跟读练习: Why Socrates Hated Democracy - 通过视频学习英语口语
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What is the most important thing to think about democracy?
2
We're used to thinking very highly of democracy, and by extension, of ancient Athens, the civilization that gave rise to it.
3
The Parthenon has become almost a byword for democratic values, which is why so many leaders of democracies like to be photographed there.
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It's therefore very striking to discover that one of ancient Greece's greatest achievements, philosophy, was highly suspicious of its other achievement, democracy.
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The founding father of Greek philosophy, Socrates, is portrayed in the dialogues of Plato as hugely pessimistic about the whole business of democracy.
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In Book 6 of the Republic, Plato describes Socrates falling into conversation with a character called Adimantus
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and trying to get him to see the flaws of democracy by by comparing a society to a ship.
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If you were heading out on a journey by sea, asks Socrates, who would you ideally want deciding who was in charge of the vessel?
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Just anyone or people educated in the rules and demands of seafaring?
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The latter, of course, says Ademantus.
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So why then, responds Socrates, do we keep thinking that any old person should be fit to judge who should be the ruler of a country?
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Socrates' point is that voting in an election is a skill, not a random intuition.
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And like any skill, it needs to be taught systematically to people.
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Letting the citizenry vote without an education is as irresponsible as
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putting them in charge of a trireme sailing to Samos in a storm.
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Socrates was to have first-hand catastrophic experience of the foolishness of voters.
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In 399 BC, the philosopher was put on trial on trumped-up charges of corrupting the youth of Athens.
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A jury of 500 Athenians was invited to weigh up the case and decided, by a narrow margin, that the philosopher was guilty.
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was put to death by Hemlock in a process
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which is for thinking people every bit as tragic as Jesus' condemnation has been for Christians.
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Crucially, Socrates was not elitist in the normal sense.
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He didn't believe that a narrow few should only ever vote.
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He did, however, insist that only those who had thought about issues rationally and deeply should be let near a vote.
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We have forgotten this distinction between an intellectual democracy and a democracy by birthright.
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We have given the vote to all without connecting it to wisdom.
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And Socrates knew exactly where that would lead, to a system the Greeks feared above all.
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Demagoguery.
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Ancient Athens had painful experience of demagogues.
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For example, the loush figure of Alcibiades,
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a rich, charismatic, smooth-talking, wealthy man who eroded basic freedoms and helped to push Athens to its disastrous military adventures in Sicily.
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Socrates knew how easily people seeking election could exploit our desire for easy answers.
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He asked us to imagine an election debate between two candidates, one who was like a doctor and the other who was like a sweet shop owner.
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The sweet shop owner would say of his rival, Look, this person here has worked many evils on you.
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He hurts you, gives you bitter potions and tells you not to eat and drink whatever you like.
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He'll never serve you feasts of many and varied pleasant things like I will.
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Socrates asks us to consider the audience's response.
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Do you think the doctor would be able to reply effectively?
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The true answer, I cause you trouble and go against your desires in order to help you, would cause an uproar among the voters, don't you think?
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We have forgotten all about Socrates' salient warnings against democracy.
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We have preferred to think of democracy as an unambiguous good rather than as something
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that is only ever as effective as the education system that surrounds it.
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As a result, we have elected many sweet shop owners and very few doctors.
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Thank you.
