Question

    Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is gaining global popularity. According to a government white paper, TCM has been introduced in 183 countries and regions around the world.

Westerners’ understanding of TCM, however, may be limited to acupuncture(针灸), cupping(拔罐) and massage(按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps’ back from cupping for the purpose of relaxing his muscles and reducing pain became the center of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.

As a matter of fact, Chinese herbs play a more important role in getting rid of diseases and keeping the body in good condition in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. It is therefore disappointing to know that while 103 World Health Organization member countries have given approval to the practice of acupuncture, not many recognize Chinese herbal medicine. TCM falls far behind Western medicine owing partly to the slow development of Chinese herbs.

Herbs are made into pills, powder and soup, and the kind of herbs used, their quality and quantity, and the processing of the ingredients jointly determine the effectiveness of the prescription. Compared with Western medicine, which has standardized drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardization, with the chemical composition and functions of its medicines being unclear and their effects being unstable. Fortunately, standardization has improved in recent decades, with an increasing number of factories producing patented TCM drugs.

Another factor that has prevented the development of TCM prescription(处方) drugs is the lack of creativity. While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicines according to prescriptions handed down from the past. Chinese chemist Tu Youyou’s winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria(疟疾) treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China’s TCM industry. However, the current state of affairs cannot be changed within a short time.

1.Why does the author mention the example of Michael Phelps?

A.Because Phelps has an international fame for his interest in TCM.

B.Because cupping is a kind of important TCM treatment.

C.Because currently westerners have a preference for TCM

D.Because westerners have rather limited knowledge about TCM.

2.Why don’t some member countries of WHO recognize Chinese herbal medicine?

A.Because Chinese herbs can’t cure diseases as well as western medicine

B.Because they only approve of the practice of acupuncture

C.Because Chinese medicine tastes so bad.

D.Because medicine made out of Chinese herbs develops pretty slowly

3.Compared with Western medicine, what is the weak point of TCM in Paragraph 4?

A.The methods of processing herbs.

B.The effectiveness of prescription.

C.Lack of proper standardization.

D.Its unstable functions.

4.The lack of creativity in TCM refers to the fact that_______.

A.medicine-making companies lack creativity

B.prescriptions are passed down from generation to generation

C.Western companies are more experienced

D.medicine-making companies lack driving force and experienced specialists

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了中医的相关内容。中医药正在全球普及，虽然世卫组织很多成员国都赞同针灸疗法，但承认中药的国家还是少数。中药制药缺少标准化，效果不稳定，但越来越多的工厂开始生产专利中药。其次，中药要根据之前的处方进行生产，屠呦呦获得诺贝尔奖对于中药的发展起到了一定的推动作用，但目前的状况不能在短期内改变。

1.推理判断题。第二段第一句提到“Westerners’ understanding of TCM, however, may be limited to acupuncture(针灸), cupping(拔罐) and massage(按摩).”西方人对于中医的理解仅限于针灸、拔罐和按摩。同时，举了菲尔普斯的例子。第二段最后一句提到“…became the center of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.”菲尔普斯背后拔罐的痕迹都能成为里约奥运会期间关注的焦点。说明西方人对于中医的理解非常有限。D项符合文意，故选D。

2.细节理解题。第三段最后一句提到“TCM falls far behind Western medicine owing partly to the slow development of Chinese herbs.”中医远远落后于西医的部分原因是因为中药发展的缓慢。D项符合文意，故选D。

3.细节理解题。第四段第二句提到“Compared with Western medicine, which has standardized drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardization, with the chemical composition and functions of its medicines being unclear and their effects being unstable.”与生产工艺和治疗方法都标准化的西药相比，中药缺少标准化，而且中药的化学成分和功能都不明确，效果不稳定。由此可知，中药的缺点是缺乏标准。C项符合文意，故选C。

4.细节理解题。最后一段第一句提到“Another factor that has prevented the development of TCM prescription(处方) drugs is the lack of creativity. ”中药处方缺乏创造力也是阻碍中药发展的一个因素。第二句还提到“TCM drug producers tend to make medicines according to prescriptions handed down from the past. ”中药生产商要根据过去开的处方来生产药品。说明中药的生产不是靠创新，而是靠一代代传下来的药方。B项符合文意，故选B。