This is a sceptical age， but although our faith in many of the things in which our forefathers fervently believed has weakened， our confidence in the curative properties of the bottle of medicine remains the same a theirs. This modern faith in medicines is proved the fact that the annual drug bill of the Health Services is mounting to astronomical figures and shows no signs at present of ceasing to rise. The majority of the patients attending the medical out-patients departments of our hospitals feel that they have not received adequate treatment unless they are able to carry home with them some tangible remedy in the shape of a bottle of medicine， a box of pills， or a small jar of ointment， and the doctor in charge of the department is only too ready to provide them with these requirements. There is no quicker method of disposing of patients then by giving them what they are asking for， and since most medical men in the Health Services are overworked and have little time for offering time-consuming and little-appreciated advice on such subjects as diet， right living， and the need for abandoning bad habits etc.， the bottle， the box， and the jar are almost always granted them.

    Nor is it only the ignorant and ill-educated person who was such faith in the bottle of medicine. It is recounted of Thomas Carlyle that when him in his pocket what remained of a bottle of medicine formerly prescribed for an indisposition of Mrs. Carlyle's. Carlyle was entirely ignorant of what the bottle in his pocket contained， of the nature of the illness from which his friend was suffering， and of what had previously been wrong with his wife， but a medicine that had worked so well in one form of illness would surely be of equal benefit in another， and comforted by the thought of the help he was bringing to his friend， he hastened to Henry Taylor's house. History does not relate whether his friend accepted his medical help， but in all probability he did. The great advantage of taking medicine is that it makes no demands on the taker beyond that of putting up for a moment with a disgusting taste， and that is what all patients demand of their doctors —— to be cured at no inconvenience to themselves.

    sceptical adj. 懷疑的

    forefathers n.  祖先

    fervently adv. 熱情地

    curative adj. 治病的

    astronomical adj. 天文學(xué)的

    tangible adj.實(shí)實(shí)在在的

    remedy n.   藥物

    ointment n.  藥膏

    prescribe v.  開(kāi)藥方

    indisposition n.  小病

    inconvenience n.  令人討厭的

    inconvenience n.  不便

    這是一個(gè)懷疑一切的時(shí)代，可是雖然我們對(duì)我們祖先篤信的許多事物已不太相信，我們對(duì)瓶裝藥品療效的信心仍與祖輩一樣堅(jiān)定。衛(wèi)生部門(mén)的處度藥費(fèi)上升到了天文數(shù)字，并且目前尚無(wú)停止上升的跡象，這個(gè)事實(shí)證實(shí)了現(xiàn)代人對(duì)藥物的依賴(lài)。在醫(yī)院門(mén)診部看病的大多數(shù)人覺(jué)得，如果不能帶回一些看得見(jiàn)、摸得著的藥物，如一瓶藥水，一盒藥丸、一小瓶藥膏回家的話，就沒(méi)算得到了充分的治療。負(fù)責(zé)門(mén)診的醫(yī)生也非常樂(lè)意為前來(lái)看病的人提供他們想要得到的藥物，病人要什么就給什么，沒(méi)有比這樣處理病人更快的方法了。因?yàn)樾l(wèi)生部門(mén)的大多數(shù)醫(yī)生超負(fù)荷工作，所以沒(méi)有多少時(shí)間提出一些既費(fèi)時(shí)而又不受人歡迎的忠告，如注意飲食、生活有規(guī)律，需要克服壞習(xí)慣等等，結(jié)果就是把瓶藥、盒藥、罐藥開(kāi)給看病的人而完事大吉。

    并不只是那些無(wú)知和沒(méi)受過(guò)良好教育的人才迷信藥瓶子。據(jù)說(shuō)托馬斯。卡萊爾有過(guò)這么一件事：他聽(tīng)說(shuō)朋友亨利。泰勒病了，就立刻跑去看他，衣袋里裝上了他妻子不舒服時(shí)吃剩下的一瓶藥�？ㄈR爾不知道藥瓶子里裝的是什么藥，不知道他的朋友得的是什么病，也不知道妻子以前得的是什么病，只知道一種藥對(duì)一種病有好處，肯定對(duì)另一種病也會(huì)有好處。想到能對(duì)朋友有所幫助，他感到很欣慰，于是急急忙忙來(lái)到了亨利。泰勒的家里，他的朋友是否接受了他的藥物治療，歷史沒(méi)有記載，但很可能接受了。服藥的最大優(yōu)點(diǎn)是：除了暫時(shí)忍受一下令人作嘔的味道外，對(duì)服藥人別無(wú)其他要求。這也正是病人對(duì)醫(yī)生的要求 —— 病要治好，但不要太麻煩。