A patient receives small packages at a pharmacy of traditional medicine in accordance with the prescription of his or her doctor. These contain various dry herbs, and the patient usually puts them in a pot, adds water until they are completely soaked, and heats them in a pot over a fire. When the water begins to boil, the heat is immediately reduced, but the fire is kept simmering for 30 or 40 minutes. Then the herbal water is poured out into a bowl; and the herbs themselves remain in the pot, which is refilled with water and placed over the fire again. The whole process is repeated three times until enough concentrated herbal tea is produced.
The doctor usually concocts a remedy from one or two main ingredients appropriate for the illness. Then he or she adds other ingredients to adjust the formula to the patient’s yin and yang condition to cancel out toxicity or side-effects of the main ingredients. Unlike western medication, the balance and interaction of all the ingredients are more important than the effect of individual ingredients. A key to success, moreover, is the treatment of each patient as an individual.
Notes：1）package包裹；2）pharmacy药房；3）prescription药方；4）simmer煨；5）concentrated集中的；6）formula公式；7）appropriate适当的；8）toxicity毒性；9）side-effect副作用
10.“本草”是什么意思？
What is bencao?
Herbal medicine is the mainstay of traditional Chinese medicine. The knowledge of the medicinal herbs was originally handed down verbally. With the birth of the Chinese characters, medical books began to appear, and many were printed. They are called bencao (本草), which means that plants are the basis of medicinal healing. At present, there are about 300 types of medical books in existence. These include the earliest book, Shennong Bencaojing (《神农本草经》), Shennong Herbal Medicine Classics which was written during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Another famous work, Bencao Gangmu (《本草纲目》 , Compendium of Materia Medica), written by Li Shizhen (李时珍) of the Ming Dynasty. It lists 1,892 herbs with 1,160 pictures and 11,000 drug prescriptions. At the beginning of the 17th century, foreign scholars began to translate this work into English, Japanese, French and other languages.
Notes：1）mainstay支柱；2）verbally口头地；3）compendium手册
11.中国的食疗法有什么作用？
What is the function of Chinese food therapy?
Food therapy in China employs a combination of foods and herbs to make medicinal concoctions for the treatment of illness and the prolongation of life. It has a recorded history of more than 3,000 years and is the most basic treatment in Chinese medicine to prevent and cure disease. Herbs are the primary foodstuff for nourishing the body in precise and well-defined ways, and these herbs usually combine fresh, natural foods. There are hundreds of recipes in circulation, and many are used in households on a regular basis. These can be classified according to the following categories: health promotion, sickness prevention, disease control and aids for recuperation. They are less expensive than drugs and generally have no adverse side effects.
Notes：1）prolongation延长；2）foodstuff食料；3）well-defined定义明确的；4）recuperation恢复
12你对常见的食疗食品知道多少？
What are some common medicinal foods?
Stewed brews are common medicinal dishes. A long, slow simmering process extracts the essential nutrients from ingredients into the soup, and the effect on brews is quick and it is easiest for the body to digest and absorb. Such brews are suitable for people of all ages and even the weakest person living on a fluid diet can benefit from nutritional brew.
Another popular form of medicinal food is watery porridge. This is prepared by cooking rice into a semi-solid form with herbs and water. It is easy to digest as a meal replacement.
Typical dishes include Sewed Squab with Chinese Caterpillars, Mandarin Fish Grains with Pine Nuts, Soft-Shelled Turtle with Cordyceps, Mutton with Candied Dates, Stewed Pigeon with Ginseng and Cordyceps, Duck with Chinese Caterpillar Fungus, and others.
Notes：1）nutrient营养物；2）nutritional营养的；3）porridge粥，糊；4）replacement代替；5）squab乳鸽；6）caterpillar毛虫；7）cordyceps冬虫夏草属；8）fungus菌类植物