1 . I was about 13 when an uncle gave me a copy of Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. It was full of ideas that were new to me, so I spent the summer with my head in and out of that book. It spoke to me and brought me into a world of philosophy (哲学).

That love for philosophy lasted until I got to college. Nothing kills the love for philosophy faster than people who think they understand Foucault, Baudrillard, or Confucius better than you — and then try to explain them.

Eric Weiner’s The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers reawakened my love for philosophy. It is not an explanation, but an invitation to think and experience philosophy.

Weiner starts each chapter with a scene on a train ride between cities and then frames each philosopher’s work in the context (背景) of one thing they can help us do better. The end result is a read in which we learn to wonder like Socrates, see like Thoreau, listen like Schopenhauer, and have no regrets like Nietzsche. This, more than a book about understanding philosophy, is a book about learning to use philosophy to improve a life.

He makes philosophical thought an appealing exercise that improves the quality of our experiences, and he does so with plenty of humor. Weiner enters into conversation with some of the most important philosophers in history, and he becomes part of that crowd in the process by decoding (解读) their messages and adding his own interpretation.

The Socrates Express is a fun, sharp book that draws readers in with its apparent simplicity and gradually pulls them in deeper thoughts on desire, loneliness, and aging. The invitation is clear: Weiner wants you to pick up a coffee or tea and sit down with this book. I encourage you to take his offer. It’s worth your time, even if time is something we don’t have a lot of.

What does the author think of Weiner’s book?

6 . Standing on the edge of the plane, my tandem skydiving (双人跳伞) instructor, Bill, turned to face me. “Do you have any last words?” he asked. “Yes,” I said, joking. “I hope my parachute (降落伞) ________.”

I’d never felt more alive as Bill and I ________ and started our free fall. As we reached 4,000 feet, I felt a parachute open. This, I was told, would slow us down for a smooth ________. But why were we still ________ so fast? I could hear Bill swearing as he tried to ________ whatever had gone wrong.

Worse still, our emergency parachute unexpectedly got ________ on something. At that moment, I just felt so ________ that I’d even invited my family along to experience sorrow instead of watching my wonderful performance.

We ________ the ground. An unimaginable pain shot up my back. Feeling weak and tired out, I gathered all my ________, and turned to face Bill. He started screaming. From my neck down, I could hardly ________. My mother couldn’t help crying as we were placed into a(n) ________ from the hospital.

After years of treatment, the deep physical and mental pain is ________. I heard Bill made a full ________ and returned to skydiving.

I was always terrified of being myself and doing the things I wanted. Now I’ve learned I need to be ________. There’s nothing like falling from 15,000 feet without a parachute and surviving. It forces me to ________ every day!

7 . When I was a young man, I had a big ego (自负) and very little empathy (同理心). I thought I knew everything. I looked forward to fame and success. I can even remember proudly telling one of my friends in college: “If only everyone listened to me, they would all be happy.” I finally left school, ready to take on the world. Little did I know the world was about to take on me.

In the years following college, instead of success, I found struggles. I had trouble finding work. The jobs I did work at were either temporary or back-breaking and none of them paid well. When my wife and I had children, we were shocked to learn that not one but both of our sons had autis (自闭症) and would need to be taken care of for the rest of their lives. I had no idea why this had happened to us and I was very angry with the world.

In time, however, I began to change. My formerly massive ego was shrinking fast and my empathy was beginning to grow. Instead of finding joy in success, I found it in moments of love. Playing and laughing with my sons brought me so much happiness. My boys taught me more about peace, patience, kindness, joy, and unconditional love than I could have ever learned on my own. I began to share the lessons I learned through my writing and my life.

I finally realized that my purpose in this world had nothing to do with fame or success but everything to do with allowing love and light into my life and sharing it with everyone I could.

8 . I had worried myself sick over Simon’s mother coming to see me. I was a new teacher, and I gave an honest _________ of the students’ work. In Simon’s case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn’t read his own handwriting. _________ he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his _________.

So when Simon’s mother entered the room, my palms(手掌心)were _________. I was completely _________ for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, surprising me beyond speech. _________ me, Simon had become a different person. She talked of how he _________ me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had _________ spent an afternoon at a friend’s house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the _________ I had nurtured(培养)in her son. She kissed me again and left.

I sat, stunned(惊呆), for about half an hour, __________ what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without __________ knowing it? What I finally came to __________ was one day, several months before, when some students were __________ reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke __________, and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon’s the expert on this. He is the only one you have to convince, and he can’t hear you in the __________ of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, __________ more, and became happy. And it was all because __________ to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed __________ was the one who took the last seat that day.

It taught me the most __________ lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I’m thankful that it came early and positively. A small kindness can indeed __________.

10 . I watch documentaries, not movies. I read history books, not fiction. I use every free moment to accomplish one of the tasks on my never-ending checklist, and I am completely filled with thoughts of productivity. An hour sleeping is an hour wasted. And like the rest of 21st century America, I like it. But this fixation on productivity is increasingly destroying character and transforming men into robots.

New York Times columnist David Brooks warned American University students of this cultural decline in a speech. “We cut off all things spiritual and emotional in a competitive urge to stand out”, he said, “The pressure to succeed professionally, to acquire skills, to do the things you need to do to succeed in an information age economy really became the overwhelming(难以应付的)pressures, and it sort of weakens the thinking about character and morality.”

Many students happily go to college, viewing it as a next step on their rise to professional achievement. Forcing as many success-building activities into their schedules as they can, they enjoy keeping busy with little sleep. “Today’s outstanding kids are likely to spend their afternoons and weekends shuttling from one skill-improving activity to the next,” Brooks wrote in an article, “We fear failure more than we desire success.”

A century ago, college was about character building. Today, our characters are in decline. We are experts on economics, material things and professional skills. We fail to discuss and understand relationships, emotions and all things spiritual.

Philosopher Karl Popper divided the world into two categories: Clocks and Clouds. Clock problems are those that can be taken apart, examined and solved through deductive reasoning(演绎推理). Clouds cannot be taken apart. Cloud problems represent whole systems that need to be understood in a different way.

“When we have a Cloud problem, we try to turn it into a Clock problem,” Brooks said. And in a reason-centered culture, adding titles to one’s resume becomes a trend. At American University, 85 percent of seniors (and 89 percent of business majors) graduate with at least one practical experience which is often helpful to a student’s future career, but can sometimes draw focus away from academics.

To prevent the death of man’s character, Brooks urges rediscovering our human natures through falling in love. And by love he means love for a task, job, or another person. “Synchronicity is key to happiness,” he said. Rather than crazily increasing our long lists of accomplishments, we need to lose ourselves in what we do, and success will come on its own.