Because early man viewed illness as divine punishment and healing as purification
来源 :焚题库 2022-01-04
中By 3500 B.C., the Sumerians in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley had developed virtually all of our modem methods of administering drugs. They used gargles, inhalations, pills, lotions, ointments, and plasters. The first drug catalog, or pharmacopoeia, was written at that time by an unknown Sumerian physician. Preserved in cuneiform script on a single clay tablet are the names of dozens of drugs to treat ailments that still afflict us today.
The Egyptians added to the ancient medicine chest. The Ebers papyrus, a scroll dating from the 1900 B.C. and named after the German Egyptologist George Ebers, reveals the trial-and-error know-how acquired by early Egyptian physicians. To relieve indigestion, a chew of peppermint leaves and carbonates (known today as antacids) was prescribed, and to numb the pain of tooth extraction, Egyptian doctors temporarily stupefied a patient with ethyl alcohol.The scroll also provides a rare glimpse into the hierarchy of ancient drug preparation. The "chief of the preparers of drugs" was the equivalent of a head pharmacist, who supervised the"collectors of drugs," field workers who gathered essential minerals and herbs. The "preparers"aides,"(technicians) dried and pulverized ingredients, which were blended according to certain formulas by the "preparers." And the "conservator of drugs" oversaw the storehouse where local and imported mineral, herb and animal-organ ingredients were kept.
By the 7th century B.C., the Greeks had adopted a sophisticated mind-body view of medicine. They believed the physician must pursue the diagnosis and treatment of the physical (body) causes of disease within a scientific framework, as well as cure the supernatural (mind) components involved. Thus, the early Greek physician emphasized something of a holistic approach to health,even if the suspected "mental" causes of disease were not recognized as stress and depression, but interpreted as curses from displeased deities.
The modem era of pharmacology began in the 16th century, ushered in by the first major discoveries in chemistry. The understanding of how chemicals interact to produce certain effects within the body would eventually remove much of the guesswork and magic from medicine. Drugs had been launched on a scientific course, but centuries would pass before superstition was displaced by scientific fact. One major reason was that physicians, unaware of the existence of disease-causing pathogens, continued to dream up imaginary causative evils. And though new chemical compounds emerged, their effectiveness in treating disease was still based largely on trial and error. Many standard, common drugs in the medicine chest were developed in this trial-and-error environment. Such is the complexity of disease and human biochemistry that even today, despite enormous strides in medical science, many of the latest sophisticated additions to our medicine chest shelves were accidental finds.
单选题第1题The author cites the Greek word "pharmakon" underlined in Paragraph 1 to______.
A.stress the mental and physical causes of disease
B.emphasize the early nature of Greek medical science
C.point out that many of the beliefs of early man are still held today
D.illustrate that early man thought healing illness was linked to purification
参考答案：D
答案解析：细节识别。第一段第一句 “early man viewed illness as divine punishment and
healing as purification” 提出一个过去的观念，然后解释道 “pharmakon，meaning
‘purification through purging’ ”，所以pharmakon是用来举例说明上述观点的，故选D。
单选题第2题It is possible to identify a number of early Sumerian drugs because______.
A.a European pharmacopoeia contained detailed recipes for ancient drugs
B.a list of drugs was written by an unknown Sumerian physician
C.the ancient Egyptians adopted the same medications
D.Sumerian religious books explained many drug-making techniques
参考答案：B
答案解析：细节识别。第二段第一句“早在公元前3500年，幼发拉底河-底格里斯河流域的
苏美尔人就己经研发出现代的几乎所有的用药方法”为主题句，然后“the first drug
catalog, or pharmacopoeia, was written at that time by an unknown Sumerian physicianw”进行证明，故选B。
单选题第3题According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is a similarity between ancient
Sumerian drugs and modem drugs?
A.Like modem drugs, ancient Sumerian drugs were used for both mental and physical diseases.
B.Both Sumerian drugs and modern drugs are products of complicated chemical research.
C.The way patients could take drugs is the same.
D.The ancient Sumerian drugs were made of the same chemicals as the modem drugs.
参考答案：C
答案解析：论点概括。第二段第一句话 “By 3500 B.C., the Sumerians in the Tigris-Euphrates
Valley had developed virtually all of our modem methods of administering drugs” 为主题
句，即整个段落的要点，其余部分都是围绕整个论点展开论述、论证的。本题考查读
者对关键词methods和administering drugs的理解，即“用药方法”，故选C。
单选题第4题Which of the following is NOT cited as a characteristic of ancient Egyptian medicine?
A.The use of trial and error.
B.A workplace hierarchy.
C.Animal-organ ingredients.
D.Ointments.
