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  3. 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

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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 under stand 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 $1540 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 re sources 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 Stunner 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. Ask 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.
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 本题为根据事实推理题。第一句话说：有一种说法，在英国死是被迫的，加拿大是不可避免的，美国是可选择的。似乎答案选项和选项"Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy"都正确，但结合最后一句，我们国家也许在设法治愈不可能治愈的病人上花费过多，而在研究增加人口寿命的一般方法上花费太少了。对比一下，显然答案项更为合理。
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