1 . In 2017, Irish President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina started the Young Irish Philosopher Awards, the purpose of which is to invite students from throughout that country to reflect on interesting questions and participate in philosophical thinking and discussion. In 2023, over 500 young thinkers came together at University College Dublin for the sixth annual gathering. The grand prize winner was Seán Radeliffe from Cork, for his essay ‘Has Plato’s tale of the cave been warning us of social media for 2,500years?’And speaking of Plato, in 2022, an award-winning documentary film entitled Young Plato received international recognition. It focuses on how Kevin McArevey, the headmaster of a primary school in Belfast’s Ardoyne housing estates, uses critical thinking techniques to empower young children to look beyond the boundaries of their violence(For more, see YoungPlato. com). As one can see, philosophy is alive and well in both the Republic of Ireland and the UK constituent country of Northern Ireland.
Ireland has traditionally been known as the Land of Saints and Scholars. In this edition of Philosophy Now, we’ll cast a cold eye on the state of philosophy past, present and future in the Emerald Isle, with a focus on Thomas Duddy’s idea, in his book A History of Irish Thought, that such an exploration must be both practical and creative.
This issue is dedicated to my late friend Seán Moran, a Philosophy Now writer and a modern Irish philosopher whom I met in Waterford many years ago, and whose humor, charm, and friendliness enriched my life. Like Tom Duddy, Seán died much too young. He demonstrated to me the true meaning of William Butler Yeats’s closing words from his poem ‘The Municipal Gallery Revisited’:
“Think where man’s glory most begins and ends
And say my glory was I had such friends.”
Prof. Timothy J. Madigan
St John Fisher University
1. What can readers probably get on YoungPlato. com?| A．How critical thinking helps students reflect on their violence. |
| B．How Plato’s stories influence social media every now and then. |
| C．How Higgins and his wife started the Young Irish Philosopher Awards. |
| D．How young thinkers try philosophical thinking and discussion annually. |
| A．Ireland’s Philosophical Evolution. | B．Thomas Duddy’s ideas on history. |
| C．The growing reputation of Ireland. | D．The ideal way of exploring philosophy. |
| A．To compare Seán’s achievement with Tom Duddy’s. |
| B．To express the author’s sorrow for Seán’s early death. |
| C．To appreciate the friendship between the author and Seán. |
| D．To demonstrate the author’s understanding of philosophy. |
| A．Creative. | B．Reflective. | C．Skeptical. | D．Confused. |
2 . The University of Birmingham is the first excellent UK Russell Group university to announce that it will accept the “Gaokao” exam for high-flying Chinese students wishing to join its undergraduate courses in 2019. High school students who complete the “National Higher Education Entrance Examination”, or Gaokao, with top grades will be able to apply for direct entry onto Birmingham degree programmes without first completing a foundation year which is a routine for the freshman.
University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood said: “The University of Birmingham has been challenging and developing great minds for more than a century. We welcome people from around the globe to study at Birmingham and Chinese students form an integral part of our education and research community. We are further opening access to Birmingham’s wealth of education opportunities for the brightest and most dedicated Chinese students by accepting this strict and important qualification. I look forward to welcoming these high-flying students to the University of Birmingham.”
Gaokao is increasingly accepted by universities in Australia, the USA, Canada and mainland Europe. Birmingham will only be considering high quality students who achieve a minimum 80% Gaokao score and meet additional academic and English language requirements.
Professor J on Frampton, Director of the University of Birmingham’s China Institute said: “The University of Birmingham has a long history of educating students from China and one of our most famous graduates is Li Siguang — the founding father of Chinese geology. I am delighted that the University is now accepting the Gaokao. This gives the brightest and best Chinese students an opportunity to move straight into the first year of our undergraduate programmes and experience the benefits of studying at a global Top 100 university, such as Birmingham.”
1. What do Chinese students have to do to enter the University of Birmingham before 2019?| A．Go through a foundation year. |
| B．Prepare Birmingham degree programmers. |
| C．Get the right to permanent residency. |
| D．Score over 800% of the university’s qualification examination. |
| A．The foreign students in China. | B．All people living in the UK. |
| C．The students of the UK. | D．Chinese students. |
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. | C．Indifferent. | D．Neutral. |
| A．The introduction to the “Gaokao” of China. |
| B．The history of the University of Birmingham. |
| C．The high-quality students accepted by top universities. |
| D．The University of Birmingham’s acceptance of Gaokao. |
| A．It’s less important. |
| B．It needs improvement. |
| C．It’s becoming more popular. |
| A．Pocket money. | B．The value of money. | C．Money saving. |
5 . Adults understand what it feels like to be flooded with objects. Why do we often assume that more is more when it comes to kids and their belongings? The good news is that I can help my own kids learn earlier than I did how to live more with less.
I found the pre-holidays a good time to encourage young children to donate less-used things, and it worked. Because of our efforts, our daughter Georgia did decide to donate a large bag of toys to a little girl whose mother was unable to pay for her holiday due to illness. She chose to sell a few larger objects that were less often used when we promised to put the money into her school fund (基金) (our kindergarten daughter is serious about becoming a doctor).
