To Lie or Not to Lie – The Doctor’s Dilemma

撒谎还是不撒谎——医生的难题

I.   Word Building

1. benefit vt. do good to; be good for 有益于，对…有利

e.g. The new policy of the government will benefit the majority of the people.

The new hospital will benefit the local community.

Note: benefit vi. benefit from: 从…中受益 e.g. These small businesses have bene

fited from the fall in interest rates. beneficial a. benefit n. 利益，好处，有益 for the be

nefit of: 为了… profit n. 一般指金钱

2.   expose vt. make known揭露；暴露

ex- : prefix 向外e.g. The newspaper exposed the activ

ities of the secret organization. After the scandal was exposed, Mr.

Johnson and his wife both committed suicide.

Note: expose … to … exposure n.

3. promote vt. 促进，推进；提升

pro- : prefix forward 向前e.g. The government was criticized for not

paying enough attention to environmental protection while promoting economic growth.

He has been promoted twice since joining the army 6 years ago.

Note: be promoted to a certain position: 被提升到某个新职位

考题： The government is trying to do

something to ____ better understanding between the two countries.

a. increase b. heighten c. promote d. raise

4. minimize vt. 使减到最小 /最低程度，估计得最低

e.g. The mountaineers took every precaution to minimize the dangers of their climbing.

Note: minimize vt. maximize vt. minimum n. a. maximum n. a.

5. recover vi. 痊愈，复元，恢复健康

e.g. He’s home now recovering from a heart attack.

He has just recovered from a severe illness.

Note: recover from recovery (from) n.

6. suspicion n. doubt 怀疑e.g. The young man was

arrested on suspicion of theft. The behavior of the

foreigner aroused the policeman’s suspicion.

Note: suspect v. n. suspicious a.

7. illusory a. 虚幻的 contrary a. 相反的；对抗的

–ary, -ory : suffixes, used to form an adj. 用以构成形容词

Ex. 10 P 105

8. age-old 久为人知的；古老的a compound adjective (a noun + an adjective)

Ex. 11 P106

II. Language points and text analysis

1. dilemma n. 窘境，进退两难e.g. Mary was in a dilemma as to whether t

o go to the party or stay at home to prepare for next week’s exams.

He was faced with the dilemma of whether or not to go back Russia.

be in a dilemma: 处于进退两难之境地 put … into a dilemma: 使…处于进退维

谷之境地

2. conceal vt. 隐瞒e.g. She concealed her fear from the

young members of the family. I knew at once that the doctor

was concealing something from me.Note: conceal … from …

3. lines (of work): 行业e.g. Nancy has been in the line of

public relations for more than 5 years.

Janet hasn’t made up her mind about which line of work to select; she is equally qualified to be a teacher or a journalist.

4. dwarf n. 矮子；矮小的动( 植 ) 物

e.g. The dwarf sees farther than the giant, when he has the giant’s shoulders to mount on.

They are dwarfs beside Shakespeare.

dwarf vt. 使矮小，使相形见绌e.g. The newly-built 40-story

hotel dwarfs all the other buildings nearby.

The brilliance of his poetry dwarfed the accomplishments of his contemporaries.

5. brutal a. very cruel 残忍的；蛮横的

e.g. The captain was a brutal man and everyone was afraid of his brutal behavior.

We have to face the brutal fact that Jim is going to die very soon.

6. uphold vt. 支撑；维护e.g. The law upholds everybody’s

right to be fairly treated. They are trying their best to

uphold traditional moral values.

7. corruption n. 腐化；道德败坏

e.g. The President pledged to fight government corruption.

8.   confront vt. face ( 勇敢地 )面对；对抗

e.g. We are confronting some complicated problems now.

He was well aware that he was confronting serious opposition from his opponents within the party.

Note: confront sb. with … be confronted with

9. at times: sometimes; once in a while 间或，偶尔

e.g. We have noodles for lunch at times.

As my father is getting on in years, he gets very sleepy at times.

9. in one’s eyes: 在某人眼里，在某人看来

e.g. Tony is over 30 now, but in the eyes of his parents, he is still a child.

In the eyes of the law, it is theft to take anything that does not belong to you. ( according to … )

11. utter vt. 发出；说；讲；表达

e.g. When the danger was over, she uttered a sigh of relief.

He uttered a cry of fear when the dog suddenly charged at him.

12. distort vt. 歪曲e.g. You’ve distorted what I

said. The newspaper gave a

distorted account of what had happened.

13. grave a. serious 严重的；严肃的

e.g. The doctor has told us that Peter’s condition is very grave and he will probably die.

The doctor’s face was grave when he told us the news.

14. document vt. 用文件证明e.g. Can you document your

theory with facts? The lawyer gathered enough

evidence to document the charges.

15. contrary to: 与…相反e.g. Everything he has done is

contrary to what he said he would do.

Contrary to popular belief, the desert can be a beautiful place.

16. betray vt. 背叛e.g. The public felt betrayed

when the President went back on his promise not to raise taxes.

Who could have thought that he had betrayed his best friend to the enemy?

17. convey vt. 转达，传达 ( 思想、感情等 )

e.g. I can’t convey my feeling in words.

This picture will convey to you some idea of the beauty of the West Lake.

Please convey my best wishes to your parents.

