Li Shizhen ,a Famous Pharmacologist

【精品阅读】Li Shizhen was a famous Chinese pharmacologist (药物学家) and physician. He was born in 1518 in Hubei Province.

His father was a doctor. He learned a lot about medical herbs (草药) from his father and read many medical books. At the age of 23, he became a doctor. He often treated poor people’s illnesses, so many peasants, fishermen and hunters made friends with him.

The year he was 35, Li Shizhen began to compile (编制) the“ Compendium of Materia Medica (《本草纲目》) ”. He walked all over famous mountains which grew medicinal plants to learn their shapes, the conditions in which they grew and collected all sorts of specimens. He spent 27 years in writing this book.

The “Compendium of Materia Medica” with over 100,000 words, describes in detail 1,800 kinds of medicinal plants. Among them 200 had not been in previous medical books. When the work had just been engraved (刻上) into wood blocks and was ready for printing and publishing, Li Shizhen passed away.

The“ Compendium of Materia Medica” introduces not only medicinal herbs growing in various parts of China but also many foreign medicines. It has played an important role in the medical research of later generations. After its publication the book reached foreign countries. It was translated into English, French, German, Japanese and Russian and became an important piece of literature (文学) in international medical research.

【译文对照】李时珍是中国著名的药物学家和医生,他于1518年生于湖北省。

他的父亲是一名医生。他从父亲那里学习了大量有关草药的知识,并阅读了许多书籍。23岁时,他成为了一名医生。他经常为穷苦人看病,许多农民、渔民和猎人都与他结交成了朋友。

35岁的时候,李时珍开始编制《本草纲目》。他走遍各大名山,了解各种草药的形状及生长条件并收集各类标本。他编制《本草纲目》用了27年。

《本草纲目》十万余字,详细描绘了1,800种草药,其中的200种在过去的医学书籍中从未提及。正当《本草纲目》刻上木块并准备印刷出版的时候,李时珍离开了人世。

《本草纲目》不仅提出了生长在中国各地的草药,而且也涉及许多国外药材。它对后世的医学研究产生了深远影响。它一出版就享誉世界。它已被译成英文、法文、德文、日文和俄文,成为国际医学研究中的重要文献。

【阅读赏析】本文在多处运用了形容词、副词或介词短语,来生动形象地刻画了医药学家李时珍的辛勤一生及其为祖国医药学所做出的重大贡献。第三段中的all over表明其为寻找药物足迹踏遍各大名山,即涉足之广;all sorts of说明其收集标本数量之多,种类之齐全;第四自然段中的in detail 则说明其记载药草之详尽。这些集中表现了李时珍对药物学的兢兢业业、一丝不苟,凸显其治病救人的事业心、责任感和爱心。最后一自然段先后两次用到important,高度概括了李时珍及其《本草纲目》在祖国医药学史上所做出的重大贡献及重要地位。第四自然段句尾的pass away 其实就是表示die的委婉语。除此之外,类似的委婉语还有is(has) gone;go west等。汉语中也有表示“死去”的委婉说法,例如“仙逝”“圆寂”“驾鹤西去”等。此处没有直接用die而用了委婉语pass away,表达了对一代医药学名人逝去的惋惜与不忍其离去之情。

【理解测试】1. Why did so many poor people make friends with Li Shizhen?

A. Because he was a famous doctor.

B. Because he read a lot of medical books.

C. Because Li Shizhen’s father was a doctor.

D. Because Li Shizhen was much concerned for the poor.

2. His masterpiece describes _________

A. over 1,000,000 wordsB. 200 kinds of medical plants

C. 1,800 kinds of medical plantsD. many medical works

3. In the“ Compendium of Materia Medica”, __________

A. he introduced only 1,800 herbs growing in China

B. he wrote down 200 new kinds of medical plants

C. he didn’t introduce foreign medicines

D. he explained the use of over 1,000,000 words

4. According to the passage, “passed away” means __________

A. left his hometown B. gave up his work

C. died D. went away

5. After its publication, the book __________

A. reached EnglandB. went abroad

C. were sent to Japan

【答案解析】1. 本题所问的是为什么那么多的穷苦人与李时珍交朋友。从短文第二段最后一句“He often treated poor people’s illnesses,so many peasants … made friends with him.”告诉我们:他经常给穷苦人们治病,故正确答案为D。2. 本题所问的是有关《本草纲目》的问题。短文第四段“ The “Compendium of Materia Medica” with over 100,000 words, describes in detail 1,800 kinds of medicinal plants. Among them 200 had not been in previous medical books. ”讲述了《本草纲目》这本杰作记载了1,800种药草。A、B、D三项均不符合题意。故正确答案为C。3. 本题问的还是有关《本草纲目》的问题。短文第四段“The “Compendium of Materia Medica” with over 100,000 words, describes in detail 1,800 kinds of medicinal plants. Among them 200 had not been in previous medical books. ” 讲述了在1,800种药用植物中,有200种在以前的药书中没有出现过。故正确答案为B。 4. 本题所问的是短语pass away的意思。通过上下文可知,pass away在本句是“死亡”的意思。故正确答案为C。5.本题所问的是《本草纲目》出版后的情况。文章最后一句:“It was translated into English, French, German, Japanese and Russian and became an important piece of literature (文学) in international medical research. ”讲述了《本草纲目》出版后被翻译成了几国文字,是国际医学研究方面的重要作品。故正确答案为B。