Quinine
Quinine is a traditional medicine of the South American Indians. They have used it for centuries as a cure malaria. When Europeans first went to South America, they go malaria and became very sick.
Many died because at that time they didn’t know about the traditional cure.
Last century doctors working in South America noticed something very interesting about malaria. Most foreigners got the disease, but most Indians didn’t get it.
What was the reason for this? The doctors asked the Indians why they didn’t get malaria. The answer was very simple : they told the doctors about the traditional cure.
The Indians showed the doctors how to get quinine from the bark of the cinchona tree. Then, the Indians explained how they mixed the bark with water to make a drink. This was a very important discovery. Quinine is a traditional medicine that works.
Today millions of people use quinine to cure malaria. They also take care prevent malaria by removing stagnant water, and spraying to kill mosquitoes. Clean houses and mosquito nets also help.
Quinine can be used to cure the disease, but it is better not to catch it at all.Prevention is always better than cure.
Guided commentary
1. Choose the correct answer (3pts)
A- Quinine is :
a) a modern medicine
b) a traditional medicine
B-Quinine comes from:
a) the leaves of the cinchona tree
b) the bark of the cinchona tree
C- People catch malaria from:
a) mosquitoes
b) dirty water
2- Give a title to the text and explain it. (2pts)
3- Why did Europeans die from malaria and Indians did not? (2pts)
4- How did Europeans find the treatmeant against malaria? (3pts)
5- How can people avoid getting malaria according to the text ? (3pts)
6- Give the advantages and drawbacks of traditional medicines (5pts)
7- Translate the 1st paragraph into French. (3pts)