Self—employed private doctors who charge a fee each patient’s visit are the foundation of medical practice in the United States. Most doctors have contract relationship with one or more hospitals in the community. They send their patients to this hospital，which usually charges patients according to the number of days they stay and the facilities (operation room, tests, medicines that they use). Some hospitals belong to a city, a state or a government agency. Others are operated by religious orders (教会)or other non—profit groups.
Some medical doctors are on salary. Salaried doctors may work as hospital staff (员工)members, or residents, who are often still in training . They may teach in medical schools, or be hired by corporations to care for their workers to work for the government’s Public Health Service.
Doctors are among the best paid professionals in the United States. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for medical doctors to earn incomes of more than $100,000 a year. Specialists, particularly surgeons, might earn several times that amount. Doctors list many reasons why they deserve to be so well rewarded for their work. One reason is the long and expensive preparation required to become a doctor in the United States. Most would—be doctors first attend college for four years, which can cost nearly $20,000 a year at one of the best private institutions. Then they attend medical school for four years. Tuition(学费)alone can more than $10,000 a year. By the time they have obtained their medical degrees, many young doctors are deeply in debt. They still face three to five years of residency(实习阶段) in hospital, the first year as an assistant. The hours are long and the pay is relatively low.
Setting up a medical practice is expensive, too. Sometimes several doctors will decide to establish a group practice, so they can share the expense of maintaining an office and buying e
quipment. These doctors also take care of each other’s patients
in emergencies.
Doctors work long hours and must accept a great deal of responsibility. Many medical procedures, even quite practiced many times, still involve risk. It is understandable that doctors want to be well—paid for making
decisions which can mean the difference between life and death.
小题1:According to the passage, it is very unlikely that an American hospital is owned by
.
| A．a church .com | B．a corporation | C．a city | D．a state |
小题2:The expenses for becoming a doctor are mainly spent on
.
| A．schooling and retraining | B．practice in a hospital |
| C．facilities he or she uses | D．education he or she receives |
小题3:Sometimes several doctors set up a group medical practice mainly because
.
| A．it’s difficult for one doctor to take care of too many patients |
| B．they can take turns to work for long hours |
| C．facilities may be too much of burden for one doctor to shoulder |
D．no one wants to take too much res ponsibility |
小题4:The statement that fully expresses the author’s view towards US doctors’ payment is that
.
| A．they deserve a very good payment for their expensive education and their responsibility |
| B．it is reasonable for doctors to have a large income because their work is dangerous |
| C．doctors should be better paid because they work long hours in bad conditions |
| D．doctors have great responsibility, so it is understandable that they should be well paid |