身上的红圆圈
What is cupping in Chinese medicine?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
二零一六年奥运会的时候，很多人在电视上看游泳比赛。他们看到一个美国运动员的身上有很多红色的圆圈。大家都问：这是什么？
很多中国人一看就知道：这是“拔罐”以后会有的。这是中医的一种方法，已经有很长的历史了。
拔罐是怎么做的？医生先用火让一个小杯子里面变热，然后很快把杯子放在人的背上。杯子会“吸”住皮肤，十几分钟以后再拿下来。
为什么会有这些圆圈？因为杯子把皮肤往上拉，皮肤下面会出来一些血，所以颜色就变了。过几天，它们就没有了。
在中国，很多医院都能看中医，街上也有不少能拔罐的店。有的人说，做完以后身体很舒服。可是很多医生说，现在还不能说它真的能治病。
如果有机会，你想试一试吗？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 游泳 | yóuyǒng | to swim; swimming |
| 红色 | hóngsè | red |
| 长 | cháng | long; length |
| 里面 | lǐmiàn | inside; interior |
| 快 | kuài | fast; quick |
| 拿 | ná | to take; to hold; to carry |
| 下面 | xiàmiàn | next; following |
| 出来 | chūlái | to come out; to emerge |
| 颜色 | yánsè | color |
| 身体 | shēntǐ | body |
| 舒服 | shūfu | comfortable |
| 比赛 | bǐsài | match; competition; game; to compete |
English (for the teacher)
During the 2016 Olympics, many people watched the swimming on TV. They saw lots of red circles on an American athlete’s body. Everyone asked: what’s that?
Many Chinese people knew at a glance: those come after “baguan”, cupping. It’s one of the methods of traditional Chinese medicine, and it has a long history.
How is cupping done? First the practitioner uses a flame to heat the inside of a small cup, then quickly puts the cup on a person’s back. The cup “sucks” onto the skin, and after ten minutes or so it is taken off.
Why are there circles? Because the cup pulls the skin upwards, a little blood leaks out under the skin, so its colour changes. After a few days, they go away.
In China, many hospitals offer traditional Chinese medicine, and there are quite a few shops on the street that do cupping. Some people say their body feels great afterwards. But many doctors say that for now no one can say it really cures illness.
If you had the chance, would you like to try it?