考研英語閱讀理解命題思路透析和真題揭秘(39)

It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group's on line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: "We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn't just something that happened in Australia. It's world history."

The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia - where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part - other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.

Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death - probably by a deadly injection or pill - to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54 year old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. "I'm not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I'd go, because I've watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks," he says.

51. From the second paragraph we learn that _____.
[A] the objection to euthanasia is slow to come in other countries
[B] physicians and citizens share the same view on euthanasia
[C] changing technology is chiefly responsible for the hasty passage of the law
[D] it takes time to realize the significance of the law's passage

[答案] D

[解題思路]

文章第二段第一句話指出"The full import may take a while to sink in"，下一句話進一步指出不論是醫(yī)生還是普通市民都要"trying to deal with its moral and practical implications"（力圖從道義和實際意義兩方面來看待這一問題），接下來還提到對這個法案還有很多反對意見，因此D選項符合題意，即人們還需要時間來認識這項法律的重要性。選項中takes time對應(yīng)于該句的take a while，realize對應(yīng)于sink in，而significance對應(yīng)于full import。A選項的表述在原文沒有提及。B選項的錯誤在于該段第二句雖然提到了"physicians and citizens"，但是卻沒有說他們意見一致。C選項的錯誤在于該段第三句批評了該法案的"the haste of passage"，但并無涉及關(guān)于科技發(fā)展的問題。

[題目譯文]

從第二段我們可以得知               。
[A] 其它國家對安樂死的反對出現(xiàn)比較慢
[B] 醫(yī)生和市民們對安樂死持相同觀點
[C] 變化的技術(shù)對于這些法案的草率通過負主要責(zé)任
[D] 認識到這一法律的意義需要時間