Should doctor-assisted suicide ever be a legal option? It involves the extreme measure of taking the life of a terminally ill patient when the patient is in extreme pain and the chances for recovery appear to be none.Those who argue against assisted suicide do so by considering the roles of the patient，the doctor，and nature in these situations.

　　Should the patient take an active role in assisted suicide? When a patient is terminally ill and in great pain，those who oppose assisted suicide say that it should not be up to that patient to decide what his or her fate will be.There are greater powers at work that determine when a person dies，for example，nature.Neither science nor personal preference should take precedence over these larger forces.

　　What role should the doctor have? Doctors，when taking the Hippocratic oath，swear to preserve life at all costs，and it is their ethical and legal duty to follow both the spirit and the letter of this oath.It is their responsibilities to heal the sick，and in the cases when healing is not possible，then the doctor is obliged to make the dying person comfortable.Doctors are trained never to hasten death.Those who oppose assisted suicide believe that doctors who do help terminally ill patients die are committing a crime，and they should be dealt with accordingly.Doctors are also，by virtue of their humanness，capable of making mistakes.Doctors could quite possibly say，for instance，that a cancer patient was terminal，and then the illness could later turn out not to be so serious.There is always an element of doubt concerning the future outcome of human affairs.

　　The third perspective to consider when thinking about assisted suicide is the role of nature.Life is precious.Many people believe that it is not up to human beings to decide when to end their own or another‘s life.Only nature determines when it is the right time for a person to die.To assist someone in suicide is not only to break criminal laws，but to break divine 1aws as well.

　　These general concerns of those who oppose assisted suicide are valid in certain contexts of the assisted suicide question.For instance，patients cannot always be certain of their medical conditions.Pain clouds judgment，and so the patient should not be the sole arbiter of her or his own destiny.Patients do not usually choose the course of their medical treatment，so they shouldn‘t be held completely responsible for decisions related to it.Doctors are also fallible，and it is understandable that they would not want to make the final decision about when death should occur.Since doctors are trained to prolong life，they usually do not elect to take it by prescribing assisted suicide.

　　I believe that blindly opposing assisted suicide does no one a service.If someone is dying of cancer and begging to be put out of his or her misery，and someone gives that person a deadly dose of morphine，that seems merciful rather than criminal.If we can agree to this，then I think we could also agree that having a doctor close by measuring the dosage and advising the family and friends is a reasonable request.Without the doctor‘s previous treatment，the person would have surely been dead already.Doctors have intervened for months or even years，so why not sanction this final，merciful intervention?

　　Life is indeed precious，but an inevitable part of life is death，and it should be precious，too.If life has become an intolerable pain and intense suffering，then it seems that in order to preserve dignity and beauty，one should have the right to end her or his suffering quietly，surely，and with family and friends nearby.

　　1. In this passage“doctor-assisted suicide”actually refers to the practice that doctors____.

　　[A]kill their patients by intentional inducement

　　[B]unconsciously help their patients to commit suicide

　　[c]propose euthanasia(安樂死)to the terminally ill patient

　　[D]kill their patients with improper prescription

　　2. People may object to doctor-assisted suicide on the ground that____.

　　[A]patients should determine when they want to end their lives

　　[B]doctors should be punished if they fail to save their patients

　　[C]doctors may make mistakes in their diagnosis

　　[D]doctors should wait until their patients‘ death is certain

　　3. Who has the power to decide when a person should die according to those who argue against assisted suicide?

　　[A]The patient. [B]The doctor.

　　[C]Nature. [D]None of the above.

　　4. When speaking of the role patients play in assisted suicide，the author admits that____.

　　[A]it is not up to them to make the choice

　　[B]science is a better arbiter than their personal preference

　　[C]personal preference should not be taken too seriously

　　[D]they are unable to make the choice in some cases

　　5. The author makes it clear that____.

　　[A]he is opposed to doctor-assisted suicide

　　[B]he is in favor of doctor-assisted suicide

　　[C]he neither objects to nor favors doctor-assisted suicide

　　[D]he thinks it better to leave the issue undiscussed at present

　　參考答案：

　　1. [C] 第一段第二句實際上是doctor-assisted suicide的定義。

　　2. [C] 參閱第三段第六、七、八句。

　　3. [C] 參閱第四段第三、四、五句。

　　4. [D] 參閱第五段，尤其是本段第一句。

　　5. [B] 參閱最后一段，尤其是該段第二句。

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