专家提醒 老年人当心下肢浮肿

Lesson Four 　Die as You Choose自己选择死亡方式 Lesson Four 　Die as You Choose自己选择死亡方式 制定关于安乐死的法律已经到了不能再回避的地步。 The need for laws on euthanasia cannot be dodged for much longer. 在世界上某个较小的国家里，安乐死被医疗机构普遍接受，每年都有数千例公开实施。 In one of the world’s smaller countries, mercy-killing is accepted by the medical establishment and openly practiced a few thousand times each year. 而在某个世界大国，安乐死虽然经常受到医疗机构的公开谴责，每年却以数倍于此的次数秘密实施，且从未公之于众。 In one of the world’s biggest countries, euthanasia is condemned by the medical establishment, secretly practiced many times more often, and almost never comes to light. 但是，在上述那个国家有医生因为实施安乐死而在监狱里服刑呢？ Which of these countries has a mercy-killing doctor now languishing in its jails? 是在小国荷兰。荷兰制定了有关安乐死的法律，能有效地管理它。 It is the small one, Holland, which has rules for euthanasia and so can police it effectively. 那位荷兰的医生违反了他国家的规定。 The Dutch doctor broke his country’s rules. 有关安乐死的问题在所有国家都存在，决不仅出现在美国这个禁止安乐死的大国。 There is a moral here for all the countries, and not just for the big death-forbidding country, America. 目前美国正再次展开有关安乐死的辩论。 Right now it is going over the arguments about euthanasia once again. 美国医学协会会刊1月份发表了一封非同寻常的来信。一位医生在信中宣称自己按照病人的意愿，杀死了一位身患癌症的20岁女孩。 In January the Journal of the American Medical Association published a bizarre letter, in which an anonymous doctor claimed to have killed a 20-year-old cancer patient at her own request. 这件事引起了一场辩论，而这场辩论将轰轰烈烈地持续到秋季，那时加利福尼亚州可能会就一项使安乐死合法化的法律进行投票表决。 This started a debate that will rumble on into the autumn, when Californians may vote on a proposed law legalizing euthanasia. 这封信可能是为了起到引发争论的效果，内容并不可信。 The letter was probably written for polemical impact. It is scarcely credible. 是作者自己在信中声称他（或她）第一次与那位得了癌症的病人见面，听到病人说出5个字——“让我去死吧”——然后就杀了她。 It’s author claims that he met the cancer patient for the first time, heard five words from her – “Let’s get this over with” – then killer her. 即使是极端的安乐死支持者也不赞成在这种情况下采取如此做法。 Even the most extreme proponents of euthanasia do not support such an action in those circumstances. 然而，医疗上出现的可怕事件如洪水猛兽一般，并不比安乐死的情况更好。它们无疑会在英美以及其他国家中继续肆虐，几乎成了令人恐怖的常规。 Yet medical monstrosities that are hardly any better undoubtedly continue, almost as a matter of macabre routine, in America, Britain and many other countries. 一些医生私下透露他们有时会故意杀死病人，这样的情况非常普遍，令人担忧。 It is disturbingly easy to find doctors who will say, in private, that they sometimes kill patients on purpose. 多数医生说他们知道其他医生也有同样的行为，但是因为即使在病人乞求他们的时候，医生也几乎不能与病人公开讨论安乐死，因此医生往往倾向于仅在要死的人处于垂危昏迷之际而无法表达是否同意安乐死时，才结束其生命。 Most say that know somebody else who does. But because they can rarely discuss euthanasia openly with patients – even when those patients beg them for it – doctors tend to kill only when the dying are too far gone to consent. 由于自愿安乐死受到禁止，就只能由医生自行作出决定了，病人会在夜间受到药物注射而非自愿地离开人世。 Thus, because voluntary euthanasia is taboo, a doctor makes the decision himself – and the patient is killed involuntarily in the night with a syringe. 这是不使安乐死公开的代价。 That is one price of keeping euthanasia secret. 如果所有形式的安乐死都是错误的，那就应该统统列入禁止之列。 If all forms of mercy-killing are wrong, they should remain taboo. 可情况果真如此吗？ But are they? 许多人都认为依靠医学技术来延续生命带给人的痛苦是令人悲哀、可憎可恶的，完全不顾人的尊严，因此被动的安乐死——让病人自行死亡——被人们普遍接受。 Because many people accept that it is sad, undignified and gruesome to prolong the throes of death will all the might of medical technology, passive euthanasia – letting patients die – is widely accepted. 美国大多数州都有关于“活遗嘱”的法规，为医生提供保护。如果医生没有尽力救助曾声明不想延续生命的病人，不会为此受到起诉。 Most American states have “living – will” legislation that protects doctors from prosecution if they do not try to save someone who has said he does not want life prolonged. 