VOA慢速英语--美国药典博物馆保存的老药

Old Medicines Preserved in US Apothecary¹ Museum

In earlier times, healers and health workers used strangely-named plants for medicinal purposes. Plants with names such as dragon’s blood, mandrake root and devil’s snare² could be bought at a drugstore called an apothecary.

Today, one of the best preserved apothecaries³ in the United States has been turned into a museum in Alexandria, Virginia. The museum provides interesting examples of medicines used before the development of modern drugs.

The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary served customers for more than 140 years, from 1792 to 1933. When the business failed, the store and its contents were bought. It was redesigned to look as it had in the 18th century. In 1939, it reopened as a museum.

Lauren Gleason supervises the museum.

“A lot of the medicines that people would have been purchasing here were probably for minor⁴ ailments⁵, rashes, skin conditions, the flu, a headache.”

The apothecary has many thousands of objects. Some seem strange now, like the bloodletting tools. They were used to take blood from patients in hopes of removing their sickness as well. The treatment was often harmful, however, and ended in the late 19th century.

Many famous people visited the apothecary while it was still a business, including America’s first president. George Washington and his wife Martha lived nearby in the early 1800s at their home of Mount Vernon.

But the apothecary had more than medicine.

"Lots of other chemicals like paints, dyes and perfumes, would have been made and sold here.”

And, she said, customers could also buy baby bottles, writing instruments, and even clothes-making machines at the store.

One bottle at the store holds a poison that was once used to ease pain. The drug called aconite comes from the wolfsbane plant. In earlier times, wolfsbane was thought to help control violence by imaginary creatures known as werewolves. In folklore⁶, a werewolf is a human that changes into a wolf during full moons. Jim Williams works at the apothecary.

"So if you're having werewolf trouble, it will get you through to the next full moon."

Williams added that wolfsbane would also be used to treat pain in human joints⁷.

Visitor Christine Zapata from California said she was especially interested in the former store’s different plants.

"Using all these different herbs and plant-based medicines that are coming back now, for me that's most interesting for me since I work in the cannabis industry."

One box at the apothecary used to contain bottles of Coca-Cola. The drinks were first sold in the late 1800s as medicine believed to cure conditions like tiredness and headaches. However, Coca-Cola at that time contained the drug cocaine⁸ and could be addictive⁹.

Some treatments fell into disuse after it became known they were poisonous. But we continue to depend on many medicines found in the apothecary to heal injuries and cure disease.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

addictive – adj. causing a strong and harmful need to regularly have or do something

ailments – n. sicknesses or illnesses

rashes – n. groups of red spots on the skin caused by an illness or a reaction to something

dyes – n. substances used for changing the color of something (such as hair or cloth) usually permanently¹⁰

folklore – n. ideas or stories that are not true but that many people have heard or read

preserved – adj. kept in good condition over a long period of time

1 apothecary   

n.药剂师

参考例句：

• I am an apothecary of that hospital.我是那家医院的一名药剂师。
• He was the usual cut and dry apothecary,of no particular age and color.他是那种再普通不过的行医者，说不出多大年纪，相貌也没什么值得一提的。

2 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

3 apothecaries   

n.药剂师，药店( apothecary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some of them crawl through the examination of the Apothecaries Hall. 有些人则勉勉强强通过了药剂师公会的考试。 来自辞典例句
• Apothecaries would not sugar their pills unless they were bitter. 好药不苦不会加糖衣。 来自互联网

4 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

5 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

6 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

7 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

8 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

9 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。