VOA慢速英语2019--In the Face of Death, A Party

 

On the day he chose to die, Robert Fuller invited his friends to a party at his house.

Fuller, age 75, was living at a home for older adults in the American state of Washington¹. That state permits² people to choose to end their lives under some conditions. Fuller is one of about 1,200 people in Washington to use the law over the last 10 years.

Fuller invited a reporter from the Associated³ Press to the party because he said he wanted to show people how “aid in dying” laws work. By the end of the year, nine U.S. states will have such laws.

The morning of his planned death was sunny and pleasant. Fuller put on a blue flowered shirt and greeted his guests. Old and new friends were there. He knew some from his religious⁴ center. He knew some from his job as a nurse. He knew some from his volunteer work.

They described him as fun, funny and friendly. Many of the guests were thankful for the things he had done for them.

To honor⁵ their friend's life, a group of singers performed. A writer read a poem about Fuller being like a tree.

Someone started to cry. Fuller said, “I’m ready to go. I’m tired.”

In 2018, doctors found a serious cancer in Fuller’s mouth. He began treatment, but he did not like the way the medicine made him feel. He also did not like the idea of losing control to disease⁶ and death. So he began making plans to end his life legally⁷.

Fuller had learned⁸ about Washington’s “aid in dying” law from a neighbor. The measure requires two doctors to legally declare that a patient has less than six months to live. Also, the person must be in good mental health. And he or she must publicly⁹ ask for the life-ending drugs three times.

Others who used the law said they did not want to lose their independence as a result of severe¹⁰ sickness. Some said they did not want to cause problems for their families and friends. And some said they did not want to stop enjoying life.

Fuller said he did not want to suffer. And he was not frightened by death. When he was a child, his grandmother drowned herself in a river. Fuller saw her lifeless body in the water. The event made him believe that if things really became difficult, he could always end his life, too. When he had faced troubles as a younger man, he tried several times to kill himself.

The desire for death is one reason critics¹¹ do not like the “aid in dying” laws. Writer Wesley J. Smith says seriously sick people may be too quick to choose to end their lives. If they waited, he says, new treatments might be developed.

And, he says, people with serious sicknesses who end their lives send a troubling message. They are communicating that sick people do not have lives of value, Smith says.

Smith also says that American culture should not make suicide¹² normal. The problem of Americans killing¹³ themselves is bad enough as it is, he says.

Some say that actions such as Fuller’s are not suicide, however. His official cause of death is written as “natural causes.” And the American Medical Association¹⁴ calls the operation “assisted suicide.”

When Fuller was ready to go, he told his friends they could join him in his bedroom. He changed into nice pajamas¹⁵ and got into his bed.

Two unpaid¹⁶ workers from a nonprofit called End of Life Washington mixed drugs in a glass. They added¹⁷ some of Fuller’s favorite alcoholic¹⁸ drink.

The workers say they are like assistants at a birth, except they help people out of life instead of into life.

One of the workers explained to Fuller that if he accepted the drugs, he would fall asleep and never wake up.

Fuller said he understood. He gave himself the mixture. Then he led his friends in a song.

In time, his eyes closed.

“I’m still here,” he said.

And then he was not.

I’m Caty Weaver¹⁹.

Words in This Story

greet - v. to meet someone with friendly and polite words

pajama - n. clothing that people wear in bed or while relaxing at home

1 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

2 permits   

许可( permit的名词复数 )； 许可证； 执照

参考例句：

• The building permits are granted by the City Building Department. 建筑许可证由城建局签发。
• This task permits (of) no delay. 这项任务不允许有任何耽搁。

3 associated   

adj.联合的

参考例句：

• the risks associated with taking drugs 与吸毒有关的危险
• I don't want to be associated with your scheme; I'm contracting out. 我不想参与你们的计划，我要退出。

4 religious   

adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人

参考例句：

• She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
• It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。

5 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

6 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

7 legally   

adv. 合法地，法律上地

参考例句：

• A bill of exchange is a legally recognized document. 汇票是合法票据。
• The agreement will be legally binding. 这个协议将具有法律效力。

8 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

9 publicly   

adv.公然地，舆论上

参考例句：

• Extra shares of common will be sold publicly.额外的普通股份将公开出售。
• He acknowledged publicly that he might have made a mistake.他当众承认自己可能犯了个错误。

10 severe   

adj.严格的，凶猛的，严肃的，严重的，严厉的，朴素的

参考例句：

• The severe storm did for most of the crops.猛烈的暴风雨毁掉了大部分庄稼。
• The pace was too severe to be kept up for long.跟上这步伐太难了，无法持久。

11 critics   

n.批评家( critic的名词复数 )；评论员；批评者；挑剔的人

参考例句：

• He felt no animosity towards his critics. 他对批评他的人并不心怀怨恨。
• The move was widely seen as an attempt to appease critics of the regime. 普遍认为，这一举措是试图安抚批评政权的人。

12 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

15 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

16 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

17 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

18 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

19 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。