Health

      为了健康，得病服药、就医自然是常理之事。世界各地的药品不一样，又有西药、中药之分。下面我们看看美国人得病服药、就医的具体过程。

       Medicine used around the world can prove to be very different. Western medicine has long been associated(1) with modern science. Doctors are continually making advancements in medicine and their methods. If a person is sick and needs medical help, they have a few different options(2 ) in the United States.

       A doctor might prescribe(3) medication that can be purchased through pharmacy(4). The patient must give the pharmacists a special paper signed by the doctor called a prescription. Much medication in the United States needs a prescription whereas in other countries it can often be purchased over-the-counter.

       For example, birth controls pills for women or antibiotics(5) must be prescribed by a doctor in the U.S. but can be purchased over-the-counter in some Asian countries. Most people will purchase over-the-counter drugs for the common cold or other seemingly non-threatening illnesses. The drugs are commercially advertised medicine such as aspirin or cold medicine. There are usually warnings on the label to alert(6) the person taking the medicine what effect it will have on their bodies.

       Many people are turning to alternative(7) medicine such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine and herbal(8) medicine. Although these methods have been common practice in Asia for centuries they are recently gaining popularity in the U.S. Most people will see a Western doctor for a serious illness and even the common cold, but will try herbal medicine as a supplement or if the Western   prescription  doesn’t  include self-help methods or alternative medicine, so many people will not use it.

Questions to think about:

1.What is a prescription?

2.What kind of medicine can you buy over-the-counter in your country?

3.What is alternative medicine?

4.What types of medicine are used in your country? Which techniques do you think work best?

New words and expressions

1.associate vt. 使结合在一起

2.option n. 选择

3.prescribe vt. (医生)开(药）

4.pharmacy n.药房，药店 

5.antibiotic n.抗菌素，抗生素 

6.alert vt.使认识到；使意识到 

7.alternative a.供选择的；供替代的 

8.herbal a.草木植物的；草木植物制的