主动的安乐死——杀死病人——却依然争论颇多。 Active euthanasia – killing – remains controversial. 将人杀死与让人死亡之间的界线还能维持多久呢？ How long can the distinction between killing and letting die hold out? 正如因未履行某种职责受到处罚一样，人也可能因干了某事而不受责难。 Just as there can be culpable omissions, so too can there be blameless acts. 让我们从道德伦理著作中举例。假定一个人会从某个孩子的死亡中获益，当这个孩子在浴缸中撞伤头部而失去知觉时，那个人视而不见，任其溺水身亡。 Suppose – to take an example from the moral philosophy books – that a man stands to gain from the death of a certain child. The child strikes his head in the bath and falls unconscious. The man sits down and watches him drown. 虽然这个人什么都没有做，但他并不能因此开脱罪责。 The fact that the man has performed no action does not excuse him. 同样，再假设为了缩短而不是延长死亡到来的时间，医生终止某种治疗是无可指责的做法，那么如果这位医生使用足够的镇痛剂致使病人死亡，他就一定大错特错吗？ Similarly, suppose that a doctor does no wrong by withholding some treatment in order that death should come sooner rather than later. Is he then necessarily wrong if he administers enough painkillers to kill? 这位医生采取了某种行动，而不是未尽某种职责，这会使他有罪吗？ Does the fact that the doctor performed an action, rather than an omission, condemn him? 许多医生一直在为解除病人临终前的痛苦而奋斗着。他们认为在病人请求安乐死时，根本无法截然区分被动与主动的安乐死。 Many doctors working on the battlefield of terminal suffering think that only squeamishness demands a firm difference between passive and active euthanasia on request. 他们赞成医生杀死病人的理由是：医生的职责之一就是使病人免遭痛苦，这是医生所做的全部事情，而杀死病人则是做到这一点的惟一办法。 Their argument for killing goes like this: one of a doctor’s duties is to prevent suffering; sometimes that is all there is left for him to do, and killing is the only way to do it. 这个观点并不新颖。当希波克拉底为医生制定信条的时候，曾明确禁止安乐死，而多数其他希腊医生和思想家都不赞成这一禁令。 There is nothing new in this view. When Hippocrates formulated his oath for doctors, which explicitly rules out active killing, most other Greek doctors and thinkers disagreed with his ban. 前事不忘，后事之师。 Let the past be a guide. 有人认为死亡的时间是上帝安排的，任何人不得缩短他人的生命，然而假如一位病人的人生观使其接受安乐死，那么人们不禁要问：为什么其他人还要用不同的宗教观念去干预其死亡呢？ Some people believe that the time of death is appointed by God and that no man should put the clock back on another. Yet if a patient’s philosophical views embrace euthanasia, it is not clear why the religious objections of others should intrude on his death. 另一个令人担忧问题是，有关安乐死的法律体系允许医生在规定的情况下按照垂死病人的请求实施安乐死，就可能为杀人首开先例，从而危害社会。 Another worry is that a legal framework for euthanasia, permitting a doctor to comply with a dying man’s request in a prescribed set of circumstances, might pose dangers for society by setting a precedent for killing. 这个问题取决于社会。 That depends on the society. 尽管有不同，荷兰对建立这样的法律体系已经准备就绪。 Holland, arguably, is ready for it. 当年就是荷兰医生英勇无比地顶住了压力，拒绝参与使安乐死声名狼藉的纳粹用人体进行医学实验的暴行，这恐怕不是巧合。 It is probably no coincidence that it was Dutch doctors who most heroically resisted pressure to join in the Nazi medical atrocities that have given euthanasia its worst name. 这些医生对个人自由坚定不移的尊重使他们没有杀害渴望活下去的健康人。今天正是同样的精神又使他们去帮助不愿活下去的垂危病人。 The same tenacious respect for individual liberty that stopped them killing healthy people, who did not want to die, now lets them help dying people who do. 与之相反，西德在未来相当长的时间里都无法使任何形式的安乐死合法化。 West Germany, by contrast, will not be able to legalize any form of euthanasia for a long time to come. 由于历史的阴影反对安乐死的力量异常强大，在那些近年来自由意志的传统未受任何干扰的国家里，为自愿安乐死制定有限的规定并不会使人们产生太多的恐惧。 Opposition is too fierce, because of the shadow of the past. Countries with an uninterrupted recent libertarian tradition have less to fear from setting some limited rules for voluntary euthanasia. 拒绝讨论这个问题会使情况更加糟糕。 By refusing to discuss it, they usher in something worse. 