First Listening
Please listen to a short passage carefully and prepare to answer some questions.
The opening scene is at first sad and depressing. Here is a grandmother dying with neither flowers, nor pictures of rainbows and butterflies drawn by children, nor cards of sympathy. The only peaceful thing the doctor sees in this lonely woman is her graceful hand. But what the physician finds out is that in her last moments of life, it is her heart and mind that are truly graceful. The patient has sent away her family to spare them the grief and pain of her passing. In these special last moments between these two human beings the doctor learns what being graceful really is. (104 words)
Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then answer the following questions with your own experiences.
1. Why was the word “graceful” used to describe the grandmother?
2. What does the physician find out and what does she learn?
3. If you were given this decision to assist in your family member's death, what are the challenges you might face?
