Lesson 34 Patients and Doctors 病人与大夫 

This is a sceptical age, but although our faith in many of the things in which our forefathers fervently believed has weakened, our confidence in the curative properties of the bottle of medicine remains the same as theirs. This modern faith in medicines is roved by the fact that the annual drug bill of the health Services is mounting to astronomical figures and shows no signs at present of ceasing to rise. The majority of the patients attending the medical out-patients departments of our hospitals feel that they have not received adequate treatment unless they are able to carry Home with them some tangible remedy in the shape of a bottle of Medicine, a box of pills, or a small jar of ointment, and the doctor in charge of the department is only too ready to provide them with these requirements. There is no quicker method of disposing of patients than by giving them what they are asking for, and since most medical men in the health Services are overworked and have little time for offering time-consuming and little-appreciated advice on such subjects as diet, right living, and the need for abandoning bad habits, etc., the bottle, the box, and the jar are almost always granted them.
Nor is it only the ignorant and ill-educated person who has such faith in the bottle of medicine, especially if it be wrapped in white paper and sealed with a dab of red sealing-wax by a clever chemist. It is recounted of Thomas Carlyle that when he heard of the illness of his friend, Henry Taylor, he went off immediately to visit him, carrying with him in his pocket what remained of a bottle of medicine formerly prescribed for an indisposition of Mrs Carlyle's. Carlyle was entirely ignorant of what the bottle in his pocket contained, of the nature of the illness from which his friend was suffering, and of what had previously been wrong with his wife, but a Medicine that had worked so well in one form of illness would surely be of equal benefit in another, and comforted by the thought of the help he was bringing to his friend, he hastened to Henry Taylor's house. History does not relate whether his friend accepted his medical help, but in all probability he did. The great
advantage of taking Medicine is that it makes no demands on the taker beyond that of putting up for a moment with a disgusting taste, and that is what all patients demand of their doctors-- to becured at no inconvenience to themselves.

New words and expressions 生词短语

skeptical adj.怀疑的/’skeptikal/ 注意-cal 中 c 读作[k]的很少
creedal [宗教]信条
skeptic 怀疑论者，无神论者，怀疑宗教的人
 be skeptical about 对……产生怀疑I’m skeptical about his words.
 distrustful 怀疑的，不相信的 doubtful怀疑的； juberous怀疑的
forefathers n..祖先
fervently adv.热情地
  intense adj.热情的
  full-blooded adj. 热血澎湃的； cold-blooded adj.对……无动于衷
  enthusiastic adj.积极的passion n.[宗教]狂热
  passionate n.[宗教]狂热的 He has a fervent love for books.
curativeadj.治病的
curative effect 疗效How about the curative effect?
cure n.v.治疗，治愈
cure sb. cure of cancer
beyond cure 不可救药 cure-all 治百病的万灵药，百宝丹 magic bullet 魔药
astronomical adj.天文学的
disaster 灾难 astrology 占星术 astronaut 宇航员
catastrophe n.大灾难 astronomyn.天文学 astronomical figures 天文数字
sign n.迹象
tangibleadj.实实在在的
  tangible assets 有形资产 intangible assets 无形资产
remedyn.药物
  remedy 治疗方法 therapy 治疗方法 beyond remedy = beyond cure
jar n..瓶bottle 瓶子 jar 罐子
ointmentn..药膏a fly in the ointment 美中不足
only too 非常 only too hot 太热了 only too + adj.
disposevi.处理
dispose of garbage 处理垃圾 Man propose, god disposes.谋事在人，成事在天。
deal with sth. 处理
little-appreciated adj.不受欢迎的
much-appreciated; well-appreciated 很受欢迎的
received 接受; little-received 不受欢迎的
unsought 没人理睬的