1. dodge : avoid , evade or elude 逃避. 如; He was accused of dodging his taxes. 他被指控逃税. You shouldn't dodge your responsibilities. 你不能回避责任 move aside suddenly突然闪开. 如: I dodged out of the way when he threw a chair at me. 他将椅子向我扔来的时候,我急忙闪开. 2. condemn: express an unfavorable judgment or opinion of 谴责. 如: We condemned empty talk instead of hard work.我们谴责只说空话不务实的行为. 3. to come to light : to be discovered or revealed 暴露. 如; On investigation some new facts came to light. 一经调查,一些新的事实就被暴露了. It has now come to light that he was financially backed by some interest group. 人们刚刚得知,他受到了某个利益集团的经济支持. 4. languish : 1) become feeble ;droop ; lose liveliness or the will to do things凋萎,有气无力. 如; languish from the heat /in prison/ in his dull job 由于天气炎热/坐牢/工作乏味而萎靡不振. 2) suffer from a feeling of longing 苦思. 如; languish for some kind words/her love 苦苦期盼一些安慰的话语/她的爱. 5. Moral: the moral teaching or practical lesson continued in a fable, tale, experience, etc. 寓意. 如; There is a moral to the story. 这个故事有个寓意. 6. bizarre : unusual in appearance, style , or characters 外貌,风格或性格怪异. 如; a bizarre coincidence一次奇怪的巧合;his bizarre behavior 他怪异的行为. 7. at her own request 根据她本人的要求. 另如: He wrote this book at the request of his... 他根据......的要求写了那本书. 8. vote on : 就......进行表决. 如: Let's vote on this issue, since we can't agree. 既然我们不能达成一致意见,就来投票表决吧. 9. in private : not publicly , secretly 私下. 如: Such a thing is best discussed in private. 这种事情最好私下讨论. He can be very rube in private, though he is usually polite in public. 他私下可能很粗鲁,但在大众 面前通常彬彬有礼. 10. Taboo adj. 忌讳的, 禁止的. 如: This topic is taboo on the campus. 校园里忌讳讨论这个话题. 11. A. prolong: cause sth. to continue longer 延长. 如: I have to prolong my stay here for another three days. 我必须在这里继续呆三天 You should not have prolonged the ceremony. 你本不该延长仪式的时间. B. throes: agony 痛苦. 如; in death throes 处于临终痛苦. 12. hold out : continue to last 坚持,挺住. 如: Can you hold out much longer? 你能再坚持一段时间吗? 13. administer to apple as a remedy 施用. 如: administer laws 执行法律. The doctor administered some me medicine to the girl. 医生给女孩施用了一些药. 14. comply with : act in accordance with wishes , requirements or conditions 遵守(意愿,要求或条 件等). 如; You ought to comply with the rules /the demands/ the law/ the requests. 你应该遵守规章/命令/法律/要求. 15. pose danger 造成危险. Pose: cause sth. to exist 导致产生. 另如: pose problems 引起问题. 16. by contrast 相比之下. By contrast, his brother is quite easygoing. 相比之下,他的兄弟比较好相处. 17. usher in : herald 预报,宣告. 如; usher in a new age of prosperity 宣告新的繁荣时期的到来. The rising sun ushered in a new day. 太阳的升起宣告新的一天开始了. The cuckoo ushered in spring. 布谷鸟宣布春天到来. 考点精析 # The need for laws on euthanasia can not be dodged for much longer . dodge v. move quickly to one side to avoid something . 闪避,躲避 eg: I dodged behind a tree so that he should not see me . 我躲在树后使他看不见我. n. quick movement to evade something 躲闪 eg: He made a sudden dodge to the left . 他突然向左一闪. # Euthanasia is condemned by the medical establishment condemn v. express strong disapproval of someone or some action 责备,谴责 eg : Most people are willing to condemn violence of any sort . 大部分人都极力谴责暴力. # Right now it is going over the arguments about euthanasia once again . argument n. disagreement , quarrel 意见不合, 争论 eg: The player had an argument with the referee. 运动员和裁判员进行了争论. argue v. express disagreement 争论,争吵 eg: Don't argue with me , my decision is final . 不要跟我争论, 这已经是我的最后决定了. arguable adj. that can be argued about 可争论的,可讨论的 eg: This question is still arguable .