引文

The first students to study alternative medicine at university level in Australia began their four-year, full-time course at the University of Technology, Sydney, in early 1994. Their course covered, among other therapies, acupuncture. The theory they learnt is based on the traditional Chinese explanation of this ancient healing art: that it can regulate the flow of ‘Qi’ or energy through pathways in the body. This course reflects how far some alternative therapies have come in their struggle for acceptance by the medical establishment.

1994年初，澳大利亚首批学习替代医学的学生开始在悉尼科技大学进行为期四年的全日制课程。他们的课程涵盖了针灸等其他疗法。他们所学的理论是基于中国传统对这门古老疗法的解释：它可以通过人体内的经络调节"气"或能量的流动。这门课程反映了一些替代疗法在争取被医学界接受方面所取得的进展。

第1自然段

Australia has been unusual in the Western world in having a very conservative attitude to natural or alternative therapies, according to Dr Paul Laver, a lecturer in Public Health at the University of Sydney. ‘We’ve had a tradition of doctors being fairly powerful and I guess they are pretty loath to allow any pretenders to their position to come into it.’ In many other industrialised countries, orthodox and alternative medicine have worked ‘hand in glove’ for years. In Europe, only orthodox doctors can prescribe herbal medicine. In Germany, plant remedies account for 10% of the national turnover of pharmaceuticals. Americans made more visits to alternative therapists than to orthodox doctors in 1990, and each year they spend about $US1 2 billion on therapies that have not been scientifically tested.

根据悉尼大学公共卫生讲师保罗·拉弗博士的说法，澳大利亚在西方世界中在对自然疗法或替代疗法持有非常保守的态度方面是不同寻常的。“我们一直以来医生比较有权威，我想他们很不愿意让任何冒充者进入这个领域。”在许多其他工业化国家，传统医学和替代医学已经多年来密切合作。在欧洲，只有正统医生可以开处方给草药。在德国，植物疗法占到国家药品总销售额的10%。1990年，美国人去看替代疗法的次数超过去看正统医生的次数，而且每年他们在未经科学测试的疗法上花费约120亿美元。

第2自然段

Disenchantment with orthodox medicine has seen the popularity of alternative therapies in Australia climb steadily during the past 20 years. In a 1983 national health survey, 1.9% of people said they had contacted a chiropractor, naturopath, osteopath, acupuncturist or herbalist in the two weeks prior to the survey. By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the population. The 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists reported in the 1990 survey represented about an eighth of the total number of consultations with medically qualified personnel covered by the survey, according to Dr Laver and colleagues writing in the Australian Journal of Public Health in 1993. ‘A better educated and less accepting public has become disillusioned with the experts in general, and increasingly skeptical about science and empirically based knowledge,’ they said. ‘The high standing of professionals, including doctors, has been eroded as a consequence.’

在过去的20年里，对正统医学的不满使得澳大利亚替代疗法的受欢迎程度稳步上升。在1983年的一项全国卫生调查中，有1.9%的人表示他们在调查前两周接触过脊医、自然疗法医师、骨疗医师、针灸师或草药师。到了1990年，这个比例已经上升到人口的2.6%。根据拉弗博士和他的同事在1993年发表于《澳大利亚公共卫生杂志》中的文章指出，在该项调查中，与替代疗法师进行的55万次会诊约占调查涵盖的具备医学资格的人员总会诊数的1/8。“一个教育水平较高且越来越不易接受的公众对专家们普遍失望，并对科学和实证知识日益持怀疑态度，”他们说。“专业人士的高地位，包括医生在内，因此而受到侵蚀。”

第3自然段

Rather than resisting or criticising this trend, increasing numbers of Australian doctors, particularly younger ones, are forming group practices with alternative therapists or taking courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism. Part of the incentive was financial, Dr Laver said. ‘The bottom line is that most general practitioners are business people. If they see potential clientele going elsewhere, they might want to be able to offer a similar service.’

与其抵制或批评这一趋势，越来越多的澳大利亚医生，尤其是年轻医生，正在与替代疗法师组建诊所或自己参加相关课程，特别是针灸和草药疗法。拉弗博士说，部分动力来自经济方面。“底线是大多数全科医生是商人。如果他们看到潜在的客户去其他地方，他们可能希望能够提供类似的服务。”

第4自然段

In 1993, Dr Laver and his colleagues published a survey of 289 Sydney people who attended eight alternative therapists’ practices in Sydney. These practices offered a wide range of alternative therapies from 2 5 therapists. Those surveyed had experienced chronic illnesses, for which orthodox medicine had been able to provide little relief. They commented that they liked the holistic approach of their alternative therapists and the friendly, concerned and detailed attention they had received. The cold, impersonal manner of orthodox doctors featured in the survey. An increasing exodus from their clinics, coupled with this and a number of other relevant surveys carried out in Australia, all pointing to orthodox doctors’ inadequacies, have led mainstream doctors themselves to begin to admit they could learn from the personal style of alternative therapists. Dr Patrick Store, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, concurs that orthodox doctors could learn a lot about bedside manner and advising patients on preventative health from alternative therapists.

1993年，拉弗博士及其同事对悉尼市8家替代疗法师诊所的289名患者进行了一项调查。这些诊所提供了从25位疗法师那里获得各种替代疗法。被调查者患有慢性疾病，而传统医学提供的帮助很少。他们评论称喜欢替代疗法师的整体治疗方法以及友好、关心和详细的关注。而正统医生的冷漠和不关心则在调查中显现出来。从诊所流失的患者数量不断增加，再加上澳大利亚进行的一系列调查都指出了正统医生的不足，这导致主流医生们开始承认他们可以从替代疗法师的个人风格中学到东西。全科医生学院主席派翠克·斯托尔博士也同意，正统医生可以从替代疗法师那里学到很多有关待人方式和预防性健康建议的东西。

第5自然段

According to the Australian Journal of Public Health, 18% of patients visiting alternative therapists do so because they suffer from musculo-skeletal complaints; 12%suffer from digestive problems, which is only 1% more than those suffering from emotional problems. Those suffering from respiratory complaints represent 7% of their patients, and candida sufferers represent an equal percentage. Headache sufferers and those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and 5% of patients respectively, and a further 4% see therapists for general health maintenance.

根据《澳大利亚公共卫生杂志》的数据，拜访替代疗法师的患者中，18%患有肌肉骨骼问题；12%患有消化问题，比情绪问题稍微多1%；7%的患者是呼吸道问题；同样有7%的患者是念珠菌感染；患有头痛的患者和自我感觉不适的患者分别占6%和5%；还有4%的患者看替代疗法师是为了维护整体健康。

第6自然段

The survey suggested that complementary medicine is probably a better term than alternative medicine. Alternative medicine appears to be an adjunct, sought in times of disenchantment when conventional medicine seems not to offer the answer.