首页
登录
职称英语
It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in Cal
It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in Cal
游客
2023-12-23
22
管理
问题
It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional Small wonder. Americans’ life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minute surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death, and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.
Death is normal; we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions. We all understand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solved. Shielded by third-party payers from the cost of our care, we demand everything that can possibly be done for us, even if it’s useless. The most obvious example is late-stage cancer care. Physicians—frustrated by their inability to cure the disease and fearing loss of hope in the patient—too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified.
In 1950, the U.S. spent $12.7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be $1,540 billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite resources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age—say 83 or so. Former Colorado governor Richard Lamm has been quoted as saying that the old and infirm "have a duty to die and get out of the way", so that younger, healthier people can realize their potential.
I would not go that far. Energetic people now routinely work through their 60s and beyond, and remain dazzlingly productive. At 78, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone jokingly claims to be 53. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is in her 70s, and former surgeon general C. Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his 80s. These leaders are living proof that prevention works and that we can manage the health problems that come naturally with age. As a mere 68-year-old, I wish to age as productively as they have.
Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. As a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful. I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation, we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people’s lives. [br] What is implied in the first sentence?
选项
A、Americans are better prepared for death than other people.
B、Americans enjoy a higher life quality than ever before.
C、Americans are over-confident of their medical technology.
D、Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy.
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3299197.html
相关试题推荐
[originaltext]Canada,fortheseventhconsecutiveyear,ranksasthebestplace
[originaltext]Canada,fortheseventhconsecutiveyear,ranksasthebestplace
[originaltext]Canada,fortheseventhconsecutiveyear,ranksasthebestplace
InwhichyeardidCanadastarttorankasthebestplacetoliveintheworld?[
InwhichyeardidCanadastarttorankasthebestplacetoliveintheworld?[
InwhichyeardidCanadastarttorankasthebestplacetoliveintheworld?[
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
随机试题
Formanypeopletoday,readingisnolongerrelaxation.Tokeepuptheirwor
TroubleinParadiseValleyAOnonesideoftheargument
Hisplaceis21,000hectares—52,000acresintheoldmoney—andhisfamilyhasbe
ThearchitectoftheWalkieTalkiebuildinginLondonhasadmittedthathep
一个四体并行的低位交叉编址存储器,每个存储体的存取周期为200ns,总线传输周期
当代国际关系错综复杂,我们处理国际问题时,主要( )。 A.按照国际条约决定
()防水涂料是一种刚性防水材料。A、聚氨酯 B、水泥基渗透结晶型 C、JS聚
国民经济中实际存在的部门有:A:消费者B:企业C:政府D:国外E:市场
12岁的小亮因为家里经济状况不好,放学后道饭店打工,饭店老板了解情况后雇佣了他,
(2021年真题)下列网络图,绘图错误有()。 A.有多个终点节点 B.
最新回复
(
0
)