1、1997 Passage 1 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, Australias Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to

2、 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 groups on-line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: We post

3、ed bulletins all day long, because of course this isnt just something that happened in Australia. Its world history.The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally Ill law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. So

4、me 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 co

5、mmunity 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

6、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. Fo

7、r Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally Ill law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. Im not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what

8、I was afraid of was how Id go, because Ive watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks, he says.1997 Passage 2 A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observat

9、ion is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small-minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.

10、For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought

11、 news of the outside world.The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable im

12、pulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didnt take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping th

13、e weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner amazing. Such

14、 observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.As is true of any develope

15、d society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to translate cultural meanings properl

16、y often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word friend, the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitors language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and indiv

17、idual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many Americans value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.1997 Passage 3 Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to

18、some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They dont realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase substance abuse is often used instead of

19、 drug abuse to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.We live in a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in

20、 the morning, a cigarette for the nerves. When do these socially acceptable and apparently constructive uses of a substance become misuses? First of all, most substances taken in excess will produce negative effects such as poisoning or intense perceptual distortions. Repeated use of a substance can

21、 also lead to physical addiction or substance dependence. Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued.Drugs (substance

22、s) that affect the central nervous system and alter perception, mood, and behavior are known as psychoactive substances. Psychoactive substances are commonly grouped according to whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogen. Stimulants initially speed up or activate the central nervous

23、system, whereas depressants slow it down. Hallucinogens have their primary effect on perception, distorting and altering it in a variety of ways including producing hallucinations. These are the substances often called psychedelic (from the Greek word meaning mind-manifestation) because they seemed

24、to radically alter ones state of consciousness.1997 Passage 4 No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers? Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. You have sold your souls, but must you

25、 corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well? At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul-searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. Its a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of respon

26、sibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line.At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992. On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the companys mountainous debt, which will increase to $

27、 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently.The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him. Levin has consistently defended the companys rap music on the grounds of express

28、ion. In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice-Ts violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet. The test of any democratic society, he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, lies not in how well it can control expr

29、ession but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We wont retreat in the face of any threats.Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing

30、 off his hard-line stand, at least to some extent. During the discussion of rock singing verses at last months stockholders meeting. Levin asserted that music is not the cause of societys ills and even cited his son, a teacher in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students. But he

31、 talked as well about the balanced struggle between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music.The 15-member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levi

32、n and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter. Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimited, says Luce. I think it is perhaps the case that some people associated with the co

33、mpany have only recently come to realize this.1997 Passage 5 Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as steering the economy to a soft landing or a touch on the brakes, makes it sound like a precise science. Nothing could be further from the truth. The link between interest rates

34、 and inflation is uncertain. And there are long, variable lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy. Hence the analogy that likens the conduct of monetary policy to driving a car with a blackened windscreen, a cracked rearview mirror and a faulty steering wheel.Given all these disadv

35、antages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast about of late. Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies fell to a mere 2.3% last year, close to its lowest level in 30 years, before rising slightly to 2.5% this July. This is a long way below the double-digit rates which many co

36、untries experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s.It is also less than most forecasters had predicted. In late 1994 the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that Americas inflation rate would average 3.5% in 1995. In fact, it fell to 2.6% in August, and is expected to average

37、 only about 3% for the year as a whole. In Britain and Japan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan; over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and America.Economist

38、s have been particularly surprised by favourable inflation figures in Britain and the United States, since conventional measures suggest that both economies, and especially Americas, have little productive slack. Americas capacity utilisation, for example, hit historically high levels earlier this y

39、ear, and its jobless rate (5.6% in August) has fallen below most estimates of the natural rate of unemployment the rate below which inflation has taken off on the past.Why has inflation proved so mild? The most thrilling explanation is, unfortunately, a little defective. Some economists argue that p

40、owerful structural changes in the world have upended the old economic models that were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation.1997Passage1凌晨3:45進(jìn)行了最終表決。經(jīng)過(guò)6個(gè)月爭(zhēng)論和最后16個(gè)小時(shí)的國(guó)會(huì)激烈辯論，澳大利亞北部地區(qū)（澳北州）成為世界上第一個(gè)允許醫(yī)生根據(jù)絕癥病人個(gè)人意愿來(lái)結(jié)束其生命的合法當(dāng)局。這一法案是以令人信服的15票對(duì)10票通過(guò)。幾乎同時(shí)，該消息就出現(xiàn)在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上。身處地球另一端的加拿大死亡權(quán)利執(zhí)行主席

