2007年VOA标准英语-Ayurvedic Medical Practitioners Seek to Enter A

By Steve Herman
Washington
23 January 2007

India's ancient ayurvedic medical tradition is about to get some mainstream¹ recognition in the United States. Plans are under way to introduce the alternative practice to future physicians at some U.S. medical schools. VOA's Steve Herman reports from Washington.

 
Warm oil trickles² over a client's forehead as she enjoys an Indian Shirodhara Oil Shower - a traditional Ayurvedic treatment that is said to provide energy and vitality³, and be effective against stress and depression 
The roots of ayurvedic medicine go back to the beginning of recorded history in South Asia. Aspects of it, such as herbal applications, yoga, massage⁴ and diet have become popular in North America, Europe and Japan in recent years. But most physicians outside South Asia, unfamiliar⁵ with the practice, have not accepted it into the medical mainstream.

That may be about to change, thanks to a suburban⁶ Washington urologist, Navin Shah.

Shah recalls a meeting with then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in India several years ago. Mr. Vajpayee urged him to propagate ayurvedic medicine in the United States.

 
Navin Shah 
"I told him 'Sir that's not my line. I'm a urologist. I have no knowledge of ayurveda.' But if you know Vajpayee … that means you have to do it," he said. "So then I looked it up and surprisingly I found that there is a $40 billion business of herbal medicine in this country and very little goes to ayurveda actually."

Shah says he realized the ancient practice from his native country, which he had not previously⁷ studied, appears to have scientific validity.

The urologist met with a number of U.S. medical school officials. Indian Embassy officials here say 16 medical schools plan to offer short courses in ayurveda. The teachers will be experts from India, with their expenses paid for by the Indian government.

Shah, who practices in the U.S. state of Maryland, says he will caution the ayurvedic instructors⁸ that U.S. medical students and their professors may greet them with skepticism.

"If you tell me that you're good, I want you to give me a two-hour lecture on 10 specific diseases in which ayurveda has made a difference - either it has cured or it has ameliorated the symptoms or stagnated⁹ the disease progress," he said. "Anything you can do, show me on a Western-style evidence basis, not anecdotal cases."

He hopes that, eventually, all U.S. medical schools will participate in the program.

Ayurvedic medicine is already being taught in the United States at about 20 non-medical institutes, which offer students hundreds of hours of classroom training.

An ayurvedic practitioner¹⁰ in Rockville, Maryland, Lakshmi Mishra, wants U.S. states to regulate and license¹¹ ayurvedic doctors, as they do physicians. He says that because of a lack of standards, many of those trained in ayurveda in the United States or elsewhere are ill-prepared for treating sick people.

"It's a medical system which is very extensive … I would not give my life to a person who has only 300 hours of training," he said.

In India, ayurvedic physicians undergo a five-and-a-half-year classroom program, followed by a year of training in a hospital.

Mishra, a toxicologist, graduated from such a program in India. He explains that some of ayurveda's herbs are poisonous in the wrong hands or dosages.

"There are at least 50 herbs, which are very potent¹², but … they are very effective," he said.

But millions of Americans already have accepted other alternative and complimentary¹³ practices such as acupuncture¹⁴ or homeopathy. They may be willing to put their fate into the hands of ayurvedic doctors, unaware¹⁵ of the lack of standards for such care providers in the United States.

Cancer survivor¹⁶ Charles Braun, who has been seeking advice by Lakshmi Mishra, says he is interested in learning more about the ancient Vedic discipline.

"I have a very open mind," he said. "I have a doctorate¹⁷ in physics, so I know something about scientific discipline and I value scientific rigor¹⁸ in terms of testing things, making sure they really do work. I realize there's a lot we don't know."

Proponents¹⁹ of the ancient practice say prospective²⁰ patients in the West should understand that ayurveda's approach to illness differs from more modern medicine. Ayurvedic medicine melds the physical and the mind, and the best outcome emerges over time, through treatment combined with lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and a radically²¹ changed diet.

1 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

2 trickles   

n.细流( trickle的名词复数 )；稀稀疏疏缓慢来往的东西v.滴( trickle的第三人称单数 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Trickles of sweat rained down my head and neck. 我颈上头上的汗珠，更同盛雨似的，一颗一颗的钻出来了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
• Water trickles through an underground grotto. 水沿着地下岩洞流淌。 来自辞典例句

3 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

4 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。

5 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

6 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

9 stagnated   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句
• His mind has stagnated since his retirement. 他退休后头脑迟钝了。 来自辞典例句

10 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

11 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

13 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

14 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。

15 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

16 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

17 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

18 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

19 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

20 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

21 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。