考研英語真題：閱讀理解試題及名師解析(14)

The Supreme Court's decisions on physician-assisted suicide carry important implications for how medicine seeks to relieve dying patients of pain and suffering。

Although it ruled that there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, the Court in effect supported the medical principle of "double effect", a centuries-old moral principle holding that an action having two effects—a good one that is intended and a harmful one that is foreseen—is permissible if the actor intends only the good effect。

Doctors have used that principle in recent years to justify using high doses of morphine to control terminally ill patients' pain, even though increasing dosages will eventually kill the patient。

Nancy Dubler, director of Montefiore Medical Center, contends that the principle will shield doctors who "until now have very, very strongly insisted that they could not give patients sufficient mediation to control their pain if that might hasten death."

George Annas, chair of the health law department at Boston University, maintains that, as long as a doctor prescribes a drug for a legitimate medical purpose, the doctor has done nothing illegal even if the patient uses the drug to hasten death. "It's like surgery, "he says. "We don't call those deaths homicides because the doctors didn't intend to kill their patients, although they risked their death. If you're a physician, you can risk your patient's suicide as long as you don't intend their suicide."

On another level, many in the medical community acknowledge that the assisted-suicide debate has been fueled in part by the despair of patients for whom modem medicine has prolonged the physical agony of dying。

Just three weeks before the Court's ruling on physician-assisted suicide, the National Academy of Science (NAS) released a two-volume report, Approaching Death: Improving Care at the End of Life. It identifies the undertreatment of pain and the aggressive use of "ineffectual and forced medical procedures that may prolong and even dishonor the period of dying" as the twin problems of end-of-life care。

The profession is taking steps to require young doctors to train in hospices, to test knowledge of aggressive pain management therapies, to develop a Medicare billing code for hospital-based care, and to develop new standards for assessing and treating pain at the end of life。

Annas says lawyers can play a key role in insisting that these well-meaning medical initiatives translate into better care. “Large numbers of physicians seem unconcerned with the pain their patients are needlessly and predictably suffering, ”to the extent that it constitutes “systematic patient abuse�！� He says medical licensing boards “must make it clear ... that painful deaths are presumptively ones that are incompetently managed and should result in license suspension。”

36. From the first three paragraphs, we learn that

[A]doctors used to increase drug dosages to control their patients' pain。

[B]it is still illegal for doctors to help the dying end their lives。

[C]the Supreme Court strongly opposes physician-assisted suicide。

[D]patients have no constitutional right to commit suicide。

37. Which of the following statements its true according to the text?

[A]Doctors will be held guilty if they risk their patients' death。

[B]Modern medicine has assisted terminally ill patients in painless recovery。

[C]The Court ruled that high-dosage pain-relieving medication can be prescribed。

[D]A doctor's medication is no longer justified by his intentions。

38. According to the NAS's report, one of the problems in end-of-life care is

[A]prolonged medical procedures。

[B]inadequate treatment of pain。

[C]systematic drug abuse。

[D]insufficient hospital care。

39. Which of the following best defines the word “aggressive" (line 3, paragraph 7)？

[A]Bold.               [B]Harmful.                [C]Careless.          [D]Desperate。

40. George Annas would probably agree that doctors should be punished if they

[A]manage their patients incompetently。

[B]give patients more medicine than needed。

[C]reduce drug dosages for their patients。

[D]prolong the needless suffering of the patients。

名師解析

36. From the first three paragraphs, we learn that    從前三段我們得知

[A] doctors used to increase drug dosages to control their patients’ pain。

醫(yī)生過去常常增加藥物劑量來控制病人的病痛。

[B] it is still illegal for doctors to help the dying end their lives。

醫(yī)生幫助病危者結(jié)束生命仍然是違法的。

[C] the Supreme Court strongly opposes physician-assisted suicide。

最高法院強烈反對醫(yī)助自殺。

[D] patients have no constitutional right to commit suicide。

病人沒有憲法賦予的自殺權(quán)利。

【答案】  B

【考點】  事實細節(jié)題。

【分析】  本題針對第一到第三段的所有內(nèi)容進行了測試，選項[A]的相關(guān)信息可以定位到第三段，但是文中說“近幾年醫(yī)生才用這個原則為自己的行為辯護”。文中無法得出“過去常�！钡恼f法。選項[B]可以定位到第二段，文中提到“憲法沒有賦予這樣的權(quán)利”。所以可以說，本答案是正確的。選項[C]可以定位到第二段，但是法院是支持這樣的做法的。至于[D]，顯然是錯的。

37. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

根據(jù)文章，下面哪一個說法是正確的？

[A] Doctors will be held guilty if they risk their patients’ death。

如果醫(yī)生冒病人生命的危險，他們將被判有罪。

[B] Modern medicine has assisted terminally ill patients in painless recovery。

現(xiàn)代醫(yī)學已經(jīng)幫助晚期病人進行無痛康復。

[C] The Court ruled that high-dosage pain-relieving medication can be prescribed。

法院判決，醫(yī)生可以開大劑量的鎮(zhèn)疼藥。

[D] A doctor's medication is no longer justified by his intentions。

醫(yī)生用藥是否合法不再取決于他的意圖。

【答案】  C

【考點】  事實細節(jié)題。

【分析】  由于本題屬于事實細節(jié)判斷題，所以只有對每一個選項都進行辨析。選項[A]可以定位到第五段“Annas”的話。話中提到“只要醫(yī)生不是想殺死病人，那么他們的死亡就不能被稱為謀殺”。因此可以判定[A]不正確。[B]說病危者的無痛康復，在文中沒有提到康復問題。[C]可以從第二段中找到，高等法院認為只要醫(yī)生是出于好意，則可以去做。因此可以得出[C]是正確的。[D]錯誤是因為事實上，醫(yī)生的意圖在對于行為是否合法上面是非常重要的。

38. According to the NAS’s report, one of the problems in end-of-life care is

根據(jù)國家科學院(NAS)的報告，臨終護理存在的一個問題是

[A]prolonged medical procedures. 延長了的醫(yī)療過程。

[B]inadequate treatment of pain. 對病痛處理不力。

[C]systematic drug abuse. 一貫的藥物濫用。

[D]insufficient hospital care.   醫(yī)院護理不力。

【答案】  B

【考點】  事實細節(jié)題。

【分析】  本題可以定位到第七段的第二句話中的“the undertreatment of pain”以及“the aggressive use of‘ineffectual and forced medical procedures that may prolong and even dishonor the period of dying’”。一個是“對病人的疼痛治療不力”。另外一個是“強行使用無效的治療方法延長生命，使得病人的晚期失去尊嚴”。因此，這里的答案應該是[C]。

39. Which of the following best defines the word“aggressive”(Line 3, Paragraph 7)？

以下哪一個單詞最好的解釋了單詞“aggressive”(第七段第三行)的意思？

[A]Bold.  大膽的。      [B]Harmful.  有害的。

[C]Careless.  粗心的。  [D]Desperate.  絕望的。

【答案】  A

【考點】  詞義題。

【分析】  這個單詞的所在句“It identifies the undertreatment