高级英语自考课文翻译及答案

lesson4 自己选择死亡方式 Lesson Four Die as You Choose 制定关于安乐死的法律已经到了不能再回避的地步。 The need for laws on euthanasia cannot be dodged for much longer. 在世界上某个较小的国家里，安乐死被医疗机构普遍接受，每年都有数千例公开实施。 In one of the world's smaller countries， mercy-killing is accepted by the medical establishment and openly practiced a few thousand times each year. 而在某个世界大国，安乐死虽然经常受到医疗机构的公开谴责，每年却以数倍于此的次数秘密实施，且从未公之于众。 In one of the world's biggest countries， euthanasia is condemned by the medical establishment， secretly practiced many times more often， and almost never comes to light. 但是，在上述那个国家有医生因为实施安乐死而在监狱里服刑呢？ Which of these countries has a mercy-killing doctor now languishing in its jails？ 是在小国荷兰。荷兰制定了有关安乐死的法律，能有效地管理它。 It is the small one， Holland， which has rules for euthanasia and so can police it effectively. 那位荷兰的医生违反了他国家的规定。 The Dutch doctor broke his country's rules. 有关安乐死的问题在所有国家都存在，决不仅出现在美国这个禁止安乐死的大国。 There is a moral here for all the countries， and not just for the big death-forbidding country， America. 目前美国正再次展开有关安乐死的辩论。 Right now it is going over the arguments about euthanasia once again. 美国医学协会会刊1月份发表了一封非同寻常的来信。一位医生在信中宣称自己按照病人的意愿，杀死了一位身患癌症的20岁女孩。 In January the Journal of the American Medical Association published a bizarre letter， in which an anonymous doctor claimed to have killed a 20-year-old cancer patient at her own request. 这件事引起了一场辩论，而这场辩论将轰轰烈烈地持续到秋季，那时加利福尼亚州可能会就一项使安乐死合法化的法律进行投票表决。 This started a debate that will rumble on into the autumn， when Californians may vote on a proposed law legalizing euthanasia. 这封信可能是为了起到引发争论的效果，内容并不可信。 The letter was probably written for polemical impact. It is scarcely credible. 是作者自己在信中声称他（或她）第一次与那位得了癌症的病人见面，听到病人说出5个字——“让我去死吧”——然后就杀了她。 It's author claims that he met the cancer patient for the first time， heard five words from her – “Let's get this over with” – then killer her. 即使是极端的安乐死支持者也不赞成在这种情况下采取如此做法。 Even the most extreme proponents of euthanasia do not support such an action in those circumstances. 然而，医疗上出现的可怕事件如洪水猛兽一般，并不比安乐死的情况更好。它们无疑会在英美以及其他国家中继续肆虐，几乎成了令人恐怖的常规。 Yet medical monstrosities that are hardly any better undoubtedly continue， almost as a matter of macabre routine， in America， Britain and many other countries. 一些医生私下透露他们有时会故意杀死病人，这样的情况非常普遍，令人担忧。 It is disturbingly easy to find doctors who will say， in private， that they sometimes kill patients on purpose. 多数医生说他们知道其他医生也有同样的行为，但是因为即使在病人乞求他们的时候，医生也几乎不能与病人公开讨论安乐死，因此医生往往倾向于仅在要死的人处于垂危昏迷之际而无法表达是否同意安乐死时，才结束其生命。 Most say that know somebody else who does. But because they can rarely discuss euthanasia openly with patients – even when those patients beg them for it – doctors tend to kill only when the dying are too far gone to consent. 由于自愿要求安乐死受到禁止，就只能由医生自行作出决定了，病人会在夜间受到药物注射而非自愿地离开人世。 Thus， because voluntary euthanasia is taboo， a doctor makes the decision himself – and the patient is killed involuntarily in the night with a syringe. 这是不使安乐死公开的代价。 That is one price of keeping euthanasia secret. 如果所有形式的安乐死都是错误的，那就应该统统列入禁止之列。 