经济学人：你会选择如何告别人世？|双语精读

Dying at home

Home help

DEATH comes to all, but some are more sure of its timing, and can make plans. Kate Granger, a 32-year-old doctor suffering from an incurable form of sarcoma, has “very strong ambitions” for her last hours. She plans to avoid hospital emergency departments and die at her parents' house—music playing, candles glowing, family by her side.

Surveys show that over two-thirds of Britons would like to die at home. Like Dr Granger, they want to be with family and free of pain. Yet hospital remains the most common place of death. For some this is unavoidable—not every disease has as clear a turning point as cancer—but for others a lack of planning is to blame. The government, motivated by both compassion and thrift, wants to help.

In death, at least, public wishes align neatly with the state's desire to save money. The NHS has calculated that if roughly one more patient per general practitioner died outside hospital each year, it would save 180m ($295m). In 2008 it introduced a broad end-of-life care strategy, which sought to increase awareness of how people die while improving care. Since then the proportion of people dying at home or in care homes (the split is about half-and-half between them) has increased, from 38% to 44%.

To steer patients away from hospitals, general practitioners have been encouraged to find their 1%—those patients likely to die in the next year—and start talking about end-of-life care. This can be difficult for doctors. “As a profession we view death as failure,” says Dr Granger. Yet when there is no cure to be had, planning for death can be therapeutic for patients.

Those who do plan ahead are much more likely to have their wishes met. A growing number of patients have electronic “palliative-care co-ordination systems”, which allow doctors to register personal preferences so that other care providers can follow them. A paramedic called to a patient's home would know of a do-not-resuscitate order, for example. One study showed that such systems increase the number of people dying in their homes.

But savings for the government may mean costs for charities and ordinary folk. At the end of life it is not always clear who should pay for what. Although Britons can get ordinary health care without paying out of pocket, social care is means-tested. People must often shell out for carers or care homes—or look after the terminally ill themselves. Disputes crop up over trivial things, like responsibility for the cost of a patient's bath.

A bill now trundling through Parliament would cap the cost of an individual's social care. Still, some want it to be free for those on end-of-life registries. That would cut into the government's savings—but allow more people to die as they want.

(The End)

Dying at home 家中安息

Home help 家庭援助

DEATH comes to all, but some are more sure of its timing , and can make plans. Kate Granger, a 32-year-old doctor suffering from an incurable form of sarcoma , has “very strong ambitions” for her last hours. She plans to avoid hospital emergency departments and die at her parents' house—music playing, candles glowing, family by her side.

• 注意中文惯常用人称主语，注重“什么人怎么样了”，而英文更喜欢用物称主语，注重“什么事发生在什么人身上”，举几个常见的例子，大家体会一下：

What has happened to you?
你出什么事啦？
An idea suddenly struck me.
我突然想到了一个主意。
The medicine will make you feel better.
你吃了这些药就会好些。
本文的中心句 Death comes to all, but some are more sure of itstiming, and can make plans. 同样如此。中文一般说“每个人都会死”，用人做主语，而英文则会说 Death comes to all ，用 物做主 语 。

• 大家在平时的阅读、写作和翻译时都要多多留意英文和中文的不同特点，对写出地道英文、摆脱翻译腔很有帮助。

• 在这里推荐给大家一本书——连淑能老师的《英汉对比研究》，这本书从十个角度对比分析了英汉的不同特点，深入浅出，旁征博引，实例丰富，读罢你会对中文和英文的特点有更深的认识，也有意识地注意不同语言各自的表现方法，从而使你的写作和口语更有英语味，更地道，更合乎英文的表达习惯。 [写作推荐]

• some 指 some people ，有些人，一些人 many 也有类似的用法，指 many people 许多人。 [外刊高频]
  

• timing 既可以指时间，如本文 its timing 指死亡的时间， timing 也可以指时机，比如“你来得正是时候。我刚想要给你打电话”，我们可以说 Your timing is perfect. I was just about to call you. perfect/good/ bad timing 是惯用搭配。

• sarcoma [sɑːˈkəʊmə] n. Sarcoma is one of the two main forms of cancer. It affects tissues such as muscle and bone. 肉瘤；恶性毒瘤

Surveys show that over two-thirds of Britons would like to die at home. Like Dr Granger, they want to be with family and free of pain. Yet hospital remains the most common place of death. For some this is unavoidable—not every disease has as clear a turning point as cancer—but for others a lack of planning is to blame. The government, motivated by both compassion and thrift, wants to help.

• Surveys show that… 调查显示 Studies show that… 调查表明

• A is to blame (for B) 字面义是“ B 的发生要责怪 A ”，也即“ A 要对 B 负责”，也常引申为 A 是 B 的原因，比如“人类行为造成了全球气候变暖”，我们可以说 Human activities lead to global warming. 或 Human activities are to blame for global warming. [写作推荐]

• a turning point 指“转折点”，比如“遇到她是我人生的转折点”： Meeting her was the turning point in my life.

