Unit 8 3

Knowledge and Wisdom

Audiovisual Supplement

Cultural Information

Watch the video clip and answer the following questions.

1. Why does the teacher include a painting which is not on their syllabus?

She wants to teach her students how to think independently.

2. What is the new syllabus for their art of history class? The new syllabus will be about what art is, what makes it good or bad, and who decides.

Audiovisual Supplement

Cultural Information

Audiovisual Supplement

Cultural Information

From Mona Lisa Smile

Betty Warren: What is that? Katherine Watson: You tell me. Carcass by Soutine. 1925. An anonymous student: It is not on the syllabus. Katherine: No, its not. Is it any good? En? Come on, ladies! There is no wrong answer. There is also no textbook telling you what to think. Its not that easy, is it? Betty: All right. No, it is not good. In fact, I wouldnt even call it art. Its grotesque. Connie Baker: Is there a rule against being grotesque? Giselle Levy: I think there is something aggressive about it. And erotic.

Audiovisual Supplement

Cultural Information

Betty: To you, everything is erotic. Giselle: And everything is erotic. Katherine: Girls. The anonymous student: Arent there standards? Betty: Of course there are. Otherwise a tacky velvet painting could be equated to Rembrandt. Connie: My uncle Firdie has two tacky velvet paintings. He loves those clones. Betty: There are standards, technique, composition, color, even subjects. So if youre suggesting that rotted side of meat is art, much less good art. Then what are we going to learn?

Audiovisual Supplement

Cultural Information

Katherine: Just that. You have outlined our new syllabus, Betty. Thank you. What is art? What makes it good or bad? And who decides? Next slide, please. Twentyfive years ago, someone thought this was brilliant. Connie: I can see that. Betty: Who? Katherine: My mother, I painted it for her birthday. Next slide. This is my Mum. Is it art? The anonymous student: It is a snapshot. Katherine: If I told you Ansel Adams had taken it, would that make a difference?

Audiovisual Supplement

Cultural Information

Betty: Art isnt art until someone says it is. Katherine: Its art! Betty: The right people. Katherine: Who are they? Giselle: Betty Warren. We are so lucky we have one of them right here. Betty: Screw you. Katherine: Could you go back to the Soutine please?

Audiovisual Supplement

Cultural Information

Critical Thinking Numerous studies of college classrooms reveal that, rather than actively involving our students in learning, we lecture, even though lectures are not nearly as effective as other means for developing cognitive skills. Critical thinking the capacity to evaluate skillfully and fairly the quality of evidence and detect error, hypocrisy, manipulation, dissembling, and bias is central to both personal success and national needs. The teacher who fosters critical thinking fosters reflectiveness in students by asking questions that stimulate thinking essential to the construction of knowledge.

Text Analysis

Structural Analysis

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For all the things we may learn from the world we are living in, there are three major categories.

The first category is information, which consists of simple facts and direct impressions. The second category is commonly deemed as knowledge, which is information processed and systemized. The third category is wisdom, which is the hardest to define. We are quite clear about its superiority to the previous two categories, yet for the realm of wisdom there has never been a sure path. However, in this excerpt, Russell has shown us a way to approach wisdom.

Text Analysis

Structural Analysis

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In a very logical order, he gives four features of wisdom, from which we learn that wisdom is a clever use of knowledge for noble purposes.

Text Analysis

Structural Analysis

Rhetorical Features

The text is neatly structured, with the first paragraph introducing the topic and the other four paragraphs elaborating on it. Each of the four paragraphs discusses one factor that contributes to wisdom. The topic sentence of Paragraphs 2-5: Paragraph 2:

Of these I should put first a sense of proportion: the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight.

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Paragraph 3:

There must be, also, a certain awareness of the ends of human life.

Paragraph 4:

It is needed in the choice of ends to be pursued and in emancipation from personal prejudice. I think the essence of wisdom is emancipation, as far as possible, from the tyranny of the here and now.

Paragraph 5:

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Factors that constitute wisdom: comprehensiveness mixed with a sense of proportion; a full awareness of the goals of human life; understanding; impartiality.

Text Analysis

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In this essay, parallelism is employed, apart from other rhetoric devices. Here is an example: But it is possible to make a continual approach towards impartiality, on the one hand, by knowing things somewhat remote in time or space, and on the other hand, by giving to such things their due weight in our feelings. The underlined parts in the quoted sentence constitute equivalent syntactic constructions, thus making the expression more forceful. Parallelism can also be used to convey ones ideas more clearly and create a sense of order and proportion.

