Ancient acupuncture in the eyes of a French girl

重慶 袁泉

主題語境：傳播中國傳統文化

篇幅：377詞

建議用時：7分鐘

1I'm Victoria Lee-Baruffolo,23,a French student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University,completing a master's degree in political science.A few years ago,as a teenager,I experienced daily migraines（偏頭痛）that made me want to bang my head against a brick wall.I was desperate to find a cure.Unfortunately,nothing worked as a continuous remedy for my unfortunate condition.

2In my hopelessness,my father told me to try acupuncture,which he had undergone once in Hong Kong.With no expectations,I started my journey of acupuncture,and I soon found myself in a middle-aged woman's office surrounded by Chinese herbal medicines.

3After I sat myself down on the patient chair,she asked me why I came in.A few moments later,she placed three fingers on my wrist and silently felt my pulse.I was then taken to a room and told to lie down.Soon,she took out the needles which made me uneasy.

4 As the doctor delicately twisted the needle in,I did not sense the needle itself,butrather an effect that spread throughout my entire body.The doctor then continued to tap and twist more needles throughout my entire body.To my surprise,alligator clips（鱷魚夾）were attached to half of the needles inserted into me.The electricity was turned on,and the doctor left.While laying still during the treatment,I felt the electricity flow throughout my body.

5Around the five-minute mark,the doctor returned and increased the electricity.I lay there silently,thinking to myself,as a 15-year-old,what I had agreed to undertake.The entire process was over in 20 minutes.She then prescribed some Chinese herbal medicines for me to drink every day for five days.I returned to the doctor for a total of 10 times.The true benefits of the acupuncture treatment soon became evident: I was cured of my migraines,and for two years I had not gone back into a previous condition.

6As an added bonus,I've learned of many acupressure points and would press certain circulation areas on my hand every day to prevent migraines.This also allows me to massage my friends when they complain of a headache.I am now an advocate for acupuncture because of all the benefits it has brought me.

Reading Check

Inference

1.What can we infer about Victoria from paragraph 1?

A.She had suffered migraines since her early childhood.

B.She indeed has developed an incurable disease.

C.Her passive attitude made her health even worse.

D.She has never received acupuncture treatment before.

Detail

2.What made Victoria try acupuncture?

A.The low cost of acupuncture.

B.The recommendation of her father.

C.The suffering of drugs' side effects.

D.The passion for Chinese medical cures.

Vocabulary

3.What does the underlined word “delicately” mean in paragraph 4?

A.Frankly.

B.Weakly.

C.Skillfully.

D.Slowly.

Inference

4.What's the author's purpose to write the text?

A.To express the delight of her recovery.

B.To show her gratitude to the doctor for the great help.

C.To share the experience of overcoming illnesses.

D.To support the huge value of acupuncture.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

As the doctor delicately twisted the needle in,I did not sense the needle itself,but rather an effect that spread throughout my entire body.當醫生熟練地擰入針時，我沒有感覺到針本身，而是感覺到一種蔓延全身的效果。

【點石成金】本句中，As 作連詞引導時間狀語從句the doctor delicately tapped and twisted the needle in；I did not...but rather an effect 是主句；that 引導定語從句，an effect是先行詞。

Ⅱ.Fill in the blanks with the words and phrases in the box.

previous circulation go back into but rather complain of undertake

1.The walls were not white,________ a sort of dirty grey.

2.I couldn't believe it when I heard the news.I'd only seen him the ________ day.

3.It was an act of heroism to ________ the burning building.

4.University professors both teach and ________ research.

5.Anyone with heart,lung or ________ problems should seek medical advice before flying.

6.Young people often ________ not being able to communicate with their parents.