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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 generalc. 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.
The author’s attitude toward Richard Lamm’s remark is one of________.
选项 A、strong disapproval
B、reserved consent
C、slight contempt
D、enthusiastic support
答案B
解析 态度题。通过关键词Lamm可以定位到第三段Lamm所说的话， “老年多病者有责任死亡和让路。”在第四段，作者对于Lamm的观点发表了看法，“I would not go that far”，即我不会那么极端。接着，作者举出了许多例子，说明老年人可以活得很有价值。这很容易让人认为作者是反对Lamm的观点的。但是接下来的一段中，作者从另外一个角度发表了自己的看法。作者说，“最昂贵和最激进的医疗手段也可能是无效的和痛苦的”。作者举例日本和瑞士，老年人医疗开支不高，但是寿命更长，更加健康。作者说“我们在那些无药可救的疾病方面，也许投入过大，但是在那些事关人民生活质量的平常方法的研究上投入过低”。所以选B，作者对Lamm的观点基本同意，但有所保留。
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