Unit 3 Computers Learning about language课时作业

一、阅读理解

　　If you followed the 2016 Rio Olympic Games，you may have noticed that several athletes，including US swimmer Michael Phelps，had circular bruises on their bodies. These bruises were the results of"cupping therapy"，a traditional Chinese medicinal practice that has been around for more than 2,000 years.

　　Cupping therapy involves attaching circular cups to the skin using suction(吸力)．The suction is created either by heating the cup inside or by using a handing pump. This suction pulls the skin upward into the cup. Sometimes it can leave dark red bruises，other times there is no mark at all.

　　Many athletes say that they have benefited from the therapy. Phelps used the therapy in the fall of 2014 and has used it about twice a week since，reported ABC News. Another US swimmer，Dana Vollmer，also believes that"it really helps with blood flow，and helps pull swelling out of different areas"．

　　However，some have said that the supposed health effects result from people feeling that the treatment works，rather than any physical effect of the treatment.

　　To figure out whether cupping therapy has any physical effects，last year researchers from Germany carried out a test in which a sham(假装的) treatment was provided.

　　In the study，the same type of cups were used in the real treatment and the sham treatment. But in the sham treatment，the cups had a hole at the top so that they couldn't create the proper suction.

　　The tested patients，who suffered from a disorder(疾病) that causes a lot of pain，were told that they would receive either a traditional cupping or"soft cupping"．But they were not informed that the so­called "soft cupping"was a sham treatment.

　　It turned out that most patients correctly guessed which kind of cupping they had received. In both groups，patients also experienced about the same reductions in pain. The results suggest the effects of cupping therapy might come from factors that are not necessarily part of the treatment itself，the researchers told the Live Science website.

The question of whether cupping therapy works still needs to be answered. But because the treatment is relatively safe，it could be helpful for some people."The therapy can be used as a part of a comprehensive treatment programme involving other exercises，nutritional choices and lifestyle interventions(干预)，"Dr Brent Bauer，director of the US' MayoClinic Complementary and Integrative Medicine Programme，told Live Science.