安乐死胶囊舱首次在瑞士使用

据了解，瑞士是全球为数不多安乐死合法的国家。近日，当地一种名为Sarco Pod的“安乐死胶囊舱”引发关注。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. What is the main issue prompting the criminal investigation by Swiss police?

A. The malfunction of the Sarco Pod device during its first use.

B. The legality and ethical concerns surrounding the use of the Sarco Pod.

C. The high number of users attempting to use the Sarco Pod.

D. The financial transactions related to the manufacturing of the Sarco Pod.

无注释原文：

Swiss police make arrests over suspected death in 'suicide capsule'

From: The Guardian

Swiss police say they have opened a criminal investigation and arrested several people after the suspected death of a woman in a so-called suicide capsule.

According to local reports, the capsule, named the Sarco Pod by its inventor, was used for the first time on Monday afternoon in a forest close to the German border in the Swiss town of Merishausen.

The person who died was reportedly a 64-year-old American woman. Switzerland is one of the few countries in the world where assisted suicide is legal, under certain conditions.

Police in the canton of Schaffhausen, in northern Switzerland, confirmed the arrests, while the public prosecutors' office confirmed it had opened an investigation into suspected incitement and aiding and abetting of suicide. A spokesperson said it was also investigating whether other criminal offences had been committed.

Switzerland's interior minister, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider, questioned the moral and legal status of the Sarco Pod, a device that is designed to allow a person inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes.

A German scientist, Florian Willet, is thought to have been the only person present at the woman's death. He is one of the leading members of the Last Resort, an organisation responsible for the capsule and the Swiss arm of Exit International, a nonprofit organisation that lobbies for the legalisation of assisted suicide.

It is unclear whether Willet was among those arrested.

He told the Swiss tabloid Blick her death had been “peaceful, quick and dignified”. The woman had suffered for many years from a range of serious health problems in connection with an autoimmune condition, he added.

The inventor of the Sarco Pod, Philip Nitschke, an Australian citizen, said on X that the woman had had “an idyllic, peaceful death in a Swiss forest”. The capsule had been used to give her “the death she wanted”, he added.

Nitschke, a medical doctor, had reportedly seen the woman's death via video link in Germany, and followed the readings from an oxygen and heart rate monitor attached to her.

He said he thought she had lost consciousness “within two minutes” and had died after five minutes. “We saw jerky, small twitches of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then. It looked exactly how we expected it to look,” he told De Volkskrant.

Before stepping into the Sarco Pod, the woman had made a statement to a lawyer, Fiona Stewart, one of the directors of the Last Resort, who is married to Nitschke. In the statement she confirmed it had been her own wish to die and that she had the support of her two sons. The woman said she had wanted to die for two years after being diagnosed with a serious condition that caused her severe pain.

Stewart told De Volkskrant that the woman had been examined by a psychiatrist beforehand who had deemed her to be mentally fit.

Swiss law allows assisted suicide as long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive”, according to a government website.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Swiss police make arrests over suspected death in 'suicide capsule'

From: The Guardian

Swiss police say they have opened a criminal investigation and arrested several people after the suspected death of a woman in a so-called suicide capsule.

瑞士警方表示，一名女性疑似在所谓的自杀舱中死亡后，他们已展开刑事调查并逮捕了数人。

capsule /ˈkæp.sjuːl/ 1）表示“（装药物的）胶囊”，英文解释为“a small container which has a measured amount of a medicine inside and which dissolves when you swallow it”

2）表示“（装物或装液体的）小塑料容器”，英文解释为“a small plastic container with a substance or liquid inside”

3）表示“太空舱；航天舱”，英文解释为“the part of a spacecraft in which people travel and that often separates from the main rocket”

📍the return capsule / re-entry capsule 返回舱

According to local reports, the capsule, named the Sarco Pod by its inventor, was used for the first time on Monday afternoon in a forest close to the German border in the Swiss town of Merishausen.

据当地媒体报道，这种被发明者命名为Sarco Pod的舱体于周一下午在靠近德国边境的瑞士梅里绍森（Merishausen）森林中首次被使用。

The person who died was reportedly a 64-year-old American woman. Switzerland is one of the few countries in the world where assisted suicide is legal, under certain conditions.

