Lesson Fifteen Socrates Guide questions Analysis and explanation Exercises Summary

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Lesson FifteenSocratesGuide
questionsAnalysis and explanationExercisesSumma
ry
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Guide Questions

• Who was Socrates?
• When and where did he live?
• What do people think of him?
• What kind of man was Socrates?
• Why was he put to death by the rulers?
• Could you name some other ancient Greek
  philosophers?

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Additional Questions

• What was his teaching method?
• What was his view on being free?
• What behavior in the face of death?

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He never told his students what to do
and think, but led them to their own conclusions.
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Only a man who can understand and control himself
is really free.
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He remained calm cheerful and controlled.
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The name Socrates may be familiar to you. He was
one of the greatest of the western philosophers.
He was also a great teacher. In what sense was he
great as a teacher? You will find the answer if
you read this article carefully.The Greek word
for wisdom is sophia, and philos means a friend.
So philosopher means a friend of wisdom, and
this is the best possible description of
Socrates, who was one of the wisest and bravest
teachers the world has ever known..
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Socrates lived in Athens, nearly 500 years before
the birth of Christ. He was not born important or
rich, and indeed all his life he was poor, for he
never asked his pupils to pay for what he taught
them. He taught for the love of wisdom, not for
money.And what he had to say was always new and
worth hearing. Before his time, most
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philosophers had been interested in studying what
we would now call magic or superstition.
Socrates, on the other hand, was interested in
how ordinary people ought to behave and think. He
did not just tell his pupils what he thought they
should do --- in fact, he was fond of saying that
he himself knew nothing. Instead, he would ask
them endless questions about what they thought
and believed then he would talk about their
answers and make them talk too.
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He would cunningly lead the conversation round in
such a way that at the end of it people would
suddenly see for themselves what was really true
and right. They would feel they had worked it out
for themselves --- which of course Socrates had
helped them to do --- and would feel much more
sure of it than if Socrates had just told them
what to think and do, without helping them to see
the reason why.
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Socrates taught that the man who is master of
himself is truly free. By being master of
oneself he meant first knowing oneself, ones
faults and weaknesses and ones good points,
without pretending and without being vain, and
then being able to control oneself. This
knowledge of himself was what helped a man to be
courageous, and the courageous man has a very
important sort of freedom freedom from fear.
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Socrates himself, because he was not afraid of
the consequences, always felt free to teach what
he thought was right, however unpopular this
might make him with the powerful people in
Athens.No wonder all his pupils loved Socrates.
But he made some dangerous enemies by his strange
ways of teaching and asking questions. Some of
the rulers in Athens did not like people to be
encouraged to ask too many questions for fear
they would begin asking questions about what
their rulers were doing.
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So they accused Socrates of teaching
young men wicked things and leading them to throw
off their religion. This was false, for in fact
Socrates was a very religious man. At last his
enemies had him arrested, and he was condemned to
death. During the 30 days that lay between
Socrates trial and execution, his friends and
pupils were allowed to spend a great deal of time
with him in his prison.
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They were astonished to find that he was calm and
cheerful and seemed to have no fear of dying. He
talked to them and taught them just as he used to
in the streets and market-places of the city. One
of his pupils, Crito sent money and asked the
prison keeper to let him escape, but even then he
would not go.
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The Greeks way of executing people was to make
them drink a cup of hemlock, which is deadly
poison. When the hemlock was brought to Socrates,
his friends were in tears, but Socrates took the
cup quietly and drank it as if it were a glass of
wine at a banquet. Simplified
from Comprehension and Summary,
Oxford University Press
1979
Approximately 600 words.
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Exercises

• True or False Questions
• Multiple Choice
• Translation

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True or False

• Socrates was a famous philosopher, but not a good
  teacher.
• Socrates taught that the master is truly free.
• It seemed that Socrates had no idea of leading
  young men to throw off their religion.
• He refused to escape because he did not trust
  Crito.

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True or False

• Socrates was a famous philosopher, but not a good
  teacher. F
• Socrates taught that the master is truly free.
• It seemed that Socrates had no idea of leading
  young men to throw off their religion.
• He refused to escape because he did not trust
  Crito.

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True or False

• Socrates was a famous philosopher, but not a good
  teacher. F
• Socrates taught that the master is truly free.
  F
• It seemed that Socrates had no idea of leading
  young men to throw off their religion.
• He refused to escape because he did not trust
  Crito.

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True or False

• Socrates was a famous philosopher, but not a good
  teacher. F
• Socrates taught that the master is truly free.
  F
• It seemed that Socrates had no idea of leading
  young men to throw off their religion. T
• He refused to escape because he did not trust
  Crito.