Text Analysis

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Other examples of parallelism in the essay: enormously lowering the infant death-rate, not only in Europe and America, but also in Asia and Africa. (Paragraph 2) This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the most populous parts of the world. (Paragraph 2) Perhaps one could stretch the comprehensiveness that constitutes wisdom to include not only intellect but also feeling. (Paragraph 3)

Text Analysis

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It is by no means uncommon to find men whose knowledge is wide but whose feelings are narrow. (Paragraph 3) It is not only in public ways, but in private life equally, that wisdom is needed. (Paragraph 4)

Detailed Reading

Knowledge and Wisdom (abridged) Bertrand Russell Most people would agree that, although our age far surpasses all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no correlative increase in wisdom. But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define wisdom and consider means of promoting it. I want to ask first what wisdom is, and then what can be done to teach it. 1

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There are, I think, several factors that contribute to wisdom. Of these I should put first a sense of proportion: the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight. This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the specialized knowledge required of various kinds of technicians. Suppose, for example, that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine. The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your intellectual energy. You have not time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions

Detailed Reading

may have outside the field of medicine. You succeed (let us say), as modern medicine has succeeded, in enormously lowering the infant death-rate, not only in Europe and America, but also in Asia and Africa. This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the most populous parts of the world. To take an even more spectacular example, which is in everybodys mind at the present time: You study the composition of the atom from a disinterested desire for knowledge, and incidentally

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place in the hands of powerful lunatics the means of destroying the human race. In such ways the pursuit of knowledge may become harmful unless it is combined with wisdom; and wisdom in the sense of comprehensive vision is not necessarily present in specialists in the pursuit of knowledge.

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Comprehensiveness alone, however, is not enough to constitute wisdom. There must be, also, a certain awareness of the ends of human life. This may be illustrated by the study of history. Many eminent historians have done more harm than good because they viewed facts through the distorting medium of their own passions. Hegel had a philosophy of history which did not suffer from any lack of comprehensiveness, since it started from the earliest times and continued into an indefinite future. But the chief lesson of history which he sought to inculcate was that from the year 400AD

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down to his own time Germany had been the most important nation and the standard-bearer of progress in the world. Perhaps one could stretch the comprehensiveness that constitutes wisdom to include not only intellect but also feeling. It is by no means uncommon to find men whose knowledge is wide but whose feelings are narrow. Such men lack what I call wisdom.

Detailed Reading

It is not only in public ways, but in private life equally, that wisdom is needed. It is needed in the choice of ends to be pursued and in emancipation from personal prejudice. Even an end which it would be noble to pursue if it were attainable may be pursued unwisely if it is inherently impossible of achievement. Many men in past ages devoted their lives to a search for the philosophers stone and the elixir of life. No doubt, if they could have found them, they would have conferred great benefits upon mankind, but as it was their lives were wasted.

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To descend to less heroic matters, consider the case of two men, Mr. A and Mr. B, who hate each other and, through mutual hatred, bring each other to destruction. Suppose you go to Mr. A and say, Why do you hate Mr. B? He will no doubt give you an appalling list of Mr. Bs vices, partly true, partly false. And now suppose you go to Mr. B. He will give you an exactly similar list of Mr. As vices with an equal admixture of truth and falsehood. Suppose you now come back to Mr. A and say, You will be surprised to learn that Mr. B says the same things about you as you say about him, and you go to Mr. B and make a similar speech.

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The first effect, no doubt, will be to increase their mutual hatred, since each will be so horrified by the others injustice. But perhaps, if you have sufficient patience and sufficient persuasiveness, you may succeed in convincing each that the other has only the normal share of human wickedness, and that their enmity is harmful to both. If you can do this, you will have instilled some fragments of wisdom.

Detailed Reading

I think the essence of wisdom is emancipation, as far as possible, from the tyranny of the here and now. We cannot help the egoism of our senses. Sight and sound and touch are bound up with our own bodies and cannot be impersonal. Our emotions start similarly from ourselves. An infant feels hunger or discomfort, and is unaffected except by his own physical condition. Gradually with the years, his horizon widens, and, in proportion as his thoughts and feelings become less personal and less concerned with his own physical states,

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he achieves growing wisdom. This is of course a matter of degree. No one can view the world with complete impartiality; and if anyone could, he would hardly be able to remain alive. But it is possible to make a continual approach towards impartiality, on the one hand, by knowing things somewhat remote in time or space, and on the other hand, by giving to such things their due weight in our feelings. It is this approach towards impartiality that constitutes growth in wisdom.

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Is there any orthodox definition of wisdom?

No. There is disagreement over what wisdom is.

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What does the writer try to illustrate by the examples of research in medicine and study of the atom respectively? In the first place, they are examples of the proposition raised at the very beginning of the text: although our age far surpasses all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no correlative increase in wisdom. The problem, according to the essay, is partly due to the fact that it is now more difficult to acquire a sense of proportion, or the ability to assign different weights to various factors respectively, thus achieving balance. In consequence, breakthroughs in science are likely to bring about corresponding harms to the human race.

Detailed Reading

According to the writer, how are feelings related to wisdom?

