雅思阅读真题（Part 2）
新西兰草药医学发展与争议
本篇也叫：草药医学、草药疗法、新西兰草药、传统草药、草药治病、草本医学
Part 2 · 最近考试：2024.4.13
本篇为雅思阅读真题（Part 2）《Herbal medicine》，共 13 题，2024.4.13雅思考试真题回忆，页面提供完整原文、题目、答案与解析，并支持在线机考模式免费练习。本页同时提供 Markdown 版本 供 AI 助手与搜索引擎直接读取。
文章讲述新西兰草药医学的发展历程与争议。药剂师Phil Rasmussen认为新西兰具备发展草药产业的条件，如种植山金车花；但政府曾突然停止资助。文章还提到毛利人传统草药、早期欧洲医生使用本土植物，以及草药师James Neil争取合法地位失败等历史。
A
There is an age-old practice of harvesting plants and herbs in their natural environment for use as medicines. And today there is huge potential for New Zealand to develop a herb industry based on the excellent growing conditions and expertise there, according to Phil Rasmussen, a pharmacist and medical herbalist. Take arnica, for example, a popular pharmaceutical herb used to treat bruises and joint problems. Traditionally collected by Romanian communities in Europe, it is now in high demand worldwide as interest develops in the capabilities of the small alpine plant. A 2008 report for the Plant and Food Research Organisation concluded that New Zealand has a good opportunity to cultivate arnica flowers and roots for the international markets. However, the initiative was stopped in its tracks when the government abruptly halted funding for the research programme. It was an unjustified move, according to agronomist Malcolm Douglas, based on a number of inaccurate views about weed invasion.
B
The history of herbal medicines in New Zealand has long featured disagreements of this sort. For the early Maori people, the original inhabitants of New Zealand, the forest was well stocked with edible plants that were an obvious source of nutrition, but that were taken for the relief of pain as well. While the earliest European doctors in New Zealand relied on imported dried herbs, many were keen to include native plants in their practices: in his book published in 1891, herbalist James Neil described manuka and koromiko as among New Zealand’s most valuable herbs. Despite its popularity among some, however, herbalism continued to have its detractors. In 1907 Neil, president of the then very young New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists (NZAMH), petitioned parliament for legal status for herbalists, but he was unsuccessful. The Evening Post newspaper perhaps summed up the opposing position by claiming that herbalism ‘is obsolete’.
C
In fact, traditional Maori medicine faced a more determined challenge. In 1908 the government passed a controversial law that had the effect of restricting traditional herbal practice, or pushing it underground. Then, for a brief period in the mid-20th century, herbal medicine was largely ignored, shunned by the majority of the medical profession, and absent from medical school curricula. But a centuries-old tradition was not going to disappear so easily, and in the 1980s the NZAMH was revived, and it became possible to complete a course in herbal medicine at several polytechnics around the country. However, the problem remained of how to connect the culture of plant-based medicine with conventional scientific thinking in order to promote herbal use within the general population. For many years, the limited evidence there was that herbal medicines worked was undermined by lack of interest among general practitioners and within the scientific community.
D
Today, the ideas of herbalists in the 1980s – eat a varied diet, include lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, recognise stress – are completely accepted by the medical establishment and widely practised in society as a whole. Natural health products are big sellers in pharmacies, and global pharmaceutical companies are buying up natural supplement brands or developing their own.
E
What’s more, according to Rasmussen, robust clinical trials show that herbal medicine is generally safe – safer than most drugs. ‘It doesn’t do everything,’ he says, ‘but there’s a lot it does do, particularly in terms of preventative health care.’ One significant issue for today’s export-oriented herbal medicine producers is the question of how to guarantee standards for consumers in different countries. In other words, there is the need for some form of globally recognised system of documentation. Rasmussen’s range of extracts are produced under the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) scheme, which is respected around the world. So too is the range produced by Sandra Clair, who says that such assurance is expensive but necessary if you want to export herbal remedies to the rest of the world. Moves to launch a joint Australia–New Zealand agency to regulate herbal remedies under a single, streamlined licensing process have recently been revived, after being abandoned in 2007 through lack of support in parliament.
