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  3. It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in Ca

It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in Ca

游客2025-04-02  15
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, cataracts removed in a 30-minutes 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 author’s attitude toward Richard Lamm’s remark is one of ______.
选项 A、strong disapproval
B、reserved consent
C、slight contempt
D、enthusiastic support
答案 B
解析 本题可参照文章的第3段。从中可知，有人引用前科罗拉多州州长Richard Lamm的话说，年老体弱者“有死亡的义务，应该让开位置”，以便更年轻、更健康者能够实现他们的潜能。第4段接着指出：我不会把话说得那么极端，如今，按照常规来说，精力充沛的人可以工作到60多岁，甚至更晚，而且其创造力令人惊讶。然后举例说明，指出这些领导者都是活生生的证据，证明预防是有效的，证明我们能够处理一些随着年龄自然而来的健康问题。据此可知，作者不太同意Richard Lamm的观点。B项与文章的意思相符，因此B项为正确答案。
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