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
2015-12-01
34
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, cataracts removed in a 30-minutes 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 underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people’s lives.
The author uses the example of cancer patients to show that______.
选项
A、medical resources are often wasted
B、doctors are helpless against fatal diseases
C、some treatments are too aggressive
D、medical costs are becoming unaffordable
答案
A
解析
本题可参照文章的第2段。从中可知,由于第三方为我们支付医疗费用,我们便要求别人为我们做一切可能的事情,尽管有时候是徒劳的。最明显的例子便是晚期癌症的护理。由于不能治愈这种疾病所导致的沮丧以及害怕病人失去希望,医生经常提供大胆的医疗方法——这些方法远远超过科学上所证实的合理标准。从第3段的内容可知,1950年,美国用于医疗保健的费用是127亿美元;2002年,费用达到15,400亿美元。人人都知道这种趋势无法维持。有些学者断定——资源有限的政府完全应该停止为维持超过一定年龄的生命支付医疗保健费用。据此可知,美国没有利用好可利用的资源。A项与文意相符,因此A项为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/W7LO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
46.Theonrushofcheapcommunications,powerfulcomputersandtheInternetallexplainwhymanypeoplefeelthat,nowadays,cha
Inspiteof"endlesstalkofdifference",Americansocietyisanamazingmachineforhomogenizingpeople.Thereis"thedemocrat
Accordingtoonesurveyof12,000people,about30percentofthosemakingNewYear’sresolutionssaytheydon’tevenkeepthem
MostpeoplewhodevelopLymedisease,atick-borninfectionthat’sendemicinpartsoftheNortheastandMidwest,areeasilycur
Inrecentyears,therehasbeenasteadyassaultonsaltfromthedoctors:saltisbadforyouregardlessofyourhealth.Politi
Manhaslongwishedtopredictearthquakes.Recentfindingsindicatethatreliableearthquakepredictionisalmostareality.B
Manhaslongwishedtopredictearthquakes.Recentfindingsindicatethatreliableearthquakepredictionisalmostareality.B
Didhereallyexpecthertosmilenowand______withhisplans,treatallthisdeceptionasnomorethananunusualdiversion?
Inthe2006filmversionofTheDevilWearsPrada,MirandaPriestly,playedbyMerylStreep,scoldherunattractiveassistantfo
Inthe2006filmversionofTheDevilWearsPrada,MirandaPriestly,playedbyMerylStreep,scoldherunattractiveassistantfo
随机试题
补体是
外阴鳞状上皮增生的癌变率为
《中华人民共和国动物防疫法》中,一类疫病指的是
患者,女性,52岁,有胆管结石病史。近2天来右上腹痛,体温37.8℃。2小时前突然畏寒、寒战,体温达40℃;精神紧张兴奋、口渴、面色苍白,脉搏98次/分、动脉搏动有力,血压110/96mmHg,尿量每小时26ml。下列哪项治疗原则是错误的A.积极补充
在地籍管理工作中,土地条件调查包括()。
在地震区,多层普通砖砌体房屋的现浇钢筋混凝土楼板或屋面板在墙内的最小支承长度。下列哪一个数值是正确的?[2003年第87题]
以下不是通风机的分类标准的是()。
恒通公司(国有企业)、华大有限责任公司(非国有制企业)和自然人薛某合资设立一家合伙企业。对此,下列选项中说法正确的有()。
【2012年烟台市市直】杜威的教育理论代表作是()。
请读程序片段(字符串内没有空格字符):printf("%d\n",strlen("ATS\n012\1\\"));上面程序片段的输出结果是_______。
最新回复
(
0
)