The concept of personal choice in relation to health behaviors is an important one. An estimated 90 percent of all illnesses may be preventable if individuals would make sound personal health choices based upon current medical knowledge. We all enjoy our freedom of choice and do not like to see it restricted when it is within the legal and moral boundaries of society. The structure of American society allows us to make almost all our own personal decisions that may concern our health. If we desire so, we can smoke, drink excessively, refuse to wear seat belts, eat whatever foods we want, and live a completely sedentary lifestyle. without any exercise. The freedom to make such personal decisions is a fundamental aspect of our society, although the wisdom of these decisions can be questioned. Personal choices relative to health often cause a difficulty. As one example, a teenager may know the facts relative to smoking cigarettes and health but may be pressured by friends into believing it is the socially accepted thing to do.
A multitude of factors, both inherited and environmental, influence the development of health-related behaviors, and it is beyond the scope of this text to discuss all these factors as they may affect any given individual. However, the decision to adopt a particular health-related behavior. is usually one of personal choices. There are healthy choices and there are unhealthy choices. In discussing the morals of personal choice, Fries and Crapo drew a comparison. They suggest that to knowingly give oneself over to a behavior. that has a statistical probability of shortening life is similar to attempting suicide. Thus, for those individuals who are interested in preserving both the quality and quantity of life, personal health choices should reflect those behaviors that are associated with a statistical probability of in- creased vitality and longevity.
The concept of personal choice concerning health is important because ______.
A. personal health choices help cure most illnesses
B. it helps raise the level of our medical knowledge
C. it is essential to personal freedom in American society
D. wrong decisions could lead to poor health
There would seem to be no reason why organ removal for transplantation purpose should not also be acceptable to public opinion, provided there is a mechanism by which individuals in their lifetime can refuse this permission. This, of course, requires an efficient register of those who indicate their refusal: the register would be consulted before any organs would be removed. It is important that there be public reassurance that consideration of transplantation would not impair normal resuscitative (抢救的) efforts of the potential donor.
Transplantation has obviously raised important ethical considerations concerning the diagnosis of death, and, particularly, how far resuscitation should be continued. Every effort must be made to restore the heartbeat to someone who has had a sudden cardiac arrest or breathing to someone who cannot breathe. Artificial respiration and massage of the heart, the standard methods of resuscitation, are continued until it is clear that the brain is dead. Most physicians consider that beyond this point efforts at resuscitation are useless.
According to the author, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Most countries do not have an effective law on organ transplantation.
B. The traditional way of asking for permission of relatives for organ removal does not prove to be always feasible.
C. It is hard to understand why people should remain silent on compulsory postmortem exam after unexpected death.
D. In some countries there are laws providing that the permission of organ removal is taken for granted unless it has been refused by the person in his lifetime.
听力原文:M: I have too many courses this semester. I'm going to have to drop one of them.
W: In order to do that, you'll have to go through the proper channels.
Q: What advice does the woman give the man?
(16)
A. Watch television.
B. Go for a swim.
C. Make better use of time.
D. Follow the official procedure.
"Brazil has become one of the developing world's great successes at reducing population growth—but more by accident than by design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had a better result without really trying," says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil's population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas and installment plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world's biggest producers of soap operas. Globe, Brazil's most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.
"Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values—not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working," says Martine, "They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious of other patterns of behavior. and other values, which were put into a very attractive package."
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the Ix)or to become consumers. "This led to an enormous change in consumption patterns and consumption was incompatible with unlimited reproduction," says Martine.
According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth ______
A. by educating its citizens
B. by developing TV programmes
C. by careful family planning
D. by chance