首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans’ life exp
It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans’ life exp
admin
2014-02-20
45
问题
It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans’ life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minute surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death—and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.
Death is normal; we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions. We all understand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solved. Shielded by third-party payers from the cost of our care we demand everything that can possibly be done for us, even if it’s useless. The most obvious example is late-stage cancer care. Physicians—frustrated by their inability to cure the disease and fearing loss of hope in the patient—too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified.
In 1950, the U. S. spent $ 12. 7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be $ 1,540 billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite resources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age—say 83 or so. Former Colorado governor Richard Lamm has been quoted as saying that the old and infirm "have a duty to die and get out of the way" so that younger, healthier people can realize their potential.
I would not go that far. Energetic people now routinely work through their 60s and beyond, and remain dazzlingly productive. At 78 Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone jokingly claims to be 53. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is in her 70s, and former surgeon general C. Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his 80s. These leaders are living proof that prevention works and that we can manage the health problems that come naturally with age. As a mere 68-year-old, I wish to age as productively as they have.
Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. As a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful. I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while under-funding research on humbler therapies that could improve people’s lives.
What is implied in the first sentence?
选项
A、Americans are better prepared for death than other people.
B、Americans enjoy a higher life quality than ever before.
C、Americans are over-confident of their medical technology.
D、Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy.
答案
C
解析
推断题。该题问的是篇首第一句的含义,考查的是考生对比较手法的理解能力。这句话说的是:“据说,在英国死亡是迫在眉睫的,在加拿大(死亡)是不可避免的,在加利福尼亚(死亡)是可以选择的。”从这句话中,我们不难看出美国人的骄傲和狂妄,他们认为美国拥有高端的医疗技术,死亡是可以控制的。所以C项是正确的:“美国人对他们的医疗技术过分自信。”A项毫无道理,事实上,美国人比其他国家的人更害怕死亡,所以不惜投入许多金钱,期望医疗技术能延缓他们的生命。B项是将美国人的现状与过去相比,与篇首的比较句没有关系。D项说的是美国人为他们的寿命长而感到骄傲,也是没有理解原话的意思。原句中用了“optional”一词,不是说死亡会迟迟不来,而是说美国的医疗技术如此发达,人们可以选择什么时候死亡。借助医疗技术,人们可以尽可能延长寿命。所以D项不正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/IuXO777K
0
在职攻硕英语联考
相关试题推荐
Oneofthemostfascinatingfieldsofpsychologyismemory.Thispassageisgoingto【C1】______afewthingsabouthowtoclassify
Asthetwentiethcenturybegan,theimportanceofformaleducationintheUnitedStatesincreased.Thefrontierhadmostlydisap
IndustrialproductionmanagerscoordinatetheresourcesandactivitiesrequiredtoproducemillionsofgoodseveryyearintheU
TheopeningofDisneylandwillbringmanyassociatedinvestmentopportunities.Atleastfoureconomicsectorswillbenefitdirec
AAnoisyBaggressivecousinofthecrow,themagpiehasCthosebird’sthievishDhabits.
Withinthespanofahundredyears,intheseventeenthandearlyeighteenthcenturies,atideofemigration—oneofthegreatfol
Whatarethoseofuswhohavechosencareersinscienceandengineeringabletodoaboutourcurrentproblems?First,wecan
Humanityusesalittlelessthanhalfthewateravailableworldwide.Yetoccurrencesofshortagesanddroughtsarecausingfamin
Afour-yearcollegedegree,seenforgenerationsasatickettoabetterlife,is【C1】______enoughtoguaranteeasteadilyrising
FaithinmedicinerunsdeepinAmerica.Wespendmoreperpersononhealthcarethananyothernation.Whetherweeattoomucho
随机试题
纳税人超过应纳税额缴纳的税款,税务机关发现后应当立即退还。()
搜寻二手资料的方法有()
关于钩端螺旋体病的描述,错误的是()
世界卫生组织对健康的定义以下哪一项是错误的
在每年的安全生产事故统计中可以发现,触电事故造成的死亡人数占据非常大的比例,每年由于触电造成的死亡人数超过8000人。触电事故具有一定的特性,下列关于触电事故的特性,说法正确的是()。
【背景】某隧洞工程,施工单位与项目业主签订了120000万元的施工总承包合同,合同约定:每延长(或缩短)1天工期,处罚(或奖励)金额3万元。施工过程中发生了以下事件:事件1:施工前,施工单位拟定了三种隧洞开挖施工方案,并测定
()的出版,标志着教育学作为一门规范的、独立的学科正式诞生。
患者,男性,39岁。以左侧颞下颌关节开口末、闭口初期弹响就诊。关节检查发现张口度达5.5cm,开口型偏向右侧。X线检查开口位时髁突超过关节结节,关节造影检查未见关节囊、关节盘的改变。你认为此患者的最有可能的诊断是()。
Accordingtothetext,themaindifferencebetweenamultinationalcorporationandasmallbusinessliesinTheauthor’sattitu
在网络管理的五大要素中,性能管理包括监视和______两大功能。
最新回复
(
0
)