考研英语阅读命题思路透析和真题揭秘(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

[解题思路]

文章第二段第一句话指出"The full import may take a while to sink in"，下一句话进一步指出不论是医生还是普通市民都要"trying to deal with its moral and practical implications"（力图从道义和实际意义两方面来看待这一问题），接下来还提到对这个法案还有很多反对意见，因此D选项符合题意，即人们还需要时间来认识这项法律的重要性。选项中takes time对应于该句的take a while，realize对应于sink in，而significance对应于full import。A选项的表述在原文没有提及。B选项的错误在于该段第二句虽然提到了"physicians and citizens"，但是却没有说他们意见一致。C选项的错误在于该段第三句批评了该法案的"the haste of passage"，但并无涉及关于科技发展的问题。

[题目译文]

从第二段我们可以得知              。
[A] 其它国家对安乐死的反对出现比较慢
[B] 医生和市民们对安乐死持相同观点
[C] 变化的技术对于这些法案的草率通过负主要责任
[D] 认识到这一法律的意义需要时间