If one harbours narrow feelings, his research and study could be harmful to the society. The research could be done in the interest of a small group; the result of his study could be biased. So knowledgeable as he is, he is not a wise man. To implant wisdom, one is required to make efforts to restrain the narrow personal feelings and have a more extensive passion for human life. Wisdom consists not only of the ability to judge what is most important but also of a full awareness of the goals of human life.

Detailed Reading

Why is wisdom a necessary quality in people and culture? According to Russell, the vices of the lack of wisdom are obvious and palpable, ranging from disturbance to public life, including most notably the upset of world peace, to unpleasant incidents in private life. Meanwhile, there seems to be an imbalance in the growth of knowledge and wisdom, which is very likely to make things even worse. So, wisdom is necessary for both personal and cultural developments.

Detailed Reading

What, according to Russell, is the essence of wisdom? And how does that explain the process to attain wisdom? According to Russell, the essence of wisdom is impartiality, or emancipation from egoistic or temporal concerns. It is naturally difficult for man to attain impartiality, as man is naturally bound up by his own physical states from his birth. As he grows, however, his horizon widens, his concerns get beyond from the limits of time and space, and his feelings become more impersonal, thus the growth of impartiality and wisdom.

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surpass v. exceed, be greater than e.g. The student was surpassing himself in mathematics.
Toms performance surpassed all expectations.

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correlative a. having or showing a relation to sth. else

e.g. Rights, whether moral or legal, can involve correlative duties. Derivation:

correlate (v.) correlation (n.)

Comparison: relative (to) a. If sth. is relative to sth. else, it varies according to the speed or level of the other thing. e.g. The amount of petrol a car uses is relative to its speed.

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Comparison:

If sth. is relative to a particular subject, it is connected with it.

e.g. Are these documents relative to the discussion?

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proportion n. the correct relation in size, degree, etc. between one thing and another or between the parts of a whole e.g. When a teacher decides upon his students comprehensive score for a course taken, he has to consider the proportion of examination to coursework. Your legs are very much in proportion to the rest of your body. I think a certain amount of worry about work is very natural, but you've got to keep it in proportion.

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a sense of proportion

the ability to understand what is important and what is not

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due a. proper, adequate

e.g. They will surely meet with due punishment. Due care must be taken while one is driving.

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disinterested a. having no personal involvement or receiving no personal advantage, and therefore able to judge a situation fairly e.g. a disinterested observer/judgment a piece of disinterested advice Derivation:

interest (v.) interested (a.) interesting (a.)

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spectacular a. attracting excited notice, gradually unusual

e.g. The party suffered a spectacular loss in the election. Weve had spectacular success with the product.

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lunatic n. a person who is mad, foolish, or wild

e.g. He drives like a lunatic.

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end n. a goal or desired result

e.g. Do you have a particular end in mind? He wanted science students to take an interest in the arts, and to this end he ran literature classes at his home on Sunday afternoons.

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inculcate v. fix beliefs or ideas in sb.s mind, especially by repeating them often e.g. Our football coach has worked hard to inculcate a team spirit in/into the players.

They will try to inculcate you with a respect for culture.

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emancipation n. freedom from political, moral, intellectual or social restraints offensive to reason or justice e.g. womens / female emancipation black emancipation the emancipation of mankind the emancipation of the serfs Synonym: freeing, liberation, unyoking

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inherently ad. existing as a natural or basic part of sth. e.g. Theres nothing inherently wrong with his ideas. Mountaineering is inherently dangerous. Power stations are themselves inherently inefficient.
Synonym: intrinsically, essentially, innately

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the philosophers stone and the elixir of life These are two of the major preoccupations of alchemy. The philosopher's stone could convert all metal into what was considered its most refined form, the element gold. The elixir of life would instill perpetual youth.

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confer on / upon give or grant (an official title, degree, honour, right or advantage to someone) e.g. The minister may have exceeded the powers conferred on him by Parliament. An honorary doctorate was conferred on him by Peking University.

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appalling a. horrifying, shocking

e.g. When will this appalling war end? Prisoners were kept in the most appalling conditions. The plight of the starving refugees is appalling. Derivation: appal (v.) appalled (a.)

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vice n. evil or unprincipled conduct, criminal or immoral behaviour e.g. Greed, pride, envy, dishonesty and lust are considered to be vices.

The chief of police said that he was committed to wiping out vice in the city.

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admixture n. a thing added, esp. as a minor ingredient

e.g. green with an admixture of black

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enmity n. a feeling of hate

e.g. enmity between Protestants and Catholics family feuds and enmities Synonym: hostility, animosity, opposition, resentment

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instill v. gradually but firmly establish (an idea or attitude, especially a desirable one) in a persons mind e.g. It is part of a teachers job to instill self-confidence into his/her students. Synonym:

inculcate

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impartiality n. the condition of treating all rivals or disputants equally e.g. The state must ensure the independence and
impartiality of the justice system. His impartiality was highly suspect. Derivation: partial (a.), partiality (n.), partially (ad.), impartial (a.), impartially (ad.)

