The Price of Medicine in America

75 美国的药品销售与药品价格

DATE=7-25-01
TITLE=EXPLORATIONS - The Price of Medicine in America
BYLINE=Jerilyn Watson 

VOICE ONE:
This is Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, (1)Explorations. Today we tell about the (2)issue of how (3)drug companies sell their products in the United States.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
Drug companies sold about one-hundred-fifty-thousand-million dollars worth of their products in the United States last year. This (4)represents an increase of about nineteen percent over Nineteen-Ninety-Nine. The prices of the drugs rose on average almost four percent last year from the year before. 
(5)Economic experts say Americans are spending more on drugs because the population is getting older. One report says the prices of fifty drugs most often ordered by doctors for older people rose more than the rate of (6)inflation.
The drug companies say the money paid for the drugs helps (7)support research and development. An (8)organization representing drug (9)manufacturers¹ says companies produced new (10)treatments for thirty diseases³ in Two-Thousand. They (11)included drugs for heart disease², cancer and AIDS.
Critics say prices for drugs are too high partly because the drug industry spends too much money selling its products.
VOICE TWO:
People in the United States buy medicine in two ways. They can buy some medicines in a store without an order from a doctor. These are called over-the-counter drugs. They usually are mild, like (12)aspirin. Over-the-counter drugs generally do not create unwanted (13)effects on the body.
Other medicines (14)require the written or telephoned (15)permission of a doctor for a person to buy them. These (16)prescription⁴ medicines are usually more powerful than over-the-counter drugs. Under some conditions they can cause (17)unpleasant or dangerous effects. Prescription drugs usually cost more than over-the-counter drugs. 
((BRIDGE MUSIC))
VOICE ONE:
For many years, drug companies have used sales messages aimed at the public to help sell their over-the-counter products. They (18)advertised their prescription drugs mainly in (19)publications⁵ for doctors. 
In the last few years, the companies have increasingly⁶ tried to sell prescription drugs directly to the public. They spent thousands of millions of dollars on advertising⁷ the drugs last year. Some experts say that is why American doctors (20)prescribed six-percent more drugs during Two-Thousand than the year before.
Some companies buy advertising messages, known as ads, in newspapers and magazines, and on the Internet. A number of companies also buy ads on television. 
VOICE TWO:
One such television ad shows people of different sexes, ages and races. They look tense and sad. An (21)announcer says they are (22)suffering from (23)severe (24)depression. He asks if people watching the ad have this problem, too. If so, he says, they should talk to their doctors about getting the drug.
Drug-industry critics say such ads sometimes cause people to ask doctors for medicine they do not need. Or, people may ask for a costly⁹ medicine when a less costly one would be (25)equally good. 
Drug companies say advertising is helpful. They say ads help people recognize health problems. They say advertising also increases public knowledge and choice of treatments. 
VOICE ONE:
The (26)Federal Food and Drug (27)Administration¹⁰ began (28)supervising ads for prescription drugs in Nineteen-Ninety-Seven. This spring, the (29)agency (30)criticized eight manufacturers for their ads about drugs for HIV. The (31)virus causes the deadly disease, AIDS. The government said the ads gave people wrong ideas. Officials told the companies to change the message.
For example, one ad for an HIV drug shows a group of young people. They are climbing on a mountain. They look healthy and full of energy. But Food and Drug Administration officials and other health officials (32)objected. They say the ad (33)misled people. They say it (34)communicated the false message that AIDS (35)patients can live totally normal lives.
VOICE TWO:
The prescription drug Celebrex treats (36)arthritis. This disease causes joint¹¹ pain and difficulty moving. It (37)affects the neck, back, knees and other parts of the body. 
A recent ad for Celebrex showed people doing demanding physical activities. At the same time, (38)energetic music played. The people moved their bodies easily. They appeared to have no pain. 
The Food and Drug Administration said the ad promised too much improvement¹² from taking the drug. 
Celebrex changed the ad. 
((BRIDGE MUSIC))
VOICE ONE:
Drug companies also pay millions of dollars to place ads in publications for doctors. In addition, the companies send sales (39)representatives to doctors' offices. They tell the doctors more details about their products. The representatives also provide examples their products.
Many companies (40)offer doctors more than free samples. 
A half-century ago, drug manufacturers gave doctors small gifts like pens and writing paper. Today, some companies are paying for costly meals and holiday trips for doctors. In return, they hope the doctors will prescribe⁸ their drugs.
VOICE TWO:
Drug companies also ask doctors to take part in (41)focus groups. These discussion¹³ groups meet to gather expert (42)opinions on health issues. The companies sometimes pay as much as several thousand dollars to people taking part in the focus groups. Some doctors (43)suspect the main (44)purpose of these groups is to increase support for the companies' products.
((BRIDGE MUSIC))
VOICE ONE:
Millions of people in the United States belong to health-insurance plans. These plans help pay for services by doctors and hospitals. Many insurance companies also pay part of the cost of prescription medicines. Yet (45)insurance officials say increased prices may force them to stop doing this.
One of America's largest health-insurance companies is proposing¹⁴ a way to cut prices. It has asked the Food and Drug Administration to permit three prescription drugs to be sold without prescription. These (46)allergy¹⁵ medicines treat bad (47)reactions to materials such as dust, trees and food. The insurance company says the drugs are safer than most over-the-counter products. It says people do not need a doctor's permission to take them. Experts for the drug companies, however, say these medicines might harm people if used without medical advice.
VOICE TWO:
Almost five-thousand-million dollars worth of the three allergy medicines were sold in the United States during Two-Thousand. One of the prescription drugs costs more than two dollars for each pill in the United States. The same drug sells over-the-counter in Canada. There, it costs seventy cents for each pill without tax. 
(48)Legal experts say it does not appear that the drugs will be sold over the counter in the United States any time soon. They say no one is sure the Food and Drug Administration has the right to make such a decision. 
((BRIDGE MUSIC))
VOICE ONE:
Drug companies hold patents which give them the legal right to be the only seller¹⁶ of some of their drugs. These patents (49)protect against (50)competitors producing less costly copies of the drugs. The copies are called (51)generic¹⁷ drugs. 
Protection against generics¹⁸ is not (52)permanent. When the time limit for a patent ends, a competing company can sell its generic version¹⁹ of the drug. The more costly drug often loses about half its business within months after the generic drug is first sold. 
VOICE TWO:
Some companies are trying to use legal action to delay producers of generics from introducing competing products. For example, the Schering-Plough Corporation²⁰ now holds the patent to sell the allergy drug Claritin. But its patent ends in about seventeen months. So the corporation is bringing legal action against ten manufacturers of generics. 
Schering-Plough says people taking Claritin produce a (53)substance in their livers²¹ called a (54)metabolite. The (55)corporation holds a (56)separate (57)patent for the metabolite. This patent does not end until Two-Thousand-Four. The corporation claims generics cannot be sold until its rights to the metabolite also end.
This kind of (58)argument has never won in court. But such legal action does delay (59)introduction less costly generic drugs. 
VOICE ONE:
(60)Widespread concern about drug prices has caused President George W. Bush to propose²² a solution. The president proposes²³ that drug companies help older people pay lower prices for drugs. Five big health-care companies have promised to co-operate with the plan. 
Many members of the (61)opposition (62)Democratic Party (63)oppose the plan. They say the (64)measure does not provide nearly enough help. 
There is only one agreement about the (65)debate over the price of drugs and how they are sold in the United States. Everyone agrees that there are no easy answers. 
((THEME))
VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE: 
And this is Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.

