VOA慢速英语2011--What It Takes to Become a Druggist

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - What It Takes to Become a Druggist

 

VOICE ONE: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty¹.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith. Today, we tell about a study that explores how we feel about future events. We also answer a question from Vietnam about pharmacists in the United States.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: In a popular song, Bobby McFerrin sings, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” Since childhood we have been told, “See the glass as half full, rather than half empty.” And to “look on the bright side” and be hopeful, be optimistic.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: But what about people who advise us not to “look at the world through rose-colored glasses?” They say we should be more realistic in what we expect to get out of life.

BOB DOUGHTY: A new study suggests that the way we feel about the future is controlled deep within our brains, and is not something we can easily change.

Tali Sharot of University College, London asked test subjects to think about both good and bad things that happen to people every day. Then the subjects were asked to estimate the chances of that event happening to them.

Pharmacist Mark Doyle stands in the pharmacy2 at McLanahan's Drug Store in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania

They considered negative events like learning they had cancer, or hearing that their car had been stolen. Or that their computers were broken and they had lost valuable information.

Ms. Sharot used an imaging machine to examine the brains of subjects while they thought about unpleasant things.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Then the volunteers were told the actual chances of a certain event happening. They were told to think again about their expectations.

The test showed that, in general, people are more optimistic than they should be. The test also showed that people usually think that really bad things happen to other people, not to themselves.

The volunteers thought this way even after they were told the real chances of a certain event. Even after learning those real chances or percentages, they ignored the negative.

Psychologists call this the “optimism bias³.” And it can be both a good and a bad thing.

BOB DOUGHTY: Ms. Sharot and her research partners reported their findings in the publication “Nature Neuroscience.” The researchers say that being optimistic can be good for our physical health.

If we look on the bright side, they say we are likely to feel less stress or tension, and less chance of developing depression. However, the researchers also note that being too optimistic can cause problems.

For example, they say that ignoring the negative and thinking more about the positive may have led to the worldwide economic problems of two thousand eight.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Here’s an example: Suppose a person estimates that she has a thirty percent chance of getting cancer. She estimates that three people out of ten will get the disease. If she is told that the true chances of getting sick are only twenty percent, she is likely to lower the estimate for her chances of getting cancer.

But things are different when she is told that she guessed too low, and the chances of her getting cancer are forty percent. Then she will raise her idea of her own chances. But she will raise her estimate by only a small amount.

Now she might think that her chances are about thirty-two percent. But she would not estimate the real average of forty percent.

The study results show that people usually accept good news but reject bad news. They reject the bad news even when they are told the truth.

It seems we think we are above average when dealing⁴ with good things. And we think we are below average in suffering bad things that might happen to us.

BOB DOUGHTY: The machine used to examine the test subjects’ brains is called an FMRI, or functional⁵ magnetic resonance⁶ imaging scanner. When the people thought good thoughts about their future, activity in the frontal lobes⁸, or areas, of their brains increased.

But when the volunteers thought about negative things, there was no increased activity in these frontal lobe⁷ brain areas. Scientists believe this means the human brain naturally ignores the chances for negative future events. But they do not yet know why this happens.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: So, as Bobby McFerrin advises:

“Don’t worry. Be happy”

(MUSIC)

Remember that the “optimism bias” can cause problems.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: A listener in Vietnam wrote to thank us for the recent program about how to become a doctor in the United States. Kim Anh Nguyen was wondering if we also could explain the process of becoming a pharmacist.

We suspect the abilities needed for a career in pharmacy are about the same worldwide. They include excellent skills in science and mathematics, and the ability to communicate and work well with people.

The United States Bureau of Labor⁹ Statistics¹⁰ also suggests that a pharmacist needs to have good feet! Many pharmacists stand all day at work.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: There were almost two hundred seventy thousand pharmacists in the United States in two thousand eight. That is the most recent year for which numbers are available.

In some parts of the country, the average yearly pay for a pharmacist was almost one hundred thousand dollars. Many pharmacists work forty hours a week. But some have longer workdays. And some jobs require working at night or on weekends and holidays.

