d fearing loss of hope in the patient — too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified.
In 1950, the US spent $12.7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be $1540 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.
56. What is implied in the first sentence?
[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.
57. The author uses the example of caner patients to show that ________.
[A] medical resources are often wasted
[B] doctors are helpless against fatal diseases
[C] some treatments are too aggressive
[D] medical costs are becoming unaffordable
58. The author's attitude toward Richard Lamm's remark is one of ________.
[A] strong disapproval
[B] reserved consent
[C] slight contempt
[D] enthusiastic support
59. In contras to the US, Japan and Sweden are funding their medical care ________.
[A] more flexibly
[B] more extravagantly
[C] more cautiously
[D] more reasonably
60. The text intends to express the idea that ________.
[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
Section III Part B (每题2分，共10分) Directions:
Read the following
[责任编辑:网络浪子]
- 更多相关此主题的新闻
-
·2008年职称英语考题预测及复习重点 2008-02-21 ·2008年MBA联考英语真题及答案 2008-01-20 ·英语写作综合精练：说写听读都重要 2008-01-05 ·徐绽：08考研英语写作核心精析 2007-12-27 ·考研英语冲刺阶段 词汇复习最重要 2007-12-18 ·2007年全国硕士研究生入学考试英语试题及参 2007-12-13
| 资源站推荐资料 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
一周热点
考研
英语
推荐新闻
- 论坛看点
