Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death — probably by a deadly injection or pill — to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a “cooling off” period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54 year old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. “I’m not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I’d go, because I’ve watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks,” he says.

　　52. When the author says that observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling, he means _____.

　　[A] observers are taking a wait and see attitude towards the future of euthanasia

　　[B] similar bills are likely to be passed in the US, Canada and other countries

　　[C] observers are waiting to see the result of the game of dominoes

　　[D] the effect taking process of the passed bill may finally come to a stop

　　[答案] B

　　[解题思路]

　　本题对应于文章第二段的最后一句话“In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling”(在美国和加拿大，死亡权利运动正在积蓄力量积极准备。观察家们正在等待着将产生的多米诺骨牌效应)。“dominoes”的意思为多米诺骨牌，在这里指的是多米诺骨牌效应，即其他国家可能效仿澳大利亚纷纷推出安乐死法律，因此答案为A。即使不知道dominoes的意思，也可以从该句的前半句以及第二段中间的“But the tide is unlikely to turn back”(但是安乐死这一潮流已无法逆转)这句话也能判断出正确答案。A和C选项与上下文的意思不符，可以排除。而D选项则与“But the tide is unlikely to turn back”这句话的意思以及该段的基调相反，也是错误选项。

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