If all forms of mercy-killing are wrong， they should remain taboo. 可情况果真如此吗？ But are they？ 许多人都认为依靠医学技术来延续生命带给人的痛苦是令人悲哀、可憎可恶的，完全不顾人的尊严，因此被动的安乐死——让病人自行死亡——被人们普遍接受。 Because many people accept that it is sad， undignified and gruesome to prolong the throes of death will all the might of medical technology， passive euthanasia – letting patients die – is widely accepted. 美国大多数州都有关于“活遗嘱”的法规，为医生提供保护。如果医生没有尽力救助曾声明不想延续生命的病人，不会为此受到起诉。 Most American states have “living – will” legislation that protects doctors from prosecution if they do not try to save someone who has said he does not want life prolonged. 主动的安乐死——杀死病人——却依然争论颇多。 Active euthanasia – killing – remains controversial. 将人杀死与让人死亡之间的界线还能维持多久呢？ How long can the distinction between killing and letting die hold out？ 正如因未履行某种职责受到处罚一样，人也可能因干了某事而不受责难。 Just as there can be culpable omissions， so too can there be blameless acts. 让我们从道德伦理著作中举例说明。假定一个人会从某个孩子的死亡中获益，当这个孩子在浴缸中撞伤头部而失去知觉时，那个人视而不见，任其溺水身亡。 Suppose – to take an example from the moral philosophy books – that a man stands to gain from the death of a certain child. The child strikes his head in the bath and falls unconscious. The man sits down and watches him drown. 虽然这个人什么都没有做，但他并不能因此开脱罪责。 The fact that the man has performed no action does not excuse him. 同样，再假设为了缩短而不是延长死亡到来的时间，医生终止某种治疗是无可指责的做法，那么如果这位医生使用足够的镇痛剂致使病人死亡，他就一定大错特错吗？ Similarly， suppose that a doctor does no wrong by withholding some treatment in order that death should come sooner rather than later. Is he then necessarily wrong if he administers enough painkillers to kill？ 这位医生采取了某种行动，而不是未尽某种职责，这会使他有罪吗？ Does the fact that the doctor performed an action， rather than an omission， condemn him？ 许多医生一直在为解除病人临终前的痛苦而奋斗着。他们认为在病人请求安乐死时，根本无法截然区分被动与主动的安乐死。 Many doctors working on the battlefield of terminal suffering think that only squeamishness demands a firm difference between passive and active euthanasia on request. 他们赞成医生杀死病人的理由是：医生的职责之一就是使病人免遭痛苦，这是医生所做的全部事情，而杀死病人则是做到这一点的惟一办法。 Their argument for killing goes like this： one of a doctor's duties is to prevent suffering； sometimes that is all there is left for him to do， and killing is the only way to do it. 这个观点并不新颖。当希波克拉底为医生制定信条的时候，曾明确禁止安乐死，而多数其他希腊医生和思想家都不赞成这一禁令。 There is nothing new in this view. When Hippocrates formulated his oath for doctors， which explicitly rules out active killing， most other Greek doctors and thinkers disagreed with his ban. 前事不忘，后事之师。 Let the past be a guide. 有人认为死亡的时间是上帝安排的，任何人不得缩短他人的生命，然而假如一位病人的人生观使其接受安乐死，那么人们不禁要问：为什么其他人还要用不同的宗教观念去干预其死亡呢？ Some people believe that the time of death is appointed by God and that no man should put the clock back on another. Yet if a patient's philosophical views embrace euthanasia， it is not clear why the religious objections of others should intrude on his death. 另一个令人担忧问题是，有关安乐死的法律体系允许医生在规定的情况下按照垂死病人的请求实施安乐死，就可能为杀人首开先例，从而危害社会。 Another worry is that a legal framework for euthanasia， permitting a doctor to comply with a dying man's request in a prescribed set of circumstances， might pose dangers for society by setting a precedent for killing. 