Julianna Snow：A Young Girl That Decided To Die

湖北 汪艳兵

Julianna Snow：A Young Girl That Decided To Die

湖北 汪艳兵

【文章导读】一个五岁的小女孩，面对不治之症，选择放弃治疗，去天堂。她对待死亡的勇敢态度，感染了无数人。她就是Julianna Snow。

Julianna Snow，the little girl who touched millions with her approach to terminal illness，died at home in her mother’s arms on Tuesday.

Julianna Snow，a 5-year-old girl with a deadly illness，is opting for heaven over being on a respirator in a hospital going through endless treatments. She’s heard all about heaven from her parents and sees no reason to fight the incurable Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Michelle Moon and Steve Snow have explained to Julianna that when she goes to heaven，they won’t be there yet—nor will her brother，Alex. Julianna wants to skip the hospital suffering and go to heaven where she understands that her greatgrandmother is at. She also understands when she gets there，she can do all the things she currently can’t ... like playing and eating normally.

Julianna Snow’s parents asked her at four if she would be willing to go to hospital the next time she gets severely sick or she would stay at home where she’d die in peace. The 5-yearold said she preferred the latter because she wants to be in the comfort of her own home before she goes to “heaven.”

Michelle Moon wrote an email to CNN and explained the gravity of all the thought that went behind this decision ，saying： “Very clearly，my 4-year-old daughter was telling me that getting more time at home with her family was not worth the pain of going to the hospital again. I made sure she understood that going to heaven meant dying and leaving this Earth. And I told her that it also meant leaving her family for a while，but we would join her later. Did she still want to skip the hospital and go to heaven? She did.”

（文章来源：http：//www.en8848.com.cn/read/bi/socialnews/307594.html）

【译文】

5岁小女孩朱莉安娜，自己决定自己的生死

小女孩朱莉安娜面对不治之症的态度感动了数百万人。本周二，她在家里安眠于母亲怀中。

五岁的小女孩朱莉安娜患有不治之症，她选择在家中迎接天堂，而不是带着呼吸面罩在医院里接受没完没了的治疗。她从父母那里知道了天堂，并且意识到没有理由去反抗那叫作腓骨肌萎缩症的不治之症。

米歇尔和斯蒂夫向他们的女儿解释，当她进入天堂时，他们还不会在那里，她的弟弟埃里克森也不在那里。朱莉安娜不希望接受医院痛苦的治疗过程而选择去天堂，因为她知道她的曾祖母在那里，她也知道当她到那儿时，她就可以做所有她现在不能做的事情，例如玩耍和正常的进食。

朱莉安娜的父母在她四岁时问过她，下次病重时她是愿意去医院还是待在家里平静地离世。这个五岁的小女孩说，她宁愿待在家里，因为她想在上天堂之前享受家庭的舒适。

米歇尔给CNN写了一封邮件来解释她女儿这个决定背后的严肃性：“我女儿四岁时很清楚地告诉我，与家人相处更多的时间，不值得再因为病痛而进医院。我确信她理解了上天堂意味着死亡和离开这个生活的环境。同时我还告诉她，这也意味着离开家人一段时间，但是我们随后会再相聚。就是这样，她还是要避开医院上天堂吗？是的，她还是这样决定的。”

【词海泛舟】

1. opt for sth.，decide on sth.，choose sth. 决定某事物；选择某事物

2. incurable不能治愈的；无可救药的；不可矫正的

3. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease 腓骨肌萎缩症

4. gravity 严肃

【难句解析】

1. Julianna Snow，the little girl who touched millions with her approach to terminal illness，died at home in her mother’s arms on Tuesday.

分析：该句用含有由who引导的限制性定语从句的名词性短语充当主语的同位语。

2. Michelle Moon and Steve Snow have explained to Julianna that when she goes to heaven，they won’t be there yet—nor will her brother，Alex.

分析：该句是个宾语从句，其中从句中含有when引导的时间状语从句，表示否定意义的词nor位于句首引导倒装句。

3. Julianna Snow’s parents asked her at four if she would be willing to go to hospital the next time she gets severely sick or she would stay at home where she’d die in peace.

分析：该句首先是个宾语从句，从句中又含有由the next time引导的时间状语从句，home之后是由关系副词where引导的定语从句。

4. The 5-year-old said she preferred the latter because she wants to be in the comfort of her own home before she goes to“heaven.”

分析：该句为一个宾语从句，且从句中含有由because引导的原因状语从句。

5. My 4-year-old daughter was telling me that getting more time at home with her family was not worth the pain of going to the hospital again.

分析：该句是由that引导的宾语从句，其中从句中的动名词短语（getting more time at home with her family）充当主语。

【思考题】

1. What is the deadly illness that little Snow suf fered from?

2. Who can little Snow meet shortly after she goes to heaven?

3. Does she really know the meaning of going to heaven?

4. Why does the little girl prefer to stay at home rather than hospital when she dies?

5. If you were asked to make a brave guess why Michelle Moon wrote an e-mail to CNN，what could it be?

【参考答案】

1. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

2. Her great-grandmother.

3. Yes，she does.

4. Because she wants to be in the comfort of her own home before she goes to “heaven.”

5. Perhaps it was to remove people’s doubt or misunderstanding why the little girl died at home at last，or to prove that it was their daughter’s choice to do like that.

（作者单位：湖北省十堰市郧阳中学）