• For some… but for others… 对一些人来说如何，但是对另一些人来说又如何 …

In death, at least, public wishes align neatly with the state's desire to save money. The NHS has calculated that if roughly one more patient per general practitioner died outside hospital each year, it would save 180m ($295m). In 2008 it introduced a broad end-of-life care strategy, which sought to increase awareness of how people die while improving care. Since then the proportion of people dying at home or in care homes (the split is about half-and-half between them) has increased, from 38% to 44%.

• align neatly with sth aligh with sth 指与 … 一致， align neatly with sth 即恰好与 … 一致， neatly 带有正面的、积极的意味。

• the NHS 全称为 the National Health Servicethe 国民保健制度，这是英国的一种免费医疗制度。

• [同义替换] wishes 和 desire 互为同义替换。

• seek to do sth If you seek to do something, you try to do it. 力图做某事；想方设法做某事

• 在写作中我们可以用 seek to do sth 替换掉 try to do sth [写作推荐]

• seek 后面还可以直接跟宾语，表示 “ 寻求 ” 、 “ 谋求 ” ，比如追名逐利 seek fame and fortune ，寻求政治避难 seek political asylum ； seek sth 也可以表示 “ 寻找 ” 、 “ 寻求 ” ，相当于 look for sth ，比如 ◇ 找工作 seek employment / jobs ， ◇ 找对象 Many single people are seeking that special someone.

• 2017 年 4 月，政府划定雄安新区 (Xiongan New Area) ，房价暴涨，当地土著的身价也不同了，当月经济学人一篇报道中就提到一则 “ 雄安男 ” 的征婚启事： Male, 53, two acres in Xiongan, seeking woman, 25 or younger, beautiful, preferably with study-abroad experience.

• end-of-life care 指临终关怀

• increase awareness of sth 提高 … 的意识 比如“《我不是药神》帮助提高了人们对仿制药疗效的认识” ： Dying to survive helped increase awareness of the efficacy of generic drugs. [写作推荐]

• general practitioner 指普通（全科）医生，简称为 GP 。

• care home n.[C] a building where people who are old or ill live and are looked after 〔照料老人或病人的〕护理院

• split 作名词指“份额”，文中 the split 指选在死在家里和死在老人院里的人数分配， the split is about half-and-half between them 即比例为对半分，五五开 [熟词僻义]

To steer patients away from hospitals, general practitioners have been encouraged to find their 1%—those patients likely to die in the next year—and start talking about end-of-life care. This can be difficult for doctors. “As a profession we view death as failure,” says Dr Granger. Yet when there is no cure to be had, planning for death can be therapeutic for patients.

• steer sb away from sth 引导某人远离某物 比如“教师试图引导学生远离毒品”： Teachers try to steer pupils away from drugs.

• therapeutic [ˌθer.əˈpjuː.tɪk]  adj. making you feel calm and relaxed 使人镇静的，使人放松的 :

Those who do plan ahead are much more likely to have their wishes met. A growing number of patients have electronic “palliative-care co-ordination systems”, which allow doctors to register personal preferences so that other care providers can follow them. A paramedic called to a patient's home would know of a do-not-resuscitate order, for example. One study showed that such systems increase the number of people dying in their homes.

• meet one’s wishes 满足某人的愿望

• A growing number of … 可以替换 more and more … 表示“越来越多的 … 比如“越来越多的年轻人选择离开农村，去城市工作”： A growing number of young people opt to leave rural areas and work in cities.

• palliative care palliative 本义是“权宜之计，缓和措施”，而 palliative care 是一个医学上的概念，指“姑息治疗”，这是一种针对癌症末期患者的疗法，由于物理治疗对末期患者逐渐失效，强行延长患者生命，只会徒增其痛苦，便有人开始提倡使用姑息疗法，采用缓和的方式对患者进行护理，可减少患者及其家人的痛苦。

• paramedic [ˌpær.əˈmed.ɪk] n.[C] someone who has been trained to help people who are hurt or to do medical work, but who is not a doctor or nurse 〔非医生或护士的〕护理人员，医务辅助人员

But savings for the government may mean costs for charities and ordinary folk. At the end of life it is not always clear who should pay for what. Although Britons can get ordinary health care without paying out of pocket , social care is means-tested . People must often shell out for carers or care homes—or look after the terminally ill themselves. Disputes crop up over trivial things, like responsibility for the cost of a patient's bath.

• ordinary folks 指普通人

• pay out of pocket 指“掏腰包”

• means-tested means test 指政府会做的一项个人收入调查，以确定是否有资格领取政府补贴， social care is means-tested 指享受社会福利需通过个人收入状况调查。

• shell out (for sth)| shell sth out (for sth) (informal)to pay a lot of money for sth 付（一大笔钱） ◇ The band shelled out $100 000 for a mobile recording studio. 乐队花了 10 万元购置一间移动录音室。

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