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It was 3：45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken.After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates，Australia’s Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die.The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10.Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up，half a world away，by John Hofsess，executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada.He sent it on via the group’s on-line service，Death NET.Says Hofsess：“We posted bulletins all day long，because of course this isn’t just something that happened in Australia.It’s world history.”
The full import may take a while to sink in.The NT Rights of the TerminallyⅢlaw has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications.Some have breathed sighs of relief，others，including churches，right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association，bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage.But the tide is unlikely to turn back.In Australia—where an aging population，life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part—other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia.In the US and Canada，where the right-to-die movement is gathering strength，observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.
Under the new Northern Territory law，an adult patient can request death—probably by a deadly injection or pill—to put an end to suffering.The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors.After a“cooling off”period of seven days，the patient can sign a certificate of request.After 48 hours the wish for death can be met.For Lloyd Nickson，a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer，the NT Rights of Terminally Ill law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering：a terrifying death from his breathing condition.“I’m not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view，but what I was afraid of was how I’d go，because I’ve watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks，”he says.
重点词汇：
parliamentary 议会的，国会的（adj.）
incurably 不可治愈地（adv.）
turn back 逆转；往回走
euthanasia 安乐死（n.）
domino 多米诺骨牌（n.）
diagnose 诊断（v.）
certificate 证书；证明（n.）
objection 反对（n.）
sink in 被了解
cool off 使冷静
难句解析：(https://www.daowen.com)
①After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates，Australia’s Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die.
【结构分析】句子的主体结构是Australia’s Northern Territory became the first legal authority...。句首是表示时间的介词词组做状语：After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates，后面的动词不定式to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die相当于定语从句which allows doctors to...，修饰legal authority，who引导定语从句who wish to die修饰前面的patients。
【理解难点】理解句子的关键在于剔除庞杂的修饰成分，抓住句子的主干。
②Some have breathed sighs of relief，others，including churches，right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association，bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage.But the tide is unlikely to turn back.
【结构分析】第一句话中，逗号松散地连接两个表示对比的句子：Some have breathed...others...bitterly attacked...。others之后是介词词组including churches，right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association对others进行进一步的解释。its passage中的its指代前面提到的the bill。第二句与第一句是转折关系。
【理解难点】tide的本意是“潮水，潮汐”的意思，这里的引申含义是“趋势，趋向”；turn the tide是“使形式转变，改变局面”的意思。bill在这里是“法案”的意思。另外还要理解some和others的对比关系。
③In Australia—where an aging population，life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part—other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia.
【结构分析】这个句子的主体结构是...other states are going to consider...。句首的In Australia是介词词组做地点状语，后面的where引导定语从句where an aging population，life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part，进一步解释Australia的具体情况。
【理解难点】注意两个破折号中间的句子说各种因素都发挥了作用，是针对其他州考虑制定关于安乐死法律这件事而言的。另外注意consider的用法，consider后面一般接v.-ing形式或that引导的宾语从句。
④After a“cooling off”period of seven days，the patient can sign a certificate of request.After 48 hours the wish for death can be met.
【结构分析】两个句子都是简单句。第一句话中前面是介词词组做时间状语：After a“cooling off”period of seven days。第二句使用了被动语态。
【理解难点】“cooling off”这里是指“给病人充足的考虑时间以做出冷静的决定”。meet在这里是“满足”的意思，可以和wish，demand，need，requirement等词连用。
全文翻译：
凌晨3：45进行了最终表决。经过6个月的争论和最后16个小时的国会激烈辩论，澳大利亚北部地区（澳北州）成为世界上第一个允许医生根据绝症病人的个人意愿来结束其生命的合法当局。这一法案以令人信服的15票对10票通过。几乎同时，该消息就出现在互联网上。身处地球另一端的加拿大死亡权利协会执行主席约翰·霍夫塞斯在收到该消息后便通过协会的在线服务“死亡之网”发了公告。他说：“我们整天都在发布公告，因为这件事的意义不在于它是在澳大利亚发生的事情，而是因为这是世界历史上的一件大事。”
要充分理解这一法案的深刻意义可能需要一段时间。澳北州晚期病人权利法使得无论是内科医生还是普通市民都同样地力图从道义和实际意义两方面来对待这一问题。一些人如释重负，另一些人，包括教会、生命权利组织以及澳大利亚医学会成员都对这一决议及其仓促的通过进行了猛烈的抨击。但这一潮流已无法逆转。在澳大利亚，人口老龄化、延长寿命技术和公众态度的变化都发挥着各自的作用。其他州也将考虑制定类似的法律来处理安乐死问题。在美国和加拿大，死亡权利运动正在积蓄力量。观察家们正在等待多米诺骨牌产生的效应。
根据澳北州所通过的这项新法案，成年病人可以要求安乐死——可能是通过注射致死药剂或服用致死药片——来结束痛苦。但此前病人必须由两名医生诊断其确实已病入膏肓，然后再经过7天的冷静思考期，方可签署一份申请证明。48小时后，才可以满足其安乐死的愿望。对于居住在达尔文市的现年54岁的肺癌患者利奥德·尼克森来说，这一法案意味着他可以平静地生活下去而无须整天惧怕即将来临的苦难：因呼吸困难而在煎熬中痛苦地死去。“从思想上说，我并不害怕死，但我怕的是怎样死，因为我在医院看到过病人在缺氧时苦苦挣扎，用手抓他们的面罩时的情景，”他说。