这个问题取决于社会。 That depends on the society. 尽管有不同意见，荷兰对建立这样的法律体系已经准备就绪。 Holland， arguably， is ready for it. 当年就是荷兰医生英勇无比地顶住了压力，拒绝参与使安乐死声名狼藉的纳粹用人体进行医学实验的暴行，这恐怕不是巧合。 It is probably no coincidence that it was Dutch doctors who most heroically resisted pressure to join in the Nazi medical atrocities that have given euthanasia its worst name. 这些医生对个人自由坚定不移的尊重使他们没有杀害渴望活下去的健康人。今天正是同样的精神又使他们去帮助不愿活下去的垂危病人。 The same tenacious respect for individual liberty that stopped them killing healthy people， who did not want to die， now lets them help dying people who do. 与之相反，西德在未来相当长的时间里都无法使任何形式的安乐死合法化。 West Germany， by contrast， will not be able to legalize any form of euthanasia for a long time to come. 由于历史的阴影反对安乐死的力量异常强大，在那些近年来自由意志的传统未受任何干扰的国家里，为自愿安乐死制定有限的规定并不会使人们产生太多的恐惧。 Opposition is too fierce， because of the shadow of the past. Countries with an uninterrupted recent libertarian tradition have less to fear from setting some limited rules for voluntary euthanasia. 拒绝讨论这个问题会使情况更加糟糕。 By refusing to discuss it， they usher in something worse.

lesson6 一个好机会 Lesson Six A Good Chance 我到鸭溪时，喜鹊没在家，我和他的妻子阿米莉亚谈了谈。 When I got to Crow Creek， Magpie was not home. I talked to his wife Amelia. “我要找喜鹊，”我说，“我给他带来了好消息。”我指指提着的箱子，“我带来了他的诗歌和一封加利福尼亚大学的录取通知书，他们想让他来参加为印第安人举办的艺术课。” “I need to find Magpie，” I said. “I've really got some good news for him.” I pointed to the briefcase I was carrying. “I have his poems and a letter of acceptance from a University in California where they want him to come and participate in the Fine Arts Program they have started for Indians.” “你知道他还在假释期间吗？” “Do you know that he was on parole？” “这个，不，不大清楚。”我犹豫着说，“我一直没有和他联系，但我听说他遇到了些麻烦。” “Well， no， not exactly，” I said hesitantly， “I haven't kept in touch with him but I heard that he was in some kind of trouble. 她对我笑笑说：“他已经离开很久了。你知道，他在这儿不安全。他的假释官随时都在监视他，所以他还是不到这儿来为好，而且我们已经分开一段时间了，我听说他在城里的什么地方。” She smiled to me and said， “He's gone a lot. It's not safe around here for him， you know. His parole officer really watches him all the time and so sometimes it is just better for him not to come here. Besides， we haven't been together for a while. I hear he's in town somewhere.” “你是指他在钱柏林？” “Do you mean in Chamberlain？” “对。我和他姐姐住在这儿，她说前一段时间她在那儿见过他。不过喜鹊不会去加利福尼亚的。即使你见到他并和他谈此事，他现在也决不会离开这儿。” “Yes， I live here with his sister and she said that she saw him there， quite a while ago. But Magpie would not go to California. He would never leave here now even if you saw him and talked to him about it.” “可他以前去过，”我说，“他去过西雅图大学。” “But he did before，” I said， “He went to the University of Seattle.” “是的，但……但是，那是以前，”她说，似乎不想再谈这个话题。 “Yeah， but…well， that was before，” she said， as though to finish the matter. “你难道不希望他去吗？”我问道。 “Don't you want him to go？” I asked. “哦，这不是我说了算的。我们现在已经分开了。我只是告诉你，你一定会失望的。像你这样的人希望他需要那些，可他已经不再需要了。”她很快答道，语气非常肯定。 