Ancient Greek Wisdom Inspires Guidelines to Good Life

　　[A] Is it possible to enjoy a peaceful life in a world that is increasingly challenged by threats and uncertainties from wars, terrorism, economic crises and a widespread outbreak of infectious diseases? The answer is yes, according to a new book The 10 Golden Rules: Ancient Wisdom from the Greek Philosophers on Living a Good Life. The book is co-authored by Long Island University's philosophy professor Michael Soupios and economics professor Panos Mourdoukoutas.

　　[B] The wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers is timeless, says Soupios. The philosophy professor says it is as relevant today as when it was first written many centuries ago. "There is no expiration(失效)date on wisdom," he says "There is no shelf life on intelligence. I think that things have become very gloomy these day, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry(诡辩). The nice thing about ancient philosophy as offered by the Greeks is that they tended to see life clear and whole, in a way that we tend not to see life today."

　　Examine your life

　　[C] Soupies, along with his co-author Panos Mourdoukoutas, developed their 10 golden rules by turning to the men behind that philosophy-Aristotle, Socrates, Epictetus and Pythagoras, among others. The first rule-examine your life-is the common thread that runs through the entire book. Soupios says that it is based on Plato's observation that the unexamined life is not worth living. "The Greek are always concerned about boxing themselves in, in terms of convictions(信念)," he says. "So take a step back, switch off the automatic pilot and actually stop and reflect about things like our priorities, our values, and our relationships."

　　Stop worrying about what you can not control

　　[D] As we begin to examine our life, Soupios says, we come to Rule No.2: Worry only about things that you can control. "The individual who promoted this idea was a Stoic philosopher His name is Epictetus, "he says." And what the Stoics say in general is simply this. There is a larger plan in life. You are not really going to be able to understand all of the dimerisions of this plan. You are not going to be able to control the dimensions of this plan."

[E]So, Soupios explains, it is not worth it to waste our physical, intellectual and spiritual energy worrying about things that are beyond our control. "I can not control whether or not I wind up getting the disease swine flu, for example." He says. "I mean, there are some cautious steps. I can take, but ultimately I can not guarantee myself that. So what Epictetus would say is sitting at home worrying about that would be wrong and wasterful and irrational. You should live your life attempting to identify and control those things which you can genuinely control."

　　Seek true pleasure

　　[F]To have a meaningful, happy life we need friends. But according to Aristotle-a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great-most relationships don't qualify as true friendships. "Just because I have a business relationship with an individual and I can profit from that relationship, it does not necessarily mean that this person is my friend." Soupios says. "Real friendship is when two individuals share the same soul. It is a beautiful and uncharacteristically poctic image that Aristotle offers."

　　[G]In our pursuit of the good life, he says, it is important to seek out true pleasures-advice which was originally offered by Epicurus. But unlike the modern definition of Epicureanism as a life of indulgence(放纵)and luxury, for the ancient Greeks, it meant finding a state of calm, peace and mental case.

　　[H]"This was the highest and most desirable form of pleasure and happiness for the ancient Epicureans." Soupios says. "This is something that is very much well worth considering here in the modern era. I do not think that we spend nearly enough time trying to concentrate on achieving a sort of calmness, a sort of contentment in mental and spiritual, which was identified by these people as the gighest form of happiness and pleasure."

　　Do good to others

[I]Other golden rules counsel us to master ourselves, to avoid excess and not to be a prosperous(发迹的)fool. There are also rules dealing with interpersonal relationships. Be a responsible human being and do not do evil things to others.

[J]"This is Hesiod, of course, a younger contemporary poet, we believe, with Homer," Soupios says. "Hesiod offers an idea-which you very often find in some of the word's great religions, in the Judeo-Christian tradition and in Islam an others-that in some sense, when you hurt another human being, you hurt yourself. That damaging other people in your community and in your life, trashing relationships, results in a kind of self-inflicted(自己招致的)spiritual wound."

　　[K]Instead, Soupios says,ancient wisdom urges us to do good. Golden Rule No.10 for a good life is that kindness toward others tends to be rewarded.

　　[L]"This is Aesop, the fabulist(寓言家), the man of these charming little tales, often told in terms of animals and animal relationships." He says. "I think what Aesop was suggesting is that when you offer a good turn to another human being. One can hope that that good deed will come back and sort of pay a profit to you, the doer of the good deed. Even if there is no concrete benefit paid in response to you good deed. At the very least, the doer of the good deed has the opportunity to enjoy a kind of spiritually enlightened moment."

　　[M]Soupios say following the 10 Golden Rules based on ancient wisdom can guide us to the path of the good life where we stop living as onlookers and become engaged and happier human beings. And that, he notes, is a life worth living.

36.D

37. B

38. F

49. E

50.L

51. H

52. C

53. I

54. A

55. J

仔细阅读

46.D

【解析】It's no secret that the Mediterranean diet is healthy, but it was also a joy to prepare and cat.

47.A

48.B

49.A

此题的问题太宽泛，只能根据选项，结合文章，进行取舍。C项是“具有创造力的”，美国平 等式的、自由、宽松的教育方式，鼓励学生培养独立分析、解决问题的能力，这样培养出来的学生势必多具有“创造力”，符合事实

50.C

首先快速通读全文(注意主题句)，可知文章主 要谈论的是“创造力的含义及其三个方面的表现”，整篇文章都是围绕创造力展开的。现在来分析选项

51.C

52.B

本题可用排除法。根据第一段可知创造力的含 义是“使事物产生”，“致使事物存在”。而它三个方面的表现可参考“短文大意”

53.D

此题的解答需要在理解文章大意及细节基础上进行。选项B意为“创造力在一定程度上取决于非凡的洞察力。”根据最后一段，可知这是一种“天赋”，故正确

54.B

先找有关细节。此问题涉及到对文章第三段最 后一句的理解。作者认为“获得新思想并不意味着就能够将其付诸实践，暗含“知易行难”的意义。这样，我们就可对 选项进行分析选弃了。

55A