First Self-contained Heart Implanted
A patient on the brink of death1 has received the world’s first self-contained artificial heart — a battery-powered device about the size of a softball that runs without the need for wires, tubes or hoses sticking out of the chest.
Two surgeons from the University of Louisville implanted the titanium and plastic pump during a seven-hour operation at Jewish Hospital Monday. The hospital said the patient was “awake and responsive” Tuesday and resting comfortably. It refused to release personal details.
The patient had been expected to die within a month without the operation, and doctors said they expected the artificial heart to extend the person’s life by only a month. But the device is considered a major step toward improving the patient’s quality of life.
The new pump, called AbioCor, is also a technological leap from the mechanical hearts used in the 1980s, which were attached by wires and tubes to bulky machinery outside the body. The most famous of those, the Jarvic–7, used air as a pumping device and was attached to an apparatus about the size of a washing machine.
“I think it’s potentially a major step forward in the artificial heart development,” said Dr. David Faxon, president of the American Heart Association. However, he said the dream of an implantable, permanent artificial heart is not yet a reality:“This is obviously an experimental device whose long-term success has to be demonstrated.” Only about half of the 4,200 Americans on a waiting list for donor hearts received them last year, and most of the rest died.
Some doctors, including Robert Higgins, chairman of cardiology at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, said artificial hearts are unlikely to replace donor hearts.
“A donor heart in a good transplant can last 15 to 30 years,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to replace that with a machine.”
The AbioCor has a 2–pound pumping unit, and electronic controls that adjust the pumping speed based on the body’s needs. It is powered by a small battery pack worn outside the body that transmits current through the skin.2
词汇:
self-contained 整套装在一起(并带有动力设备)的
battery-powered 以电池作为动力的
hose (= hosepipe)(胶皮、帆布等)软管
softball .垒球 implant 植入;n.植物人
titanium .钛 responsive 反应灵敏的
bulky 庞大的,笨重的 implantable 可植入的
注释:
1.on the brink of death (war, ruin...):处于死亡(战争、毁灭……)的边缘 brink n.边缘
2.It is powered... through the skin.它(指AbioCor)以佩戴在体外的一组小电池作为动力,通过皮肤来传递电流。
worn是wear的过去分词,作pack的定语;that引起的从句也是pack的定语。
练习:
1.The pump of the first implanted self-contained heart was made of titanium and plastic.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
2.The patient’s life was expected to last several years longer by implanting the artificial heart.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
3.There is no difference in structure between the self-contained heart and the mechanical heart.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
4.The American Heart Association recommended widely using the self-contained heart.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
5.Dr. David Faxon believed that the implantable, permanent artificial, heart will certainly be developed in the future.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
6.Approximately two thousand one hundred patients received heart implantation in America last year.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
7.Some doctors doubt the possibility of donor hearts being replaced by artificial ones.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
答案与题解:
1.A 第二段第一句就说到植入了钛和塑料的泵,故是正确的。
2.B 第三段第一句说到医生只指望人工心脏能延长病人的生命大约一个月,而不是几年,故是错误的。
3.B 第一段、第四段和第八段对二者的构造作了介绍,从中可以看到所用的动力、是否要电线及软管与体外连接以及体积大小都不相同,故此题应是错误的。
4.B 在第五段,该协会主席Faxon说“这可能是人工心脏发展中的一次重大飞跃”,还说“很显然,这只是一个实验装置,其能否长期成功还有待证实”,并没有提到要“推荐广泛使用”,故此题应是错误的。
5.B 第五段中,该协会主席Faxon说“可植入的永久性人工心脏这一梦想还不现实”,并没有说到他“相信将来一定会制造出来”的话或类似的意思。
6.A 第五段说“等待别人捐献心脏的4,200个美国人中去年只有大约一半人接受到捐献”,也就是大约2,100人,故此题是正确的。
7.A 第六段说“有些医生说人工心脏不太可能代替捐献的心脏”,第七段说“移植得好,一个捐献的心脏可存活15~30年,而这一点机器是很难代替的”,可见他们对人工心脏是持怀疑态度的,故此题应是正确的。
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