新概念英语第四册课文及翻译及详解:新概念英语第四册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson28

【课文】
　　First listen and then answer the following question.
　　听录音，然后回答以下问题。
　　What are patients looking for when they visit the doctor?
　　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 a theirs. This modern faith in medicines is proved 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 then 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. 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 be cured at no inconvenience to themselves.
　　【New words and expressions 生词和短语】
　　sceptical adj. 怀疑的
　　forefathers n. 祖先
　　fervently adv. 热情地
　　curative adj. 治病的
　　astronomical adj. 天文学的
　　tangible adj.实实在在的
　　remedy n. 药物
　　ointment n. 药膏
　　prescribe v. 开药方
　　indisposition n. 小病
　　disgusting n. 令人讨厌的
　　inconvenience n. 不便
　　【课文注释】
　　1.sceptical adj.怀疑的
　　例句：Mary is sceptical about the solution.
　　玛丽对这个解决办法表示怀疑。
　　2.fervently adv.热情地
　　例句：For her sake, as well as for John's, I hoped fervently that she might still be found.
　　为了她的缘故，也为了约翰，我热切地希望她能被找到。
　　3.curative adj.治病的
　　例句：The scaffold were believed to have curative powers.
　　人们认为绞刑架具有治病的功效。
　　4.the same a theirs，这里的theirs是指our forefathers。
　　5.astronomical figures 天文数字
　　6.tangible adj.可触摸的， 实际的， 有形的， 确凿的
　　例句：It is the only tangible object the astronomer can handle.
　　这是天文学家能够掌握的可接触的对象。
　　The plan brought few tangible benefits to the poor.
　　这个计划没有给穷人带来多少实际好处。
　　【反义词】
　　intangible adj.难以明了的， 无形的…
　　例句：The old building have an intangible air of sadness about it.
　　那座古老建筑物周围笼罩著说不出的凄凉气氛。
　　Sound is intangible and the same is true of light.
　　声音是无形的，而光也同样如此。
　　7.only too ready to provide非常乐意提供。在英语中too…to do…的结构通常表示否定，但如果在前面加上only，就有“非常……能做”的意思。
　　8.dispose of 处理
　　例句：I want to dispose of these old books.
　　我想处理掉这些旧书。
　　He doesn't know how to dispose of his spare time.
　　他不知道怎样安排业余时间。
　　9.It is recounted of Thomas Carlyle据说，托马斯 卡莱尔……(有下面这件事)。托马斯 卡莱尔是19世纪英国的散文作家和历史学家。
　　10.prescribe v. 开处方， 规定
　　例句：I'll prescribe for you as soon as I get the report.
　　我拿到报告就给你开处方。
　　【短语词组】
　　prescribe for 为……开处方
　　【词义辨析】
　　recommend, advocate, propose, suggest, prescribe 这些动词均含“劝告、主张、建议”之意。
　　recommend: 指向对方提出公开的建议或规劝。
　　advocate: 指公开表明对某事或某行为的完全赞同，语气强于recommend。
　　propose: 多指较正式地提出建议。
　　suggest: 语气较委婉，指提出不成熟的建议或参见意见。
　　prescribe: 多指医生开处方。
　　11.in all probability 很可能
　　例句：In all probability the money will not be paid.
　　这笔钱很可能是不会偿付的。
　　Having disappeared for long, he has been kidnapped in all probability.
　　他失踪了这么久十之八九是被绑架了。
　　12.put up with 忍受
　　例句：We have to put up with her bad temper.
　　我们只得忍受她的坏脾气。
　　Noise is coming to the point where we can't put up with it.
　　噪音快到我们无法忍受的地步。
　　【参考译文】
　　这是一个怀疑一切的时代，可是虽然我们对我们祖先笃信的许多事物已不太相信，我们对瓶装药品疗效的信心仍与祖辈一样坚定。卫生部门的年度药费上升到了天文数字，并且目前尚无停止上升的迹象，这个事实证实了现代人对药物的依赖。在医院门诊部看病的大多数人觉得，如果不能带回一些看得见、摸得着的药物，如一瓶药水，一盒药丸、一小瓶药膏回家的话，就没算得到了充分的治疗。负责门诊的医生也非常乐意为前来看病的人提供他们想要得到的药物，病人要什么就给什么，没有比这样处理病人更快的方法了。因为卫生部门的大多数医生超负荷工作，所以没有多少时间提出一些既费时而又不受人欢迎的忠告，如注意饮食、生活有规律，需要克服坏习惯等等，结果就是把瓶药、盒药、罐药开给看病的人而完事大吉。
　　并不只是那些无知和没受过良好教育的人才迷信药瓶子。据说托马斯.卡莱尔有过这么一件事：他听说朋友亨利.泰勒病了，就立刻跑去看他，衣袋里装上了他妻子不舒服时吃剩下的一瓶药。卡莱尔不知道药瓶子里装的是什么药，不知道他的朋友得的是什么病，也不知道妻子以前得的是什么病，只知道一种药对一种病有好处，肯定对另一种病也会有好处。想到能对朋友有所帮助，他感到很欣慰，于是急急忙忙来到了亨利.泰勒的家里，他的朋友是否接受了他的药物治疗，历史没有记载，但很可能接受了。服药的优点是：除了暂时忍受一下令人作呕的味道外，对服药人别无其他要求。这也正是病人对医生的要求 -- 病要治好，但不要太麻烦。

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