“What is the most important thing you’ve done in your life?” The question was put to me during a presentation I gave to a group of lawyers.
The answer came to me in an instant. It’s not the one I gave, because the situation was not right. As a lawyer in the entertainment industry, I knew the audience wanted to hear some amusing stories about my work with well-known people. But here’s the true answer:
The most important thing I’ve ever done occurred on October 8, 1990. I began the day playing tennis with an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while. Between points we talked about what had been happening in each other’s lives. He and his wife had just had a baby boy, who was keeping them up at night.
While we were playing, a car came screaming up the road toward the courts. It was my friend’s father, who shouted to my friend that his baby had stopped breathing and was being rushed to the hospital. In a flash my friend was in the car and gone, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
For a moment I just stood there, paralyzed(呆若木鸡). Then I tried to figure out what I should do. Follow my friend to the hospital? There was nothing I could accomplish there, I convinced myself. My friend’s son was in the care of doctors and nurses, and nothing I could do or say would affect the outcome. Be there for moral support? Well, maybe. But my friend and his wife both had large families, and I knew they’d be surrounded by relatives who would provide more than enough comfort and support, whatever happened. All I could do at the hospital, I decided, was to get in the way. Also, I had planned a full day with my family, who were waiting for me to get home. So I decided to head back to my house and check in my friend later.
As I started my car, I realized that my friend had left his truck and keys at the courts. I now faced another problem. I couldn’t leave the keys in the truck. So I decided to go to the hospital and give him the keys.
When I arrived, I was directed to a room where my friend and his wife were waiting. As I had thought, the room was filled with family members silently watching my friend comfort his wife. I went in and stood by the door, trying to decide what to do next. Soon a doctor appeared. He approached my friend and his wife, and in a quiet voice told them that their son had died.
For a long time the two held each other and cried, unaware of the rest of us standing around in pained silence. After they had calmed themselves, the doctor suggested they spend a few moments with their son.
My friend and his wife stood up and walked past their families. When they reached the door, my friend saw me standing in the corner. He came over and hugged me and started to cry. My friend’s wife hugged me, too, and said, “Thanks for being here.”
For the rest of that morning, I sat in the emergency room of that hospital and watched my friend and his wife hold the body of their infant son, and say goodbye.
It’s the most important thing I have ever done.
The experience taught me two lessons.
First: The most important thing I’ve ever done happened when I was completely helpless. None of the things I had learned in university, in three years of law school or in six years of legal practice were of any use in that situation. Something terrible was happening to people Icared about, and I was powerless to change the outcome. All I could do was standing by and watching it happen. And yet it was critical that I do just that—just be there when someone needed me.
Second: The most important thing I’ve done almost didn’t happen because of things I had learned in classroom and professional life. Law school taught me how to take a set of facts, break them down and organized them. These skills are critical for lawyers. When people come to us for help, they’re often stressed out and depend on a lawyer to think logically. But while learning to think, I almost forget how to feel. Today I have no doubt that I should have leapt into my car without hesitation and followed my friend to the hospital.
From that one experience I learned that the most important thing in life isn’t the money you make, the status you attain or the honors you achieve. The most important thing in life is the kids’ team you coach or the poem you write—or the time when you’re just somebody’s friend.
【小题1】When he was asked about the most important thing he had done in life at a presentation, the author __________.
A felt it was not an interesting question           
B. thought for a while and spoke his mind
C. gave an answer from a lawyer’s point of view   
D. didn’t give the real answer
【小题2】When he saw his friend rush to the hospital, the author could not decide whether to follow mainly because he thought _________.

Once Dr.Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his  students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．
Dr.Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．
"Are you getting food you like?"
The patient said nothing．
"Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"
The answer was no．
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft．
"If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"
"Yes, yes," the patient said．
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"
"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"
"I would probably insist," the student said．
"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won’t be easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he’ll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"
Three weeks later, Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．
【小题1】The patient had no desire to eat because         .

Once Dr．Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his  students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical ^problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．
Dr．: Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．
"Are you getting food you like?"
The patient said nothing．
"Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"
The answer was no．
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft．
"If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"
"Yes, yes," the patient said．
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"
"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"
"I would probably insist," the student said．
"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won’t be-easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he’ll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"
Three weeks later．Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．
【小题1】The patient had no desire to eat because

Once Dr．Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his  students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical ^problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．

Dr．: Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．

    "Are you getting food you like?"

    The patient said nothing．

    "Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"

    The answer was no．

    The doctor put his hand on the man's shoulder and his voice was very soft．

    "If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"

    "Yes, yes," the patient said．

The change in the patient's appearance couldn't have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．

Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn't getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"

"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn't carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"

    "I would probably insist," the student said．

"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won't be-easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let's get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he'll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"

Three weeks later．Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．

1.The patient had no desire to eat because

     A．he was not hungry               B．he was seriously ill

     C．he was given special meals      D．he was not satisfied with the food

2.According to the passage, we can conclude that        .

  A．the patient’s native language was Spanish

  B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger

  C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient

  D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient

3.Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?

  A．Cold.            B．Considerate.   C．Curious.       D．Careless.

4.What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?

  A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages.

  B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems.

  C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills.

    D．Doctors should have a good relationship ith their patients.

Once Dr．Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his  students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical ^problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．

Dr．: Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．

    "Are you getting food you like?"

    The patient said nothing．

    "Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"

    The answer was no．

    The doctor put his hand on the man's shoulder and his voice was very soft．

    "If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"

    "Yes, yes," the patient said．

The change in the patient's appearance couldn't have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．

Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn't getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"

"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn't carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"

    "I would probably insist," the student said．

"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won't be-easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let's get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he'll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"

Three weeks later．Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．

The patient had no desire to eat because

     A．he was not hungry   B．he was seriously ill

     C．he was given special meals  D．he was not satisfied with the food

According to the passage, we can conclude that        .

    A．the patient’s native language was Spanish

    B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger

    C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient

    D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient

Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?

    A．Cold.    B．Considerate. C．Curious. D．Careless.

What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?

    A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages.

    B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems.

    C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills.

    D．Doctors should have a good relationship ith their patients.