阅读理解。
In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first
generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during the birth of a baby and have never
experienced the death of a family member.
Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send
them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit terminal (晚期的) patients-even when those patients
are their parents. This deprives (剥夺) the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his
life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.
Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 terminal patients in order to find
out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of
their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their
serious illness were quite aware of its potential (潜在的) outcome.
It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients' communication
in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies (幻想). Most of our patients welcomed another
human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them
shared with us their great need to be informed, to be kept up-to- date on their medical condition and to be
told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were
better able to cope with the coming of detach and finally to reach a true stage, of acceptance before death.
1. The elders of today's Americans ____.
A. are often absent when a family member is born or dying
B. are unfamiliar with birth and death
C. usually see the birth or death of a family member
D. have often experienced the fear of death as part of life
2. Children in America are deprived of the chance to ____.
A. visit a patient at hospital
B. visit their family members
C. learn how to face death
D. look after the patients
3. The need of a dying patient for people to accompany him shows ____.
A. his wish for communication with other people
B. his fear of death
C. his unwillingness to die
D. he feels very upset about his condition
4. It may be concluded from the passage that ____.
A. dying patients should be truthfully informed of their condition
B. dying patients are afraid of being told of the coming of death
C. most patients are unable to accept death until it can't be avoided
D. most doctors and nurses understand what dying patients need