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True or False

• Socrates was a famous philosopher, but not a good
  teacher. F
• Socrates taught that the master is truly free.
  F
• It seemed that Socrates had no idea of leading
  young men to throw off their religion. T
• He refused to escape because he did not trust
  Crito. F

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Multiple Choice

• 1. Socrates was considered a great teacher
  because _____.
• A he was wise and always correct
• B he had many followers in Athens
• C he never taught magic and superstition
• Dhe never told students what to think, but led
  them to their own conclusions.
• Key D

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2. Socrates was a courageous man because _____.

• A he often attacked the rulers
• B he made many enemies
• C he discussed with his students what they
  thought
• D He was not afraid of teaching what he thought
  was right
• Key D

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3. What the rulers didnt like most about
Socrates was that _____.

• A he let the students talk too much
• B he taught without asking for payment
• C he asked too many questions
• D he came from a poor, ordinary family
• Key C

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4. By refusing to escape from prison, Socrates
meant _____

• A that he ought to die for what he had done
• B that he was a great man
• C to blame Crito for his wrong doing
• D match his deeds with his words
• Key D

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5. In his last moment Socrates showed great
courage _____.

• A by giving up any chance to continue his life
• B by the quiet manner in which he drank the
  hemlock
• C by teaching and talking with his students as
  usual
• D by pretending to be calm and cheerful
• Key B

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6. The rulers had Socrates arrested and condemned
to death. This shows _____.

• A The fear of the rulers
• B the weakness of the rulers
• C the concern of the rulers for the students
• D the wisdom of the rulers
• Key A

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Translate the following sentences into Chinese

• 1. He never asked his pupils to pay for what he
  taught them
• Before his time, most philosophers had been
  interested in studying what we would now call
  magic or superstition.

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Translate the following sentences into Chinese

• 1. He never asked his pupils to pay for what he
  taught them
• ????????,????????
• Before his time, most philosophers had been
  interested in studying what we would now call
  magic or superstition.

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Translate the following sentences into Chinese

• 1. He never asked his pupils to pay for what he
  taught them
• ????????,????????
• Before his time, most philosophers had been
  interested in studying what we would now call
  magic or superstition.
• ????,???????????????????????????

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• He would ask his pupils endless questions about
  what they thought and believed.
• This knowledge of himself was what helped a man
  to be courageous.
• At last his enemies had him arrested, and he was
  condemned to death.

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• He would ask his pupils endless questions about
  what they thought and believed.
• ??????????????????????
• This knowledge of himself was what helped a man
  to be courageous.
• At last his enemies had him arrested, and he was
  condemned to death.

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• He would ask his pupils endless questions about
  what they thought and believed.
• ??????????????????????
• This knowledge of himself was what helped a man
  to be courageous.
• ?????????????????
• At last his enemies had him arrested, and he was
  condemned to death.

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• He would ask his pupils endless questions about
  what they thought and believed.
• ??????????????????????
• This knowledge of himself was what helped a man
  to be courageous.
• ?????????????????
• At last his enemies had him arrested, and he was
  condemned to death.
• ??,????????,????????

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Summary of the text

• This is a historical essay. Socrates was one of
  the wisest and bravest teachers the world has
  ever known. He was famous for teaching by
  questioning his listeners, and showing them how
  inadequate their answers were. Because of his
  unusual teaching method, unorthodox views on
  religion, and disregard of public opinion, he
  make enemies among influential Athenians. He was
  arrested and brought to trial on the charge of
  corrupting the youth and showing disrespect for
  religious traditions. He was sentenced to death.
  He refused several opportunities to escape from
  prison, and carried out the sentence by calmly
  drinking a cup of hemlock poison.

