研究披露人们心目中何为“善终”

 We spend a considerable amount of time planning birthdays, wedding and anniversaries.

我们花了很多时间来策划生日、婚礼和纪念日。

But have you ever thought about how you would like to die?

但你可曾想过自己愿意以什么样的方式离开人世呢？

In a new study, researchers have revealed the key characteristics of a 'good death'.

在一项新研究中，研究人员揭示了“善终”的几个关键词。

They focused on the views of the patients themselves; family members – who were quizzed before or during bereavement¹ - and healthcare providers.

他们针对病人、丧亲前后的家属和医护人员做了问卷调查。

研究披露人们心目中何为善终

They identified 11 core themes of a good death, which included a choice of a specific process while dying, being free of pain and with the appropriate religious or spiritual rituals they wanted.

通过调查，研究人员确定了“善终”的11个核心主题，包括临终时选择的流程——没有痛苦地死去以及举行自己想要的适当的宗教或心灵仪式。

The other key characteristics included dying with a sense of emotional well-being², passing away with dignity and feeling as though one has 'completed' one's life.

其他的核心主题包括怀着幸福感死去、有尊严地死去以及感到人生圆满。

The study was published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry³.

该研究发表在《美国老年精神病学期刊》上。

It comes after a shocking report today revealed thousands of British patients are routinely being left dehydrated and in pain during their final hours.

就在今天，一份令人震惊的报告披露成千上万的英国病人在临死时都常规性地处于脱水和痛苦的状态。

Last week, another study urged doctors to send cancer patients home to die, as this may give them a few extra days of life.

上周，另一项研究敦促医生让癌症病人回家等死，因为这样也许能让他们多活几天。

The University of Tsukuba study found people given between two and eight weeks to live survived 36 days at home, but only 29 in hospital.

日本筑波大学的研究发现，被医生诊断还能活两到八周的病人，如果在家休养可以活36天，但在医院治疗只能活29天。

Often, people prefer to spend their final days at home but end up dying in hospital because doctors do not want them to leave, researchers said.

研究人员称，人们通常更愿意在家度过最后的时光，但由于医生不同意往往最后死在医院。

From floating in space to being administered a fatal dose of morphine, Reddit users share how they would like to die.

从漂浮在太空到服下致命剂量的吗啡，社交新闻网站Reddit的用户们分享了自己想要的死法。

‘I want a meteor to kill me,’ one user called Turd Burgleson wrote.

一位名叫特德?巴格尔森的用户写道：“我希望被流星杀死。”

Another user, called ‘themoosehatguy’, said: ‘Floating in a space suit while down at the Earth. One last good view.’

另一位名为“驼鹿帽男人”的用户写道：“穿着航天服漂浮在太空中俯视地球。最后再好好地看一眼。”

One patient, a recent cancer survivor⁴, said: ‘When it gets to the point that I can no longer care for myself, I want my significant other to crawl into bed with me and administer a lethal⁵ dose of morphine.

一位近日刚战胜癌症病魔的幸存者说：“如果到了我不能再照顾自己的时候，我希望我的另一半能钻进我的被窝，给我注射致命剂量的吗啡。

‘We have fallen asleep with his arm around me and my head on his shoulder every night of our long relationship.

“在我们这么多年的夫妻岁月中，每天晚上我都是在他的臂弯中，枕着他的肩膀睡着的。

‘He held me this way during the long nights after chemo, and I felt as if it was the safest place in the world. That is where I want to die.’

“化疗后的一个个漫漫长夜里，他也是这么抱着我睡觉的，我觉得那是世界上最安全的地方。那就是我想要死去的地方。”

Vocabulary

geriatric: 老人的；老年医学的

dehydrated: 脱水的

administer: 给予

1 bereavement   

n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛

参考例句：

• the pain of an emotional crisis such as divorce or bereavement 诸如离婚或痛失亲人等情感危机的痛苦
• I sympathize with you in your bereavement. 我对你痛失亲人表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

3 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

4 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

5 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。