Номер 54, страница 152 - гдз по английскому языку 8 класс учебник Афанасьева, Михеева

Unit 4. Fascination and Challenge: The World of Science and Technology. Reading for Discussion: «The Surgeon» (After I. Asimov) - номер 54, страница 152.

Условие.

READING FOR DISCUSSION

54 A. Read the text "The Surgeon" and say what makes the end of the story unexpected.

B. Put the statements in the right order.

a) The patient refused to have a plastic cyber-heart.

b) The surgeon began to prepare for the operation.

c) The assistant told the surgeon that his patient was nervous.

d) The medical engineer asked about the patient’s decision.

e) The surgeon agreed that he would be the patient’s surgeon in charge.

f) The assistant didn’t care about the patient’s choice.

The Surgeon

(After Isaac Asimov)

The surgeon looked up without expression. “Is he ready?”

“He is nervous,” said his assistant.

“They always are ... Well, it's a serious operation.”

“I'll see him in this room,” said the surgeon. “Has he made up his mind?”

“Yes. He wants metal; they always do.”

The surgeon's face didn’t change expression. He stared at his hands. “Sometimes one can talk them out of it.”

“Why bother?” said the assistant, indifferently. “If he wants metal, let it be metal.”

“You don't care?”

“Why should I? Either way it's a medical engineering problem and I’m a medical engineer. Why should I go beyond that?”

“I care. I have to try.” The surgeon pushed a small button and the door opened. The patient moved into the room in his motorchair, the nurse stepping along beside him.

“You may go, nurse,” said the surgeon, “but wait outside. I will call you.” He nodded to the assistant, who left with the nurse, and the door closed behind them. The man in the chair watched them go. He looked worried and uncomfortable. He said, “Will we be starting today?” The surgeon nodded. “This afternoon.”

“I understand it will take weeks.”

“Not the operation itself. But there are a number of small points to take care of.”

“Is it dangerous?” Then, as though trying to sound friendlier, but against his will, he added, “... doctor?”

The surgeon paid no attention to this. He said calmly, “We take our time to make it less dangerous, and we already have all the required equipment. But I must ask you to make a decision. It is possible to supply you with either of two types of cyber-hearts¹: metal or ...”

“Plastic!” said the patient irritably. “Cheap plastic. I don't want that. I’ve made my choice. I want the metal because it is better.”

“It depends on the patient. In my opinion, in your individual case, it is not. And we prefer not to call them plastic. It is a fibrous² cyber-heart. It's made of a polymeric material designed to imitate as closely as possible the human heart you now have in your chest.”

“Exactly, and the human heart I now have in my chest is worn out, although I am not yet sixty years old. I don't want another one like it, thank you. I want something better.”

“We all want something better for you. The fibrous cyber-heart will be better. It has a potential life of centuries.”

“But it does wear out. No, I want it to be metallic, doctor. What's the matter with you? Are you afraid I’m making myself into a robot ... into a Metallo, as they call them since Metallos became citizens?”

“There is nothing wrong with a Metallo. As you say, they are citizens. But you’re not a Metallo. You’re a human. Why not stay a human?”

“Because I want the best and that’s a metallic heart. And will you be the surgeon in charge? They tell me you’re the best.”

The surgeon nodded. “Very well. I will do what I can to make the operation an easy one.”

The door opened and the chair moved the patient out to the waiting nurse. The medical engineer came in. “Well,” he said, “I can’t say what happened just by looking at you. What was his decision?”

¹ cyber ['saɪbə] comes from the word cybernetics [saɪbə'netɪks], the scientific study of the way in which information is controlled in the machines and the brain. A cyborg ['saɪbɔ:g] is a man-like creature that is partly human and partly machine.

² fibrous ['faɪbrəs] (from fibre) — the stuff parts of human body consist of

The surgeon bent over his desk, putting together some records. “What you predicted. He insists on the metallic heart. It has become a real mania with people ever since Metallos became citizens. Men have this strange desire to make Metallos out of themselves because they think that Metallos are physically strong and powerful.”

“It isn’t one-sided, doc. You don’t work with Metallos but I do; so I know. The last two who came in for repairs have asked for fibrous elements ... I suppose that some day we shall have Metallos that are a kind of flesh and made of metal. We have two varieties of intellect on Earth now and in the near future we won't be able to tell the difference between them. We’d have the best of both worlds; the advantages of man combined with those of robot.”

“You’d get a hybrid,” said the surgeon almost angrily. “You’d get something that is not both but neither. I believe in being what one is. I wouldn't change a bit of my own structure for any reason. I am myself; well-pleased to be myself; and would not be anything else.”

He had finished now and had to prepare for the operation. He placed his strong hands into the heating oven¹ and kept them there until they became red-hot and completely sterilized. Though his speech had been emotional, his voice had never risen, and on its metal face there was, as always, no sign of expression.

Решение.

Решение 2.

A. Прочитайте текст «Хирург» и скажите, что делает конец рассказа неожиданным.

Ответ:

The end of the story is unexpected because it is revealed that the surgeon himself is a robot (or a 'Metallo'). Throughout the story, he argues against the patient's choice of a metallic heart, advocating for a more 'human' fibrous heart and expressing his belief in 'being what one is'. The final sentences, describing him sterilizing his metal hands in a heating oven and his 'metal face' showing no expression, create a powerful irony and reveal his true nature, which contradicts the principles he was seemingly defending.

Конец рассказа неожиданный, потому что выясняется, что сам хирург — робот (или «Металло»). На протяжении всего рассказа он спорит с выбором пациента в пользу металлического сердца, защищая более «человеческое» фиброзное сердце и выражая свою веру в то, что нужно «быть тем, кто ты есть». Последние предложения, описывающие, как он стерилизует свои металлические руки в печи и его «металлическое лицо» не выражает эмоций, создают сильную иронию и раскрывают его истинную природу, которая противоречит принципам, которые он, казалось бы, отстаивал.

B. Расположите утверждения в правильном порядке.

Ответ:

The correct order of the statements is: c, f, a, e, d, b.

Правильный порядок утверждений: c, f, a, e, d, b.