据报道，死者是一名64岁的美国女性。瑞士是世界上少数几个在特定条件下允许协助自杀的国家之一。

Police in the canton of Schaffhausen, in northern Switzerland, confirmed the arrests, while the public prosecutors' office confirmed it had opened an investigation into suspected incitement and aiding and abetting of suicide. A spokesperson said it was also investigating whether other criminal offences had been committed.

瑞士北部沙夫豪森州（Schaffhausen）警方证实了逮捕一事，而检察院则证实已对涉嫌煽动、协助和教唆自杀的行为展开调查。发言人说，检察院还在调查是否存在其他刑事犯罪行为。

canton /ˈkæn.tɒn/ 表示“（尤指瑞士的）小行政区，州”，英文解释为“a political region or local government area in some countries, especially one of the 23 political regions into which Switzerland is divided”

public prosecutor /ˌpʌb.lɪk ˈprɒs.ɪ.kjuː.tər/ 表示“公诉人；检察官”，英文解释为“a lawyer who acts for the government against someone accused of a crime in court”

incitement /ɪnˈsaɪt.mənt/ 表示“鼓动，煽动”，英文解释为“the act of encouraging someone to do or feel something unpleasant or violent”举个🌰：There are laws against incitement of racial hatred. 有法律禁止煽动种族仇恨。

abet /əˈbet/ 表示“教唆，唆使，怂恿；伙同…作案”，英文解释为“to help or encourage someone to do something wrong or illegal”举个🌰：His accountant had aided and abetted him in the fraud. 他的会计与他合谋诈骗。

Switzerland's interior minister, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider, questioned the moral and legal status of the Sarco Pod, a device that is designed to allow a person inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes.

瑞士内政部长伊丽莎白·鲍梅-施耐德（Élisabeth Baume-Schneider）就Sarco Pod的道德和法律层面问题提出质疑。这种舱体设计的目的是让舱内的人按下按钮，将氮气注入密封的舱内。然后，舱内的人就会进入睡眠状态，几分钟后就会窒息而死。

interior /ɪnˈtɪə.ri.ər/ 1）表示“内部”，英文解释为“the inside part of something”举个🌰：The estate agent had pictures of the house from the outside but none of its interior. 房产经纪人有这栋房子的外观照片，但没有其内部的照片。

2）表示“（某些国家的）内政部”，英文解释为“in some countries, the government department that deals with subjects and events that are important in the country itself instead of events in other countries”如：the Ministry of the Interior 内政部。

inject /ɪnˈdʒekt/ 1）表示“投入；增添；引入，带来”，英文解释为“to introduce something new that is necessary or helpful to a situation or process”举个🌰：A large amount of money will have to be injected into the company if it is to survive. 如果要挽救这家公司就必须注入大量资金。

2）表示“（给…）注射（药物等）”，英文解释为“to put a drug or other substance into a person's or an animal's body using a syringe”举个🌰：Adrenalin was injected into the muscle. 往肌肉里注射了肾上腺素。

区分：

📍ingest表示“摄入；食入；咽下”，英文解释为“to take food, drugs, etc. into your body, usually by swallowing”举个🌰：The chemicals can be poisonous if ingested. 这些化学制品如果摄入体内可能会引起中毒。

补充：

📍digest表示“消化”，英文解释为“When you digest food, or it digests, it is changed into substances that your body can use”举个🌰：Humans cannot digest plants such as grass. 人不能消化草类植物。

nitrogen /ˈnaɪ.trə.dʒən/ 表示“氮（气）”，英文解释为“a chemical element that is a gas with no colour or taste, forms most of the earth's atmosphere, and is a part of all living things”

seal /siːl/ 作动词，1）表示“封，密封”，英文解释为“to close an entrance or container so that nothing can enter or leave it”

2）表示“确定；明确定下来；使成定局”，英文解释为“to make sth definite, so that it cannot be changed or argued about”举个🌰：They sealed their agreement with a handshake. 他们握手表示达成协议。

sealed /siːld/ 表示“封闭的；密封的”，相当于“closed”举个🌰：The host opened the sealed envelope containing the names of the winners. 主持人打开了装有获奖人姓名的密封袋。

chamber /ˈtʃeɪm.bər/ 1）表示“（用于特定用途或官方用途的）房间，室，厅；会议厅”，英文解释为“a hall in a public building that is used for formal meetings”如：the Senate/House chamber 参议院/众议院会议厅，举个🌰：The members left the council chamber. 议员离开了会议厅。

