英语听力：自然百科 宠物针灸治疗法

 At 10 years old, Maddie the Great Dan is feeling her age, arthritis¹ and damaged nerves in her spine² weakened her hind³ legs and brought her pain. It got so bad she had trouble walking and spent months on steroids. She faced possible surgery, but then a neurologist recommended animal acupuncture⁴.

 

- I have friends who got acupuncture, but it's not something I would necessarily, you know, choose to do myself. So we were, you know, a little skeptical⁵ but we had some friends who had good experiences with it and decided⁶ to give it a shot.

 

For a little more than a year, Maddie has been a regular visitor to a veterinary acupuncturist⁸ in Fairfax Virginia. Vet⁷ Marilyn Khoury inserts needles into points on Maddie's body to relieve pain or to create therapeutic⁹ effects. Her goal is to relieve inflammation and stress on the spine to help Maddie keep walking.

 

Nice, so there is a very nice point hmm...at the heel that links two meridians¹⁰:  the bladder and the kidney. And we actually go through and through here.

 

Despite the many needles, Maddie drifts into a relax state during the 20-minute treatment. Acupuncture doesn't yield instant results but the Clays say Maddie has regained¹¹ strength. It's walking well and doesn't need steroids much anymore.

 

- I really dislike the word alternative medicine because it suggests you have to make a choice and I think that should not be the case. I think you should be given all the options and you should go with those that do the least harm.

 

And some veterinary acupuncturists have even revived the traditional doctor's house call. Caroline Karcher's 19-year-old Siamese cat Mariquita has been getting regular acupuncture treatments for about a year and a half.

 

Mariquita has severe constipation leading to hospitalization and an enlarged colon¹² can lead to grave health problems. Karcher says the only other choices were to let the cat die or surgery which could have hastened Mariquita's death. Other than an occasional growl¹³ she puts up with the needle treatment. The acupuncturist inserts more than a dozen needles and runs a low electric current through them. Karcher says the treatments along with Chiropractic therapy and injections helped Mariquita little by little.

 

- As we continued with it, it wasn't like overnight she was better. It was a long process.

 

A rescued Saint Bernard Aris wears a protective boot to keep him from dragging a hind paw. Nerve damage in his back left him unable to walk. His owner credits acupuncture used with other therapy with helping¹⁴ restore the dog's ability to walk.

 

- I think almost every illness can be addressed by integrated medicine, complementary medicine anything from a developmental problem, for example, a limp deformity at birth to allergies¹⁵.

 

Lipton says her Washington D.C. location is ideal for an integrated health approach since there are many open-minded people who can afford to care for their pets. She originally treated animals only with traditional veterinary treatments, but found they didn't always do enough to improve the pets' quality of life. Now she mixes traditional treatments with acupuncture, chiropractic, massage¹⁶ therapy, herbs and other treatments. Treatments range in cost, depending on the length and type of therapy.

1 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

2 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

3 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

4 acupuncture   

n.针灸，针刺法，针疗法

参考例句：

• Written records show that acupuncture dates back to the Song Dynasty.文字记载表明，宋朝就已经有了针灸。
• It's known that acupuncture originated in China.众所周知，针灸起源于中国。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

8 acupuncturist   

n.针灸师

参考例句：

• I saw my acupuncturist weekly and the healing process accelerated. 我每周见一次我的针灸医生，康复的进度加快了。 来自互联网
• Acupuncturist: How long have you been suffered from this symptom? 针灸师：你有这个症状有多久了？ 来自互联网

9 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

10 meridians   

n.子午圈( meridian的名词复数 )；子午线；顶点；（权力，成就等的）全盛时期

参考例句：

• Meridians are great circles passing through both poles. 经线均为通过两极。 来自辞典例句
• The Cutaneous Regions are within the domains of the Twelve Regular Meridians. 十二皮部是十二经脉功能活动反映于体表的部位，也是络脉之气散布之所在。 来自互联网

11 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

12 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

13 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

16 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。