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THE ART OF HEALING As with so much, the medicine of the Tang dynasty left its European counterpart in the shade. It boasted its own ‘national health service’, and left behind the teachings of the incomparable Sun Simiao If no further evidence was available of the sophistication of China in the Tang era, then a look at Chinese medicine would be sufficient. At the Western end of the Eurasian continent the Roman empire had vanished, and there was nowhere new to claim the status of the cultural and political centre of the world. In fact, for a few centuries, this centre happened to be the capital of the Tang empire, and Chinese medicine under the Tang was far ahead of its European counterpart. The organisational context of health and healing was structured to a degree that had no precedence in Chinese history and found no parallel elsewhere. An Imperial Medical Office had been inherited from previous dynasties: it was immediately restructured an...

LISTENING PRACTICE 1 Questions 1-3 Choose the correct letter,  A, B or C . Nanotechnology: technology on a small scale 1.   The speaker says that one problem with nanotechnology is that A    it could threaten our way of life. B    it could be used to spy on people. C    it is misunderstood by the public. 2.   According to the speaker, some scientists believe that nano-particles A    should be restricted to secure environments. B    should be used with more caution. C    should only be developed for essential products. 3.   In the speaker's opinion, research into nanotechnology A    has yet to win popular support. B    colild be seen as unethical. C    ought to be continued. Questions 4-10  Complete the notes below. Write  ONE WORD ONLY  for each answer. Uses of Nanotechnology   Transport •...

The world’s friendliest city A team of social psychologists from California has spent six years studying the reactions of people in cities around the world to different situations. The results show that cities where people  have less  money generally have friendlier  populations . Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which is often  known  for its crime, comes out top, and the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, comes third.  But what makes one city friendlier than another? The psychologists from California State University say it has got more to do with environment than culture or nationality.  They carried out a study into the way locals treated strangers in 23 cities around the world. The team conducted their research through a series of tests, where they dropped pens or pretended they were blind and needed help crossing the street.  The study concludes that people are more helpful in...

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1- 11 Revolutions in Mapping  Today, the mapmaker's vision is no longer confined to what the human eye can see. The perspective of mapmaking has shifted from the crow's nest of the sailing vessel, mountain  top and airplane to new orbital heights. Radar, which bounces microwave radio signals off a given surface to create images of its contours and textures, can penetrate jungle foliage and  has produced the first maps of the mountains of the planet Venus. And a combination of sonar and radar produces charts of the seafloor, putting much of Earth on the map for the  first time. 'Suddenly it's a whole different world for us,' says Joel Morrison, chief of geography at the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 'Our future as mapmakers - even ten years from now - is uncertain.'  The world's largest collection of maps resides in the basement of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The collection,...

Italy acts to revoke contract in bridge collapse in Genoa ARTICLE FROM WASHINGTON POST LINK  By   Ilaria Polleschi -Vocabulary revoking-  to say officially that an agreement, permission, a law, etc. is no longer in effect penetrate- to move into or through something: ( Amazingly, the bullet did not  penetrate  his brain) estimate-  an approximate calculation or judgement of the value             rubble   - waste or rough fragments of stone, brick, concrete, etc., especially as the debris from the demolition of buildings.         plummeted - fall or drop straight down at high speed.               GENOA, Italy —  The Italian government on Friday launched a formal procedure aimed at revoking a contract held by Autostrade per l’Italia to operate toll highways after a bridge it managed collapsed, killing at least 38 people. “Today the g...