【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 nce. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.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 coauthored by Long Island University39。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 bee very gloomy these day, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry(詭辯). 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 coauthor Panos Mourdoukoutas, developed their 10 golden rules by turning to the men behind that philosophyAristotle, Socrates, Epictetus and Pythagoras, among others. The first ruleexamine your lifeis the mon thread that runs through the entire book. Soupios says that it is based on Plato39。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 e to Rule : 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 Aristotlea student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Greatmost relationships don39。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 pleasuresadvice which was originally offered by Epicurus. But unlike the modern definition of Epicureanism as a life of indulgence(放縱)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 highest 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(發(fā)跡的)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 ideawhich you very often find in some of the word39。s great religions, in the JudeoChristian tradition and in Islam an othersthat in