古希腊几乎被海洋从小亚细亚（土耳其）分开，而且逃脱了被近东帝国征服的命运。
由于土地不足，很多希腊人离开了自己的家乡，到处寻找新的大陆。他们建筑了豪华的浆船，希腊殖民者和商人随处能见，从地中海的一端到另外一端。
从很多方面来看，古希腊是西方文明的起源地。在希腊小城中，特别是在雅典，人们聚集在一起讨论各种思想。“哲学”一词来源于希腊词语中意为爱和智慧的两个词，从希腊人那里我们学到了很多关于美、公正和政府的思想。
希腊从来没有团结为一个民族，但是他们使用同一种语言，有相同的宗教信仰和对世界的相似看法。
古希腊人是医学、数学和自然科学方面的先驱，他们用逻辑和推理的眼光来看待世界，并有一些基础的发明。在公元前400年前，德谟克利特断言所有的事物都是原子的外在表现，批评家萨摩斯（公元前200年）认识到地球是圆的，甚至暗示地球是围绕着太阳旋转的。
古希腊伟大科学家的名字至今被人们所熟知，如阿基米德、苏格拉底、柏拉图和亚里士多德是在当时和任何时代都非常伟大的三位哲学家，但是平常人都经常怀疑他们的疑问和自由奔放的思想。苏格拉底还因为他自己的观点而在公元前399年被判死刑。
希腊人相信很多神，每个城市都有自己的保护神，每个家族也都供奉自己家族的神灵。众神住在奥林匹斯山上，被众神之王宙斯管理。希腊神是永恒的，但是他们也具有人类的特性，如表现出爱和嫉妒。
希腊人为他们的神建造了很多漂亮的寺庙，他们在数学的基础上发展了一流的建筑学，并用三种不同方式来建造石柱，而这些石柱就是很多希腊建筑的特色。
希腊雕刻家用极为逼真的细节来刻画出死去人们的身体。音乐的繁荣，经常伴随着一定的舞蹈或相应的故事，最出名的就是荷马的英雄故事。希腊人也发明了我们现在的剧院，一些关于他们的戏剧仍然用除希腊语以外的语言在表演。
练习
回答下列问题。
1．在 海岸能看见希腊殖民者和商人。
2．古希腊是西方 的起源地。
3．“哲学”一词的意思是 和 。
4． 断言所有的事物都是原子的外在表现。
5． 因自己的观点被判死刑。
6．希腊庙宇是在 的基础上建立的。
1．Mediterranean 2．civilization
3．love， wisdom 4．Democritus
5．Socrates 6．mathematical
03 Eastern Religions 东方的宗教
Peoples all over the world formed systems of beliefs in powers greater than their own. The earliest religions were connected with the forces of nature—the sun， the moon， wind， water， rocks and trees—and with animals.
The great religions of the world all began in Asia. Three of them—Judaism， Christianity， and Islam—began in the same area of west Asia. Hinduism and Buddhism began in India.
In the civilizations of die ancient world， die king was often seen as the gods’ representative. The god-king defended his people. The Egyptians believed in many gods， and in a life after death. One pharaoh， Akhenaton， tried to replace the old gods with a “one-god” faith based on sun worship. The experiment was short-lived.
India
Hinduism is the oldest of the Asian beliefs. There are many Hindu gods， and many rules that govern foods， behavior， festivals， and even which jobs people may do.
Buddhism began in India in the 500s BC and was later spread by missionaries to Burma and China. In its birthplace of India， Buddhism practically died out. It was different from other religions in having no god or gods. Its followers were taught to escape the sufferings of life by desiring nothing. Another Indian religion， Jainism， forbade its followers to kill any living thing， even an insect.
Judaism
The Jews were the first people in Europe and Asia to put their faith in one god. They believed that they were a chosen people， who owed their escape from slavery in Egypt and Babylon to a supreme God whom they called Yahweh （the Lord）. God gave die Ten Commandments （laws） to Moses， and prophets delivered messages from God. Jews believed that God would send a messiah， or saviour， to bring justice and peace. Later， followers of Jesus Christ， a Jew， believed he was the Messiah （the Son of God）.
Confucius
In China， people worshipped their ancestors and nature spirits. In the 500s BC， a scholar named Confucius taught a system of “right behavior” which has influenced Chinese government and society ever since， He taught loyalty to the family， worship of ancestors， and obedience to the laws of society.
