同等学力英语阅读及翻译专项练习 9

After retirement from medical research, my wife and I built our home in a gated community surrounded by yacht clubs and golf courses on Hilton Head Island . But when I left for the other side of the island, I was traveling on unpaved roads lined with leaky cottages. The “lifestyle” of many of the native islanders stood in shocking contrast to my comfortable existence.

By talking to the local folks, I discovered that the vast majority of the maids, gardeners, waitresses and construction workers who make this island work had little or no access to medical care. It seemed outrageous to me. I wondered why someone didn't do something about that. Then my father's words, which he had asked his children daily when they were young, rang in my head again: “What did you do for someone today?”

Even though my father had died several years before, I guess I still didn't want to disappoint him. So I started working on a solution. The island was full of retired doctors. If I could persuade them to spend a few hours a week volunteering their services, we could provide free primary health care to those so desperately in need of it. Most of the doctors I approached liked the idea, so long as they could be relicensed without troubles. It took one year and plenty of persistence, but I was able to persuade the state legislators to create a special license for doctors volunteering in not-for-profit clinics.

The town donated land, local residents contributed office and medical equipment and some of the potential patients volunteered their weekends ornamenting the building that would become the clinic. We named it Volunteers in Medicine and we opened its doors in 1994, fully staffed by retired physicians, nurses and dentists as well as nearly 150 nonprofessional volunteers. That year we had 5,000 patient visits; last year we had 16,000.

Somehow word of what we were doing got around. Soon we were receiving phone calls from retired physicians all over the country, asking for help in starting VIM clinics in their communities. We did the best we could — there are now 15 other clinics operating — but we couldn't keep up with the need. Yet last month I think my father's words found their way up north, to McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the maker of Tylenol ( 泰诺：一种感冒药 ). A major grant from McNeil will allow us to respond to these requests and help establish other free clinics in communities around the country.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The contrast between the rich and the poor on an island.

B. The story of a man who likes to give others advice.

C. The life and work of a great father.

D. The inspiration of a father's words.

2. The author of the passage is ______.

A. a retired physician B. a retired teacher

C. a retired medical researcher D. a retired construction worker

3. The purpose of Volunteers in Medicine is to ______.

A. help retired medical workers improve their incomes

B. provide free medical services to those who need them

C. urge the government to set up non-profit clinics

D. make the dream of the author's father come true

4. Which of the following has been done by the author himself?

A. Buying the medical equipment.

B. Finding the land and the office.

C. Decorating the building that would become the clinic.

D. Getting a special license for the retired doctors.

5. In the last paragraph, “I think my father's words found their way up north to McNeil” implies that ______.

A. my father's words finally reached McNeil

B. McNeil decided to do something for the needy people

C. my father decided to assist us in opening more clinics in the north

D. McNeil community was badly in need of free health care programs

从医学研究工作中退休后，我同妻子在希尔顿·海德岛上的一个封闭社区安了家，该社区周围都是游艇俱乐部和高尔夫球场。但是，当我动身前往岛的另一端时，我走的是没有铺砌的路，路两边排列的是有漏缝的小屋。岛上许多土著居民的“生活方式”与我的舒适生活形成了令人震惊的反差。

通过与当地居民交谈，我发现，绝大多数女佣、园丁、女招待以及建筑工人等这些使该岛正常运转的人们很少享有或根本享受不到医疗保健。对我来说，这种情形太令人愤慨了。我感到奇怪的是为什么没有人为此做些什么。于是，我父亲的话语——小时候父亲每天都问我们的话语，又浮现在我脑海中：“你今天为别人做了什么？”

尽管我父亲几年前就去世了，但是，我认为我还不想令他失望。因此，我开始寻求解决办法。岛上到处都是退休的医生。如果我能够劝他们一星期花几小时的时间做志愿服务工作，我们就可以为那些急需保健的人们提供基本的医疗保健服务。我所接触的大多数医生都赞同这种想法，只要他们能够毫不费力地重新获得执照。我费了一年的时间以及不懈的努力，但是，我终于说服州立法者为那些在不赢利的诊所做志愿服务的医生颁发了特殊执照。

镇政府捐献了场地，当地居民捐赠了办公及医疗设备，一些可能的患者自愿在周末装饰即将成为诊所的房子。我们把诊所命名为“医疗志愿者”，并于一九九四年开门营业，所有人员都是退休的医生、护士和牙医，还有将近一百五十名非专业志愿人员。当年我们出诊的病人有五千名；去年我们则为一万六千名。

不知何故，有关我们所作所为的消息传开了。不久，我们收到了全国各地退休医生打来的电话，要求我们帮助在他们社区也开办 VIM 诊所。我们竭尽所能——如今开办了十五家其他的诊所，但我们还是满足不了需要。不过，上个月，我认为我父亲的话语在北方产生了效应，在迈克内尔消费者保健中心——泰诺的制造商——产生了效应。迈克内尔的一笔较大赠款使我们能够对这些需求做出回应，帮助在全国各社区建立其他的免费诊所。

参考答案 ： 1 ． D 2 ． C 3 ． B 4 ． D 5 ． B