BOB DOUGHTY: A pharmacist in America is often called a druggist. Many druggists work in community pharmacies¹¹ or food stores. They provide patients with prescription¹² medicines from their doctors. Pharmacists guide patients in how to take these drugs.

Many pharmacists advise people about general health issues, like diet or exercise. Pharmacists help patients guard against dangerous drug reactions by keeping records of the drugs ordered for them by several doctors.

Pharmacists in hospitals prepare medicines and advise doctors on the choice and effects of drugs. They also plan and watch over patients’ drug regimens -- the systematic¹³ plans for how medicine is to be administered¹⁴.

Druggists who own or operate pharmacies may sell other, non-medicinal products. They also may offer employment to and supervise¹⁵ other workers in the store.

Other pharmacists do research in pharmacology colleges. Some work for drug or insurance companies.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: A man or woman who wants to be a pharmacist needs at least six years of study on the college and college-graduate level. Some pharmacists study for eight or more years.

People who want a career as a pharmacist need to plan ahead. It is a good idea to study science in high school. Colleges and universities that have pharmacy schools require college courses in science.

Most people seeking to enter pharmacy schools attend two years or more of college. During that time they take classes in subjects including natural sciences, mathematics and biology. They also study social science and humanities¹⁶ like languages, history and philosophy.

BOB DOUGHTY: Someone who gains admission and completes pharmacy school earns a doctor’s degree in pharmacy, called a Pharm. D. But even after the study program is completed, people cannot work as pharmacists until they take examinations to receive a license¹⁷ or permit.

The Department of Labor says all fifty states and Guam, Puerto Rico and the American Virgin¹⁸ Islands require this document.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Letitia Deas is a pharmacist in the state of Maryland. Ms. Deas works about sixty hours a week. She has a job with a pharmacy at a Safeway food store in the city of Bethesda. She also works at Holy Cross Hospital in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland.

Ms. Deas says she waited longer to choose a pharmacy career than many people do. She attended four years of college at the University of Maryland, where she received a degree in chemistry.

LETITIA DEAS: “And that was some time ago, because I do have some age on me. And then I went to pharmacy school.”

But about nine or ten years passed between college and her studies at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. During those years she worked in her grandfather’s store. But she decided¹⁹ that she wanted a different career.

LETITIA DEAS: “And, quite frankly²⁰, it was a decision that I did not want to continue working in my family business.”

Ms. Deas said she was interested in a medical career. She considered studying to be a doctor. But she was already thirty-one years old when she was thinking about it.

LETITIA DEAS: “And I was thinking well I don’t quite want to do medical school because I would just be getting established right about now, with the education that it needed. So pharmacy was my next interest.”

Today she notes changes in the pharmacy profession. For example, she says knowledge of vaccines²¹ has been added to more traditional requirements. And, Letitia Deas expresses satisfaction in her career.

LETITIA DEAS: “I love my job.”

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jim Tedder²² and Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was June Simms. I’m Bob Doughty.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

3 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

6 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

7 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

8 lobes   

n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶

参考例句：

• The rotor has recesses in its three faces between the lobes. 转子在其凸角之间的三个面上有凹槽。 来自辞典例句
• The chalazal parts of the endosperm containing free nuclei forms several lobes. 包含游离核的合点端胚乳部分形成几个裂片。 来自辞典例句

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

11 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

12 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

13 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

14 administered   

管理( administer的过去式和过去分词 )； 治理（国家）； 给予； 执行

参考例句：

• An oath was administered to the newly elected President. 新当选的总统执行了宣誓手续。
• In summary, all government departments are administered rather differently. 概括地说，各政府部门的管理方式是很不相同的。

15 supervise   

v.监督，管理，指导

参考例句：

• We must supervise and speed up the fulfilment of assigned tasks.已经布置了的工作，应当认真督促检查。
• Tomorrow he will supervise all the pupils taking the English examination.明天全体学生考英语，他将担任监考。

16 humanities   

n.人文学

参考例句：

• Dalian University offers courses in science and in the humanities. 大连大学开设自然科学和人文科学课程。
• She has a background in humanities and modern languages. 她学过人文学科和现代语言。

17 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

18 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

21 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

22 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网