41、約翰霍夫塞斯在收到該消息后便通過(guò)協(xié)會(huì)的在線服務(wù)“死亡之網(wǎng)”發(fā)了公告。他說(shuō)：“我們整天都在發(fā)布公告，因?yàn)檫@件事的意義不在于它是在澳大利亞發(fā)生的事情，而是因?yàn)檫@是世界歷史的一件大事?！币浞掷斫膺@一法案的深刻意義可能需要一段時(shí)間。澳北州晚期病人權(quán)利法使得無(wú)論是內(nèi)科醫(yī)生還是普通市民都同樣地力圖從道義和實(shí)際意義兩方面來(lái)對(duì)待這一問(wèn)題。一些人如釋重負(fù)，另一些人，包括教會(huì)，生命權(quán)利組織以及澳大利亞醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)成員都對(duì)這一決議及其倉(cāng)促的通過(guò)進(jìn)行了猛烈的抨擊。但這一潮流已無(wú)法逆轉(zhuǎn)。在澳大利亞，人口老齡化，延長(zhǎng)壽命技術(shù)和公眾態(tài)度的變化都發(fā)揮著各自的作用。其他州也將考慮制定類似的法律來(lái)處理安樂死問(wèn)題。在美國(guó)和加拿大，死亡

42、權(quán)利運(yùn)動(dòng)正在積蓄力量。觀察家們正在等待多米諾骨牌產(chǎn)生的效應(yīng)。根據(jù)澳北州所通過(guò)的這項(xiàng)新法案，成年病人可以要求安樂死可能是通過(guò)注射致死藥劑或服用致死藥片來(lái)結(jié)束痛苦。但此前病人必須由兩名醫(yī)生診斷其確實(shí)已病入膏肓，然后再經(jīng)過(guò)7天的冷靜思考期，方可簽署一份申請(qǐng)證明。48小時(shí)后，才可以滿足其安樂死的愿望。對(duì)于居住于達(dá)爾文現(xiàn)年54歲的肺癌患者利奧德尼克森來(lái)說(shuō)，這個(gè)法律意味著他可以平靜地生活下去而無(wú)須整天懼怕即將來(lái)臨的苦難：因呼吸困難而在煎熬中痛苦地死去?！皬乃枷肷险f(shuō)，我并不害怕死，但我怕的是怎樣死，因?yàn)槲以卺t(yī)院看到過(guò)病人在缺氧時(shí)苦苦掙扎，用手抓他們的面罩時(shí)的情景。”他說(shuō)。1997Passage2去美國(guó)訪問(wèn)的

43、人經(jīng)常帶回報(bào)告說(shuō)，大多數(shù)美國(guó)人對(duì)他們友善、好客、樂于助人。公正的說(shuō)，人們對(duì)加拿大人也有這樣的評(píng)論，因而，應(yīng)當(dāng)認(rèn)為這是北美普遍的現(xiàn)象。當(dāng)然也有例外。在美國(guó)，心胸狹隘的官員，舉止粗魯?shù)恼写秃翢o(wú)禮貌的出租車司機(jī)也并非罕見。盡管有不如意的地方，但因?yàn)槿藗兂３５贸雒绹?guó)人好客的觀察意見，因而也就值得議論一番了。過(guò)去很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間，在美國(guó)很多地方，旅行者的到來(lái)因暫時(shí)打破原本的單調(diào)生活而受人歡迎。無(wú)聊、孤獨(dú)是居住相對(duì)遙遠(yuǎn)的家庭的普遍問(wèn)題。陌生人和旅行者很受歡迎，他們帶來(lái)了娛樂消遣，還帶來(lái)了外面世界的消息。開拓者的嚴(yán)酷生活現(xiàn)實(shí)也促成了這一好客的傳統(tǒng)。單獨(dú)旅行時(shí)，如果挨餓、受傷或生病，通常只能向最近的小屋或村落求

