Tu Youyou: One of Women China Most Proud of ……

陳亞文

Tu Youyou has become the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize， for her work in helping to create an anti-malaria medicine. The 90-year-olds route to the honor has been anything but traditional. In China， she is being called the “three nos” winner： no medical degree， no doctorate， and shes never worked overseas.

In 1967， malaria， a then deadly disease， spread by mosquitoes was decimating Chinese soldiers fighting Americans in the jungles of northern Vietnam. A secret research unit “Mission 523” was formed to find a cure for the illness. Two years later， Tu Youyou was instructed to become the new head of “Mission 523”.

“Mission 523” read ancient books carefully for a long time to find historical methods of fighting malaria. When she started her search for an anti-malarial drug， more than 240，000 compounds around the world had already been tested， without any success. Finally， the team found a brief reference to one substance， sweet wormwood， which had been used to treat malaria in China around 400 AD. The team took out one active compound in wormwood， and then tested it. But nothing was effective until Tu Youyou returned to the original ancient text. After another careful reading， she changed the drug recipe one final time. She heated the compound without it to reach boiling point.

After the drug showed promising results in mice and monkeys， Tu Youyou volunteered to be the first human recipient of the new drug.

In any case， Tu Youyou is consistently praised for her drive and passion. One former colleague， Lianda Li， says Ms Tu is “unsociable and quite straightforward”， adding that “if she disagrees with something， she will say it.”

Another colleague， Fuming Liao， who has worked with Tu Youyou for more than 40 years， describes her as a “tough and stubborn woman”. Stubborn enough to spend decades piecing together ancient texts， she applies them to modern scientific practices. The result has saved millions of lives.

Notes： anti-malaria n. 瘧疾;compound n. 化合物;substance n.物資;sweet wormwood 青蒿;consistently adv. 一貫地;straightforward adj. 坦率的

【難句解析】

1. Tu Youyou has become the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize.

釋義：屠呦呦是第一位獲得諾貝爾獎的中國女性。

點撥：在此句中，不定式to win a Nobel Prize作定語，修飾woman。用于修飾被序數詞、最高級或the only， the next， no， all， any等限定的中心詞，只能用動詞不定式作定語，不定式與所修飾的詞之間是主謂關系。例如：

He was the first one to think of the idea. 他是第一個想出這個想法的人。

2. “Mission 523” read ancient books carefully for a long time to find historical methods of fighting malaria.

釋義：“使命523”成員長期仔細地閱讀了古典書籍，期望能夠找到具有歷史意義的戰勝瘧疾的方法。

點撥：to find historical methods of fighting malaria是不定式作目的狀語。不定式表目的時，可放在句子的前面，也可放在句子的末尾。但在句子前面時，不定式常與句子用逗號隔開;而在句子末尾時不用逗號隔開。例如：

To get there on time， we set out at five in the morning. 為了按時到達那兒，我們早晨五點就出發了。

He goes there to enjoy the fresh air. 他去那兒享受新鮮空氣。

3. But nothing was effective until Tu Youyou returned to the original ancient text.

釋義：直到屠呦呦回到起初的古文獻才有效果。

點撥：until用于否定句中，意為“直到……才”，表示動作從until表示的時間才開始，主句動詞延續性、非延續性均可。用于肯定句中，意為“到……為止”，表示動作一直持續到所說時間為止，主句的動詞必須是延續性動詞。例如：

I didnt know she was French until she spoke. 直到她開口說話我才知道她是法國人。

I will wait until / till I hear from you. 我會一直等到你寫信來。

4. She heated the compound without it to reach boiling point.

釋義：她給化合物加熱，不讓它達到沸點。

點撥：without it to reach boiling point是without復合結構中的一種。“without+名詞/代詞+不定式”表示將來。例如：

It was boring to sit there without anything to do. 無所事事地坐在那里太無聊了。

【閱讀鏈接】

I. Choose the right answer.

1. According to Paragraph 1， we can learn that ____.

A. Tu is the first woman to win a Nobel Prize

B. Tu has a medical degree

C. Tus road to success is not traditional

D. Tu discovered a cure for malaria

2. The underlined word “decimating” can be replaced by ____.

A. encouraging?????? ??? B. killing??? ????? C. annoying??????? D. benefiting

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE？

A. Tu first invented the idea of using sweet wormwood as a cure.

B. Tu was inspired by medical textbooks published in northern vietnem.

C. The compound needs to be heated to the boiling point to be effective.

D. Over 240，000 compounds were proved ineffective before Tus search.

4. Tu Youyou can be best described as a ____ person.

A. devoted and stubborn???? ??????????????? B. straightforward and mean

C. considerate and tough???? ??????????????? D. sociable and generous

II. Fill in the blanks.

1. Neil Armstrong is the first astronaut ____ ____ （行走） on the moon.

2. Doctors worked through the night ____ ____ （拯救） the life of the injured man.

3. With so many people ____ ____ ____ （幫助我們）， we are sure to finish it in time.

4. Theres no point complaining now—were leaving tomorrow ____ ____ ____（無論如何）.

5. Susan ____ ____ ____ （自愿工作） in a remote hospital after graduation， where the Internet is still not available.

6. My family members ____ ____ ____ （把我描述成） a very patient man.