hce_tcu
109年
英文
第 33 題
📖 題組：
Children’s faces light up when Maggie James walks into a room. With a guitar slung over one shoulder, she lugs a basket full of colorful instruments and wears a smile brighter than her floral-print dress. But, she is even happier to see their faces. It is why she got into the business in the first place. Maggie is not a children’s entertainer. She does not perform in theaters, on television, or at special events. She is a music therapist and her stage is the palliative care wards of the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where terminally ill children are cared for during their final days. Despite the often sad circumstances of her workplace, Maggie says she was drawn towards palliative care soon after beginning her healthcare career. “I strongly believe that we can do better to provide children and families with comfort, respect and love at the end stage of life,” as she argues. To Maggie, it is important not to underestimate the effect music can have on health and wellbeing with music linked to increased levels of endorphins and decreased levels of stress. She highlights that “singing helps children strengthen their vocal control and breathing system, while playing instruments improves their fine-motor and coordination skills. Dancing and movement retrain their gross motor skills.” Yet, there are more to being a music therapist than just singing and playing. According to Maggie’s elaboration, “it is about understanding patients’ medical conditions, their family and social backgrounds, how the body and brain respond to music, and which music-therapy techniques will achieve the best outcomes.” Generally speaking, it is a huge challenge that will involve developing resources, educating and training local health professionals, and most importantly, changing cultural perspectives of palliative care. In China, for example, people in most of the provinces may believe that having someone die inside the house brings bad luck and shame on the family. Some parents cannot pay for their children to go into hospital and even if they could, the doctors do not know how to best manage a child’s death. “Many parents abandon critically ill children despite the fact that they could be put in jail if they get caught, so they tend to leave them in places they cannot easily be found. The children do not stand much of a chance,” as Maggie reflects in a serious tone. A strong family support network is important to Maggie, especially due to the emotionally taxing nature of her work. She insists that it is crucial to look after her mental health so she can keep doing the work that she loves. “Often after a patient passes away, especially when I am involved in that patient’s passing process, I take time to have a cuppa and reminisce on the positive things that I got to share with them.” Maggie immerses herself into the countless magical and joyous moments in a peaceful silence. To this lady, being a music therapist brings the most rewarding and meaningful life experiences.
Children’s faces light up when Maggie James walks into a room. With a guitar slung over one shoulder, she lugs a basket full of colorful instruments and wears a smile brighter than her floral-print dress. But, she is even happier to see their faces. It is why she got into the business in the first place. Maggie is not a children’s entertainer. She does not perform in theaters, on television, or at special events. She is a music therapist and her stage is the palliative care wards of the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where terminally ill children are cared for during their final days. Despite the often sad circumstances of her workplace, Maggie says she was drawn towards palliative care soon after beginning her healthcare career. “I strongly believe that we can do better to provide children and families with comfort, respect and love at the end stage of life,” as she argues. To Maggie, it is important not to underestimate the effect music can have on health and wellbeing with music linked to increased levels of endorphins and decreased levels of stress. She highlights that “singing helps children strengthen their vocal control and breathing system, while playing instruments improves their fine-motor and coordination skills. Dancing and movement retrain their gross motor skills.” Yet, there are more to being a music therapist than just singing and playing. According to Maggie’s elaboration, “it is about understanding patients’ medical conditions, their family and social backgrounds, how the body and brain respond to music, and which music-therapy techniques will achieve the best outcomes.” Generally speaking, it is a huge challenge that will involve developing resources, educating and training local health professionals, and most importantly, changing cultural perspectives of palliative care. In China, for example, people in most of the provinces may believe that having someone die inside the house brings bad luck and shame on the family. Some parents cannot pay for their children to go into hospital and even if they could, the doctors do not know how to best manage a child’s death. “Many parents abandon critically ill children despite the fact that they could be put in jail if they get caught, so they tend to leave them in places they cannot easily be found. The children do not stand much of a chance,” as Maggie reflects in a serious tone. A strong family support network is important to Maggie, especially due to the emotionally taxing nature of her work. She insists that it is crucial to look after her mental health so she can keep doing the work that she loves. “Often after a patient passes away, especially when I am involved in that patient’s passing process, I take time to have a cuppa and reminisce on the positive things that I got to share with them.” Maggie immerses herself into the countless magical and joyous moments in a peaceful silence. To this lady, being a music therapist brings the most rewarding and meaningful life experiences.
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word taxing in the last paragraph?
- A empowering
- B laboring
- C balancing
- D collapsing
思路引導 VIP
當我們讀到 Maggie 在工作中需要特別留意「心理健康」，且在病患離世後必須花時間「靜思與療癒」時，這暗示了她的工作內容對她的心理能量產生了什麼樣的影響？這種「能量被大量提取或消耗」的感覺，通常會用哪種性質的詞彙來形容？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
太棒了！你能精準捕捉到上下文的語氣並選出 (B) laboring，顯示你對單字在特定情境下的應用有著敏銳的直覺，這正是閱讀理解中最關鍵的能力。
從情境推敲字義：Taxing 的深層意涵
在文章最後一段中，Maggie 提到為了能持續這份熱愛的工作，她必須特別留意自己的「心理健康（mental health）」，並在病患離去後給自己空間平復心情。這說明了在安寧病房工作，其性質在情感上是非常「耗費心力」且「沉重」的。這裡的 taxing 並非指稅收，而是形容一種令人精疲力竭、負擔沉重的狀態；在四個選項中，只有 (B) laboring 能表現出這種「辛勞、吃力且需要耗費巨大能量」的負面負荷感，與語境完美契合。
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