The Making of a Surgeon

How does a doctor recognize the point in time when he is finally a “surgeon”? As my year as chief resident(进修医生) drew to a close, I asked myself this question __36__ more than one occasion.

The answer, I concluded, was __37__. When you can say to yourself, “There is no surgical patient I cannot treat competently, treat just __38__ or better than any other surgeon” — then, and not until then, you are __39__ a surgeon. I was __40__ that point.

__41__, for example, the emergency situations that we met almost every night. The first few months of the year I had __42__ the ringing of the telephone. I knew it meant another critical decision to be __43__. Often, after I had told Walt or Larry what to do in a particular __44__, I’d have trouble getting back to sleep. I’d __45__ all the facts of the case and, often, wonder __46__ I had made a poor decision. More than once at two or three in the __47__, after lying awake for an hour, I’d get out of __48__, dress and drive to the hospital to see the patient myself. It was the only __49__I could find the __50__ of mind I needed to relax.

Now, in the last month of my residency, __51__ was no longer a problem. Sometimes I still couldn’t be sure of my decision, but I had learned to __52__ this as a constant problem for a surgeon. I knew that with my knowledge and experience, any decision I’d made was bound to be a __53__ one. It was a nice feeling.

This all sounds conceited(自负的) and I guess it is — __54__ a surgeon needs conceit. He needs it to encourage him in trying moments when he’s bothered by the __55__ and uncertainties that are part of the practice of medicine. He has to feel that he’s as good as and probably better than any other surgeon in the world. Call it conceit — call it self-confidence; whatever it was, I had it.

36. A. at B. in C. on D. for

37. A. self-service B. self-centered C. self-reliant D. self-confidence

38. A. as good as B. as well as C. as far as D. as long as

39. A. indeed B. maybe C. perhaps D. even

40. A. waiting B. standing C. lying D. nearing

41. A. Let B. Take C. Have D. Get

42. A. valued B. avoided C. feared D. enjoyed

43. A. made B. applied C. included D. developed

44. A. condition B. state C. occasion D. situation

45. A. retell B. review C. revise D. remind

46. A. if B. why C. how D. when

47. A. evening B. day C. morning D. afternoon

48. A. flat B. bed C. house D. apartment

49. A. means B. approach C. method D. way

50. A. peace B. trouble C. sorrow D. excitement

51. A. driving B. reviewing C. sleeping D. lying

52. A. expect B. accept C. respect D. inspect

53. A. critical B. poor C. sound D. difficult

54. A. but B. or C. so D. and

55. A. confidence B. conceit C. solutions D. doubts

参考答案：36-40 CDBAD 41-45 BCADB 46-50 ACBDA 51-55 CBCAD