大学英语Book 4 Unit 4教案.docVIP

To Lie or Not To Lie — The Doctor’s Dilemma Sissela Bok Language Points: 1. dilemma: n. a difficult choice to be made between two opportunities e.g. Your proposal really put me in a dilemma. Collocation: on the horns of a dilemma进退维谷 be in a dilemma 进退两难 out of one’s dilemma 走出困境 solve the dilemma摆脱困境 1 Should doctors ever lie to benefit their patients — to speed recovery or to conceal the approach of death? In medicine as in law, government, and other lines of work, the requirements of honesty often seem dwarfed by greater needs: the need to shelter from brutal news or to uphold a promise of secrecy; to expose corruption or to promote the public interest. Notes: the requirements of honesty often seem dwarfed by greater needs: Here the author is pointing out that in a number of professions honesty or truthfulness frequently seems to be of less importance than other attributes. shelter from brutal news: protect others from the shocking /cruel truth. uphold a promise of secrecy: carry out a promise to keep sth. Secret. to expose corruption: （the need）to reveal or make known the dishonest or immortal behavior of those with power. to promote the public interest: Here the author may mean that certain types of information should be kept secret in order to protect the public interest. Comprehension Questions: 1. What is the grammatical function of the sentence after the colon? … greater needs: the need … 这里冒号后面的句子是前面great needs 的同位语。 2. Translate the sentence into Chinese. 医疗行业与法律、政府及其他行业一样，往往对诚实与否的问题看得不那么重要。相比之下要紧的倒是另外一些事情。譬如，应设法避免可怕的消息造成的打击，或是考虑恪守保守秘密的诺言, 或是需要揭露腐败或促进公众利益。 Language Points: 2. dwarf: (n.) a person, animal or plant of much less than the usual size (vt.) cause to appear small by comparison Examples: The newly-built 40-story hotel dwarfs all the other buildings nearby. 3. brutal: very cruel Examples: We have to face the brutal fact that Jim is going to die very soon. 4. uphold: defend or support (a law, system, or principle) Examples: The law upholds