They say medicine is ____1____ a science. But sometimes it seems more like a mystery. Take, for example, a new study that shows that sugar pills work, even when patients know they’re taking them. The findings appear in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.
The placebo effect’s been well-documented. Patients who receive ____2____ pills often show clinical improvement. But in all studies ____3____, the patients believed they were receiving a real drug. Placebos work, doctors believed, because the mind is a powerful thing. Just thinking you’re being treated can make you feel better.
In this study, however, docs told patients they were getting placebos. Eighty patients with irritable bowel syndrome ____4____ take two sugar pills daily. The bottle even had “placebo” printed on it. After three weeks, 60 percent of the placebo group reported relief from symptoms, compared to 35 percent who’d received no treatment at all.

The doctors say it’s possible that the very act of ministering to patients may have a positive effect. Their findings will have to be repeated with more patients and other disorders. In the meantime, a sugar pill that can treat what ____5____ ya is pretty sweet.
【视听版科学小组荣誉出品】
as much an art as dummy to date were instructed to ails
安慰剂也会发挥效用——哪怕是在你已知道的情况下 据说，医学同科学一样是一门艺术。不过有时它似乎更像是个谜。举例来说，发表在公共科学图书馆杂志《PLoS ONE》（《PLoS综合》）上的一项新研究表明，哪怕患者明知自己服用的只是糖丸，这些糖丸也会产生效用。 文件记载表明，安慰剂的效果一直良好。服用安慰剂的患者常表现出临床症状明显改善。但在迄今为止的所有研究中，患者们都相信他们所服用的是真正的药物。医生认为，安慰剂之所以起效是因为人的大脑非常强大——只要想着你正在接受治疗就会使你感觉更好些。 然而，在这项研究中，医生告诉患者，他们服用的是安慰剂。 80例患有肠道易激综合征的病人被要求每日服用两粒糖丸。药瓶上甚至印有“安慰剂”字样。三周后，安慰剂组中有60%的患者称减轻了症状，而有35%的患者压根就没有接受任何治疗。 医生说这可能是照料病人的此种行为会对其产生积极影响。他们的研究将在更多的患者和其他疾病当中多次重复。在此期间，你要是哪里不舒服，吞下一粒糖丸，尝点甜头，看来也蛮不错的。