[00:07.16]READING
[00:07.97]A HEALPING HAND
[00:09.14]A Wang Lin is a carpenter who lives in eastern China with his wife and son.
[00:12.49]Two years ago, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
[00:15.33]He was getting weaker and suffered from constant pain in his chest.
[00:17.79]The doctors told him that the treatment he needed would cost thousands of yuan.
[00:20.82]Mr Wang is laid-off worker and his wife has an income of only 300 yuan per month.
[00:24.79]To make matters worse, he also had son in college who had taken a bank loan to pay for his studies.
[00:29.15]The situation seemed hopeless.
[00:30.93]B Three months later, however, Wang Lin was told about a health care project that provides treatment at half the cost or less,
[00:36.28]depending on the needs of the patient.
[00:37.88]Thanks to the project and the kindness of his family and neighbours,
[00:39.92]he was able to receive treatment in time to prevent the disease from ruining his health.
[00:38.92]He had returned to his family and is looking for a job.
[00:41.00]He has also decided to get insurance for his family.
[00:43.12]“If I had had insurance, the sickness wouldn’t caused such a big problem.
[00:46.33]I don’t want this to happen to anyone else in my family.”
[00:48.63]C The project that saved Want Lin’s life is one of the many government programmes aimed at improving the situation for the poorest people in China.
[00:53.99]The project is designed to encourage health care reform and reduce poverty.
[00:57.28]It is the largest health and medical aid programme in the country and it is being tested in four cities.
[01:01.25]So far, the project has helped more than 2,000 people receive medical aid.
[01:04.57]The Chinese government is also working together with other countries and international organizations to provide easy access to hospitals and clinics for low-income families.
[01:11.05]The goal is to explore and develop a new health care model for China.
[01:13.84]D Wang Lin’s situation is not unique
[01:16.09]By the end of 2003, 22 million urban Chinese were living on money given to them by the government.
[01:20.76]A total if 15.1 billion yuan was spent on supporting those who ere unable to make a living.
[01:25.15]This allowance, however, is only enough to cover the most fundamental needs such as food and clothing.
[01:29.46]It does not over health care, housing or education.
[01:31.76]E For laid-off workers in poor areas,
[01:33.35]disease puts extra pressure on the family.
[01:35.13]They cannot afford to consult a doctor or purchase medicines from a chemist when they get sick,
[01:38.84]nor can they make sure that their children keep a healthy diet.
[01:40.80]If someone becomes seriously ill, the family is forced into poverty.
[01:43.80]Statistics indicate that diseases have caused over 30 per cent of low-income residents to live in poverty.
[01:48.19]Some families even have to spend all the money they receive for the government on medical treatment and hospital fees.
[01:52.50]F Among the many aspects of the government’s efforts to fight poverty,
[01:55.30]health care occupies an important position.
[01:57.33]If low-income families cannot afford to purchase medical insurance,
[01:59.89]as was the case with Wan Lin,
[02:01.33]other measures to reduce poverty will not succeed.
[02:03.50]G Another great challenge for the government is to stop the spread of AIDS.
[02:06.79]The United Nations AIDS agency warns that the number of infected people in China could reach 10 million by 2020 unless more is done to prevent the spread of the disease.
[02:14.31]In order to meet his challenge,
[02:15.70]the Chinese government has vowed to provide free AIDS tests for the general public as well as free treatment for those who cannot afford it.
[02:21.24]H It is sometimes said that a society can be judged by the way it cares for is weakest members As our country develops,
[02:26.23]we must also remember the responsibilities that come with wealth and prosperity
[02:29.20]When be move forward, we must make sure that no one is left behind.
[02:32.16]We cannot allow ourselves to become too selfish.
[02:34.22]When problems arise, We must work together to try to solve them.
[02:37.20]I The government’s efforts to fight poverty and improve health care several aspects,
[02:40.78]reducing poverty, helping sick people get treated properly and providing medical insurance for the poor.
[02:45.48]The funds are limited and it is not possible for the government to meet all the needs,
[02:48.69]but a series of programmes and the development of local and nationwide health care networks are signs that the government is serious about health care.
[02:54.57]INTEGRATING SKILLS
[02:56.97]Reading
[02:57.81]THE LITTLE MOULD THAT COULD
[02:59.61]Modern hospitals are clean and safe and doctors can sure many diseases.
[03:03.40]But it was not always so.
[03:04.94]For a long time, health care was often dangerous and risky.
[03:07.68]Treatments were neither scientific nor effective,
[03:09.93]and many patients suffered deadly infections as a result of operations.
[03:12.93]In fact, even a small cut could cause an infection that would kill the patient.
[03:16.25]In the early twentieth century,
[03:17.66]a doctor in London found a chemical that would change hospitals and health care forever.
[03:21.42]The discovery is a story of hard work and happy accident.
[03:23.98]In the early 1900s, a German chemist developed a chemical treatment for a serious disease that had been considered incurable.
[03:29.76]The news of treatment reached London,
[03:31.35]where a young doctor named Alexander Fleming began using it in his clinic.
[03:34.38]In 1914, World War I started and Fleming had to go to France to treat soldiers.
[03:38.59]During the war, Fleming noticed that many soldiers died from simple infections.
[03:42.06]Because he had been able to treat infections in his patients in London,
[03:44.52]Fleming thought that there must be a chemical that could fight infections in the soldier’s wounds.
[03:48.04]He invented many new ways to treat the wounded, but it was not until after the war that he made his most important discovery
[03:53.03]When Fleming returned from the war,
[03:54.60]he began searching for the chemical be believed could treat infections.
[03:56.90]His first discovery was a chemical found in many body liquids,
[03:59.51]such as tears.
[04:00.89]This chemical was able to fight mild infections,
[04:02.72]but it was not strong enough to cure serious infections.
[04:04.76]Fleming continued his search until a fortunate incident led him to a new discovery of even greater significance.
[04:09.25]One day in 1928, Fleming was cleaning up the lab after coming home from a holiday.
[04:12.91]On a bench by the sink, he found some old glass containers in which he had been growing bacteria.
[04:16.91]As he was washing the jars and lids,
[04:18.74]he saw something strange.
[04:20.17]In one of the jars, a mould was growing. The existence of the mould did not surprise Fleming,
[04:24.20]but he also noticed that the bacteria around the mould had died and stopped growing.
[04:27.46]Could this be the chemical he was looking for?
[04:29.45]Fleming examined the mould carefully.
[04:31.07]He found out which family of moulds it belonged to and decided to call the chemical penicillin.
[04:35.17]He was excited about his discovery and wrote about it in 1929,
[04:37.78]but other scientists did not seem to care.
[04:39.97]Despite their lack of interest, Fleming kept trying to develop the chemical so that it would be safe and effective.
[04:43.92]It was not until World War II that the importance of Fleming’s discovery was fully recognized.
[04:45.39]By then, Fleming and two other scientists had developed a kind of penicillin that was very effective in curing infections.
[04:49.83]The chemical, the “good mould”, saved many lives during the war and has continued to fight diseases ever since.
[04:54.07]In 1945, Sir Alexander Fleming received the Nobel Prize together with the two other scientists
[04:54.17]When asked about it discovery, Alexander Fleming said:
[04:56.86]“One sometimes finds what one is not looking for.” |