1. It was nearly dawn when the patient died.
    天快亮时病人去世了。

2. I reach for the light switch, and as it silently lights the scene, I return to the bed to observe the patient with an unemotional, medical eye.
    我伸手去开灯。灯静静地照亮了整个病房，我走回病床边，用无动于衷的、医生的目光观察着病人。

3. In 5 percent of cases where such a judgment cannot immediately be reached, the proper decision will become apparent after a few days or weeks of basic treatment, observing the patient's progress.
    另外的5%不能立即达成这样的决议。遇上这种病例，做上几天或数周的基本治疗，观察病人的进展之后，正确的决定就一目了然了。

4. Insurance companies and HMOs increasingly are paying hospitals a set amount for each patient, regardless of how long they stay.
    越来越多的保险公司和保健组织，不论病人住院多久，只为每位病人向医院支付一笔固定金额的费用。

5. For the patient, it was a last chance.
    对病人来讲，这是最后一线希望，

6. For the 30 years I have been a doctor, and for hundreds of years before that, doctors and families have been quietly cooperating to decide what is best for a patient in the final phase of an illness.
    在我行医的30年里，以及在这之前的数百年里，医生和病人家属一直合作默契，共同决定在疾病的最后阶段怎么做才对病人最好。