(1)exploration [ 7eksplC:5reiFEn ]n.探索
(2)issue [ 5isju: ]n. (报刊等)期、号
(3)drug [ drQ^ ]n.药
(4)represent [ 7ri:pri5zent ]vt.表现
(5)economic [ 7i:kE5nCmik ]adj.经济(上)的
(6)inflation [ in5fleiFEn ]n. (物价)暴涨
(7)support [ sE5pC:t ]vt.支持
(8)organization [ 7C:^Enai5zeiFEn ]n.组织, 机构, 团体
(9)manufacturer [ 7mAnju5fAktFErE ]n.制造业者, 厂商
(10)treatment [ 5tri:tmEnt ]n.治疗
(11)include [ in5 klu:d ]vt.包括, 包含
(12)aspirin [ 5AspErin ]n.阿斯匹林(解热镇痛药), 乙酰水杨酸
(13)effect [ i5fekt ]n.效果影响
(14)require [ ri5kwaiE ]vt.需要, 要求, 命令
(15)permission [ pE(:)5miFEn ]n.许可, 允许
(16)prescription [ pri5skripFEn ]n.处方
(17)unpleasant [ Qn5pleznt ]adj.使人不愉快的, 讨厌的
(18)advertise [5AdvEtaIz]v.做广告, 登广告
(19)publication [ 7pQbli5keiFEn ]n.公布
(20)prescribe [ pris5kraib ]v.处(方), 开(药)
(21)announcer [ E5naunsE ]n.告知者
(22)suffer [ 5sQfE ]vt.遭受, 经历
(23)severe [ si5viE ]adj.严重的
(24)depression [ di5preFEn ]n.沮丧
(25)equally [ 5i:kwEli ]adv.相等地, 平等地
(26)federal [ 5fedErEl ]adj.联邦的
(27)administration [ Edminis5treiFEn ]n.管理
(28)supervise [ 5sju:pEvaiz ]v.监督, 管理
(29)agency [ 5eidVEnsi ]n.代理处
(30)criticize [ 5kritisaiz ]v.批评, 责备
(31)virus [ 5vaiErEs ]n.[微]病毒
(32)object [ 5CbdVikt ] vi.反对
(33)mislead [ mis5li:d ]vt.误导
(34)communicate [ kE5mju:nikeit ]v.沟通
(35)patient [ 5peiFEnt ]n.病人, 患者
(36)arthritis [ B:5Wraitis ]n.关节炎
(37)affect [ E5fekt ]vt.影响
(38)energetic [ 7enE5dVetik ]adj.精力充沛的
(39)representative [ 7repri5zentEtiv ]n.代表
(40)offer [ 5CfE ]vt.提供
(41)focus [ 5fEukEs ]n.焦点
(42)opinion [ E5pinjEn ]n.意见
(43)suspect [ sEs5pekt ] v.怀疑
(44)purpose [ 5pE:pEs ]n.目的, 意图
(45)insurance [ in5FuErEns ]n.保险
(46)allergy [ 5AlEdVi ]n.[医]敏感症
(47)reaction [ ri(:)5AkFEn ]n.反应
(48)legal [ 5li:^El ]adj.法律的
(49)protect [ prE5tekt ]vt.保护
(50)competitor [ kEm5petitE ]n.竞争者
(51)generic [ dVi5nerik ]adj.一般的, 非特殊的
(52)permanent [ 5pE:mEnEnt ]adj.永久的, 持久的
(53)substance [ 5sQbstEns ]n.物质, 实质
(54)metabolite [ mi5tAbElait ]n. 代谢物
(55)corporation [ 7kC:pE5reiFEn ]n.公司, 企业, <美>有限公司
(56)separate [ 5sepEreit ]adj.单独的
(57)patent [ 5peitEnt, 5pAtEnt ]n.专利权
(58)argument [ 5B:^jumEnt ]n.争论
(59)introduction [ 7intrE5dQkFEn ]n.传入
(60)widespread [5waIdspred, -5spred]adj.分布广泛的, 普遍的
(61)opposition [ CpE5ziFEn ]n.反对派
(62)democratic [ 7demE5krAtik ]adj.民主的
(63)oppose [ E5pEuz ]vt.反对
(64)measure [ 5meVE ]n.标准
(65)debate [ di5beit ] n.争论, 辩论

