Vollmer, also believes that “it really helps with blood flow”.
However, some have said that the supposed health effects result from people’s feeling that the treatment works, rather than any physical effect of the treatment. To figure out cupping therapy has any physical effect, last year researchers from Germany carried out a test in which a false treatment was provided.
In the study, the same type of cups was used in the real treatment and the false treatment. But in the false treatment, the cups had a hole at the top so that they couldn’t create the proper suction (吸力).
The tested patients, who suffered from a disorder that caused a lot of pain, were told that they would receive either a traditional cupping or “soft cupping”. But they were not informed that the so-called “soft cupping” was a false treatment.
It turned out that most patients correctly guessed which kind of cupping they had received. In both groups, patients also experienced about the same reductions in pain. “The results suggest the effects of cupping therapy might come from factors that are not necessarily part of the treatment itself,” the researchers told the Live Science website.
The question of whether cupping therapy works still needs to be answered. “But because the treatment is relatively safe and it could be helpful for some people, the therapy can be used as part of a comprehensive treatment program involving other exercises, nutritional choices and lifestyle changing,” Dr Brent Bauer, director of the US Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic, told Live Science.
1. Why does the author mention Michael Phelps in Paragraph 1?| A．To give athletes a new way to swim faster. |
| B．To provide athletes with a new way of treatment. |
| C．To introduce the topic on cupping therapy. |
| D．To show swimmers suffer from disorders. |
| A．promote the health effects of cupping therapy |
| B．see whether cupping therapy has a physical effect |
| C．compare traditional cupping with the soft cupping |
| D．compare cupping therapy’s effects on different groups of people |
| A．Different people need different types of cupping therapy. |
| B．The real treatment and false treatment almost have the same effects. |
| C．The results show that cupping therapy is surely not part of the treatment. |
| D．Cupping therapy is only effective when used with lifestyle changing. |
| A．is a fast and easy treatment for people to carry out |
| B．is a newly invented way to cure some diseases |
| C．needs a long period of time to take effect |
| D．can be used together with other treatments |
10 . Using needles to deliver drugs has been common for more than a century. The past hundred years have seen all manner of medical advances, from life-saving medicine and X-rays to mRNA vaccines and special cancer treatments. Yet the needle has stayed mostly unchanged. Although now available in a variety of different sizes, it remains a hollow (having a hole or empty space inside), pointy tube.
With luck, that may soon change. As Yichi Ma, a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues outline in a review paper, researchers around the world are looking for ways to ease the pain when needles go into the skin. Many have been inspired by nature.
The team got their idea from mosquitoes, which manage to get their blood meals without causing great pain to people. One reason is that the insects use painkilling chemicals when they first puncture(刺穿) the skin. But there is another reason. The point of a mosquito’s saw-like proboscis(锯齿状的喙) is softer at its tip. The insect makes the skin of its target tight before biting, and shakes its proboscis as it pushes the proboscis in. All of this helps reduce the force needed to puncture the skin.
One paper, published in 2020 by a group of researchers in America and China, found that a mosquito-inspired needle required 27% less puncturing force than an ordinary one. And less force means less pain. Mosquito-inspired needles might also be useful for delicate procedures such as biopsies (the examination of tissue taken from a living body). A paper from the University of Michigan, also published in 2020, found that scientists could improve biopsies of tissue in some body organs. The lower force led to less movement of the organ itself, ensuring that the needles were guided accurately to the area that needed sampling.
For now, such devices remain limited to labs. But there is a big market for better needles. According to WHO, around 16 billion injections were given in 2018. With one person in four saying they suffer from a fear of needles, the savings on stickers and sweets for the brave souls who roll up their sleeves would be considerable.
1. What can we infer about needles from Paragraph 1?| A．Their importance has been ignored for long. |
| B．They fall behind other medical innovations. |
| C．Their size remains the same for over a century. |
| D．They had a poor source of supply for decades. |
| A．The source of scientists’ inspiration. |
| B．The chemical compounds found in mosquitoes. |
| C．The unique structure of a mosquito’s proboscis. |
| D．The harmful effects of mosquito bites on humans. |
| A．To show people’s anxiety about injections. |
| B．To highlight the limitations of current needle designs. |
| C．To draw attention to the dangers of too many injections. |
| D．To emphasize the potential demand for improved needles. |
| A．The Limitations of Current Needle Designs |
| B．The Role of Needles in Traditional Chinese Medicine |
| C．Enhancing Needle Technology: Lessons from Mosquitoes |
| D．The Impact of Needle Innovation on Medical Advancements |
