2004年一月真题.docVIP

PartⅡ Reading Comprehension (55minutes, 40points) Directions： There are four passages in this part． Each of the passages is followed by five Questions or unfinished statements． For each of them there are four choices marked A， B，C and D．Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWERSHEET with a single line through the center． Passage One ln ancient Greek，the term euthanasia meant “easy death”．Today euthanasia(安乐死) generally refers to mercy killing， the vo1untary(自愿)ending of the 1ife of someone who is terminally ill．Like abortion，euthanasia has become a legal，medical，and moral issue over which opinion is divided． Euthanasia can be either active or passive. active euthanasia means that a physician or other medical personnel takes an action that will result in death，such as giving an overdose of deadly medicine． Passive euthanasia means letting a patient die for lack of treatment，or stopping the treatment that has begun．Examples of passive euthanasia include taking patients off a breathing machine or removing other 1ife-supp on systems．Stopping the food supply is also considered passive． A good deal of the debate about mercy killing originates from the decision—making process．Who decides whether a patient is to die ?This issue has not been s01Ved 1egally in the United States． The matter is 1eft to state law，which usually allows the physician in charge to Suggest the option of death to a patient’s relatives，especially if the patient is brain dead．In an Attempt to make decisions about when their own lives should end，several terminally i11patients in the early 1990s used a controversial suicide device，developed by Dr．Jack Kevorkian，to end their1ives． In parts of Europe，the decision-making process has become very flexible．Even in cases Where the patients are not brain dead，patients have been put to death without their approval at the request of relatives or at the suggestion of physicians．Many cases of passive euthanasia involve o1d people or newborn infants．The p