F
There are those in the industry who support further regulation still. According to Rasmussen, some herbs should require a prescription from a suitably qualified medical herbalist or doctor. For example, consumers shouldn’t be able to go to their local supermarket and buy St John’s Wort, according to Rasmussen, because it can interact in harmful ways with at least ten pharmaceutical drugs. Isla Burgess, who is part of the International Research Group for the Conservation of Medicinal Plants, agrees that tighter regulation is necessary, but for a different reason. ‘More than 400,000 tonnes of medicinal and aromatic plants are traded in the world each year,’ says Burgess. ‘The great majority of these are harvested from the wild, so they each have an impact on their local ecosystem.’ She gives the example of elm trees in the USA, ring-barked and stripped for the growing market for a product called ‘slippery elm’: this endangered tree should be protected. But others argue that more regulation would be prohibitively expensive for all but the largest manufacturers – a change, cautions Clair, that would probably put some local companies out of business. So, for the time being at least, it seems that the topic of herbal medicines will continue to provoke debate.
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答案：D
原文定位：Natural health products are big sellers in pharmacies, and global pharmaceutical companies are buying up natural supplement brands or developing their own
同义替换：「large corporations」↔「global pharmaceutical companies」，「interest shown」↔「buying up natural supplement brands or developing their own」，「herbal remedies」↔「natural health products」
答案：A
原文定位：Take arnica, for example, a popular pharmaceutical herb used to treat bruises and joint problems
同义替换：「one particular herbal medicine」↔「arnica」，「examples of the uses」↔「used to treat bruises and joint problems」
答案：F
原文定位：But others argue that more regulation would be prohibitively expensive for all but the largest manufacturers – a change, cautions Clair, that would probably put some local companies out of business
同义替换：「stricter controls」↔「more regulation」，「small companies」↔「local companies」，「cannot afford」↔「prohibitively expensive」，「warning」↔「cautions」
答案：E
原文定位：It doesn’t do everything,’ he says, ‘but there’s a lot it does do, particularly in terms of preventative health care
同义替换：「statement」↔「says」
答案：pain
原文定位：For the early Maori people, the original inhabitants of New Zealand, the forest was well stocked with edible plants that were an obvious source of nutrition, but that were taken for the relief of pain as well
同义替换：「consumed」↔「taken」，「help deal with」↔「relief of」，「as food」↔「source of nutrition」
答案：book
原文定位：in his book published in 1891, herbalist James Neil described manuka and koromiko as among New Zealand’s most valuable herbs
答案：law
原文定位：In 1908 the government passed a controversial law that had the effect of restricting traditional herbal practice, or pushing it underground
同义替换：「the use of herbal medicines was made more difficult」↔「restricting traditional herbal practice」
答案：course
原文定位：But a centuries-old tradition was not going to disappear so easily, and in the 1980s the NZAMH was revived, and it became possible to complete a course in herbal medicine at several polytechnics around the country
同义替换：「a number of institutions」↔「several polytechnics」，「subject」↔「course」
答案：Phil Rasmussen
原文定位：According to Rasmussen, some herbs should require a prescription from a suitably qualified medical herbalist or doctor. For example, consumers shouldn’t be able to go to their local supermarket and buy St John’s Wort
同义替换：「There ought to be restrictions」↔「should require a prescription」，「where you can buy some herbal medicines」↔「local supermarket」
答案：Malcolm Douglas
原文定位：However, the initiative was stopped in its tracks when the government abruptly halted funding for the research programme. It was an unjustified move, according to agronomist Malcolm Douglas, based on a number of inaccurate views about weed invasion
同义替换：「authorities」↔「government」，「stopped supporting one project」↔「abruptly halted funding for the research programme」，「without a good reason」↔「an unjustified move」
答案：Phil Rasmussen
原文定位：More than 400,000 tonnes of medicinal and aromatic plants are traded in the world each year,’ says Burgess. ‘The great majority of these are harvested from the wild, so they each have an impact on their local ecosystem
同义替换：「The herbal medicine industry」↔「trade of medicinal plants」，「effect」↔「impact」，「environment」↔「local ecosystem」
答案：Phil Rasmussen
原文定位：And today there is huge potential for New Zealand to develop a herb industry based on the excellent growing conditions and expertise there, according to Phil Rasmussen, a pharmacist and medical herbalist
同义替换：「human resources」↔「expertise」，「natural environment」↔「excellent growing conditions」，「grow herbs commercially」↔「develop a herb industry」
答案：Sandra Clair
原文定位：So too is the range produced by Sandra Clair, who says that such assurance is expensive but necessary if you want to export herbal remedies to the rest of the world
同义替换：「essential」↔「necessary」，「international certification」↔「such assurance」，「despite the cost」↔「expensive but」，「medicines」↔「remedies」