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
8
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] The text intends to express the idea that______.
选项
A、medicine will further prolong people’s lives
B、life beyond a certain limit is not worth living
C、death should be accepted as a fact of life
D、excessive demands increase the cost of health care
答案
C
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3299201.html
相关试题推荐
[originaltext]Canada,fortheseventhconsecutiveyear,ranksasthebestplace
[originaltext]Canada,fortheseventhconsecutiveyear,ranksasthebestplace
InwhichyeardidCanadastarttorankasthebestplacetoliveintheworld?[
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
Tosaythatthechildlearnsbyimitationandthatthewaytoteachistoset
Thetranslatormusthaveanexcellent,up-to-dateknowledgeofhis(1)_____l
Thattrumpetplayerwascertainlyloud.ButIwasn’tbotheredbyhisloudness__
Myfatherisasportsfanandheenjoys(swim)______verymuch.swimming本题考查动名词用
[originaltext]M:IamreallygettingworriedaboutMargaret.She’llsitinfor
股权投资基金监管的基本原则主要有()。 Ⅰ.依法监管原则 Ⅱ.高效监管原则
使骨骼肌横桥激活的蛋白质是 A.肌动蛋白B.肌钙蛋白C.肌球蛋白D.原
张三、李四、王五成立天问投资咨询有限公司,张三、李四各以现金50万元出资,王五以
(2020年真题)下列各项中,应在资产负债表“在建工程”项目中列报的有()。A
根据有关规定,建设项目安全预评价由()承担。 A.建设项目设计单位B
最新回复
(
0
)