in extremis
(Latin 拉)
1 (fml 文) (as a last resort when) in an emergency 在紧急关头; 应变措施
This alarm button is only to be used in extremis. 此警报按钮只在紧急情况下使用.
2 (religion 宗) (in the Roman Catholic Church) about to die (天主教会用语)临终
administer the last sacrament to sb in extremis 给临终的人傅油.
But here we come up against the most difficult of all obstacles to contact with people on other planets ----the astronomical distances which separate us.