阅读理解 When people see things that they cannot explain with science and logic, they feel it is mysterious．One of the biggest mysteries of today’s scientific world is how the witch doctors work．While some early ideas about what causes illnesses seem silly to us today, the witch doctors of many uncivilized tribes do cure people based on these old “silly” methods．In other words, these methods work, but we just cannot explain how they work with science． In the early days, when people became ill, they went to the “medicine man” or “medicine woman” in the tribe．A medicine man or woman is a combination of a doctor and a spiritual master．People used to believe that illnesses are caused by evil spirits, and it was the medicine man or woman’s job to make these bad spirits leave the sick person． Evil spirits can be scared away by loud noises or scary masks, according to tribal beliefs．The medicine man or woman would chant magic words, or special songs, and perform special dances depending on the illness．They also usually use a plant that is supposed to help with the sickness． Modern scientists try to explain how such primitive, unscientific ways work．According to researchers, the plants the witch doctors use usually contain drugs that are medicinal or help relieve(减轻)pain, and some Western doctors are now trying to learn about them．As for how the magic words and dances worked to heal people, there is still no clear answer．Some researchers believe that if people believed in the witch doctor, then the magic words and dances gave the sick people hope．When there is hope, the sick person feels better psychologically, and thus recovers more quickly． |