Synonym: fairness, justice, objectivity, neutrality, openmindedness

Detailed Reading

Most people would agree that, although our age far surpasses all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no correlative increase in wisdom. Paraphrase: Most people believe that knowledge is not equal to wisdom as past history has suggested that the acquisition of knowledge does not necessarily lead to the increase of wisdom.

Detailed Reading

Of these I should put first a sense of proportion: the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight. Explanation: The whole sentence means that among the contributing factors of wisdom, I should regard a sense of proportion as the top priority. It refers to the ability to get a comprehensive view of a problem, and at the same time, to know which aspect is more important and which is less.

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Many eminent historians have done more harm than good because they viewed facts through the distorting medium of their own passions. Paraphrase: Viewpoints of many distinguished historians have proved harmful because their opinions were biased and distorted by their narrow feelings.

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Even an end which it would be noble to pursue if it were attainable may be pursued unwisely if it is inherently impossible of achievement.

Paraphrase: It would be unwise to pursue a goal that is bound to fail, although it might be noble to do so.

Detailed Reading

I think the essence of wisdom is emancipation, as far as possible, from the tyranny of the here and now. Paraphrase: I think the essence of wisdom is to get ones horizons free from the confinement of time and space.

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Class Activity Each student is asked to quote a wise idea from ancient Chinese classics and share with each other why you think it is enlightening.

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Word Derivation Phrase Practice Synonym / Antonym

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1) benefit v. beneficent a. beneficial a. beneficiary n.

e.g. I feel that I have benefited greatly from her wisdom. I am lucky to have such a beneficent aunt. A stay in the country will be beneficial to his health.

Her husband was the chief beneficiary of her will.

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2) desire v. desirable a. desirous a. Ant. undesirable a.

e.g.

The hotel had everything you could possibly desire.

Reducing class sizes in schools is a desirable aim. The duke is desirous of meeting you. Houses near industrial sites often do not sell so quickly because they are regarded as undesirable.

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3) horizon n. horizontal a. horizontally ad.

e.g. Travelling certainly broadens your horizons. Draw a horizontal line across the bottom of the page.

The head turns horizontally from side to side.

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4) descend v. descent n. descending a. descendant n. e.g. The path descended steeply into the valley.
The plane began to make its final descent into the airport. Arrange the numbers in descending order. We should leave our descendants a clean world to live in.

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5) increase v. increasing a. increasingly ad.

e.g. The cost of the project has increased dramatically since it began. Increasing efforts are being made to end the dispute.

In view of more and more college graduates leaving campus every year, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable jobs for everyone.

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6) philosophy n. philosopher n. philosophical a. e.g. Live now, pay later thats many young peoples philosophy of life today! Plato was a Greek philosopher. He was philosophical about losing the contract.

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7) due a. duly ad. Ant. undue a. unduly ad. e.g. Their first baby is due in January.
He knew he had been wrong, and duly apologized.

Such a high increase will impose an undue burden on the local tax payer. Theres no need to be unduly pessimistic about the situation.

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8) standard a. standardize v. standardization n. e.g. Most announcers on the BBC speak standard English. We use standardized parts in any model of car we make. Standardization of order forms reduces delivery time.

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1) What are the qualifications required of _____________ designer? 2) We have never __________ sought to affairs of your country.

a website

interfere in the internal

3) Having decided on the goals, the business executives the particulars. descended to ______________ 4) You must _________ the fact that they are only put first children when you consider the case.

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5) It was considered inappropriate for a former Prime Minister to engage commerce. in ___________ 6) The sense of humour is mysteriously _______________ bound up with national characteristics. A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke.

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require sth. of sb.: regard an action, ability, or quality as due from (someone) by virtue of their position

e.g.
Care and diligence were required of him as a trustee.

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seek to: try to or attempt to do (sth.) e.g.

Power stations are seeking to reduce their use of oil.

Teachers have been seeking to reject the teaching method of spoon-feeding.

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descend to: act in a shameful way that is far below ones usual standards e.g. I never thought she would descend to stealing.

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put sth. first: regard sth. as more important than any other things e.g. Career women tend to put their work first.

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engage in: take part in sth.

e.g.
The two governments have agreed to engage in a comprehensive dialogue to resolve the problem.

Some policemen in the city are engaged in crime.

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bound up with: closely connected or involved

e.g.
The survival of whales is intimately bound up with the health of the ocean.

