第三篇 The World’s Best-Selling Medicine Since ancient times， people all over the world have used willow to stoppain. The willow tree contains salicylic acid (水杨酸）. This stops pain，butthere is one problem. Salicylic acid also hurts the stomach. In 1853，aFrench scientist made a mixture from willow that did not hurtthe stomach. However, his mixture was difficult to make, and he did not try to produceor sell it. In 1897，in Germany Felix Hoffmann also made a mixturewith salicylic acid. He tried it himself first it to hisfather because his father was old and in a lot of pain. His father’s, pain wentaway，and the mixture did not hurt his stomach. Hoffmann worked forBayer，a German company. He showed his new drug to hismanager，who tested the drug and found that itworked well. Bayer decided to make the drug. They called it aspirin and putthe Bayer name on every pill. Aspirin was an immediate success. Almosteveryone has pain of some kind, so aspirin answered a true need. Aspirin was cheap, easy totake, and effective. It also lowered fevers. Aspirin was a wonder drug. At first，Bayersold the drug through doctors, who then sold it to their patients. In 1915, the company started to sellaspirin in drugstores. In the United States，Bayer had a pate+ (专利权）on the drug. Other companiescould make similar products and sell them in other countries，butonly Bayer could make and sell aspirin in the UnitedStates. In time， Bayer could no longer own the nameaspirin in the United States. Other companies could make it there，too. However, Bayer aspirin was the most wellknown, and for many years, it was the market leader. the 1950s，newpainkillers were on the market. Aspirin was no longer the only way to treatpain and reduce fever. Bayer and other companies looked for other drugs tomake. However in the 1970s they got a surprise. Doctors noticed that patientswho were taking aspirin had fewer heart attacks than other people.

A. Britishresearcher named John Vane found the reason aspirin helped to prevent heartattacks. In 1982，he won the Nobel Prize for his research.Doctors started to tell some of their patients to take aspirin every day to preventheart attack. It has made life better for the many people who take it. It hasalso made a lot of money for companies like Bayer thatproduce and sell it!

B.

C.