Vocabulary 词汇
Asia ["ei？？] n. 亚洲
Judaism ["d？u：deiiz？m] n. 犹太教
Christianity ["kristi"？niti] n. 基督教
Islam ["izlɑ：m] n. 伊斯兰教、（总称）伊斯兰教徒、穆斯林
pharaoh ["f？？r？u] n. 法老
worship ["w？：？ip] vt. 崇拜、尊崇；
vi. 做礼拜
missionary ["mi？？n？ri] n. 传教士
messiah [mi"sai？] n. （人们盼望来拯救世界的）救星；弥赛亚（犹太人期待的救世主）
saviour ["seivj？] n. 救助者、拯救者、救星、救世主、耶稣基督
loyalty ["l？i？lti] n. 忠诚、忠心、忠于……感情、忠心
obedience [？"bi：dj？ns] n. 服从、顺从、听话
Practice
Write true or false.
1．The earliest religions always connected with the forces of nature．
2．Judaism， Christianity and Buddhism began in India．
3．Hinduism have many gods．
4．Jainism forbade its followers to kill any living thing．
5．In China， a scholar named Confucius taught people obedience to the laws of society．
译文
世界各地的人所形成的宗教系统比他们各自的宗教信仰能力更强大，最初的宗教信仰是与自然力量（太阳、月亮、风、水、岩石和树木）和动物相联系的。
世界主要的宗教信仰都发源于亚洲，三大宗教（犹太教、基督教和伊斯兰教）发源于西亚的同一块地区。印度教和佛教发源于印度。
在逝去的远古世界文明中，死去的国王经常被看作是神的代表，众神之王保护着他的子民。埃及人对很多神都很崇敬，并且相信死后的生活。阿克纳顿，一位埃及法老，曾试图用仅崇拜太阳的单神信仰来代替对众神的崇拜，但是这个尝试仅维持了很短的时间。
印度
印度教是亚洲宗教中最古老的一种。印度教中有很多神，很多对食物、行为、节庆，甚至人们从事工作的戒律。
佛教在公元前500年发源于印度，随后由传教士传播到缅甸和中国。在它的发源地印度，佛教几乎快消失了。佛教与其他宗教不同，没有要崇拜的神。佛教信徒要做到无欲，才能摆脱生活的苦难。另外一种宗教，耆那教禁止它的信徒杀生，即使是昆虫。
犹太教
犹太人是在欧洲和亚洲大陆上第一个只崇敬一位神的人，他们相信自己是被神选择出来的，并且他们认为他们之所以能从埃及和巴比伦的奴役中逃脱出来都是最高神耶和华（上帝）的功劳。上帝给摩西和传递上帝福音的人规定了十条戒律。犹太人相信上帝会给他们派来能带来公正和和平的弥赛亚或者救世主。随后，一位名叫耶稣的犹太人被认为是弥赛亚（上帝的儿子）。
孔子
在中国，人们都很崇敬他们的祖先和本性。在公元前500年，一位名叫孔子的学者提出了“德治”的思想，对中国的政治和社会产生了很大的影响。他还提倡对家庭忠诚，对长辈尊敬，遵守社会制度。
练习
判断正误。
1．早期的宗教总是与自然力紧密相关的。
2．犹太教、基督教和佛教都发源于印度。
3．印度教有很多的神。
4．耆那教禁止他的教徒杀生。
5．在中国，一位名叫孔子的学者教导人们遵从社会制度。
1．true 2．false 3．true 4．true 5．true
04 Carnival in Halloween 万圣节的狂欢
One story about Jack， an Irishman， who was not allowed into Heaven because he was stingy with his money. So he was sent to hell. But down there he played tricks on the Devil （Satan）， so he was kicked out of Hell and made to walk the earth forever carrying a lantern.
Well， Irish children made Jack’s lanterns on October 31st from a large potato or turnip， hollowed out with the sides having holes and lit by little candles inside. And Irish children would carry them as they went from house to house begging for food for the village Halloween festival that honored the Druid god Muck Olla. The Irish name for these lanterns was “Jack with the lantern” or “Jack of the lantern”， abbreviated as “Jack-o’-lantern” and now spelled “jack-o-lantern”.
The traditional Halloween you can read about in most books was just children’s fun night. Halloween celebrations would start in October in every elementary school. Children would make Halloween decorations， all kinds of orange-paper jack-o-lanterns. And from black paper you’d cut “scary” designs—an evil witch with a pointed hat riding through the sky on a broomstick， maybe with black bats flying across the moon， and that meant bad luck. And of course black cats for more bad luck.