囧研究：全世界最适合死亡的国家TOP10

 　　Britain may not be the best place to live, but it is the best place to die.

　　英国可能不是最适宜居住的地方，但却是最适合死的地方。

　　The Economist¹ Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked the country first in its latest quality-of-death index, which uses 20 quantitative² and qualitative³ indicators⁴ to measure the effectiveness of end-of-life care in 80 countries. The measures include the the quality of palliative care, affordability⁵, the health care environment, and community engagement.

　　经济学人智库在其最新的"死亡质量指数"排名上将英国排在第一名，这一指数使用20个定量和定性指标测量世界上80个国家临终看护的效率。测量标的包括姑息治疗、负担能力、医疗环境和社会参与度。

　　囧研究：全世界最适合死亡的国家TOP10

　　How we die is becoming a critical topic as populations live longer, often with multiple diseases requiring complex (and costly) management. Developing countries in particular grapple with how to deliver basic pain relief to the dying.

　　随着人们的寿命越来越长，我们怎样度过人生最后的阶段越来越成为一个重要的话题，各种疾病经常需要很复杂（也很昂贵）的护理。尤其，发展中国家经常要为怎样缓解死亡的痛苦而烦恼。

　　Not surprisingly, rich countries generally did better than poor ones in the rankings. But there are noteworthy variations: the U.S. came in ninth place with a score of 80.8 (out of 100), far below the 93.9 score achieved by Britain, where complaining about health care is as popular as grumbling⁶ about the weather.

　　意料之中，大体上富裕的国家要比贫穷落后的国家排名更靠前。但是有些变化值得注意：美国以80.8分排名第九（100分制），远低于英国的93.9分，而在英国，人们对健康医疗的抱怨跟对糟糕天气的抱怨一样多。

　　Costa Rica ranks top among middle-income countries, thanks in part to extensive volunteer networks that support public services, according to the EIU.

　　经济学人智库数据显示，哥斯达黎加在中等收入国家中排名第一，部分原因归结为其集中的志愿者网络为其提供公共服务。

　　The most striking finding in the report is that Mongolia, a poor country with few provisions for end-of-life care in 2000, now leads the low-income countries with a score of 57.7, which puts it 28th overall, above a host of more advanced economies.[/en]

　　数据中令人最意想不到的发现是蒙古，它在2000年时还是个贫穷落后的国家，临终看护服务少之又少，现在却得分57.7分，在低收入国家中排第一，总体排名第28位，超过很多非常先进的国家。

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

3 qualitative   

adj.性质上的，质的，定性的

参考例句：

• There are qualitative differences in the way children and adults think.孩子和成年人的思维方式有质的不同。
• Arms races have a quantitative and a qualitative aspects.军备竞赛具有数量和质量两个方面。

4 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

5 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

6 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。