Question

    We discuss the issue of when to help a patient die, which was not talked about openly and little was written about it.

The best way to bring the problem into focus is to describe two patients whom I cared for. The first, formerly a nurse, had an automobile accident. And there she was: in coma, on a breathing machine. One day, her husband and son came to see me. They told me their wife and mother was obviously going to die; she was a nurse and had told her family that she never wanted this kind of terrible death, being maintained by machines. I told them that while I respected their view, there was nothing deadly about her situation. The kidney(肾) failure she had was just the kind for which the artificial (人造的) kidney was most effective. While possibly a bit reassured, they were disappointed. Here was the head surgeon seemingly determined to keep everybody alive, no matter what.

Within a few days the patient awoke from her coma. About six months later, the door of my office opened and in walked a gloriously fit woman. After some cheery words of appreciation, the father and son asked to speak to me alone. As soon as the door closed, both men became quite tearful. All that came out was, “We want you to know how wrong we were.”

The second patient was an 85-year-old lady whose hair caught fire while she was smoking. She arrived with a deep burn; I knew it would surely be deadly. At the time, there was a class discussing medical ethics(道德). The instructor asked me if I had any sort of ethical problem I could bring up for discussion. I described the case and asked the students their opinion. After the discussion, I made a remark that was, when looking back, a serious mistake. I said, “I’ll  talk with the nurses before we decide.” The instructor and the students were shocked: “You mean this is a real patient?” The teacher of ethics was not accustomed to being challenged by actuality.

A day or two later, when the lady was making no progress and was suffering terribly, we began to back off in treatment. Soon she died quietly and not in pain. As a reasonable physician, you had better move ahead and do what you would want done for you. And don’t discuss it with the world first. There is a lesson here for everybody. Assisting people to leave this life requires strong judgment and long experience to avoid its misuse.

1.Why were the first patient’s husband and son disappointed at first?

A.Their wife and mother was going to die.

B.The doctor didn’t do as they asked to.

C.Their wife and mother had to receive an artificial kidney.

D.The doctor scolded them for their cruelty.

2.The author discussed with the students________.

A.how to help patients end their lives

B.the importance of saving patients’ lives

C.whether it is ethical to keep a patient alive on a breathing machine

D.the case about an old lady

3.Why was the instructor of ethnics shocked?

A.He had never discussed helping a patient in real life to die.

B.He thought it was cruel to assist the old lady to die.

C.He was not accustomed to talking about ethnical problems.

D.He felt he was challenged by the author.

4.The author suggested that doctors _______ before they assist a patient in killing himself.

A.discuss it with the others first

B.make sure there is no other choice left

C.be required to do so first by the patient

D.give the patient enough medicine

5.Which of the following can best describe the author?

A.Cruel. B.Determined.

C.Professional. D.Considerate.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.B

5.C

【解析】

本文是议论文。文章讨论了“什么时候帮助一个病人死亡”这个话题。作者从医生的角度，通过两个病例告诉我们：只有在没有其他选择的情况下，才能选择帮助病人死亡。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中的They told me their wife and mother was obviously going to die; she was a nurse and had told her family that she never wanted this kind of terrible death, being maintained by machines.可知，病人的丈夫和儿子表示病人不希望靠机器来维持生命。显然，他们来找作者，是希望尊重病人的意愿。根据第二段中的Here was the head surgeon seemingly determined to keep everybody alive, no matter what.可知，主治医师会想尽一切办法让病人活下去。显然，他们的请求没有得到满足，这令他们“失望”。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段中的The second patient was an 85-year-old lady…At the time, there was a class discussing medical ethics(道德). The instructor asked me if I had any sort of ethical problem I could bring up for discussion. I described the case and asked the students their opinion.可知，作者和学生们讨论的是关于第二个病人的病例。故选D。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的 “After the discussion, I made a remark that was, when looking back, a serious mistake. I said, “I’ll talk with the nurses before we decide.” The instructor and the students were shocked: “You mean this is a real patient?””可知，作者告诉老师和学生，他们在决定是否帮助第二位病人死亡之前，他们会和护士先谈一谈。老师和学生对此都很惊讶，不敢相信作者提到的是真实的病人。由此推之，这位老师和他的学生们之前从未讨论过在现实生活中帮助病人死亡这样的伦理问题。因此他们对于作者提到的病例感到震惊。A（他从未讨论过在现实生活中帮助病人死亡）表达了此意。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中的Assisting people to leave this life requires strong judgment and long experience to avoid its misuse.可知，帮助人们离开这个世界需要很强的判断力和长期的经验，这样才能避免误用。即：只有在没有其他选择的情况下，才能选择帮助病人死亡。B（确保没有其他选择了）表达了该意。故选B。

5.推理判断题。根据第二段中的The best way to bring the problem into focus is to describe two patients whom I cared for.，第三段中的I’ll talk with the nurses before we decide.，最后一段中的As a reasonable physician, you had better move ahead可知，作者是作为一名外科医生来探讨“什么时候要帮助一名病人死亡”这个话题的。也就是说，作者是非常“专业的”。故选C。