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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 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 0.7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be 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, heallhier 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.
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 该题关键在于理解篇首第一句的含义。原文是：“It is said that in England death ispressing，in Canada inevitable and in California optional．”这句话可译为：“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。”文章下面也接着讲述了很多有关medical care的问题。由此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。
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