陈亚文

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. 疟疾;compound n. 化合物;substance n.物资;sweet wormwood 青蒿;consistently adv. 一贯地;straightforward adj. 坦率的

【难句解析】

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

释义：屠呦呦是第一位获得诺贝尔奖的中国女性。

点拨：在此句中，不定式to win a Nobel Prize作定语，修饰woman。用于修饰被序数词、最高级或the only， the next， no， all， any等限定的中心词，只能用动词不定式作定语，不定式与所修饰的词之间是主谓关系。例如：

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

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

釋义：“使命523”成员长期仔细地阅读了古典书籍，期望能够找到具有历史意义的战胜疟疾的方法。

点拨：to find historical methods of fighting malaria是不定式作目的状语。不定式表目的时，可放在句子的前面，也可放在句子的末尾。但在句子前面时，不定式常与句子用逗号隔开;而在句子末尾时不用逗号隔开。例如：

To get there on time， we set out at five in the morning. 为了按时到达那儿，我们早晨五点就出发了。

He goes there to enjoy the fresh air. 他去那儿享受新鲜空气。

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

释义：直到屠呦呦回到起初的古文献才有效果。

点拨：until用于否定句中，意为“直到……才”，表示动作从until表示的时间才开始，主句动词延续性、非延续性均可。用于肯定句中，意为“到……为止”，表示动作一直持续到所说时间为止，主句的动词必须是延续性动词。例如：

I didnt know she was French until she spoke. 直到她开口说话我才知道她是法国人。

I will wait until / till I hear from you. 我会一直等到你写信来。

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

释义：她给化合物加热，不让它达到沸点。

点拨：without it to reach boiling point是without复合结构中的一种。“without+名词/代词+不定式”表示将来。例如：

It was boring to sit there without anything to do. 无所事事地坐在那里太无聊了。

【阅读链接】

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 ____ ____ ____ （帮助我们）， we are sure to finish it in time.

4. Theres no point complaining now—were leaving tomorrow ____ ____ ____（无论如何）.

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.