---
url: https://gaojian.site/new-concept/book-4/28-patients-and-doctors.md
description: 新概念英语第四册：Patients and Doctors。精读、词块回忆、双向译练、句法、逻辑与FSRS复习。
---

# 28 · 病人与医生

### 第1段

This is a skeptical 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 as theirs. This modern faith in medicines is proved by 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 than 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 has such faith in the bottle of medicine. It is recounted of Thomas Carlyle that when he heard of the illness of his friend, Henry Taylor, he went off immediately to visit him, carrying with 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.

中文理解：这是一个凡事都抱怀疑态度的时代。祖辈深信不疑的许多事情，我们已经不那么相信了；但对于一瓶药的疗效，我们却仍和他们一样深信不疑。医疗服务体系每年的药费已涨到天文数字，目前也没有停止上涨的迹象，这便证明了现代人对药物的信仰。医院门诊的大多数患者觉得，若不能拿着某种看得见摸得着的药回家，比如一瓶药水、一盒药片或一小罐药膏，就没有得到充分治疗。门诊医生也很乐意满足这种要求。要迅速把患者打发走，没有比给他们想要的东西更快的办法了。医疗服务体系中的多数医生工作过重，很少有时间谈饮食、合理生活、戒除不良习惯等既费时、又不大受欢迎的建议，于是那一瓶、一盒、一罐，几乎总会开给患者。
如此相信一瓶药的，也不只是无知或受教育不多的人。据说，托马斯·卡莱尔听说朋友亨利·泰勒病了，立刻赶去探望，衣兜里还装着妻子先前不舒服时吃剩的一瓶药。他根本不知道瓶里是什么药，不清楚朋友患的是什么病，甚至也不知道妻子之前哪里不适。在他看来，一种药既然对一种病那么有效，对另一种病肯定也一样有益。想到自己能帮上朋友，他深感安慰，便匆匆赶到泰勒家。朋友究竟有没有接受他的“医药援助”，史书没有记载，不过十有八九接受了。吃药的最大好处是，除了短暂忍受一下难闻的味道，几乎不要求服药者做什么。而这恰恰是患者向医生提出的要求：治好我的病，却别让我自己费事。

* **faith in**：对……的信任；faith可指信任，不一定是宗教信仰。

* **curative properties**：治疗功效；property此处是性质或功效，不是财产。

* **remains the same**：保持不变；remain作系动词，后面不再加be。

* **astronomical figures**：天文数字；比喻数量极大，仍应另给数据支持。

* **shows no signs**：没有显露迹象；of后说明某变化是否开始。

* **adequate treatment**：充分的治疗；undefined

* **in the shape of**：以……的形式；既可说形状，也可比喻呈现形式。

* **only too ready**：非常乐意；本课不是不太乐意，too在此加强程度。

* **disposing of patients**：把患者打发走；原文用来批评把患者匆匆打发走。例句演示dispose of的普通处置物品义，不把患者当作待清除物，也不用它礼貌描述照护服务。

* **time-consuming**：耗时的；说明过程耗时，不等于没有价值。

* **abandoning bad habits**：戒除坏习惯；undefined

* **what remained of**：……所剩下的部分；what引出所剩部分，整个结构可作句子成分；of说明是哪个整体所剩。

* **entirely ignorant of**：完全不知道；描述不了解某事，措辞可能较强。

* **of equal benefit**：同样有益；of加抽象名词作表语，相当于be beneficial。

* **whether**：是否；表达是否或两种可能；间接疑问中的从句通常用陈述语序。

* **in all probability**：十有八九；很可能；表示较高可能，仍不是已核实结果。

* **makes no demands on**：不要求……付出；on引出被占用的资源或承受者。

* **putting up**：忍受；with引出需要忍受的对象；原文for a moment插在putting up与with之间，读时把整个搭配接起来。

* **a moment**：片刻；undefined

* **at no inconvenience**：不造成不便；undefined

#### This is a skeptical 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 as theirs.

复合句，in which 为介词短语作定语修饰之前的定语 many of the things，可以理解成 Our forefathers believed in many of the things.

sceptical 为英式拼法，美式为 skeptical.

为避免重复，该句分别使用了 faith, believe 和 confidence 三词来表达人们相信某事物有效之类的意思.

property 最常用的意思是地产、财物，而在这里，表达性能.

The same…as…中，as 引导定语从句，动词可以省略，完整句子为 as their confidence remains. as 在定语从句中充当宾语.

#### This modern faith in medicines is proved by 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.

复合句，主句为主谓结构，fact 后面接 that 引导的同位语从句，本句中保留 that 可以清楚标明 fact 的具体内容；不能把这种常见保留用法扩大成所有语境下都绝对不能省略的规则. 同位语从句中主干为 bill is mounting and shows no signs.句中 and 连接该从句中主语 bill 的两个谓语.