1.  tolerate vt. 容忍 Note: tolerance n. 容忍，宽容 tolerant a. 能容忍的，宽容的，含有主动

的意味 tolerable a. 可容忍的，过得去的，含有

被动的意味e.g. The ability to tolerate pain varies fro

m person to person. The workers said they couldn’t toler

ate the poor working conditions any longer.

考题： Some old people don’t like pop songs

because they can’t _____ so much noise.

a. resist b. sustain c. tolerate d. undergo Answer: c. resist: 抵抗，对抗； sustain: 支撑，承

受得起；维持； undergo: 经历，遭受

cf. 1) bear: “ 忍受”，常带有原来“负担”的含义，

强调忍受者的“坚忍”。 (bear the disease / torture)

2) stand: 与 bear 大致同义，多用于口语中，常以否定形式，在肯定语里具有比 bear 更强的正面意味，即“不屈不挠”或“经受得起”。

e.g. I can’t stand (bear) this heat. 我真受不了这个热。

He successfully stood the severe test. 他胜利地经受了那次严峻的考验。

cf. 3) endure: 侧重折磨或不愉快的长期

性 4) tolerate: 容忍，语气较以上几个

词弱，所容忍的现象（人或物）一般不是给主语直接带来强烈苦难

5) put up with: 可看作一个普通及物动词，与 tolerate 意义较近，有“宽容”、“不计较”、“将就”等含义

19. advocate n. 拥护者，倡导者

e.g. Prof. Li is a passionate advocate of socialist market economy.

They are strong advocates of women’s rights.

Note: advocate vt.

20.   render vt. make; cause to become 使得；使变为

e.g. The shock of her husband’s death rendered her completely unable to work.

If you introduce too many complicated rules you will render the system unworkable.

Note: render + n. + adj.

21. informed a. 了解情况的；有见识的

e.g. The bank manager should be able to give you his informed opinion about the state of your business.

An informed guess at his personal wealth was $ 200 million.

22.   befall vt. happen to 降临到…头上；发生于

e.g. She feared that some terrible accident had befallen him.

Bad luck befell the team throughout the game so that they eventually lost.

23. keep / leave in the dark: 把某人蒙在鼓里，不让某人知道，对某事毫不知情

e.g. Peter kept his parents in the dark about his bad examination results.

He said nothing, leaving me in the dark about his plans.

24. integrity n. honesty, uprightness 诚实，正直；完整

e.g. His integrity prevents him from doing anything wrong.

The integrity of the judge is unquestionable.

25.   in the long run: 从长远的观点看；最终

e.g. You may make good grades by studying only before examinations, but you will succeed in the long run only by studying hard every day.

It pays in the long run to buy goods of high quality.

26. injure vt. hurt or wound (sb. , part of the boday, et

c.) ; harm or damage (sb.’s feeling of pride, reputation, etc.) 伤害，受伤

1) injure: 指广义的“损害”，在用于“受伤”时，着重指容貌、机能等的损坏。 e.g. ~ his reputation

2) hurt: 可以指精神上或肉体上的“伤害”。含有较强烈的“疼痛”意味。

e.g. He fell and hurt his arm.

cf.

3) wound: 指用外界暴力引起身体“创伤”，特指战争或其他灾害中受伤。

4) 身体内部的受伤不能用 wound. 5) hurt 的过去分词通常只能用作表语； in

jured 和 wounded 可以作表语，也可以作定语。

6) hurt 可作为不及物动词，表示“疼”、“难受”；其他两个词不能。

e.g. My right foot hurts.

27. arise vi. 出现，产生，呈现e.g. The question then arises as to what w

e are going to do once we get the equipment.

At a later stage there arose new problems which were even harder to solve.

Note: arise from: result from 由…产生，由…引起，起源于

考题： A completely new situation will ____ wh

en the examination system comes into existence.

a. arise b. rise c. raise d. arouse Answer: a. 译文：这种考试制度一旦产生将会出现一

个崭新的局面。 rise: 上升； raise: 提高； arouse: 激发

28.   alternative n. 抉择；可供选择的东西

e.g. As Bob would no accept the salary I could offer, I have no alternative but to give the job to someone else.

There are three alternatives for his treatment and most doctors are for the first one.

Note: alter v.

29. go to great lengths: 不遗余力，竭尽全力

e.g. He went to great lengths to prove to his girlfriend that he had earned his success by hard work.

He’ll go to all / any lengths to get his child back from his ex-wife.

30. refrain from: 忍住；抑制，制止；戒除

e.g. You must refrain from eating too much.

He could hardly refrain from laughing on hearing my joke.

31. object vi. 反对，不赞成 e.g. Do you think Mom would object if I

take a part-time job as a salesman? Robert objected to being treated like

a child. Note: object to: be opposed to 反对 objection n. objective a. & n. 客观的；真实的；目标

的；目标，目的

32. take a stand: 表明立场、意见等

e.g. Many students take a strong stand against cheating on exams.

I think everyone should take a stand on such an issue.

If you want my vote, you’ll have to take a firm stand on the question of East-West relations.

Note: take a stand against / for sth.

33. debate vt. 辩论 e.g. They debated the question

for at least five hours before taking a vote.

The United Nations Security Council will debate the issue tomorrow.

III.    Group Discussion Topic: If a person is incurably ill

or dying, do you think the doctor should tell him the truth or not? Give your reasons.