英语范文背诵精华2.4 Freedom in Dying

The process of dying imbues¹ fewer and fewer choices available to us. Even in dying, however, we still have choices concerning how we handle what is happening to us. The following account deals with the dying of Jim Molock, a student and close friend of mine.
Jim is 25 years old. He is full of life, witty², bright, honest, and actively³ questioning. He had just graduated from college as a human service major, and seemed to have a bright future when his illness was discovered. About a year and a half and ago, Jim developed a lump on his forehead and underwent surgery to have it removed. At that time, his doctors believed that it was not a cancer .later, more tumors appeared and more surgery followed. Several months ago, Jim found out that the tumors had spread throughout his body and that even with treatment, he would have a short life. Since that time he has steadily⁴ grown weaker, and has been able to do less and less, yet he has shown remarkable⁵ courage in the way he has faced this loss and his dying. Some time ago, Jim came to California, and took part in a weekend seminar that I had with a review of this book. On this chapter, he commented that, “although we may not have choices concerning the losses we suffer in dying, we do retain the ability to choose our attitude toward our death. Jim has taught me a lot during these past few months, about this enduring capacity for choice. Even in extreme circumstances. Jim has made many critical choices since being told of his illness. He chose to continue taking a course of the university because he liked the contact with the people there. He worked hard as a but dog to support himself. He decided⁶ to undergo treatment even though he knew that it most likely would not result in his cure because he heard that it would reduce his pain. It did not. And Jim has suffered much agony during the past few months. He decided not to undergo chemical treatment, because he didn’t want to prolong his life if he couldn’t really live fully⁷. He made a choice to accept god and his life, which gave him a full sense of peace. Before he became bedridden, he decided to go to Hawaii, and enjoy his time in luxury. Jim has always disliked hospitals, so he chose to remain at home in more personal surroundings, as long as he was able, he read widely, and continued to write in his diary about his thoughts and feelings on living and dying.
With his friends, he played his guitar, and sang songs that he had written. He maintained an active interest in life and in the things around him without denying the fact that he was dying. More than anyone I have known or heard about, Jim has taken care of unfinished business, he made it a point to gather his family and tell them his wishes. He made contact with all his friends and said everything he wanted to say to them, he clearly stated his desire for cremation⁸, he wants to burn those shamans, and then have his ashes scattered⁹ over the sea, a wish that reflects his love of freedom and movement. Jim has very little freedom and movement now, for he can do little but lie in his bed wait for his death to come.
To this day, he has chosen to die with dignity, and although his body is getting weaker and weaker, his spirit is still very much alive. He retains his mental sharpness, his ability to say a lot in very few words and his sense of humor. He has allowed himself to grief over his losses, as he puts it, “I sure like to hang around to enjoy all those people that love me.” Realizing that this is impossible, Jim is saying goodbye to all those who are close to him. Throughout his suffering, Jim’s mother has been truly great. When she told me how remarkle Jim has been in complaining so rarely despite his constant pain. I reminded her that I never heard her complain during her month of caring for him. I have been continually amazed by her strength and courage. And I have admired her willingness to honor Jim’s wishes and accept his beliefs, even though at times, they have differed from her own... Jim has been showing me that his style of dying would be no different from his style of living. By his example and by his words, Jim has taught me how to evaluate my own life.
 

1 imbues   

v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的第三人称单数 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）

参考例句：

• Love for one's fellow creatures imbues every line of the drawing. 这张画的每一根线条都浸透着这种感情。 来自辞典例句
• We cannot assume that merely learning a language imbues one with any kind of value system. 我们不能假定说，学习某种语文就会吸收某种价值观。 来自互联网

2 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

3 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

4 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 cremation   

n.火葬，火化

参考例句：

• Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家，火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网

9 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。