Patients and doctors

原文

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 was such faith in the bottle of medicine. It is recounted of Thomas Carlyle that when 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.

译文

这是一个怀疑的时代，虽然我们对祖先们热诚相信的许多事物已不再笃信，但我们对药瓶的疗效却仍和他们一样充满信心。这种现代人对药物的信仰，从医疗保健服务的年度药品开支不断攀升到天文数字，而且目前还没有停止上升的迹象这一点就可以得到证明。大多数到医院门诊部就医的病人都觉得，如果不能带回一瓶药水、一盒药片或一小瓶药膏之类的具体药物，他们就没有得到充分的治疗，而负责该部门的医生也乐于提供这些要求。没有比满足病人的要求更快的处理病人方法了，而且由于大多数医疗保健服务的医生工作繁忙，没有时间提供关于饮食、健康生活和戒除坏习惯等方面耗时且不被重视的建议，因此，药瓶、药盒和药罐几乎总是会给他们的。

不仅是没有知识和没受过教育的人对药瓶有这样的信心。据说，托马斯·卡莱尔曾把一瓶先前为卡莱尔夫人的小病开过的药的剩余部分带在身上。卡莱尔完全不知道他口袋里的瓶子装的是什么药，不知道他朋友所患的疾病的性质，也不知道他妻子以前得的是什么病，但是，这种药在一种疾病中效果很好，当然在另一种疾病中也同样有益，于是，他想到自己正在给朋友带来帮助，便急忙赶到亨利·泰勒的家。历史没有记载他的朋友是否接受了他的医疗帮助，但很可能他接受了。服药的最大优点是，它除了让服用者 momentary忍受一下难吃的味道之外，不要求服用者做任何其他事情，而这正是所有病人对医生的要求——在不给自己带来不便的情况下治愈疾病。

词汇表

sceptical

形容词

英:/ˈskɛptɪk(ə)l/

美:/ˈskɛptɪk(ə)l/

定义

1. 怀疑的；持怀疑态度的 - Not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations.

例子: In a sceptical age, people question traditional beliefs more than ever.

例子: She remained sceptical about the new treatment's effectiveness.

近义词

doubtful: 强调不确定性，常用于个人意见，而 'sceptical' 更侧重于对证据的质疑。

cynical: 更消极，暗示对动机的不信任，而 'sceptical' 只是理性怀疑。

incredulous: 强调难以置信，常用于惊讶的情境，而 'sceptical' 更中性。

反义词:

trusting, credulous, optimistic

用法

常用于描述对想法、理论或声明的怀疑，尤其在科学、哲学或现代社会语境中；可用于正式和非正式场合，但需注意文化背景中可能暗示理性思考。

形式:

副词: sceptically, 名词形式: scepticism

关键句型 "Although [clause], [main clause]."

定义

此句型是一种常见的让步状语从句结构，用于表达尽管有某种情况，但结果或事实依然存在。基本结构为：Although（尽管）+ [clause]（从句，表示让步或相反情况）+ , + [main clause]（主句，表示主要事实）。根据《剑桥英语语法》权威教材，这种句型用于连接两个对比的想法，突出主句内容，同时承认从句的真实性。它帮助表达复杂关系，适合描述现实中的矛盾或转折。

例如，在文章中：“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 as theirs.” 这展示了句型的典型用法。

用法

此句型主要用于书面或正式口语中，表达让步或对比场景，如讨论问题、辩论或叙述故事。在语法体系中，它属于状语从句的一部分，Although 引导从句，通常置于句首，但也可置于句中或句尾以强调。规则包括：从句需用完整句子，主句不受从句影响。

横向比较：与 while 或 though 引导的从句类似，Although 强调对比，但比 while 更正式；与 because 引导的原因状语从句不同，Although 不表示原因，而是让步。跨语法联系：它可与条件句（如 if 从句）结合，形成更复杂的句子，例如 "Although it rains, we will go out." 这有助于学生理解状语从句在英语中的位置，并与其他从句（如时间状语 when）进行对比，以突出其在逻辑表达中的独特作用。

在实际应用中，此句型常用于文章开头或转折处，帮助构建说服力强的论点。

注意事项

学生常犯的错误包括：将 Although 与主句混淆，导致句子结构混乱，如错误地将主句置于从句后却遗漏逗号；另一个问题是使用不完整的从句，例如 "Although our faith weakened" 而非完整的 "Although our faith has weakened"。纠正建议：始终确保从句有主语和谓语，并用逗号隔开主句。还需注意语调：在口语中，Although 从句应读得较轻，以突出主句。

常见偏误示例：

错误示例：Although our faith weakened. Our confidence remains.  // 分句不连接，显得生硬。
正确示例：Although our faith has weakened, our confidence remains strong.

练习时，避免将 Although 误用为 Even though，尽管二者相似，但 Even though 更强调强烈对比。

练习

一个原创例子：假设你在讨论健康话题，可以说：“Although I exercise every day, I still feel tired sometimes.” 这贴近实际生活场景，如分享个人经历。学生可以替换关键词，例如将 [clause] 改为 "Although it’s raining heavily"，并将 [main clause] 改为 "we decided to go for a walk"，变成 "Although it’s raining heavily, we decided to go for a walk."

通过这种替换，学生能应用句型于日常对话中，比如在朋友聚会时表达矛盾感受，从而加深对句型的掌握和灵活性。

额外内容

背景知识：Although 源自古英语，历史可追溯到中世纪英语，用于增强语言的逻辑性和说服力。在文化上，它常见于英语辩论或学术写作中，帮助表达平衡观点。对比分析：与中文的 "虽然...但是..." 类似，但英语中无需重复连接词，结构更简洁；与法语的 "bien que" 相比，英语版更直接，便于初学者。了解此句型还能扩展到其他让步表达，如 "Despite + noun"，丰富学生的表达工具。