1997 Passage 1

?　　It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group's on-line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: "We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn't just something that happened in Australia. It's world history."

　　The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally Ill law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia — where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part — other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right-to-die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.

　　Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death — probably by a deadly injection or pill — to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally Ill law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. "I'm not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I'd go, because I've watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks," he says.

51. From the second paragraph we learn that ________.
　　[A] the objection to euthanasia is slow to come in other countries
　　[B] physicians and citizens share the same view on euthanasia
　　[C] changing technology is chiefly responsible for the hasty passage of the law
　　[D] it takes time to realize the significance of the law's passage

52. When the author says that observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling, he means ________.
　　[A] observers are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the future of euthanasia
　　[B] similar bills are likely to be passed in the US, Canada and other countries
　　[C] observers are waiting to see the result of the game of dominoes
　　[D] the effect-taking process of the passed bill may finally come to a stop

53. When Lloyd Nickson dies, he will ________.
　　[A] face his death with calm characteristic of euthanasia
　　[B] experience the suffering of a lung cancer patient
　　[C] have an intense fear of terrible suffering
　　[D] undergo a cooling off period of seven days

54. The author's attitude towards euthanasia seems to be that of ________.
　　[A] opposition
　　[B] suspicion
　　[C] approval
　　[D] indifference

重點(diǎn)詞匯：

parliamentary /7pB:lE5mentEri/ （議會(huì)的，國會(huì)的）←parliament+ary。A parliament is nothing less than a big meeting of more or less idle people.議會(huì)無非是多少有些懶散的人們的一個(gè)大聚會(huì)。parliament — the longest running farce in the West End 議會(huì)——倫敦西區(qū)連續(xù)演出時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)的鬧劇。

incurably /in5kjuErEbli/ （不可治地）即in+cur+ably，in-否定前綴，cur詞根“治療”，-ably可……地；形容詞形式為incurable←in+cur+able。a incurably disease 不治之癥。

bulletin /5bulitin/ （布告）可看作bullet+in，“留有彈痕的布告”，如圖（偶用PS做的 ）：

euthanasia /7ju:WE5neiziE/ （安樂死）看作eu+than+asia，eu諧音“已有”，than比，asia亞洲，“安樂死在亞洲之外的地方已有了”。euthanasia — ①a way of putting old people out of their family's misery ②never having to tell your parents you're sorry 安樂死——①將老人從家庭的痛苦中解脫出來 ②絕對(duì)不必向父母道歉。

domino /5dCminEu/ （多米諾骨牌）用諧音記。

diagnose /5daiE^nEuz/ （v.診斷）←diag+nose，diag看作dog（元音替換），nose鼻子，“狗鼻子”→聞（聯(lián)想中醫(yī)之“望聞問切”）→診斷。

certificate /sE5tifikit/ （證書）即certif(y)+ic+ate，certify證明，-ic形容詞后綴，-ate作名詞后綴表“物”，于是“具證明性質(zhì)的東西”→證書。I must discard riches, the certificate of slavery.我必須拋棄財(cái)富這張奴隸證書。

objection /Eb5dVekFEn/ （反對(duì)）即ob+ject+ion，ob-前綴“朝向”，ject詞根“投擲”，-ion名詞后綴，“向別人扔?xùn)|西”→反對(duì)。同根詞：reject→re(=back)+ject→扔回去→拒絕；inject→in+ject→向里扔→注入。All poets pretend to write for immortality, but he whole tribe have no objection to present pay and present praise.所有詩人都自稱是為不巧的名聲而寫作，可這些家伙對(duì)眼前的稿酬與眼前的贊揚(yáng)卻全無異議。

sink in 被了解；cool off 使冷靜。

難句解析：

①After six months of arguing and final 16hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die.
▲句子的主體結(jié)構(gòu)是Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority...，其中，句首是表示時(shí)間的介詞詞組作狀語：after six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates，后面的動(dòng)詞不定式to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die相當(dāng)于定語從句which allows doctors to...，修飾legal authority，who引導(dǎo)定語從句who wish to die修飾前面的patients。
△理解句子的關(guān)鍵在于剔除龐雜的修飾成分，抓住句子的主干。

②Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill land the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back.
▲第一句話中，有用逗號(hào)松散地連接的兩個(gè)表示對(duì)比的句子：Some have breathed... others... bitterly attacked...，其中others之后是介詞詞組：including churches，right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association對(duì)others進(jìn)行進(jìn)一步的解釋。its passage中的its指代前面提到的the bill。第二句使用了被動(dòng)語態(tài)，與第一句是轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系。
△tide本意是“潮水，潮汐”的意思，這里的引申含義是“趨勢(shì)，趨向”；turn the tide使形式轉(zhuǎn)變，改變局面。bill這里是“法案”的意思。另外要理解some和others的對(duì)比關(guān)系。

