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  3. It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans’ life exp

It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans’ life exp

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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 under-funding research on humbler therapies that could improve people’s lives.
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C
解析 推断题。该题问的是篇首第一句的含义，考查的是考生对比较手法的理解能力。这句话说的是：“据说，在英国死亡是迫在眉睫的，在加拿大(死亡)是不可避免的，在加利福尼亚(死亡)是可以选择的。”从这句话中，我们不难看出美国人的骄傲和狂妄，他们认为美国拥有高端的医疗技术，死亡是可以控制的。所以C项是正确的：“美国人对他们的医疗技术过分自信。”A项毫无道理，事实上，美国人比其他国家的人更害怕死亡，所以不惜投入许多金钱，期望医疗技术能延缓他们的生命。B项是将美国人的现状与过去相比，与篇首的比较句没有关系。D项说的是美国人为他们的寿命长而感到骄傲，也是没有理解原话的意思。原句中用了“optional”一词，不是说死亡会迟迟不来，而是说美国的医疗技术如此发达，人们可以选择什么时候死亡。借助医疗技术，人们可以尽可能延长寿命。所以D项不正确。
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