自考英语二（下）课文翻译之unit3

自考英语二（下）课文翻译之unit3

Unit Three Euthanasia : For and Against

安乐死—赞成和反对

"We mustn't delay any longer ... swallowing is difficult ... and breathing, that's also difficult. Those muscles are weakening too ... we mustn't delay any longer."

“我们不能再拖了 ,, 吞咽困难 ,, 呼吸困难。那部分肌肉也在萎缩 ,, 我们不能再拖了。”

These were the words of Dutchman Cees van Wendel de Joode asking his doctor to help him die. Affected with a serious disease, van Wendel was no longer able to speak clearly and he knew there was no hope of recovery and that his condition was rapidly deteriorating.

以上是荷兰人齐思.范.万德尔，德.尤德请求医生帮他结束自己生命时说过的话了，患有严重疾病的范. 万德尔当时已不再能够清楚地说话了，他知道自己没有康复的希望，他的病情正在迅速恶化。

Van Wendel's last three months of life before being given a final, lethal injection by his doctor were filmed and first shown on television last year in the Netherlands . The programme has since been bought by 20 countries and each time it is shown, it starts a nationwide debate on the subject.

范.万德尔在接受其医生给他打最后致命的一针之前的 3 个月的情况被制作成影片，去年首次在荷兰电视上播出。此后，该影片被20 个国家购买，每次播放时都引起一场全国性的有关安乐死的大讨论。

The Netherlands is the only country in Europe which permits euthanasia, although it is not technically legal there. However, doctors who carry out euthanasia under strict guidelines introduced by the Dutch Parliament two years ago are usually not prosecuted. The guideline s demand that the patient is experiencing extreme suffering , that there is no chance of a cure, and that the patient has made repeated requests for euthanasia . In addition to this, a second doctor must confirm that these criteria have been met and the death must be reported to the police department.

尽管安乐死在荷兰并未合法化， 但荷兰仍然是欧洲惟一允许安乐死的国家。两年前在荷兰议会制定的严格标准下实施安乐死的医生通常不会被起诉。这此指导原则要求：病人正在经受极度的痛苦; 没有治愈的机会; 病人一再提出安乐死的请求。除此之外，还需有另外一位医生确认是否已达到安乐死的标准，而且，必须向警方提出死亡报告。

Should doctors be allowed to take the lives of others? Dr, Wilfred van Oijen, Cees van Wendel's doctor, explains how he looks at the question: "Well, it's not as if I'm planning to murder a crowd of people with a machine gun. In that case, killing is the worst thing 1 can imagine. But that's entirely different from my work as a doctor. I care for people and I try to ensure that they don't suffer too much. That's a very different thing."

是不是应该允许医生结束病人的生命呢?齐思.范.万尔德的医生威尔费雷德.范.奥仁博上解释了对这个问题的看法：“情况并不像我计划用机关枪屠杀一大群人似的， 倘若那样， 屠杀是我所能想像到的最坏的事情， 这与我的医生职业风马牛不相及。 我关怀病人并努力使他们不至于遭受太多的痛苦。这完全是两码事。”

Many people, though, are totally against the practice of euthanasia, Dr. Andrew Ferguson, Chairman of the organization Healthcare Opposed to Euthanasia, says that "in the vast majority of euthanasia cases, what the patient is actually asking for is something else. They may want a health professional to open up communication for them with their loved ones or family — there's nearly always another question behind the question."

然而，许多人完全反对安乐死。 反对安乐死保健组织主席安德鲁. 福格森博士说：“在大量安乐死的病例中， 病人实际所要求的是别的东西。 他们或许是想要保健专业人员为他们打开与亲人或家人开展思想交流的渠道—-可能请求之后另有他求”。

Britain also has a strong tradition of hospices — special hospitals which care only for the dying and their special needs. Cicely Saunders, President of the National Hospice Council and a founder member of the hospice movement, argues that euthanasia doesn't take into account that there are ways of caring for the dying. She is also concerned that allowing euthanasia would undermine the need for care and consideration of a wide range of people: "It's very easy in society now for the elderly, the disabled and the dependent to feel that they are burdens, and therefore that they ought to opt out. I think that anything that legally allows the shortening of life does make those people more vulnerable.

英国对晚期病人收容所的做法有着根深蒂固的传统。收容所就是指那些关怀临终之人和照顾他们特殊需要的专门医院。 英国收容所理事会主席及收容所运动创始人之一的茜茜莉. 桑德斯认为， 安乐死没有考虑其他关怀临终病人的途径。她还担心允许安乐死会减弱大众对关怀和照顾的需求： “当前社会中的那些老年人、残疾人和受赡养的人很容易感到自已是个负担从而脱离社会。我认为任何法律允许缩短生命的行为都必定使这些人更容易受到伤害”。

Many find this prohibition of an individual's right to die paternalistic. Although they agree that life is important and should be respected, they feel that the quality of life should not be ignored. Dr. van Oijen believes that people have the fundamental right to choose for themselves if they want to die: "What those people who oppose euthanasia are telling me is that dying people haven't the right. And that when people are very ill, we are all afraid of their death. But there are situations where death is a friend. And in those cases, why not?"

许多人认为这种禁止个人生死权利的做法是家长作风。尽管他们同意生命是重要的、应该受到尊重，但是他们感到生命的质量不应该被漠视。范.奥仁博十认为人们具有自己选择生死的基本权利： “那些反对安乐死的人告诉我的是临终之人没有这个权利。当人们病重的时候，我们都害怕他们死亡。但是，在某些情况下，死亡是一位朋友。如果这样，为什么不呢?”

But "why not?" is a question which might cause strong emotion . The film showing Cees van Wendel's death was both moving and sensitive. His doctor was clearly a family friend; his wife had only her husband's interests at heart. Some, however, would argue that it would be dangerous to use this particular example to support the case for euthanasia. Not all patients would receive such a high level of individual care and attention.

然而，“为什么不呢?”是一个引起强烈感情的问题。展示齐思.范.万德尔死亡的影片既动人又敏感。 他的医生显然是他们家的一位朋友; 他的妻子心中只有她丈夫的利益。 那么，有人就会争辩说用这样一个特殊的例子来支持安乐死是危险的，并非所有的病人都会受到如此高水平的关怀和照料。

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