③In Australia — where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part — other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia.
▲這個(gè)句子的主體結(jié)構(gòu)是... other states are going to consider...。句首的In Australia是介詞詞組表示地點(diǎn)狀語，后面where引導(dǎo)定語從句where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part，進(jìn)一步解釋Australia的具體情況。
△注意破折號(hào)中說各種因素都發(fā)揮了作用，是指對(duì)其它州考慮制定關(guān)于安樂死的法律這件事而言的。另外注意consider的用法，consider后面一般接v.-ing的形式或that引導(dǎo)的賓語從句。

④After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met.
▲兩個(gè)句子都是簡(jiǎn)單句。第一句中前面是介詞詞組作時(shí)間狀語：After a "cooling off" period of seven days。第二句使用了被動(dòng)語態(tài)。
△"cooling off"這里是指“給病人充足的考慮時(shí)間以做出冷靜的決定”。meet這里是“滿足”的意思，可以和demand，need，requirement等和wish類似的詞連用。

試題解析：

51. [D] 意為：理解該法獲批準(zhǔn)的意義尚需要時(shí)間。
　　第二段第一句是該段的主題句，該句意為：其（即這一立法的）整體含義(import)可能需要一段時(shí)間才為人徹底理解(sink in)。其實(shí)，該段的第二句是對(duì)第一句更具體的闡釋，該句可譯為：北部地方州（此處NT是Northern Territory的縮略形式，指澳大利亞中北部地區(qū)）晚期病人權(quán)利法的批準(zhǔn)使醫(yī)生和普通人都在思索其道義與實(shí)踐方面的含義。本段下文提到了支持和反對(duì)該法的兩種觀點(diǎn)。
　　A意為：在（除澳大利亞以外的）其他國家，對(duì)安樂死的反對(duì)意見緩慢而至。這一點(diǎn)該段沒有提到。實(shí)際上，聽到該法批準(zhǔn)后，遠(yuǎn)在美國和加拿大的人也很快作出了反應(yīng)。
　　B意為：在安樂死這一問題上，醫(yī)生和普通人觀點(diǎn)相同。正像該段第三句所指出的，對(duì)于該法的批準(zhǔn)，意見分歧很大。有些人松了口氣，而有些人——包括教堂、保衛(wèi)生命權(quán)益組織與澳大利亞醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)——對(duì)該法進(jìn)行激烈的抨擊，認(rèn)為它的批準(zhǔn)過于倉促。
　　C意為：技術(shù)（條件）的變化應(yīng)對(duì)該法的倉促批準(zhǔn)負(fù)主要責(zé)任。該段第五句意為：在澳大利亞，其他州也將考慮通過制定同樣的一項(xiàng)法律來解決安樂死問題，而促成這一形勢(shì)的是澳大利亞老化的人口、生命延續(xù)技術(shù)、正在變化的社會(huì)態(tài)度等因素?？梢?，這與C所表達(dá)的內(nèi)容不一樣。

52. [B] 意為：美國、加拿大及其他國家也可能批準(zhǔn)類似法律。
　　第二段最后一句指出，在美國和加拿大“死之權(quán)利”運(yùn)動(dòng)正在集結(jié)力量，觀望者正在等待多米諾骨牌開始傾倒。多米諾骨牌是一種西洋骨牌游戲；游戲中將許多長(zhǎng)方形的骨牌豎立排列成行，碰倒第一張時(shí)，其余骨牌將依次紛紛倒下。用于比喻時(shí)，這種游戲指一系列的連鎖反應(yīng)，即：牽一發(fā)而動(dòng)全身。這里喻指：澳大利亞的形勢(shì)會(huì)波及北美等國家，引起類似的做法。
　　A意為：觀察者對(duì)安樂死的未來持觀望態(tài)度。根據(jù)對(duì)B的分析，觀察者等待的是是否美、加等國會(huì)在對(duì)安樂死的態(tài)度方面步澳之后塵，通過類似立法，而并非是指他們對(duì)安樂死態(tài)度暖昧、莫衷一是。
　　C意為：觀察者正等待看多米諾游戲的結(jié)果。這種解釋未免太拘泥于字面的意思。
　　D意為：所批準(zhǔn)的法案的影響也許會(huì)最終停止。與原文不符。

