智慧人生篇章 第59期:通往死亡的道路上我们拒绝孤单

 　　Two US companies announced earlier this week that they have shelved the testing of a particular drug. 本周早些时候，两家美国公司宣布他们已放弃对一种药的测试。

　　It had been the best hope for a treatment for Alzheimer's. 人们曾对这种药寄予厚望，希望它能够治疗阿尔茨海默病。

　　Many years work and more than a billion pounds of investment have come to naught¹, to the disappointment of the researchers involved and the doubtless greater disappointment of those in the very early stages of dementia. 多年的研究工作和价值十多亿英镑的投资全都化为乌有。这使参与其中的研究者们大失所望。毫无疑问，感到更失望的是那些正处于早期痴呆阶段的患者们。

　　A long anticipated breakthrough has been cancelled. 一项众人期待已久的医学突破烟消云散了。

　　It is ironic², of course, that it is the success of medicine, not its failure, which has created what is increasingly referred to as the problem of old age. 当然，讽刺的是，此药的成功（并非失败）之处在于它带来了老龄化这一日趋显著的问题。

　　The success of medicine in dealing³ with the acute conditions which killed our grandparents, such as pneumonia⁴ and influenza⁵, has contributed to a much extended life expectancy⁶. 这一药物成功地治愈了夺走我们祖父母的生命的疾病（如肺炎和流感），大大地延长了人们的寿命。

　　But with that extension comes a new problem - whereas dying used to be, very often, a relatively⁷ short episode at the end of an otherwise healthy life, 但是一个新的问题伴随着出现了--尽管临终时期相对于一个健康的生命历程较为短暂，

　　now more than 40% of us can expect not this pathway towards death, but instead a long and steady decline into dependence⁸, debility and possibly dementia. 但是有40%多的人无法经历这样一个过程，他们要长期忍受着自己慢慢失去自理能力，身体日渐虚弱，还可能会患上痴呆症。

　　We will live much longer, but we will probably dwindle⁹ long before we die, 我们的生命会更加长久，但我们可能会在死亡前的很长一段时间内拖着病弱之躯。

　　and this at a time when changing demographics leave a smaller cohort of those middle-aged¹⁰ children on whom the burden of care for the frail¹¹ elderly traditionally falls. 此时人口情况正在发生变化，负责照顾体弱多病的老年人的中年人数量减少。

　　Medical science is one of the great triumphs of the last hundred years, but the challenge of how to cope with the burden of long dwindling¹² deaths is not one which medicine can itself solve, at least any time soon it seems. 医学在上世纪取得了重大突破，但它解决不了如何应对老龄化的问题，至少在当下是如此。

　　Christ's death was a torture and a torment¹³, and yet he is depicted¹⁴ as dying well, 基督的死亡是痛苦的，但被形容得很美好。

　　forgiving those who had conspired¹⁵ against him, commending his mother to the care of a disciple¹⁶, and his own soul to God. 他原谅了那些密谋陷害他的人，让母亲得到了一位门徒的照顾，并把自己的灵魂献给了上帝。

　　Christians¹⁷ have always regarded this death as exemplary, but equally reckoned with the fact that for all others apart from Christ, 基督徒们一直以来都以他的死亡为典范，但他们同时认为除了基督以外，

　　dying well could not and should not be a solitary¹⁸ affair, but would have to rely crucially on the support and companionship of our fellows. 得到善终并不是，也不能是只关系到个人的事情，它需要同伴们的支持和陪伴。

　　Taking this point seriously, Dame¹⁹ Cicely Saunders responded to the bleak²⁰ state of provision for the terminally ill some 50 years ago, with the founding of the hospice movement. 大约50年前，西塞莉·桑德斯夫人为解决临终病人无人供养的问题创建了临终关怀医院。

　　It has transformed especially the care of those in the very last stages of cancer by providing this very companionship. 它通过给予陪伴改变了晚期病人，尤其是对处于癌症晚期的病人的看护形式。

　　We now face, however, a new and different challenge. 然而，我们如今面对的是一个截然不同的新挑战。

　　The experience of the growing number of those who will endure a long dying will be a bitter one, as will the experience of the few who typically bear the heavy burden of care, 我们必须意识到我们共同担负的社会责任，必须意识到我们要去寻找完全不同的有效途径来支持那些日渐衰老并走向死亡的人，

　　unless we recognise a shared social responsibility to find radically²¹ new and effective ways to support and sustain those declining towards death. 否则将有更多不幸的人在漫长中等待死亡，而且没有多少人会去承担照料老人的重任。

　　We can keep our fingers crossed that science will come to the rescue, but if and when it does, it will almost certainly be much too late for most of us. 我们可以祈祷科学来拯救我们，但如果真的能够拯救，这一刻到来时，对我们大多数人而言已经太晚了。

1 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

2 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

5 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

6 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

9 dwindle   

v.逐渐变小（或减少）

参考例句：

• The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.工厂雇员总数已经从4,000多人减少到几百人。
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority.他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。

10 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

11 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

12 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

13 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

14 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

15 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

16 disciple   

n.信徒，门徒，追随者

参考例句：

• Your disciple failed to welcome you.你的徒弟没能迎接你。
• He was an ardent disciple of Gandhi.他是甘地的忠实信徒。

17 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

18 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

19 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

20 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

21 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。