1 manufacturers   

制造商，制造厂( manufacturer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad. 一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。
• Colour TV has been more aggressively promoted as more manufacturers have joined the competition. 由于更多的厂商参与竞争，推销彩色电视机的宣传更为激烈了。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

4 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

5 publications   

n.发表( publication的名词复数 )；公布；出版；出版物

参考例句：

• The related publications are far too numerous to list individually. 相关出版物太多，没法一一列举。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request. 我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 prescribe   

vi.规定，开药方；vt.规定，命令，开处方

参考例句：

• The doctor prepared to prescribe a receipt.医生准备开个药方。
• Can't you just prescribe some of those diet pills,doctor?你不能开一些减肥药吗，医生？

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。

13 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

14 proposing   

v.提议，建议( propose的现在分词 )；打算；提供（解释）；提出（行动，计划或供表决的方案等）

参考例句：

• The bridegroom ended his speech by proposing a toast to the hosts. 新郎向主人敬酒结束了他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He acted as pioneer in proposing the method. 他是率先创导这一方法的人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

16 seller   

n.售货者，畅销品

参考例句：

• I hope for this book to become a best seller.我希望这本书会成为一本畅销书。
• She drove a hard bargain with the seller.她狠杀卖主的价。

17 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

18 generics   

n.（产品，尤指药物 ）无厂家商标的，无商标的( generic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pfizer has set up an in-house division to handle such generics. Pfizer已经建立了一个内部机构来处理这些学名药。 来自互联网
• Payers are being more pushy about getting patients to take generics. 药物费用的支付者更倾向于让病人使用非专利药。 来自互联网

19 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

20 corporation   

n.公司，企业&n.社团，团体

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation. 这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• The inflation did the corporation up. 通货膨胀使这个公司破产了。

21 livers   

n.肝脏( liver的名词复数 )；（供食用的）肝；过着某种生活的人

参考例句：

• I want some chicken livers and giblets. 我要些鸡胗肝。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话
• Regular exercise reduces fat in livers of diabetics, according to a study. 根据一项研究显示，规律的运动能够减低糖尿病患者的脂肪肝。 来自互联网

22 propose   

v.提出，建议；提名，推荐

参考例句：

• Did he propose marriage to you?他向你求婚了吗？
• I propose resting for an hour.我建议休息一小时。

23 proposes   

v.提议，建议( propose的第三人称单数 )；打算；提供（解释）；提出（行动，计划或供表决的方案等）

参考例句：

• He proposes a short rest before we continue the work. 在继续这项工作之前，他建议暂休一会儿。 来自辞典例句
• Aristotle proposes to cure such hardships by means of equity. 亚里士多德提出用衡平的方法来解决这样的困难。 来自辞典例句