B Should doctors ever lie to benefit their patient–to speed recovery or to cover

B

Should doctors ever lie to benefit theirpatient–to

speed recovery or to cover the coming ofdeath? In

medicine as in law, government, and otherlines of

work, the requirements of honesty oftenseem dwarfed

（变矮小）bygreater needs: the need to protect from

brutal news or to uphold a promise ofsecrecy; to advance

the public interest．

What should doctors say, for example, to a46-year-old man coming in for a routine physical checkup just before going onvacation with his family who, though he feels in perfect health, is found tohave a form of cancer that will cause him to die within six months? Is it bestto tell him the  truth? If he asks, should the doctor reject that he is ill,or minimize fee gravity of the illness? Should they at least hide the truthuntil after the family vacation?

Doctors face such choices often．At times, they see importantreasons to lie for the patient's own sake; in their eyes, such lies differsharply from self-serving ones．

Studies show that most doctors sincerelybelieve that the seriously ill patients do not want to know the truth abouttheir condition, and that informing them risks destroying their hope, so thatthey may recover more slowly, or deteriorate （恶化） faster, perhaps even commit suicide（自杀）．

But other studies show that, contrary tothe belief of many physicians; a great majority of patients do want to be toldthe truth, even about serious illness, and feel cheated when they learn thatthey have been misled．We are also learning that truthful information, humanly conveyed,helps patients cope with illness: help them tolerate pain better, need lessmedicine, and even recover faster after operation．

There is urgent need to debate this issueopenly．Not only inmedicine, but in other professions as well, practitioners may find themselvesrepeatedly in difficulty where serious consequences seem avoidable only throughdeception （欺骗）．Yetthe public has every reason to know professional deception, for such practicesare peculiarly likely to become deeply rooted, to spread, and to trust．Neither in medicine, nor inlaw, government, or the social sciences can there be comfort in the old saying,"What you don't know can't hurt you．"

60．What is the passage mainly about?

         A．Whether patients really want toknow the truth of their condition．

         B．Whether patients should be toldthe truth of their illness．

         C．Whether different studiesshould be carried on．

         D．Whether doctors are honestywith their patients．

61．For the case mentioned in paragraph 2, most doctors will ____．

         A．tell the patient the truth assoon as possible

         B．choose to lie to him about hiscondition at that moment

         C．tell him to shorten the familyvacation

         D．advise him to cancel the familyvacation

62．Which of the following is TRUE?

         A．Sometimes government tells liesbecause they need to meet the public interest．

         B．Doctors believe if they lie,those seriously-ill patients will recover more quickly．

         C．Truthful information helpspatients deal with their illness in some cases．

         D．Many patients don't want toknow the truth, especially about serious illness．

63．From the passage, we can learn that the author's attitude toprofessional deception is ____．

         A．supportive            B．indifferent C．opposed         D．neutral

63．From the passage, we can learn that the author’s attitude toprofessional deception is      .

         A．supportive B．indifferent C．opposed     D．neutral

试题答案

【答案】

 B

 B

 C

 C

【解析】