44、助。對(duì)旅行者來(lái)說(shuō)，這不是一個(gè)選擇的問(wèn)題；而對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駚?lái)說(shuō)，這也并非是行善的一時(shí)沖動(dòng)。它反映了日常生活的嚴(yán)酷：如果你不收留他，那他便無(wú)處求助了。請(qǐng)記住，有一天你也可能處于相同的境遇。如今，有了很多的慈善組織專門幫助疲憊的旅行者。不過(guò)，熱情接待陌生人的傳統(tǒng)在美國(guó)仍然很盛行，尤其是在遠(yuǎn)離旅游熱線的小城鎮(zhèn)?！拔抑皇锹愤^(guò)，和這個(gè)美國(guó)人聊了聊。很快，他就請(qǐng)我到他家吃飯這真令人驚奇。”來(lái)美國(guó)的旅客談?wù)摯祟愂录芷毡?，但并非總能得到正確理解。很多美國(guó)人不經(jīng)意表現(xiàn)的友好不應(yīng)被看做是表面或虛假的應(yīng)酬，而應(yīng)該看成是文化傳統(tǒng)的歷史發(fā)展結(jié)果。同任何發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家一樣，一系列復(fù)雜的文化特征，信念和習(xí)俗構(gòu)成了美國(guó)所有社會(huì)交往的基

45、礎(chǔ)。當(dāng)然，會(huì)講一種語(yǔ)言并不意味著就理解該語(yǔ)言的社會(huì)和文化模式。不能正確“詮釋”文化含義的旅行者往往得出錯(cuò)誤的結(jié)論。例如，美國(guó)人所說(shuō)的“朋友”一詞，其文化含義可能與旅行者語(yǔ)言和文化中的“朋友”大相徑庭。要想正確區(qū)分禮貌是出于文化習(xí)俗還是個(gè)人興趣，單憑一次公共汽車上的偶遇是不夠的。不過(guò)，友好是很多美國(guó)人推崇的美德，同時(shí)希望鄰居和陌生人也能如此。1997Passage3從專業(yè)角度說(shuō)，除食品外，任何能改變我們生理和心理機(jī)能的物質(zhì)都是藥物。很多人錯(cuò)誤地認(rèn)為“藥物”這個(gè)詞僅僅指某些藥品或是吸毒者服用的違禁化學(xué)品。他們沒有意識(shí)到諸如酒精、煙草這些我們熟悉的物質(zhì)也是藥物。這也是現(xiàn)在許多內(nèi)科醫(yī)生和心理學(xué)家使用“

46、物質(zhì)”這個(gè)更加中性的詞的原因。他們常用“物質(zhì)濫用”而不用“藥物濫用”來(lái)清楚表明濫用酒精、煙草這樣的物質(zhì)如同濫用海洛因和可卡因一樣有害。我們生活在一個(gè)物質(zhì)（藥物）在醫(yī)療和社交方面的使用都很廣泛的社會(huì)里：用來(lái)緩解頭痛的阿斯匹林，用來(lái)應(yīng)酬的酒，早晨用來(lái)提神的咖啡，還有定神用的香煙。使用這些物質(zhì)得到了社會(huì)認(rèn)可，且顯然具有積極的作用，但什么時(shí)候就變成濫用了呢？首先，大多數(shù)物質(zhì)的過(guò)量使用都會(huì)產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響，如中毒或嚴(yán)重的感知錯(cuò)亂。反復(fù)使用一種物質(zhì)可以導(dǎo)致成癮或?qū)υ撐镔|(zhì)的依賴。依賴的最初表現(xiàn)是不斷增長(zhǎng)的耐藥量，要產(chǎn)生預(yù)期的效果需要的藥劑量越來(lái)越大，而一旦中斷使用就會(huì)出現(xiàn)難受的停藥癥狀。影響中樞神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)、改變感知覺和行為的藥物（物質(zhì)）屬于對(duì)神經(jīng)起顯著作用的物質(zhì)，它們通常分為興奮劑、鎮(zhèn)靜劑和幻覺劑。興奮劑主要起到加速或激活中樞神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)的作用，而鎮(zhèn)靜劑則相反：減緩它的活動(dòng)?；糜X劑主要影響人的感知，通過(guò)多種方式對(duì)感知加以扭曲或改變，其中包括產(chǎn)生幻覺。這些物質(zhì)常被認(rèn)為能“引起幻覺”（psychedelic一詞源于希