The most common disease in the world is the cold. It often starts with a sore throat（咽部疼痛）. You sneeze (打喷嚏) and your nose runs. You usually have a headache, too. Often you have a cough later. It's not a serious disease, but you can feel quite bad.
There isn't a cure (良药 ) for a cold, but you can take medicines to make you feel better. For example, you can take aspirin (阿司匹林) to get rid of your headache. It is good to rest, and to drink a lot of water, too. A doctor once told me, "With the right medicine, a cold will last for seven days. With no medicine, it will go on for a whole week!"
Where does our medicine come from? A long time ago, people understood that some plants made them feel better. They ate the leaves, the roots , the fruit or the seeds of plants. For example, the juice of lemons (柠檬) makes a sore throat feel better. In modern times, scientists have looked at these plants, and found out which chemicals (化学药品) are in them. Many of our medicines today are made from those chemicals. There are some diseases that we can't cure yet. And nobody has found a cure for old age. But because of modern medicines, the average (平均的) person now lives longer than their grandparents.
1. A cold often starts with________________.
A. a headache B. a cough C. a pain in your throat D. feeling a little cold
2. What should we do when we catch a cold?
A. We only take some medicine.
B. We should rest well, drink much water and have some medicine.
C. We just wait for a whole week.
D. We only need a good rest.
3. What makes a sore throat feel better?
A. The medicine aspirin. B. A lot of water.
C. Something inside lemons. D. The root of a plant.
4. What is the real meaning of the doctor's words?
A. There is almost no medicine that can cure the cold.
B. There is some medicine that can cure the cold.
C. You will feel well after a week when you take some medicine.
D. The cold is a serious disease.