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1. Most people would agree that, although our age far surpasses all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no correlative increase in wisdom. Antonym: following, subsequent, succeeding

2. But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define wisdom and consider means of promoting it. Synonym: enhance, advance 3. To take an even more spectacular example, which is in everybodys mind at the present time Synonym: impressive, sensational

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4. There must be, also, a certain awareness of the ends of human life. Antonym: unawareness, ignorance, unconsciousness 5. But the chief lesson of history which he sought to inculcate was that from the year 400AD down to his own time Germany had been the most important nation and the standard-bearer of progress in the world. Synonym: instill, indoctrinate

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6. It is needed in the choice of ends to be pursued and in emancipation from personal prejudice. Antonym: confinement, restriction, restraint 7. He will no doubt give you an appalling list of Mr Bs vices, partly true, partly false. Antonym: virtue 8. No one can view the world with complete impartiality; and if anyone could, he would hardly be able to remain alive. Synonym: fairness, indifference, neutrality

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it there Conjunctions

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it You can use it as the subject of a link verb such as be. Usually it refers to something that has just been mentioned. You can also use it as the subject of be to say what the time, distance or weather is. You can use it with a link verb and an adjective to describe an experience. After the adjective, you use an -ing form or a to infinitive. You can use it with a link verb and an adjective to describe the experience of being in a particular place. After the adjective, you use an adjunct of place. You can use it with an adjective or noun group to comment on a

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whole situation. After the adjective or noun group, you use a that clause. You can sometimes use a wh clause instead of a that clause For example:

I like your British accent. I think its quite attractive. (something just mentioned) Its seven oclock. (time) It was terribly cold. (weather) Its nice hearing your voice again. (an experience) Its important to know your own limitations. (an action)

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For example: It was cozy in the car. (a place) It is lucky that I am going abroad. (a situation) Its funny how people change. (a situation)

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Rewrite the following sentences, beginning with It.

1. Getting annoyed is no good.

It is no good getting annoyed.

2. Where the sound was coming from was far from clear.

It was far from clear where the sound was coming from.
3. To make a living from her painting is impossible. It is impossible to make a living from her painting.

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4. That you already know my secret is obvious. It is obvious that you already know my secret. 5. If the two countries dont reach an agreement soon will be surprising.

It will be surprising if the two countries dont reach an agreement. 6. Losses are not much greater is a wonder.
It is a wonder that losses are not much greater.

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there When you want to say that something exists, or when you want to mention the presence of something, you can use there followed by be and a noun group. The noun group is usually followed by an adjunct, a wh-clause, or one of the adjectives available, present, or free. For example:

Theres a lot of traffic on this road tonight. There will be no one to help you.

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Insert it + be or there + be in the following sentences.

It is freezing very hard. _______________ There will be ice on the lake 1. ____ tomorrow. 2. Is there a garage behind the hotel? ________ it is rather full. I dont think _________ Yes, but ____ there is room for your car. 3. _________ There is going to be a bus strike tomorrow. It will be all right if ____ it is a fine day; but if ____ it is wet, __________ there will be long queues on the underground. ______________

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4. ____ It is foolish to drive fast when ____ it is foggy. was a knock at his door. It is me. Are you in? 5. There ___________ ____ Somebody said urgently. 6. ___________ There was a revolver lying there. _______ It was borrowed from my neighbour.

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Conjunctions A conjunction is a word which links two clauses, groups, or words. There are two kinds of conjunction: coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. If you are simply linking clauses, you use a coordinating conjunction. When you are adding a clause in order to develop some aspect of what you are saying, you use a subordinating conjunction. The coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, nor, or, then, yet. Some of the most frequent subordinating conjunctions are: although, despite, though, when, as, if, unless, whenever, because, in spite of, whereas, while.

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For example:
Her son lives at home and has a steady job. (coordinating conjunction) Visit your local dealer or phone for a brochure. (coordinating conjunction) He had cancer although it was detected at an early stage. (subordinating conjunction) If he had had a gun, he would have killed the man. (subordinating conjunction)

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Fill in the blanks with appropriate conjunctions.

1. When ______ in doubt, most drivers apply the brakes. 2. Mary wrote down the address lest ____ she should forget. 3. I will come, since ______ you asked me. 4. Did you buy your curtains or ___ do you make your own? 5. Although __________ she was eighteen, her mother didnt like her to stay out late. 6. Make sure you get plenty of rest, so that you dont ________ fall asleep at work.

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1. (take account of)

If you take account of something or take something into account, you consider or remember something when judging a situation. We should take full account of the cost of the project and the difficulties we might encounter.

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Practice I hope my teacher will take account of the fact that I was ill just before the exams when she marks my paper. A good architect takes account of the buildings surroundings.

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2. (contribute to)

If something contributes to an event or situation, it helps to cause or bring about it.

The fair weather contributed to the success of the scientific expedition.

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Practice Smoking contributed to his early death.

Soaring land prices contribute to the high cost of housing.

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3. Ronaldo2002 (spectacular)

Something that is spectacular is beautiful in a dramatic and eye-catching way.

Ronaldo, one of the football stars from Brazil, scored several spectacular goals in 2002 FIFA World Cup.

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Practice From the top of Mount Tai, we can enjoy spectacular mountain scenery.

It was another spectacular dive from Guo Jingjing.

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4. (emancipation from )

Emancipation is the process of giving people social or political freedom and rights. Patience and perseverance are required in emancipation from bad habits.