For weeks, I’ve been thinking of bigger, deeper questions: How do we make it a habit for them? And how do we train ourselves to help them live with, need, and use less? Yesterday, I sat with my son, Shepherd, determined to test my own theory on this. I decided to play with him with only one toy for as long as it would keep his interest. I expected that one toy would keep his attention for about five minutes, ten minutes, max. I chose a red rubber ball—simple, universally available. We passed it, he tried to put it in his mouth, he tried bouncing it, rolling it, sitting on it, throwing it. It was totally, completely enough for him. Before I knew it an hour had passed and it was time to move on to lunch.
We both became absorbed in the simplicity of playing together. He had my full attention and I had his. My little experiment to find joy in a single object worked for both of us.
1. What made Georgia agree to sell some of her objects?| A．Saving up for her holiday. |
| B．Raising money for a poor girl. |
| C．Adding the money to her fund. |
| D．Giving the money to a sick mother. |
| A．To try out an idea. |
| B．To show a parent’s love. |
| C．To train his attention. |
| D．To help him start a hobby. |
6 . A teenager needs to have a sense of independence in their life to feel secure (安全的). To some teenagers independence means a lot to them and I think that some parents don’t allow their teenagers enough independence.
Independence has something to do with freedom. Some kids are not allowed to go anywhere alone, and the only thing their schedule includes is going to school, coming home, going to sleep, and repeating the process the next day. Parents tend to be afraid that their kids can get hurt if they go outside into the world. But if parents control their kids too much, they may never learn to live on their own. The best way for a teenager to lean lesson is through experience. I think it is good for teenagers to have freedom.
Teenagers’ lack of freedom can also stop them from having good friendship at school. Some might say this is a good thing, because it helps them focus more on their school work. I argue that this can only discourage them not to do their school work. Some parents do not allow their children to be around their friends outside the school, thinking that this will get them into trouble. But I don’t think so. Instead, isn’t this a good reason for parents to get their children a cellphone? Cellphones allow teenagers to stay in touch with their parents, and communicate with friends.
Privacy (隐私) is another issue between parents and their teenagers. Teenagers tend to enjoy relaxation by themselves in their own room. This also gives them a sense of independence. It often annoys teenagers when their parents enter their room when they are not home. I know that my mom always goes in my room when I’m not home, and this has brought me to the point where I have asked many times to get a lock on my door.
1. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?| A．Kids have a dull schedule every day. | B．Parents allow their kids no freedom. |
| C．Kids know how to live independently. | D．It helps teenagers a lot to have freedom. |
| A．It is unnecessary for a kid to have a cellphone. |
| B．Good friendships between kids harm their school work. |
| C．Parents should make it easy for kids to communicate with their friends. |
| D．Kids should center on the school work without friends outside the school. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Frightened. | C．Angry. | D．Calm. |
| A．To keep her father from reading her dairy. | B．To prevent her mother entering her room. |
| C．To protect herself from any harm. | D．To stop thieves from going in. |
7 . Water and Education
In every society on earth, water and education are closely inter-related. The relationship between water and education can be seen in two ways: We need to be educated on water-related issues and on water management but we also need to have access to water to receive education. On this web page, you will find information on the double relationship, illustrated by examples of already existing plans complemented by links to useful and related websites and pages.
Part One: Educating on Water-related Issues
Water-related problems need to be discussed and reflected upon in order for everyone to take action. Everyone can contribute, whether it is by not letting the tap run while brushing one’s teeth, or campaigning against poor sewage (污水) systems in developing countries. There are already several important plans implemented (实施) with educational objectives. Some organizations have developed water education tools that enable groups, such as teachers, school children, students and communities to gain knowledge of water resources and management. Click on the title of this section to read more about these projects as well as their results.
Part Two: Access to Water to Receive Education
The second part of the relationship between water and education is to provide water to communities where there is water scarcity (缺乏). An implementation of water systems will often result in a better access to education for children. Firstly, they will not have to walk far every day to fetch water; secondly, if water systems are implemented in schools that lack water facilities, children have an even greater chance to receive education. Many important projects have been, or are in the process of being accomplished. Please click on the title to discover some of the organizations that achieve these results as well as precise examples of the impacts a water source can have on education.
1. What is this web page designed for?| A．To introduce how to go on website education. | B．To encourage people to have water campaign. |
| C．To advertise how to start the water education. | D．To offer information on water and education. |
| A．Cleaning polluted water. |
| B．Building sewage systems. |
| C．Educating groups to understand water resources and management. |
| D．Implementing water systems in rural schools. |
| A．Offering more resources. | B．Walking far away to fetch water. |
| C．Implementing water systems. | D．Not wasting water any more. |
Schools and companies are encouraged to take actions
School teachers should educate students to prevent them from
Online addiction prevention for primary and secondary school students
In the ever-evolving (不断进化的) landscape of modern education, the value of critical thinking skills cannot be overstated (过分强调). Generally
Go to kindergarten, elementary school, high school, and finally, college. Most American kids