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本课的词汇与口语要点
这节 C1 级别的口语课以视频“Why Socrates Hated Democracy”为素材。 视频中反复出现的词有：Socrates, democracy, Athens, vote, ancient。 这段视频共有 43 个句子、645 个单词可供跟读。 讲话部分时长为 4:11。 说话人语速自然，每分钟约 154 个词，接近日常对话。 只有 78% 的单词属于英语最常用的 3,000 词，词汇难度较高。
视频中的重点词汇
视频中最难的 15 个单词，附发音和释义：
| 单词 | 发音 | 释义 |
|---|---|---|
| philosopher 名词 | /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/ | 哲學家 /哲学家 |
| birthright 名词 | /ˈbɝθ.ɹaɪt/ | 傳家寶 /传家宝 |
| byword 名词 | /ˈbaɪ.wɚd/ | 格言, 民諺 /民谚 |
| pessimistic 形容词 | /ˌpɛ.səˈmɪs.tɪk/ | 悲觀的 /悲观的 |
| potion 名词 | /ˈpoʊ.ʃən/ | 藥劑 /药剂, 藥水 /药水 |
| uproar 名词 | /ˈʌpɹɔːɹ/ | 騷動 /骚动 |
| condemnation 名词 | /ˌkɑndəmˈneɪʃən/ | 譴責 /谴责, 非難 /非难 |
| intuition 名词 | /ˌɪn.tjuːˈɪʃ.ən/ | 直覺 /直觉, 直感 |
| catastrophic 形容词 | /ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk/ | 災難的 /灾难的, 災難性的 /灾难性的 |
| flaw 名词 | /flɔ/ | 疵 |
| hugely 副词 | /ˈhjuːd͡ʒli/ | 大大 |
| irresponsible 形容词 | /ˌɪɹ.əˈspɑn.sə.bəl/ | 不負責的 /不负责的, 不负责任的 |
| disastrous 形容词 | /dɪˈzæs.tɹəs/ | 灾难的 |
| surround 动词 | /səˈɹaʊnd/ | 包圍 /包围, 圍繞 /围绕 |
| exploit 名词 | /ˈɛksplɔɪt/ | 功勛 /功勋, 勛績 /勋绩 |
视频中的语法
说话人最常用的结构，并附上视频中的原话：
| 结构 | 视频中的用法 |
|---|---|
| 现在完成时 have/has + 过去分词 — 过去发生但与现在仍有关联的事 | has become · has been · have forgotten |
| 被动语态 be + 过去分词 — 强调发生了什么，而不是谁做的 | be photographed · is portrayed · be taught |
| 定语从句 who / which + 从句 — 补充说明人或事物 | values, which is · those who had · man who eroded |
需要注意的发音
说话人用了 4 次缩略和弱读形式，例如 didn't, don't, he'll。请按听到的简短形式来说。
- “sh” 和 “zh” 音: crucially /ˈkɹuːʃəli/, foolishness /ˈfuːlɪʃnəs/, potion /ˈpoʊ.ʃən/, condemnation /ˌkɑndəmˈneɪʃən/, intuition /ˌɪn.tjuːˈɪʃ.ən/
- 长单词——注意重音位置: philosopher /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/, charismatic /ˌkɛɹəzˈmætək/, demagoguery /ˌdɛməˈɡɑɡəɹi/, pessimistic /ˌpɛ.səˈmɪs.tɪk/, systematically /ˌsɪs.təˈmæt.ɪ.kli/
中文母语者容易读错的音：
- 词尾辅音 — 要读清楚，后面不要加元音: birthright /ˈbɝθ.ɹaɪt/, byword /ˈbaɪ.wɚd/, charismatic /ˌkɛɹəzˈmætək/, foolishness /ˈfuːlɪʃnəs/, pessimistic /ˌpɛ.səˈmɪs.tɪk/
- /r/ 和 /l/ 的区别: crucially /ˈkɹuːʃəli/, irresponsible /ˌɪɹ.əˈspɑn.sə.bəl/, ruler /ˈɹulɚ/
- /æ/ — 嘴张大，不要读成 /e/: charismatic /ˌkɛɹəzˈmætək/, systematically /ˌsɪs.təˈmæt.ɪ.kli/, catastrophic /ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk/, disastrous /dɪˈzæs.tɹəs/, tragic /ˈtɹæd͡ʒɪk/
如何用这段视频练习
- 先完整听一遍视频，不要开口，记下不认识的单词。
- 先用 0.75 倍速逐句跟读，熟练之后再回到正常速度。
- 录下自己的声音并与原声对比，特别注意 philosopher, birthright, byword 这类单词。
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。