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Practice Not all people are in favor of female emancipation from the domination of fathers and husbands. Even the press in the West does not realize complete emancipation from state controls.

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5. (instill)

If you instill into somebody something, you put a feeling, idea or principle gradually into someones mind, so that it has a strong influence on the way they think or behave They tried to instill such new ideas into students minds.

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Practice Every parent must instill into their children the need to be vigilant and sensible in face of danger.

We are trying to instill into our guest a feeling of comfort, quality, and safety.

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Dictation Cloze

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Dictation You will hear a passage read three times. At the first reading, you should listen carefully for its general idea. At the second reading, you are required to write down the exact words you have just heard (with proper punctuation). At the third reading, you should check what you have written down.

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Dictation

Science, especially twentieth-century science, / has provided us with a glimpse of something / we never really knew before, / the revelation of human ignorance. / We have been used to the belief, / down one century after another, / that we more or less comprehend everything, / and that we have never lacked for explanations / of the world and its ways. / Now we are being brought up short, / and this has been the work of science. / We have a wilderness of mystery / to make our way through in the centuries ahead, / and we will

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need science for this / but not science alone. / We shall also need minds at work from all sorts of brains / outside the fields of science, / most of all the brains of poets, of course, / but also those of artists, musicians, philosophers, historians, writers in general.

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Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE word you think appropriate. We need a revolution in the aims and methods of academic inquiry. Instead of giving priority to the search for knowledge, academia needs to devote itself to seeking and promoting wisdom by rational means, wisdom being the capacity to realize what is (1) of ___ value in life, for oneself and (2) _______ others . A basic task create ought to be to help humanity learn how to (3) _______ a better world.

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Acquiring scientific knowledge dissociated (4) from _____ a more basic concern for (5) wisdom ________ , as we do at present, is dangerously and damagingly irrational. Natural science has been extraordinarily successful in increasing knowledge. This has been of great (6) benefit ________ to humanity. But new knowledge and technological know-how increase our power to act which, (7) without ________ wisdom, may cause human suffering and death as well All our modern global ___ as human benefit. (8) problems have arisen in this way: global warming, the lethal character of modern war and terrorism, vast

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inequalities of wealth and power round the globe, rapid increase in population, rapid extinction of other species, even the aids epidemic (aids being spread by modern travel). All these have been (9) made ______ possible by modern science dissociated from the rational pursuit of wisdom. If we are to (10) avoid ______ in this century the horrors of the last (11) one wars, death camps, ____ dictatorships, poverty, environmental damage we urgently need to learn how to acquire more wisdom, which in (12) turn _____ means that our institutions of learning become devoted to that end.

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Instead of using the adjective valuable as the complement of is, you can sometimes use of and a noun, here value to describe the same meaning. This is a rather formal use.

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In view of the coordinating conjunction and, we need a pronoun to parallel with oneself, which refers to those not already mentioned.

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Here following to -infinitive, the basic form of a verb is expected. And it has to be a transitive one, which can collocate with a better world. A verb which means to build up is a possible choice.

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After the noun group scientific knowledge, there is a clause beginning with a past participle dissociated, which means disconnected or separated. And this clause serves as a condition. A very similar structure is repeated in the coming part, which goes as modern science dissociated from the rational pursuit of wisdom.

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Here we need an object for preposition for, which is directed at the topic of this passage. The same idea is repeated in the next paragraph, which goes as modern science dissociated from the rational pursuit of wisdom.

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Here after has been, a complement is needed. Instead of using an adjective and a grading adverb, we use of and a noun to comment on the fact mentioned in the last sentence. The word we need here must have a positive meaning as the phrase as well as human benefit indicates in the coming sentence.

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But is used to introduce a clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned, a negation is naturally expected to mean not having the benefit of wisdom.

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Seemingly, this sentence is perfectly complete. In front of the possessive determiner our, a pre-determiner is the most probable choice here. The subject of the next sentence all these can be a hint of this blank.

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Have been and by hint at a passive verb, which at the same time can be used with possible as object complement to mean cause to become.

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To -infinitive phrases are used after be to indicate that something is planned to happen. And the context indicates that we try to prevent the horrors from happening again.

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In view of this century, we need a pronoun referring to the last century.

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The relative clause led by which, is a consequence of the idea mentioned in the previous sentence. We need a phrase beginning with in to indicate such a result.

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Giving a Talk Making a Dialogue

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1. Giving a Talk Topic: National pride or ethnocentrism? Viewpoints for reference:

The belief that the state is of primary importance. The belief that one state is naturally superior to all other states. A promotion of expansion into new territories, usually with the claim that the existing territory is too small or is not able to physically or economically sustain the nations population. An expression of intense support for ones nation, often characterized by authoritarianism.