Health Service 应指 The National Health Service (NHS)，是英国财政系统负担的公众健康服务体系，这里的药费显然是指整个医疗系统的药费，包括该系统旗下的医院、诊所等，并非所谓的卫生部门本身.

#### 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.

并列复合句，以 and 分为前后两句，前句主句为主谓+宾语从句结构. feel 在这里表示“认为、觉得”，后面是 that 引导的宾语从句，该从句中含 unless 引导的条件状语从句，该条件状语从句一直到 ointment. 后句为主谓宾结构.

attending the medical 分词短语作定语.

in charge of 为介词短语作定语修饰 doctor.

#### There is no quicker method of disposing of patients than 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.

并列复合句，第一个 and 所连接的两个句子为第一层级，第二个 and 为第二句中连接两个谓语之用.

第一句 there is 句中含有一个 than 引导的比较状语，并非从句，只不过该状语中又含有一个 by 引导的方式状语，by 引导的方式状语中含有一个 what 引导的宾语从句可以看作是 give 的宾语.

第二句中，since 引导原因状语从句，交待医生超时工作，也没有时间就健康生活提供意见，have little time for … on sth. 意思是没时间就什么内容来做什么，该谓语 have 的主语省略了，主语是前面 medical men. for 后面一长串是目的状语，再接着两个后置定语，on the subjects 修饰 advice，然后 as 所带的后置定语修饰 subjects. 这里的参考译文请仔细理解，原教材中的翻译没有理解清楚.

granted them 意思类似于 be allowed to them，药品是被开给患者的.

#### Nor is it only the ignorant and ill-educated person who has such faith in the bottle of medicine.

该句为 it is…who 的强调句，且采用了否定疑问句形式，把 is 放在主语 it 之前；这是疑问语序，不是因否定词前置而产生的倒装.

#### It is recounted of Thomas Carlyle that when he heard of the illness of his friend, Henry Taylor, he went off immediately to visit him, carrying with him in his pocket what remained of a bottle of medicine formerly prescribed for an indisposition of Mrs. Carlyle's.

It 作形式主语，that 从句才是整个“确实发生过”的轶事内容，不是 It is…that 强调句。

that 从句内先用 when 交代离开朋友家的时间，再由 he went off 推进动作；carrying 补充随身携带的东西，what remained…作 carrying 的宾语。

formerly prescribed for an indisposition of Mrs. Carlyle's 修饰 medicine，说明这是此前为卡莱尔夫人的一次小病开的药。of Mrs. Carlyle's 是双重所有格，不是另一个动作。

#### 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.

并列复合句，全句以 but 连接，but 前的主句为主谓+宾语从句结构，be ignorant of 动词短语作谓语，后面接了三个 of 引导的宾语和宾语从句，其中第一个 of 后面是 what 引导的宾语从句，为主谓结构；第二个 of 的句子中，the nature 作宾语，由 from which 引导的定语从句修饰，which 在从句中作“不及物动词＋介词”的介词宾语，这里的介词 from 不能丢掉，因为 suffer 在这里作不及物动词，需要 from 来把意思表达完整，而且介词总是放在关系代词 which 的前面，但有的则放在它原来的位置，该定语从句为主谓宾结构；第三个 of 也是 what 引导的宾语从句，为主系表结构.

but 后的句子为并列句，以 and 相连，and 前句为主系表结构，a medicine 后面有一个 that 引导的定语从句修饰，该定语从句为主谓结构. and 后句的主句为主谓宾结构，而 comforted…friend 是过去分词短语作原因状语，解释说明赶去朋友家的原因，这只是一个状语，而该状语中包含了一个定语从句，主谓结构.

#### History does not relate whether his friend accepted his medical help, but in all probability he did.

并列复合句，以 but 相连，前句为主谓+whether 引导的宾语从句，whether 表示“是否”，不需要再补 that，该从句为主谓宾结构，but 后句为主谓结构.

#### 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.

并列复合句，and 引导的两个复合句，前句为主系+ that 引导的表语从句结构，表语从句为主谓宾结构，该表语从句中 beyond that 的 that 指 demand，要求.

后半句是主谓+what 引导的表语从句结构，表语从句为主谓宾结构，而破折号后面的成分可以直接看作表语.

## 学完这一课

说明其他观念改变时，有一种习惯却保持不变。

[Nce · 本册复习台](/new-concept/book-4/review) · [三册选择地图](/new-concept/)

*译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第113—116页，2022年2月第2版。*