Reading Fill Blank
Questions
☐ A
☐ C
☐ D
Next Question
Next Reading
Reading 1/1:
Read the following passage. Then, answer the questions below. Choose the letter of the correct answer.
In 1822, the Chinese Emperor, Dao Guang, issued a law removing the practice and teaching of acupuncture from the
Imperial Medical Academy. This dismissal of 'the ancient superstition changed the practice from an officially recognised
conventional medicine to an experimental activity practiced only by witches and quack doctors, seemingly doomed to a
long, slow death.
The fact that 200 years ago acupuncture had fallen out of favour in China-the country of its birth-makes it even more
surprising that its reputation has been rehabilitated to such an extent that it was recognised, in 2015, as a 'treatment' on
the NHS Choices website. Critics of acupuncture suggest that acupuncturists are pulling the wool over our eyes while
they take the pound out of our pocket. On the other hand, supporters of this complementary therapy continue to pay for
acupuncture and argue that acupuncture should be at the heart of people's care plans for disease, sickness, pain, and
low mood.
Proponents of acupuncture disagree, claiming that it can benefit-or cure-a raft of ailments ranging from the physical to
the mental and even the spiritual. The idea that having needles inserted in various points in the body could prove a
better treatment for the chemical imbalances that lead to depression or anxiety than the right psychoactive drugs might
seem silly to some people. However, a growing number of people are throwing away their antidepressants and replacing
them with a course of acupuncture. Meanwhile, others go further, citing acupuncture as their main support in
overcoming an addiction to legal or illegal drugs.
The most common reason for a course of acupuncture is to gain relief from pain. While much of the evidence for
acupuncture is unreliable, there is an increasing bank of evidence to support the idea that acupuncture can treat back
pain, particularly pain located in the lower back. A review of 29 studies undertaken by Andrew Vickers in 2012 found
that acupuncture had a clear and strong effect on chronic back pain. This comes as heartening news to the estimated 8
million people in the UK who suffer from chronic pain. However, those who turn to acupuncture in the hope of a cure
rather than relief are still waiting for science to back up their beliefs.
Acupuncture has been indicated as a potential cure for an ear condition called Tinnitus, which involves a ringing sound
in the ear sometimes accompanied by pain. A small-scale study carried out in 1998 by Furugard et al. found that
acupuncture healed the symptoms of Tinnitus in 45% of sufferers. However, these results were reduced in the long term
when it was discovered that the symptoms were only relieved temporarily and that in the long term, the condition
returned in most cases. In 2000, a systematic and comprehensive study carried out by the US National Institute of
Health found no link between acupuncture and a cure for Tinnitus, thus severely undermining the case for acupuncture
as a cure for specific conditions.
Considering the lack of supporting evidence, it is surprising that acupuncture has garnered a reputation for reversing
the decline of Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of that progressive disease include tremors, decreased mobility, and
stiffness. These symptoms are reported to have been relieved and indeed reversed by acupuncture in some patients.
However, this reversal has only ever been reported by individuals and never substantiated by science. A
comprehensive review of the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating Parkinson's was carried out in Korea between
2000 and 2007 by Myong Son Lee and Edzard Ernst They did not find any proof that acupuncture has any positive