参考答案：D
答案解析：错误排除。古埃及人用药出现在第三段。根据本段内容可知，只有ointments没有
提到，它出现在第二段，是苏美尔人的药物。
[知识拓展]错误排除属于正误判断的一种，需要一一查对原文，根据原文把提到的选
项一一排除，剩下的就是需要的答案。这类题只需两步即可：在文章中准确定位问题
提到的内容；根据原文一一排除选项。
单选题第5题The 7th-century Greeks view of medicine differed from that of the Sumerians as the Greeks______.
A.developed most of the preparations of modem drugs
B.established a hierarchy for the preparation of drugs
C.adopted both the mental and physical root causes of illness
D.discovered more advanced chemical applications of drugs
参考答案：C
答案解析：比较判断。希腊人的医学观念出现在第四段。本段第一句“the Greeks had
adopted a sophisticated mind-body view of medicine” 是主题句，己经点明 了其不同于他
者的特点，其关键词为mind-body view。为了证明这一点，接下来的“They believed
the physician must pursue the diagnosis and treatment of …physical …supernatural” 进斗亍
了详细的阐述，即从生理、心理两个渠道寻找病源。
单选题第6题The word "holistic" underlined in Paragraph 4 means______.
A.modem
B.comprehensive
C.psychological
D.logical
参考答案：B
答案解析：词义界定。假设holistic为生词，需要从语境来判断词义。根据“Thus，the early
Greek physician emphasized something of a holistic approach to health …”中的 Thus 可
知，本句与前一句存在因果关系。再看前一句发现，早期希腊人是从physical （body）
和supernatural （mind）两方面判断病因的，因此holistic大意为全面的、整体的、综合
的，故选B。
单选题第7题What does the word "pathogens" underlined in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.Disorders.
B.Viruses.
C.Antibiotics.
D.Injections.
参考答案：B
答案解析：词义界定。医学词汇对于普通读者而言都比较陌生。要猜测pathogen的词义，
有两个方法：构词规律和语境。从构词来看，前缀patho-意思是疾病，后缀-gen意
思是出生，生殖。前后缀合起来的意思是生病的根源，即病原体，病菌。如果读者不
懂得这种构词猜词法，还可以依赖语境。本段第二句提到现代医学之所以发达是因为
了解了化学药品（俗称西药）在体内产生的效果，而这样的发现经过数个世纪，换言
之，以前的医生不懂得致病的（disease-causing）真正根源（pathogens）。四个选项
中，只有B （病毒）符合语境意义，因此是正确选项。
单选题第8题In the last paragraph, the author makes the observation about scientific discovery that______
A.chance events have led to the discovery of many modem drugs
B.trial and error is the best way to scientific discovery
C.most of the important discoveries have been made inattentively
D.many cures for common diseases have yet to be discovered
参考答案：A
答案解析：语义推理。题干问的是作者对于科学发现的看法，而最后一段最后一句的总结是
a despite enormous strides in medical science, many of the latest sophisticated additions to
our medicine chest shelves were accidental finds”，其中关键词为 accidental finds，即意
外发现，这与选项A中的chance events的语义相一致，因此答案为A。
单选题第9题The passage indicates that advances in medical science during the modern era of pharmacology might have been delayed by______.
A.an inaccuracy in pharmacy preparation
B.a lack of good understanding of the origins of diseases
C.an overemphasis on the mental causes of diseases
D.a shortage of chemical treatment of disease
参考答案：B
答案解析：归因推理。题干问的是医学进步迟缓的原因。现代医学进步出现在最后一段，
根据 “Drugs had been launched on a scientific course, but centuries would pass before
superstition was displaced by scientific fact. One major reason was that physicians, unaware
of the existence of disease-causing pathogens, continued to dream up imaginary causative
evils”可知，导致医学进步缓慢的主要原因之一是医生没有意识到存在致病的病原体
（pathogens），即选项 B 所说的 the origins of diseases。
单选题第10题Which of the following can be the title of the passage?
A.The Greek Medical History
B.The Egyptian Pharmacological History
C.The Origin of Medicine
D.Development of Modem Medication
参考答案：C
答案解析：补充标题。标题一般用来标明文章、作品等的内容，目的是使读者了解到文章
的主要内容和主旨。回顾原文各段落发现：第一段讲早期人类对疾病的认识；第二段
是苏美尔人公元前3500年的用药成就；第三段可追溯到公元前1900年的古埃及人的药
典及医学进步；第四段是公元七世纪希腊的医学进步；第五段为现代医学大发展及局
限。从年代可以看出，本文的主要内容是医学史，所以只有C符合要旨。
涉及考点
2020翻译三级综合能力考试大纲
二、阅读理解