Quickly， she responded， “Oh， it's not up to me to say. He is gone from me now. I'm just telling you that you are in for a disappointment. He no longer needs the things that people like you want him to need，” she said positively. 当她意识到我不喜欢她用“像你这样的人”的字眼时，她停了一下，然后把手放在我的胳膊上，“听着，”她说，“喜鹊现在终于快乐了。他情绪很好，英俊倜傥，自由自在而又意志坚强。他和兄弟们一起坐在皮鼓前唱歌，他现在一切都很好。以前，每当发表那些反政府和反对美国印第安人事务委员会的言论时，他总会越发气愤，充满怨恨。我曾为他担忧，但现在我不再担心了。你为什么不让他独自呆着呢？” When she saw that I didn't like her reference to “people like you”， she stopped for a moment and then put her hand on my arm. “Listen，” she said， “Magpie is happy now， finally. He is in good spirits， handsome and free and strong. He sits at the drum and sings with his brothers： he's okay now. When he was saying all those things against the government and against the council， he became more and more ugly and embittered and I used to be afraid for him. But I'm not now. 我和赛利娜坐在一家咖啡馆里。 I was sitting at the café with Salina. 她突然说道：“我不知道喜鹊在哪儿，我已经4天没见到他了。” Abruptly she said， “I don't know where Mapie is. I haven't seen him in four days.” “我把他的诗也带来了。”我说，“他有机会进入加利福尼亚的艺术学院，但是我必须和他谈一谈，还要让他填一下这些表格。我相信他一定会感兴趣的。” “I've got his poems here with me，” I said. “He has a good change of going to a Fine Arts school in California， but I have to talk with him and get him to fill out some papers. I know that he is interested.” “不，他不会的，”她打断了我，“他根本就不再做这些没用的、愚蠢的梦了。” “No， he isn't，” she broke in. “He doesn't have those worthless， shitty dreams anymore.” “别这样说，赛利娜，这对他真的是个好机会。” “Don't say that， Salina. This is a good chance for him.” “好了，你爱怎么想就怎么想吧，可最近你跟他谈过吗？你知道他如今怎么样吗？” “Well， you can think what you want， but have you talked to him lately？ Do you know him as he is now？” “我知道他情况很好，我也知道他有这个天分。” “I know he is good. I know he has such talent.” “他是一个印第安人，这次他回到这里是要住下来。” “He is Indian， and he's back here to stay this time.” “你和我一起开车去钱柏林，好吗？”我问道。 “Would you drive into Chamberlain with me？” I asked. 她一言不发。 She said nothing. “如果他是你所说的那种印第安人，不管那是什么意思，如果他这次回来是要住下来，如果他自己亲口对我说出来，我就打消这个念头。但是，赛利娜，”我极力说服道，“我一定要跟他谈谈，问问他想要做什么。你知道我的意思，不是吗？” “If he is Indian as you say， whatever that means， and if he is back here to stay this time and if he tells me that himself， I'll let it go. But Salina，” I urged， “I must talk to him and ask him what he wants to do. You see that， don't you？” “是的， 我知道了，” 她 终于说道， “他有权知道这一切， 但你会明白。” “Yes，” she said finally. “He has a right to know about this， but you'll see…” 我们离开时，她的高跟鞋在咖啡屋前的人行道上发出清脆的响声，当她又谈及喜鹊时，变得焦虑不安。 Her heels clicked on the sidewalk in front of the café as we left， and she became agitated as she talked. “他在卡司特*时，因为法院被烧，惹了麻烦，被判入狱1年。他现在还在假释期间，他的假释期还有5年，可他们连任何对他不利的证据都没有找到。5年呀！你能相信吗？现在连谋杀罪的人都没有判这样重。” “After all that trouble he got into during that protest at Custer when the courthouse was burned， he was in jail for a year. He's still on parole and he will be on parole for another five years – and they didn't even prove anything against him！ Five years！ Can you believe that？ People these days can commit murder and not get that kind of a sentence.” 我们驱车行使在钱柏林的大街上，埃尔吉正站在银行附近的拐角处，我和赛利娜都心照不宣，这个喜鹊的好朋友肯定知道他在哪儿。 