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2. Making a Dialogue Viewpoints for reference 1) My interests and responsibilities as a scientist

A strong curiosity about reality. A desire to understand why the world is as we see it and how it came to be. A desire to introduce a new understanding of the natural world. A responsibility to apply scientific knowledge for the benefit of peoples health, the nations, the world, nature or industries.

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2) My interests and responsibilities as a philosopher

A desire to use logic toward a more comprehensive understanding of intangible aspects of reality that lack a direct connection to nature, focusing on the realm of thought itself.

An interest in the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.

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A responsibility to instill the nature of the good life and the importance of understanding and knowledge in order to pursue it; the explication of the concept of justice, and its relation to various political systems.

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Essay Writing: How to Write a Process Essay Purpose: To describe a definite process through a series of steps or stages The structure of a process essay:

Introduction: the basic aim of the process; Body: a guide to how to carry out the whole procedure; Conclusion: the result of the process.

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Sample: A Process Essay

Giving Blood Every hospital needs large supplies of blood for transfusions. It is given by donors. Before giving blood, the donor is given tests to determine his blood type and to make sure he is not suffering from certain diseases. Only when this has been done can his blood be taken. First he lies down with his arm on a pillow. Next the nurse puts the cuff of the sphygmomanometer around his upper arm, and inflates it to compress the veins.

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At this stage she cleans his skin with ether and inserts the needle into a vein. As she does this, blood begins to flow into a plastic bag. Meanwhile the donor opens and closes his hand to increase the flow. As soon as the required amount of blood is taken, the nurse removes the sphygmomanometer and withdraws the needle. Finally, she puts a dressing on the donors arm. The blood is immediately labeled and refrigerated.

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Sample Analysis Paragraph raises an issue and briefly mentions the source of blood in hospitals. Paragraphs- introduce the process of blood donation. Procedural indicators are in red.

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2. Practice Write a process essay on the given topic: How to make a fruit salad. Sample Fruit salad is a healthy and tasty treat that can serve as an appetizer, snack or dessert. It is easy and quick to prepare. Here is our step-by-step procedure to enable you to make a fruit salad at home. To make the fruit salad, begin by gathering a variety of different fruits. All fruits taste good in a salad, however if you are using fruits with a tough skin, ensure

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Sample

you peel them before you use them in a salad. Then wash all the fruits thoroughly and chop them to medium-sized pieces. Next you just assemble these fruits in a serving blow and serve it. Isnt it easy? If you do want to add extra flavor to your fruit salad, a dressing made of honey and lemon juice will taste great when poured over the fruit salad. Another choice is adding a scoop of vanilla flavored ice-cream over the fruit salad makes it a delicious tasting dessert. You can also garnish your fruit salad with chopped nuts such as walnuts, almonds, etc. to give your salad a nice crunchy texture.

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Do you know any big names widely recognized as a genius? Whats his or her story of becoming a genius?

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How to Become a Man of Genius Bertrand Russell 1 If there are among my readers any young men or women who aspire to become leaders of thought in their generation, I hope they will avoid certain errors into which I fell in youth for want of good advice. When I wished to form an opinion upon a subject, I used to study it, weigh the arguments on different sides, and attempt to reach a balanced conclusion. I have since discovered that this is not the way to do things. A man of genius knows it all without the need of study; his opinions are pontifical and depend for their persuasiveness upon literary style

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rather than argument. It is necessary to be one-sided, since this facilitates the vehemence that is considered a proof of strength. It is essential to appeal to prejudices and passions of which men have begun to feel ashamed and to do this in the name of some new ineffable ethic. It is well to decry the slow and pettifogging minds which require evidence in order to reach conclusions. Above all, whatever is most ancient should be dished up as the very latest thing.

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2 There is no novelty in this recipe for genius; it was practised by Carlyle in the time of our grandfathers, and by Nietzsche in the time of our fathers, and it has been practised in our own time by D. H. Lawrence. Lawrence is considered by his disciples to have enunciated all sorts of new wisdom about the relations of men and women; in actual fact he has gone back to advocating the domination of the male which one associates with the cave dwellers. Woman exists, in his philosophy, only as something soft and fat to rest the hero when he returns from his labors.

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Civilized societies have been learning to see something more than this in women; Lawrence will have nothing of civilization. He scours the world for what is ancient and dark and loves the traces of Aztec cruelty in Mexico. Young men, who had been learning to behave, naturally read him with delight and go round practising cave-man stuff so far as the usages of polite society will permit. One of the most important elements of success in 3 becoming a man of genius is to learn the art of denunciation. You must always denounce in such a way that your reader thinks that it is the other fellow who is being denounced and not himself; in that case he will be impressed by your noble scorn, whereas if he thinks that

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it is himself that you are denouncing, he will consider that you are guilty of ill-bred peevishness. Carlyle remarked: The population of England is twenty million, mostly fools. Everybody who read this considered himself one of the exceptions, and therefore enjoyed the remark. You must not denounce well-defined classes, such as persons with more than a certain income, inhabitants of a certain area, or believers in some definite creed; for if you do this, some readers will know that your invective is directed