2）表示“（机器、植物或动物的）腔，膛，室”，英文解释为“a closed space in a machine, plant, or body”举个🌰：The human heart has four chambers. 人的心脏有4个心室。

3）表示“（议会的）议院”，英文解释为“one of the parts of a parliament”如：the Lower / Upper Chamber (= in Britain, the House of Commons/House of Lords) 下 / 上议院（英国为the House of Commons / House of Lords）。

suffocation /ˌsʌf.əˈkeɪ.ʃən/ 表示“窒息”，英文解释为“death caused by not having enough oxygen, or the act of killing someone by not allowing them to have enough oxygen”举个🌰：To prevent suffocation, do not place the baby to sleep on soft, cushioned surfaces. 为了防止窒息，不要把婴儿放在柔软的、有垫子的表面上睡觉。

A German scientist, Florian Willet, is thought to have been the only person present at the woman's death. He is one of the leading members of the Last Resort, an organisation responsible for the capsule and the Swiss arm of Exit International, a nonprofit organisation that lobbies for the legalisation of assisted suicide.

德国科学家弗洛里安·威尔莱特（Florian Willet）被认为是这名女性死亡时唯一在场的人。他是“最后的避难所”（Last Resort）组织的核心成员之一。该组织负责管理这种舱体，同时也是“退出国际”（Exit International）在瑞士的分支机构，而“退出国际”是一个游说协助自杀合法化的非营利组织。

arm /ɑːm/ 熟词僻义，表示“职能部门；分支机构，分部”，英文解释为“An arm of an organization is a part of it that is responsible for a particular activity or place.”举个🌰：The British company is one arm of a large multinational. 这家英国公司是一个庞大的跨国公司的分部。

作动词，lobby /ˈlɒb.i/ 表示“游说，试图说服”，英文解释为“to try to persuade a politician, the government, or an official group that a particular thing should or should not happen, or that a law should be changed”举个🌰：Local residents lobbied to have the factory shut down. 当地居民极力要求关闭该工厂。

作名词，1）表示“游说团体，游说集团”，英文解释为“a group of people who try to persuade the government or an official group to do something”如：the anti-smoking lobby 反吸烟游说团体。

2）表示“大堂，大厅，门厅”，英文解释为“the (large) room into which the main entrance door opens in a hotel or other large building”

3）表示“（英国议会的）接见厅，会见厅，表决厅”，英文解释为“in the UK parliament, a room where someone meets a member of parliament who they have arranged to talk to, or one of the two passages that members of parliament walk through as a way of voting”

英式 legalisation 美式 legalization /ˌliː.ɡəl.aɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ 表示“合法化”，英文解释为“the act of allowing something by law”

It is unclear whether Willet was among those arrested.

目前还不清楚威尔莱特是否被捕。

He told the Swiss tabloid Blick her death had been “peaceful, quick and dignified”. The woman had suffered for many years from a range of serious health problems in connection with an autoimmune condition, he added.

他在瑞士小报《Blick》上表示，她的死是“平静、迅速且有尊严的”。他补充说，这名女性多年来一直因自身免疫疾病导致的一系列严重健康问题而饱受痛苦。

dignified /ˈdɪɡ.nɪ.faɪd/ 表示“庄重的，端庄的；有尊严的”，英文解释为“controlled, serious, and calm, and therefore deserving respect”如：a tall, dignified woman 端庄的高个女人。

autoimmune /ˌɔː.təʊ.ɪˈmjuːn/ 表示“自身免疫的”，英文解释为“relating to a condition in which someone's antibodies attack substances that are naturally found in the body”举个🌰：One type of diabetes is an autoimmune disease/disorder that may be triggered by a virus. 有一类糖尿病可能是由一种病毒引起的自身免疫疾病/紊乱。

The inventor of the Sarco Pod, Philip Nitschke, an Australian citizen, said on X that the woman had had “an idyllic, peaceful death in a Swiss forest”. The capsule had been used to give her “the death she wanted”, he added.