Elgie was standing on the corner near the Bank as we drove down the main street of Chamberlain， and both Salina and I knew without speaking that this man， this good friend of Magpie's， would know of his whereabouts. 我们停了车，埃尔吉走了过来，舒服地靠坐在车的后排座位上。 We parked the car， Elgie came over and settled himself in the back seat of the car. 车慢慢地驶到了我们停车的街角处，假释官目不转睛地盯着我们3人，而我们却假装没看见。 A police car moved slowly to the corner where we were parked and the patrolmen looked at the three of us intently and we pretended not to notice. 巡逻车在空荡荡的街道上慢慢前行。我小心谨慎地转向埃尔吉。 The patrol car inched down the empty street and I turned cautiously toward Elgie. 我还没来得及开口，赛利娜说，“她给喜鹊拿了些表格。他有可能进入加利福尼亚的一所作家学院读书。” Before I could speak， Salina said， “She is got some papers for Magpie. He has a chance to go to a writer's school in California.” 总是不太想让别人清楚地了解他的想法的埃尔吉说道，“是吗？”可赛利娜却不想让他就这么不置可否。“埃尔吉，”她嘲弄道，“埃尔吉，你知道他是不会去的！” Always tentative about letting you know what he was really thinking， Elgie said， “Yeah？” But Salina wouldn't let him get away so noncommittally， “Elgie，” she scoffed. “You know he wouldn't go！” “是呀，你知道，”埃尔吉开口说，“卡司特那件事发生以后，我和喜鹊曾经想要躲藏起来，最后我们到了奥古斯塔娜大学的校园。那儿有我们的几个朋友。他开始谈论自由，而这些是我永远都不会忘记的。在那以后当他被捕入狱时，自由便成为了他的主要话题。自由。他渴望自由，可是，老兄，他们总盯着你的时候，你不可能有自由。哦，那个怪物，就是他的那个假释官，是一只卑鄙的看门狗。” “Well， you know，” Elgie began， “one time when Magpie and me were hiding out after that Custer thing， we ended up on to Augustana College Campus. We got some friends there. And he started talking about freedom and I never forget that， and then after he went wants to be free and you can't be that， man， when they're watching you all the time. Man， that freak that's his parole officer is some mean watch-dog.” “你觉得他会拿到奖学金吗？”我满怀希望地说。 “You think he might go for the scholarship？” I asked， hopefully. “我不知道。也许吧。” “I don't know. Maybe.” “他在哪儿？”我问道。 “Where is he？” I asked. 沉默了很长一会儿后，埃尔吉终于开口了：“我想你来得太好了，因为喜鹊需要从这没完没了的监视和检查中解脱出来。事实上，他一直谈道：”如果我和白人交往，那么我将没有自由；那里没有印第安人的自由。你现在应该和他谈谈。他变了。他赞成同白人完全分离或隔离。“ There was a long silence. Then Elgie said at last， “I think it's good that you've come， because Magpie needs some relief from this constant surveillance， constant checking up. In fact， that's what he always talks about. 'If I have to associate with the whites， then I'm not free： there is no liberty in that for Indians.' You should talk to him now. He's changed. He's for complete separation， segregation， total isolation from the whites.” “这是不是有点太过分了？太不实际了？”我问道。 “Isn't that a bit too radical？ Too unrealistic？” I asked. “我不知道。我真的不知道。” “I don't know. Damn if I know.” “好了，”赛利娜说，“你觉得他在加利福尼亚的那所大学里会怎样？可这是他学习和写作的一个好机会。我觉得他会从中找到一种愉快的感觉。” “Yeah，” said Salina， “Just what do you think it would be like for him at that university in California？” “But it's a chance for him to study， to write. He can find a kind of satisfying isolation in that， I think.” 过了一会儿，埃尔吉说道：“不错，我认为你是对的”。 After a few moments， Elgie said， “Yeah， I think you are right.” 然后他又从后排座位上抬起身来说道：“我要过桥了，再过大约3个街区就到了。在我快要下桥的地方的左边有一座白色的老式二层小楼。