53. [A] 意為：死時(shí)表現(xiàn)出安樂死的平靜特征。
　　這實(shí)際上是說他將采用安樂死的方式離開人世。第三段提到，住在達(dá)爾文市（位于北部地方州）的尼克森患肺癌，對(duì)他來說，允許安樂死的法案的批準(zhǔn)意味著他可以心情平靜地生活，而無需懼怕將要遭受的死亡的折磨：由死時(shí)所產(chǎn)生的呼吸困難所帶來的痛苦折磨。他說：從思想認(rèn)識(shí)上講，我并不怕死，但是，我怕的是如何死去，因?yàn)槲以H眼目睹過醫(yī)院的病人死時(shí)由缺氧而掙扎并抓撓氧氣罩的情景。從以上的分析可以看出，尼克森先生知道自己已患絕癥并依法為自己選擇安樂死的方式告別人世。
　　B意為：經(jīng)歷肺癌病人所要遭受的痛苦。不對(duì)，相反，尼克森將會(huì)平靜死去。
　　C意為：對(duì)痛苦的折磨極度恐懼。
　　D意為：將經(jīng)歷7天的平靜階段。第三段指出，根據(jù)北部地區(qū)新通過的法律，要求安樂死的病人必須具備以下條件：1)該病人必須由兩名醫(yī)生診斷為晚期病人；2)平靜考慮7天后，病人簽署一個(gè)申請(qǐng)證書；3)48小時(shí)后再給病人實(shí)行安樂死?？梢?，這里所說的“平靜”7天是讓病人（及其家庭）平靜、認(rèn)真地考慮一下是否選擇采用安樂死這一形式。

54. [C] 意為；贊同。
　　這是一篇新聞體文章，在新聞體文章中，寫作者往往通過引用相關(guān)者的觀點(diǎn)來結(jié)束討論，并將自己的態(tài)度通過引用間接地表述出來。本文以尼克森的話結(jié)束了對(duì)安樂死的討論，而尼克森是安樂死的支持者。另外，文章的大部分文字陳述了對(duì)安樂死法案的褒揚(yáng)態(tài)度，而反對(duì)態(tài)度卻一帶而過。從這兩方面來看，作者對(duì)安樂死持贊同態(tài)度。
　　A意為：反對(duì)。
　　B意為：懷疑。
　　D意為：不關(guān)心。

全文翻譯：

　　凌晨3:45進(jìn)行了最終表決。經(jīng)過6個(gè)月爭(zhēng)論和最后16個(gè)小時(shí)的國會(huì)激烈辯論，澳大利亞北部地區(qū)（澳北州）成為世界上第一個(gè)允許醫(yī)生根據(jù)絕癥病人個(gè)人意愿來結(jié)束其生命的合法當(dāng)局。這一法案是以令人信服的15票對(duì)10票通過。幾乎同時(shí)，該消息就出現(xiàn)在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上。身處地球另一端的加拿大死亡權(quán)利執(zhí)行主席約翰·霍夫塞斯在收到該消息后便通過協(xié)會(huì)的在線服務(wù)“死亡之網(wǎng)”發(fā)了公告。他說：“我們整天都在發(fā)布公告，因?yàn)檫@件事的意義不在于它是在澳大利亞發(fā)生的事情，而是因?yàn)檫@是世界歷史的一件大事。”
　　要充分理解這一法案的深刻意義可能需要一段時(shí)間。澳北州晚期病人權(quán)利法使得無論是內(nèi)科醫(yī)生還是普通市民都同樣地力圖從道義和實(shí)際意義兩方面來對(duì)待這一問題。一些人如釋重負(fù)，另一些人，包括教會(huì)，生命權(quán)利組織以及澳大利亞醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)成員都對(duì)這一決議及其倉促的通過進(jìn)行了猛烈的抨擊。但這一潮流已無法逆轉(zhuǎn)。在澳大利亞，人口老齡化，延長(zhǎng)壽命技術(shù)和公眾態(tài)度的變化都發(fā)揮著各自的作用。其他州也將考慮制定類似的法律來處理安樂死問題。在美國和加拿大，死亡權(quán)利運(yùn)動(dòng)正在積蓄力量。觀察家們正在等待多米諾骨牌產(chǎn)生的效應(yīng)。
　　根據(jù)澳北州所通過的這項(xiàng)新法案，成年病人可以要求安樂死——可能是通過注射致死藥劑或服用致死藥片——來結(jié)束痛苦。但此前病人必須由兩名醫(yī)生診斷其確實(shí)已病入膏肓，然后再經(jīng)過7天的冷靜思考期，方可簽署一份申請(qǐng)證明。48小時(shí)后，才可以滿足其安樂死的愿望。對(duì)于居住于達(dá)爾文現(xiàn)年54歲的肺癌患者利奧德·尼克森來說，這個(gè)法律意味著他可以平靜地生活下去而無須整天懼怕即將來臨的苦難：因呼吸困難而在煎熬中痛苦地死去。“從思想上說，我并不害怕死，但我怕的是怎樣死，因?yàn)槲以卺t(yī)院看到過病人在缺氧時(shí)苦苦掙扎，用手抓他們的面罩時(shí)的情景。”他說。