学进去

Old new medicines

What should you do if you have a headache? In modern times, people often take aspirin(阿司匹林). But is aspirin 1． (actual) a modern medicine?

More than 4,000 years ago, ancient Egyptians used dried leaves to treat pain. And in the fourth century B.C. a medicine made from tree bark(树皮) 2． (use) to treat fevers. In the nineteenth century, European scientists discovered that both medicines have the same chemical (化学物质). They used the chemical to make a modern medicine—aspirin. Today, it’s one of the world’s 3． (cheap) and most helpful medicines.

Some of the medicines we have today come 4． traditional Chinese medicine. In the third century B.C., some people 5． (begin) studying the human body. They tried many different ways to treat the patients and recorded 6． (they) results. For more than 2,000 years, doctors recorded 7． they found in books. These ancient books are still useful today. Tu Youyou, a Chinese medical researcher, found that in 8． past, people used a herb with yellow flowers to treat fevers. After studying it, she developed a medicine that saved millions of people from dying.

For 9． (century), Western medicine paid little attention to traditional Chinese medicine. But today, scientists are studying traditional treatments 10． (develop) new medicines.