这个问题还可以讨论. # In which an anonymous doctor claimed to have killed a 20-year-old cancer patient at her own request . anonymous adj. without a name or with a name that is not made known 无名的,匿名的 eg: an anonymous letter 匿名信 an author who remains anonymous 一直不知名的作家 # Its author claims that he ( or she ) met the cancer patient for the first time . claim v. 1. state or assert 声称 2.demand or request 索要 eg : 1. Don't claim to know what you don't know . 不要强不知以为知 2. Has anyone claimed this watch ?有人来领这只表吗? # When Californians may vote on a proposed law legalizing euthanasia . legalize v. make lawful 使合法 eg : They legalize the sale of alcoholic drinks by doing so .他们这样做使贩酒合法化了. legal adj. allowed or made by law , lawful 法律上的, 合法的, 法定的 eg : Is euthanasia legal ? 安乐死合法吗? # active euthanasia -killing remains controversial . controversial adj. likely to cause argument or disagreement 引起争论的 eg : This is the controversial book . 这就是引起许多争论的那本书. controversy n. urgument about something over which there is much disagreement 争论 eg : The point in controversy is not whether we should do it , but whether we can do it . 争论的焦点不是我们该不该做, 而是我们能不能做. # It is not clear why the religious objections of others should intrude on his death . intrude v. enter without invitation 强行进入 eg: I hope I am not intruding .我希望没有打扰你. intrusion n. the act of intruding 闯入, 侵扰 eg : This is an intrusion upon other people's time . 这是侵扰别人的时间. intrusive adj. of or concerning intrusion 侵扰的 eg: It is intrusive to go into other people's privacy . 走进别人的隐私是一种侵扰. # Countries with an uninterrupted recent libertarian tradition have less to fear from setting some limited rules for voluntary euthanasia . libertarian n. a person who stands for freedom in matters of thought , religion , etc 自由论者 @ and almost never comes to light come to light : become known , be levealed or discovered 公布于众 eg : 1.At last his bribable behaviour came to light . 最后他的受贿行为被公布于众. 2. The result of the election came to light last week . 选举结果上周公布于众. @ Right now it is going over teh arguments about euthanasia once again . go over : examine the details of 检查细节 eg : 1.We must go over the accounts carefully before we settle them . 在结帐以前,我们必须将账目仔细核对一番. 2. Go over your homework carefully before you hand in . 交作业之前仔细检查一下. @ ...that will rumble on into the autumn . the debate will continue till the autumn . @ The letter was probably written for polemical impact . The purpose of the letter was to result in argument . @ the most extreme proponents of euthanasia ... those who support are in favour of euthanasia to the extreme. @ ...that protects doctors from prosecution ... protect from : keep safe from danger, guard 保护 eg : 1. He raised his arm to protect his face from the blow .他举起手臂挡住脸免受拳击. 2.You need more clothes to protect you from the cold . 你需要多穿衣服,以免着凉. @ How long can the distinction between killing and letting die hold out ? hold out : last 持续 eg: 1. I think the car will hold out till we reach landon . 我想这部车可以支持我们抵达伦敦. 2.He held out against the wind for three hours . 他在大风中坚持了三个小时. @ that a man stands to gain from the death of a certain child . stand to gain : be in a position where one is likely to win , etc. 获胜,盈利 eg: 1.what do they stand to gain by the agreement ? 依照合约,他们会得到何种利益? 2. They stand to gain nothing in this transction . 这笔交易他们几乎没有获利. @ Which explicitly rules out active killing . rule out : get rid of 排除,取消 eg: 1.Bad weather ruled the excursion out for that day . 恶劣的天气使那天不能出游. 2.Illness can't be ruled out . 不能排除生病的可能性. @ ...why the religious objections of others should intrude on his death . intrude on : get involved in a person's private affairs 闯入,强加 eg: 1. intrude one's views on others 把自已的意见强加于人. 