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against them. You must denounce persons whose emotions are atrophied, persons to whom only plodding study can reveal the truth, for we all know that these are other people, and we shall therefore view with sympathy your powerful diagnosis of the evils of the age. Ignore fact and reason, live entirely in the world of 4 your own fantastic and myth-producing passions; do this whole-heartedly and with conviction, and you will become one of the prophets of your age. 28 December 1932

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About the author and the text: This essay was targeted at D.H. Lawrence, English novelist, poet, and essayist, whose work is characterized by its condemnation of industrial society and by its frank exploration of sexual relationships. His major works include Sons and Lovers (1913), The Rainbow (1915), Women in Love (1920), and Lady Chatterleys Lover (1928). Russell once thought they had a great deal in common and had planned to collaborate with him on a book but later realized that each typified what the other most despised.

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pontifical (Paragraph 1): pompous, never wrong

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It is essential to appeal to prejudices and passions of which men have begun to feel ashamed and to do this in the name of some new ineffable ethic. (Paragraph 1): In Russells view, Lawrence and his followers appealed to prejudice and passion for support, which is totally irrational.

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pettifogging (Paragraph 1): paying too much attention to unimportant, boring details

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Above all, whatever is most ancient should be dished up as the very latest thing. (Paragraph 1): Russell in this sentence mocks Lawrence and his followers literary exploration of the sexual relationship between men and women, which was thought to be primitive by Russell.

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Carlyle (Paragraph 2): Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Scottish historian and political philosopher. He established his reputation as a historian with his History of the French Revolution (1837). Influenced by German Romanticism, many of his works, including Sartor Resartus (1833-1834), celebrate the force of the strong, just man as against the degraded masses.

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Nietzsche (Paragraph 2): Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher. He is known for criticizing Christianitys compassion for the weak, glorifying the will to power, and formulating the idea of the Ubermensch (superman), who can rise above the restrictions of ordinary morality.

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He scours the world for what is ancient and dark and loves the traces of Aztec cruelty in Mexico. (Paragraph 2): This sentence refers to Lawrences trip to some wild countries like Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand during the post-war period. The Aztec were the American Indian people dominant in Mexico before the Spanish conquest of the 16th century.

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I have since discovered that this is not the way to do things (Paragraph 1): Things that happen in this world are contrary to his belief, and that is what he denounces ironically.

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Lawrence is considered by his disciples to have enunciated all sorts of new wisdom about the relations of men and women; in actual fact he has gone back to advocating the domination of the male which one associates with the cave dwellers. (Paragraph 2): In fact, thats one of the many things concerning which Russell disagreed with Lawrence. Russell proposed a decent Christian sexual ethic which he believed is quite difficult in the modern world due to various primitive forces. Nevertheless, he maintained, in Our Sexual Ethics in 1936, that it would be well if men and women could remember, in sexual

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relations, in marriage, and in divorce, to practise the ordinary virtues of tolerance, kindness, truthfulness, and justice. Those who, by conventional standards, are sexually virtuous, too often consider themselves thereby absolved from behaving like decent human beings.

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You must denounce persons whose emotions are atrophied, persons to whom only plodding study can reveal the truth, for we all know that these are other people, and we shall therefore view with sympathy your powerful diagnosis of the evils of the age. (Paragraph 3): Ironically, Russell is denouncing the master minds, as they were believed to be, who loved to denounce people. They are men of genius partly because they knew the art of denunciation. They knew who can be denounced and who else must not be denounced. Equally apparently, Russell is denouncing those people who believed that it is the other fellow who

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is being denounced and not himself, implying that such people are callous and stupid. Therefore, the denunciation was aimed at the right targets and was justified in some sense.

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1. How do you interpret the statement, It is necessary to be one-sided, since this facilitates the vehemence that is considered a proof of strength (paragraph 1)? The sentence means one should be biased so as to be passionate, and passion is a proof of his strength. Russell here mocks this belief of Lawrences implicitly.

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2. In the second paragraph, Russell seems to warn the youth against something. What is the warning? In the second paragraph, Russell warns the youth against Lawrences influence that saw women as passive and physical, and that encouraged men to behave in a primitive and dominant way.

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3. What is Russells opinion about some peoples technique of criticism? Refer to Paragraph 3. Russell despises those writers that were slippery, those that did not specify their targets clearly.

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4. What is the major conflict between Russells and Lawrences philosophies as is exemplified by the text?

Russell stands for the rational and intellectual side while Lawrence for the emotional, physical side. Russell despises Lawrence for his primitive mans understanding of the relationship between men and women and his reliance on passion and desire for emancipation. And Lawrence criticizes the cold and impotent nature of rationality. Each of them is just the opposite of the other.

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The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. Bertrand Russell

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A question for discussion What is the nature of a good life?

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About Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell (18721970), was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic.

In 1950, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.

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