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A teacher and prophet who lived in the first
century of this era and whose life and teachings
form the basis of Christianity. Christians
believe Jesus to be Son of God and the Christ.
????????????????,?????????????????????????????????
????
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The capital and largest city of Greece, in the
eastern part of the country near the Saronic
Gulf. It was at the height of its cultural
achievements and imperial power in the fifth
century B.C. during the time of Pericles. Athens
became the capital of modern Greece in 1834, two
years after the country achieved its independence
from Turkey. Population, 885,737.
????????????,??????,???????? ???5?????????,???????
??????????1834??????????,???????????????885,737
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Greek philosopher who initiated a
question-and-answer method of teaching as a means
of achieving self-knowledge. His theories of
virtue and justice have survived through the
writings of Plato, his most important pupil.
Socrates was tried for corrupting the minds of
Athenian youth and subsequently put to death
(399). ?????????,??????????,?????????????????????
????,?????(???????)???????????????????????????????
???,??????(???339?)
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He was not born important or rich and
indeed all his life he was poor, for he never
asked his pupils to pay for what he taught
them.???????,????,????????,?????????????
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He was not born important or rich and
indeed all his life he was poor, for he never
asked his pupils to pay for what he taught
them.???????,????,????????,????????????? pay
for? ...?? (?????)????, ??, ????eg. You have
to pay for what you did.
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had been interested in studying what we would
now call magic or superstition.???????????
??????????
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had been interested in studying what we would
now call magic or superstition.????????????
?????????be interested in ??????????????
???eg. May I know what you are interested in?
I was quite interested in dancing when I was
young, but not now.
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in fact he was fond of saying that he himself
knew nothing.???, ????????????.
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in fact he was fond of saying that he himself
knew nothing.???, ????????????.be fond of
doing sth. ??, ??be fond of show ????be fond
of show ????be fond of the cup ????
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He would cunningly lead the conversation round in
such a way that at the end of it people would
suddenly see for themselves what was really true
and right.?????,???????,???????????? ?
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He would cunningly lead the conversation round in
such a way that at the end of it people would
suddenly see for themselves what was really true
and right.?????,???????,????????????
?cunningly adv.???, ???cunning adj. ???,
??????, ??? ?????(???)???, ???, ???as
cunning as a fox???????n.?? ?? ??show much
cunning at doing sth.?????
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He would cunningly lead the conversation round in
such a way that at the end of it people would
suddenly see for themselves what was really true
and right.?????,???????,???????????? ?Lead v.
tr.To show the way to by going in advance.
?????????To guide or direct in a course
???????????lead a horse by the halter.??????
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He would cunningly lead the conversation round in
such a way that at the end of it people would
suddenly see for themselves what was really true
and right.?????,???????,???????????? ?In such a
way that ??????/?/?/???(so greatly/well/badly/m
uch/unusually, etc. that), ???,
???????????????????????????eg. He behaved in
such a way that everybody present got annoyed.
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They would feel they had worked it out for
themselves they had solved the problem by
themselves????????????????
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They would feel they had worked it out for
themselves they had solved the problem by
themselves????????????????work out v.????,
???, ??, ???, ???work out at???,???
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By being master of oneself he meant first knowing
oneself, ones faults and weaknesses and ones
good points, without pretending and without being
vain, and then being able to control
oneself.????,???????,???????????,??????,??????,??
???????
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By being master of oneself he meant first knowing
oneself, ones faults and weaknesses and ones
good points, without pretending and without being
vain, and then being able to control
oneself.????,???????,???????????,??????,??????,??
???????being vain thinking too highly of oneself
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however unpopular this might make him with the
powerful people in Athens.regardless of the
fact that the powerful people in Athens might
dislike him???????????????????
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Some of the rulers in Athens did not like people
to be encouraged to ask too many questions for
fear they would begin asking questions about what
their rulers were doing.????????????????,????????
?????????
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Some of the rulers in Athens did not like people
to be encouraged to ask too many questions for
fear they would begin asking questions about what
their rulers were doing.????????????????,????????
?????????for fear (that) ????,????,??eg. They
are working hard for fear that they should
fail.???????,?????She would not go swimming for
fear that she would catch a cold.??????,?????
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So they accused Socrates of teaching young men
wicked things and leading them to throw off their
religion.????????????????????,??????????
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So they accused Socrates of teaching young men
wicked things and leading them to throw off their
religion.????????????????????,??????????accuse
v. tr.to charge with a shortcoming or an error.
???????????to charge formally with a
wrongdoing. ???????????? v. intr. To make a
charge of wrongdoing against another. ??,??
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At last his enemies had
him arrested, and he was condemned to
death.??,????????,??????? To express strong
disapproval of ???????????condemned the
needless waste of food.??????????To pronounce
judgment against sentence. ?????????To judge
or declare to be unfit for use or consumption,
usually by official order ??????????????????,??
?????????condemn an old building.???????????
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They were astonished to find that he was calm and
cheerful and seemed to have no fear of
dying.???????????????,??????????
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They were astonished to find that he was calm and
cheerful and seemed to have no fear of
dying.???????????????,??????????astonished
vt???I was astonished when I heard the hospital
had burnt down. ????????????,??????He was
astonished at what he found.?????????????
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hemlock Any of various coniferous evergreen
trees of the genus Tsuga of North America and
eastern Asia, having small cones and short, flat
leaves with two white bands underneath.
?????????? ?????????????,??????????????,??????????
The wood of such trees, used as a source of
lumber, wood pulp, and tannic acid.
??,?????????,??????????????Any of several
poisonous plants of the genera Conium and
Cicuta, such as the poison hemlock. ??????? ????
?????????????,???A poison obtained from the
poison hemlock. ???????????????
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Socrates took the cup quietly and drank it as if
it were a glass of wine at a banquet.???????????
,???????????,????????????