喜鹊的哥哥刚从内布拉斯加州教养院出来，现在跟他的妻子就住在那儿，喜鹊也在。” “ Soon he got out of the back seat and said， ”I'm going to walk over the bridge . It's about three blocks down there. There is an old， whit two-story house on the left side just before you cross the bridge. Magpie's brother just got out of the Nebraska State Reformatory and he is staying there with his old lady， and that's where Magpie is.“ 现在终于能够和他谈谈，并让他自己作出决定了。 At last！ Now I could really talk to him and let him make this decision for himself. “呵！还有些问题，”埃尔吉说，“喜鹊本不应该在那儿，你知道，因为这是他的假释条件的一部分，那就是他要离开朋友、亲戚和以前的囚犯，差不多是所有的人。可上帝呀，这是他的哥哥呀。等到日落前你们再来。把车停在加油站那儿，只要从那儿绕过那条街走到房子的后门进去，你就可以跟喜鹊谈所有这一切了。” “There are things about this though，” Elgie said. “Magpie shouldn't have been there， see， because it's a part of the condition of his parole that he stays away from friends and relatives and ex-convicts and just about everybody. But Jesus， this is his brother. Wait until just before sundown and then come over. Park your car at the service station just around the block from there and walk to the back entrance of the house and then you can talk to Magpie about all this.” 赛利娜跟我讲述着喜鹊在背井离乡数月后返回鸭溪的情形及他的亲戚是怎样到他姐姐家欢迎他返乡的。“他们来听他和兄弟唱歌，他们围坐在椅子上，欢笑着和他一起歌唱。” Salina was talking， telling me about Magpie's return to Crow Creek after months in exile and how his relatives went to his sister's house and welcomed him home. “They came to hear him sing with his brothers， and they sat in chairs around the room and laughed and sang wit him.” 我们到达时，院子里停着几辆车。赛利娜压低声音说，“她们可能正在聚会。” Several cars were parked in the yard of the old house as we approached， and Salina， keeping her voice low， said， “Maybe they are having a party.” 然而，四周的寂静使我忐忑不安。当我们走进敞着的后门时，看到人们都站在厨房里，我小心翼翼地问道，“出什么事了？ But the silence which hung about the place filled me with apprehension， and when we walked in the back door which hung open， we saw people standing in the kitchen. I asked carefully， “What's wrong？” 没有人答话，只有埃尔吉走了过来。他那充血的眼睛里充满悲伤和痛苦。 Nobody spoke but Elgie came over， his bloodshot eyes filled with sorrow and misery. 他在我们面前站了一会儿，然后示意我们到起居室去。 He stood in front of us for a moment and then gestured us to go into the living room. 屋子里静静地，坐满了人。终于，埃尔吉轻轻地说道，“他们枪杀了他。” The room was filled with people sitting in silence， and finally Elgie said， quietly， “They shot him.” “他们说他违反了假释条件把他抓走了，关进监狱后就枪杀了他。” “They picked him up for breaking the conditions of his parole and they put him in jail and … they shot him.” “可是为什么？”我大喊道，“怎么会发生这样的事？” “But why？” I cried. “How could this have happened？” “他们说他们认为他要反抗，而且他们害怕他。” “They said they thought he was resisting and that they were afraid of him.” “害怕？”我怀疑地问，“但……但是，他有武器吗？” “Afraid？” I asked， incredulously. “But…but…was he armed？” “没有”，埃尔吉说着坐了下来。他的胳膊撑在膝盖上，头低着。 “No，” Elgie said， seated now， his arm on his knees， his head down. “No， he wasn't armed.” 我把喜鹊的诗紧紧握在手里，两手的拇指交替在平滑的纸夹上狠狠地摁着。 I held the poems tightly in my hands pressing my thumbs，first one and then the other，against the smoothness of the cardboard folder.