Two life-saving medicines
两种拯救生命的药品
This article will focus on two drugs that started revolutions in medicine.
这篇文章会集中讨论引起医学界革命的两种药。
If you open up any medicine cupboard or go to any medicine counter in the world, it is likely that you will find aspirin and penicillin.
只要你打开世界上任何一个药柜或前往任何一个医药柜台，你可能就会发现阿司匹林和青霉素。
Both of these medicines have saved millions of people's lives and have proved beneficial to mankind since they were invented.
这两种药被发明后拯救了数百万人的性命，而且证明了它们对人类的益处。
Aspirin
阿司匹林
Aspirin was invented in 1897.
阿司匹林发明于1897年。
However, the basic chemical used to make aspirin can be found in nature.
但是，用来制作阿司匹林的基础物质在自然界能够找到。
Nearly 3,500 years ago, people chewed on leaves or drank a kind of tea made from leaves possessing a special chemical to reduce body pains and fever.
约3500年以前，人们咀嚼树叶或喝由树叶制成的茶来获取一种特殊的物质，以减轻身体的疼痛及发热。
About 2,500 years ago, the Greek physician Hippocrates, father of all doctors, made a juice from a tree bark containing salicylic acid for the same effect.
大约2500年前，希腊医师希波克拉底，也就是医药之父，用一种含有水杨酸的树的树皮做成一种汁液以起到相同的效果。
It was in 1897 that a European chemist called Dr Felix Hoffmann produced aspirin from this chemical.
1897年欧洲化学家费利克斯·霍夫曼博士将这种化学药品制成了阿司匹林。
The first trials of this medicine took place in 1899, when the company Hoffmann worked for began distributing the medicine in powder form to physicians to use with patients.
1899年，该药物开始首次试用，当时是由霍夫曼所在的公司将此药物做成粉末状，交给医生对病人进行试用。
A year later, in 1900, aspirin was sold in shops in the form of tablets.
一年后的1900年，阿司匹林以药片的形式在商店里销售。
Within a short time, aspirin became the best-selling medicine in the world for pain relief.
在短期内，阿司匹林就成为了当时世界上减轻痛苦的热卖药品。