2.intrude on a person's privacy 侵扰一个人的隐私 @ permitting a doctor to comply with a dying man's request comply with : act in accordance with 依从,顺从 eg: 1. Everyone must comply with the rules . 每个人都必须遵守规则. 2. You must comply with the library rules . 你必须遵守图书馆的规则. @ might pose dangers for society pose: create , give rise to 造成,带来 eg: 1.The increasing number of students poses many new problems for the universities . 学生人数的增加给大学带来许多新问题. 2.You have posed us an awkward question . 你给我们提出了一个困难的问题. @ They usher in something wrose . usher in : herald , announce 预示 eg: 1.The change of government ushered in a period of prosperity . 政府的变动预示着一个繁荣时期的到来. 2.Rain ushered in the summer . 雨带来了夏季. vade, dodge       evade: get or keep out of the way of 避开，躲避        The thief evaded the police by dodging into the an alley. 小偷         躲进巷子里以避开警察。       dodge: move quickly in order to avoid 闪开，躲开        He dodged to left and right as the gunman opened fire. 持枪歹徒         开火时他东躲西闪。     ---------------------------------------------------------------------     drown out, stop       drown out: be louder than another sound and prevent it being                  heard 淹没        She turned up the radio to drown out the noise of traffic.         她放大收音机的音量以压过来往车辆的噪声。       stop: prevent sb from doing sth 阻止，阻碍        You can’t stop our going if we want to. 如果我们要去，你是阻         止不了的。     ---------------------------------------------------------------------     intrude, invade       intrude: come in when not wanted 打搅，侵扰        I don’t wish to intrude, but could I talk to you for a         moment? 我无意打搅你，不过我可以跟你谈一会儿吗？       invade: enter with armed force in order to attack 侵犯，侵入        These countries have been ruthlessly invaded. 这些国家受到         无情地侵犯。     ---------------------------------------------------------------------     omission, exclusion       omission: action of omitting or leaving out sth 忽略，省略        The play was shortened by the omission of two scenes. 该剧         被删去两场而缩短了。       exclusion: action of excluding 排斥，排除在外        His exclusion from the club hurt him very much. 不让他加入         俱乐部使他很伤心。     ---------------------------------------------------------------------     oath, promise       oath: solemn promise to do sth 誓言，宣誓        There is a standard form of oath used in lawcourts. 法庭中         使用的誓词有固定的格式。       promise: declaration that one will do sth 承诺，诺言        We received many promises of help. 许多人答应帮助我们。     ---------------------------------------------------------------------     prevent, withhold       prevent: stop or hinder 阻止，妨碍        Your prompt action prevented a serious accident. 你动作敏捷         因而防止一次严重事故。       withhold: refuse to give, keep back 拒绝给，保留        The board has decided to withhold part of their grant money         from certain students.董事会决定不发给某些学生部分助学金。     ---------------------------------------------------------------------     debatable, arguable       debatable: not certain, open to question 不肯定的，可争议的        It is debatable whether or not the reforms have improved         conditions.改革是否改善了现状，这个问题仍有争议。       arguable: questionable， doubtful in some degree 有问题的，可疑的        That their decision is the best one is arguable. 他们的决定         最佳有待商榷。     ---------------------------------------------------------------------     credible, believable       credible: that can be believed 可信的，可靠的        The news report is hardly credible. 新闻报导简直难以置信。        He is a credible witness. 他是个可信的证人。       believable: that can be believed 可信的（不作定语）        His story is hardly believable. 他的话不大可信。