Sarco Pod的发明者、澳大利亚公民菲利普·尼奇克（Philip Nitschke）在X上表示，这名女性“在瑞士的一片森林中安详地离开”。他补充说，这个舱体实现了“她想要的死亡”。

idyllic /ɪˈdɪl.ɪk/ 表示“田园诗般的，田园风光的，恬静的”，英文解释为“An idyllic place or experience is extremely pleasant, beautiful, or peaceful.”如：an idyllic childhood/summer 恬静愉快的童年/诗情画意般的夏天。

Nitschke, a medical doctor, had reportedly seen the woman's death via video link in Germany, and followed the readings from an oxygen and heart rate monitor attached to her.

据报道，身为医生的尼奇克在德国通过视频链接目睹了这名女性的死亡过程，并查看了她身上氧气和心率监测器的读数。

熟词僻义，1）表示“读数（一件测量设备所显示的数字或量值）”，英文解释为“the number or amount that a piece of measuring equipment shows”如：a thermometer reading 温度计读数。

2）表示“理解方法；解读方法；解释”，英文解释为“the way in which you understand something”举个🌰：My reading of the situation is that she wanted any excuse to resign. 我对形势的看法是，她正在寻找理由辞职。

He said he thought she had lost consciousness “within two minutes” and had died after five minutes. “We saw jerky, small twitches of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then. It looked exactly how we expected it to look,” he told De Volkskrant.

他说，他认为她在“两分钟内”失去知觉，并在五分钟后死亡。“我们看到她手臂上的肌肉有抽动，但那时她可能已经失去知觉了。看起来完全符合我们的预期，”他在接受《De Volkskrant》采访时说。

consciousness /ˈkɒn.ʃəs.nəs/ 表示“意识；感觉；觉悟”，英文解释为“the state of understanding and realizing something”举个🌰：Her consciousness that she's different makes her feel uneasy. 意识到自已与众不同，她感到很不自在。

jerky /ˈdʒɜː.ki/ 作名词，表示“（条状）肉干”，英文解释为“meat that has been cut into long, thin strips and dried ”如：beef jerky 牛肉干。

作形容词，表示“忽动忽停的；抽动的，痉挛性的”，英文解释为“quick and sudden”举个🌰：The disease causes sudden jerky movements of the hands and legs. 这种疾病会导致手腿突然痉孪。

twitch /twɪtʃ/ 可以作名词也可以作动词，表示“（使）抽搐；（使）抽动；（使）颤动”，英文解释为“(to cause) to make a sudden small movement with a part of the body, usually without intending to”举个🌰：He tried to suppress a smile but felt the corner of his mouth twitch. 他试图忍住笑，但感到嘴角在抽动。

Before stepping into the Sarco Pod, the woman had made a statement to a lawyer, Fiona Stewart, one of the directors of the Last Resort, who is married to Nitschke. In the statement she confirmed it had been her own wish to die and that she had the support of her two sons. The woman said she had wanted to die for two years after being diagnosed with a serious condition that caused her severe pain.

在走进Sarco Pod之前，这名女性向律师菲奥娜·斯图尔特（Fiona Stewart）作出声明。斯图尔特是Last Resort的董事之一，与尼奇克是夫妻关系。在声明中，她证实了自己想死的愿望，并且得到了两个儿子的支持。这名女性说，在被诊断出患有一种导致她极度疼痛的严重疾病后，从两年前开始就想一死了之了。

Stewart told De Volkskrant that the woman had been examined by a psychiatrist beforehand who had deemed her to be mentally fit.

斯图尔特告诉《De Volkskrant》，这名女性事先接受了精神科医生的检查，医生认为她的精神状况良好。

psychiatrist /saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/表示“精神病医生”，英文解释为“A psychiatrist is a doctor who treats people suffering from mental illness.”

deem /diːm/ 表示“认为，视为；觉得”，英文解释为“to consider or judge something in a particular way”举个🌰：The area has now been deemed safe. 该地区现在被认为很安全。

Swiss law allows assisted suicide as long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive”, according to a government website.

瑞士政府网站称，瑞士法律允许协助自杀，只要自杀者在没有“外部协助”的情况下结束生命，且协助自杀的人不是出于“任何利己的动机”。

self-serving /ˌselfˈsɜː.vɪŋ/ 表示“追逐私利的；只为个人打算的；一心谋私利的”，英文解释为“working or acting for your own advantage”

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