Aspirin — a New Miracle Drug
1. Using aspirin, an over-the-counter pill on sale1 in every supermarket without a prescription, to treat serious circulatory disease may seem almost like quackery. But today doctors recognize this drug as a potent compound as important as antibiotics, digitalis and other miracle drugs.
2. In its natural form as willow bark and leaves, this remarkable remedy dates back to Hippocrates2. In 1829 the chemical in the willow tree that can relieve pain and reduce fever was discovered to be salicin. By 1899 the Bayer Company in Germany had marketed a variant, acetylsalicylic acid,3 under the name of aspirin.
3. Since then, aspirin and confounds containing aspirin have been taken by tens of millions of arthritis patients. As a pain killer aspirin is, according to one study, more effective than all other analgesics and narcotics available for oral use. It also acts on4 the body’s thermostat, turning down fever.
4. But some of its powers remained unsuspected until recently. In 1950 the late Dr. Craven wrote to a small western medical journal about 400 overweight, sedentary male patients to whom he had given one or two aspirin tablets a day. None had had a heart attack. He enlarged his group to 8,000 and in 1956 reported：”Not a single case of detectable coronary or cerebral thrombosis5 ” and “no major stroke” had occurred in patients who had taken one or two tablets daily for from one to ten years. But his observations were largely ignored.
5. Then Dr. Vane proved that aspirin turned off the body’s prostaglandins6 hormonelike chemicals that can be secreted by every cell. Some potent prostaglandins are harmful compounds that create fever, pain and arthritis. One of them stimulates platelets in the blood to begin forming clots inside arteries. Aspirin blocks this dangerous effect.
6. Vane’s finding caused some researchers to recall Craven’s 1956 observations, which now had a possible scientific explanation. Numerous studies were begun to find out whether aspirin could indeed inhibit heart attacks and stroke.
7. In 1972, ten US medical institutions began two “double-blind” trials7 of 303 patients who suffered from transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)8. Four aspirin tablets a day were given to 153 patients, while placebo tablets were given to 150. Neither patients nor doctors knew which was which. After six months, the patients on aspirin had experienced much fewer TIAs, and fewer strokes and deaths from strokes than the “controls”. The results were so conclusive that aspirin has been used for this purpose widely.
词汇：
quackery .江湖医术 narcotic 麻醉药;adj.麻醉的
potent 有效力的 thermostat 恒温器
antibiotic 抗生素;adj.抗生的 sedentary 坐着的
digitalis 毛地黄，洋地黄 prostaglandin 前列腺素
willow 柳树 platelet (血)小板 bark 树皮
clot 凝块，血块 salicin 水杨醇葡萄糖甙(镇痛药)
artery 动脉 variant 变种;adj.变异的
placebo 安慰剂，安慰剂治疗 arthritis 关节炎
control 对照，对照物 analgesic 止痛药;adj.止痛的
注释：
1.an over-the-counter pill on sale：摆在柜台上(不需处方)出售的药丸
pill：药丸，丸剂
on sale：(商店的货物等供)出售的
2.this remarkable remedy dates back to Hippocrates：这种疗效显着的治疗剂可以回溯到希波克拉底时代
date back to：追溯，回溯至
Hippocrates：希波克拉底(公元前460 –公元前370)，希腊医生，世称“医学之父”
练习：
1.Paragraph 2
2.Paragraph 3
3.Paragraph 5
4.Paragraph 7
A Confirmation of the New Effect
B Pain-relieving and Fever-reducing Effects of Aspirin
C The Ignored Significant Observations
D The Origin of Aspirin
E An Explanation of Craven’s Observations
F Further Findings of Dr. Vane
5.In the middle of the last century Craven made .
6.It is Bayer Company .
7.There is a prostaglandin .
8.Numerous studies concluded .
A that aspirin has a positive effect on heart attacks and strokes
B two “double-blind” trials of patients with heart disease
C that first produced aspirin for sale
D the unsuspected effect on pain and fever
E important observations on the effects of aspirin
F that may cause clots to be formed in the arteries
答案与题解：
1.D第二段叙述了从希波克拉底时代开始使用柳树皮和柳树叶来止痛、退烧到德国拜尔公司率先制造出阿司匹林出售的过程，故D应为正确答案。
2.B第三段只讲阿司匹林的止痛和退烧两种作用。
3.F第五段讲道Dr. Vane的新发现，证明阿司匹林可以阻断一种前列腺素引起动脉血管内凝血的有害作用，故F为正确答案。
4.A第七段叙述了美国10个医疗机构所进行的“双盲”试验，结论证实了以前所提出的阿司匹林具有预防中风和血栓形成的作用，故A为正确答案。
5.E第四段叙述了Dr. Craven在20世纪50年代对阿司匹林能预防心血管疾病的重要观察资料。
6.C第二段最后一句说的就是拜尔公司率先以阿司匹林的商品名出售乙酰水杨酸的。
7.F第五段最后两句说的就是有一种前列腺素能刺激血小板形成动脉内的血块，而阿司匹林可以阻断它的有害作用。
8.A此题答案的根据是第六段和第七段。第六段最后一句说开始了大量研究以证明阿司匹林是否能抑制心脏病发作和中风。第七段最后一句对此给出了肯定的结论，而且目前阿司匹林已被广泛应用于这个目的。
译文：阿司匹林—一种新的神奇药物
使用阿司匹林这种不需处方、在每家超市柜台上都出售的药丸治疗严重
的循环系统疾病，收到的奇效如同江湖医术。但是现在医生已经视其为与抗生素、毛地黄及其他特效药品同等重要的强效化合物。
以柳树皮和柳树叶作为天然形式，这种疗效显著的治疗可以回溯到希波克拉底时代。1829年，人们发现柳树中能止痛退烧的化学元素为水杨醇葡萄糖甙。1899年，德国拜尔公司上市了一种变种商品，乙酞水杨酸，命名为阿司匹林。
从那时起，数百万的关节炎患者服用阿司匹林以及含有阿司匹林的化合药物。根据一份研究报告，作为一种止痛剂，阿司匹林比其他所有可口服的止痛药及麻醉剂都更为有效，它同时也对人体保持恒温起作用，可以退烧。
但是它的有些功能直到近来才被发现。1950年，晚年的Craven博士给一家小型的西方医疗杂志写信，告知说他给约40。个超重、很少活动的男性每天1片或2片阿司匹林，其中没有人得心脏病。他将实验人群扩大到8, 000人，19SG年他汇报说，无一病例发现有冠状动脉血栓或者脑血栓。病人每天服用1到2片持续I到10年，无一人发生严重中风。但是，儿乎没人重视他作的观察。
而后，Vane博士证实了阿司匹林可以改变身体前列腺每个细胞可分泌的前列腺素的有害作用。一些强效的前列腺素是有害的化合药物，可导致发烧、疼痛以及关节炎。有一种前列腺素能刺激血小板形成动脉内的血块，而阿司匹林可以阻断它的有害作用。Vane的发现令一些研究者回想起Craven 1956年所做的观察，那些观察现在似乎有了科学的解释。人们开始从事大量研究，以求发现阿司匹林是否真正能够抑制心脏病发作和中风。
1972年，美国10家医疗机构对303名一次性缺血发作患者进行了两次“双盲”试验。153名患者每天服用4片阿司匹林，剩下的150名患者则服用安慰剂。患者和医生对所服药物究属何种都全然不知。六个月后，服用阿司匹林的患者一次性缺血及中风发作大大少于那些“安慰控制”的患者，中风病死率也明显降低。研究结果具有充足的说服力，于是阿司匹林便被广泛应用于这个目的。
