Hemingway once wrote that courage is grace under pressure. But I would rather think with the 18th-century Italian dramatist, Vit

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问题     Hemingway once wrote that courage is grace under pressure. But I would rather think with the 18th-century Italian dramatist, Vittorio Alf ieri, that "often the test of courage is not to die but to live." For living with cancer engenders more than pressure; it begets terror. To live with it, to face up to it—that’s courage.
    Hope is our most effective "drug" in treating cancer. There is almost no cancer (at any stage) that cannot be treated. By instilling hope in a patient, we can help develop a positive, combative attitude to his disease. Illogical, unproven? Perhaps. But many doctors believe that this must become a part of cancer therapy if the therapy is to be effective.
    I have had the joy of a wonderful wife, the happiness of parenthood and the love of three children. My work was constantly challenging and fulfilling. I have always loved music and books, ballet and the theater. I was addicted to fitness, tennis, golf, curling, hunting and fishing.
    Good food and wine graced my table. My home was a warm and happy place.
    But when I became aware of my imminent mortality, my attitudes changed. There was real meaning to the words, "This is the first day of the rest of your life." There was a heightened awareness of each sunny day, the beauty of flowers, the song of a bird. How often do we reflect on the joy of breathing easily, of swallowing without effort and discomfort, of walking without pain, of a complete and peaceful night’s sleep?
    After I became ill, I embarked upon many things I had been putting off before. I read the books I had set aside for retirement and wrote one myself, entitled "The Art of Surgery". My wife Madeleine and I took more holidays. We played tennis regularly and curled avidly; we took the boys fishing. When I review these past few years, it seems in many ways that I have lived a lifetime since I acquired cancer. On my last holiday in the Bahamas, as I walked along the beach feeling the gentle waves wash over my feet, I felt a part of the universe, even if only a minuscule one, like a grain of sand on the beach.
    Although I had to restrict the size of my practice, I felt closer empathy with my patients. When I walked into the Intensive Care Unit there was an awesome feeling knowing I, too, had been a patient there. It was a special satisfaction to comfort my patients with cancer, knowing that it is possible to enjoy life after the anguish of that diagnosis. It gave me a warm feeling to see the sparkle in one patient’s eyes—a man with a total laryngectomy—when I asked if he would enjoy a cold beer and went to get him one.
    If one realizes that our time on this earth is but a tiny fraction of that within the cosmos, then life calculated in years may not be as important as we think. Why measure life in heartbeats? When life is so dependent on such an unreliable function as the beating of the heart, then it is fragile indeed. The only thing that one can depend upon with absolute certainty is death.
    I believe that death may be the most important part of life. I believe that life is infinitesimally brief in relation to the immensity of eternity. I believe, because of my religious faith, that I shall "return to the Father" in an afterlife that is beyond description. I believe that though my life was short in years, it was full of experience, joy, love and accomplishment; that my own immortality will reside in the memories of my loved ones left behind, mother, brother, wife, children, dear friends. I believe that I will die with loved ones close by and, one hopes, achieve that great gift of God—death in peace, and with dignity.
Which is the most suitable title for this passage?

选项 A、What is Courage?
B、Why Measure Life in Heartbeats?
C、My Life After Cancer
D、Death: The Most Important Thing

答案B

解析 A选项具有误导性,courage只是文章第一段的引入话题,全文还是围绕生命和死亡展开的;C选项更像是记叙文的标题,而非这类有关人生哲理的文章的标题,且C选项只在文中略有涉及,比较片面;D选项具有迷惑性,作者确实在最后一段提及“death may be the most important part of life”,但是全文不是在说死亡有多么重要,而是叙述应该以怎样的态度对待死亡。B选项“何必以心跳定生死?”恰恰传递出作者对待死亡的态度。所以选项B为答案。
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