Angelia8412
写古埃及的书，给你两篇读后感：The ancient Egyptians are an enduring source of fascination--mummies and pyramids, curses and rituals have captured our imaginations for generations. We all have a mental picture of ancient Egypt, but is it the right one? How much do we really know about this once great civilization? In this absorbing introduction, Ian Shaw, one of the foremost authorities on Ancient Egypt, describes how our current ideas about Egypt are based not only on the thrilling discoveries made by early Egyptologists but also on fascinating new kinds of evidence produced by modern scientific and linguistic analyses. He also explores the changing influences on our responses to these finds, by examining the impact of Egyptology on various aspects of popular culture such as literature, cinema, opera, and contemporary art. He considers all aspects of ancient Egyptian culture, from tombs and mummies to the discovery of artefacts and the decipherment of hieroglyphs, and from despotic pharaohs to animal-headed gods. From the general reader interested in Ancient Egypt, to students and teachers of ancient history and archaeology, to museum-goers, this Very Short Introduction will not disappoint.Be careful to buy this book only if you want to learn about Egyptology as an academic discipline, more than about what scholars think really went on in ancient Egypt. This book is a learned and fascinating introduction to the study of ancient Egypt. If you are looking to understand how scholars painstakingly piece together tiny shards of ambiguous and insufficient evidence to construct an understanding of ancient Egypt, this is your book. If you seek a primer the current state of knowledge on life, religion, politics, culture, and society in ancient Egypt, you should probably buy another book. I bought the book out of a desire to learn more about what current scholarly thinking about ancient Egypt in order to open up a window on that fascinating civilization. Instead, I discovered a compelling (if dry) narrative on how Egyptologists work and reach conclusions. This is a really interesting topic in its own right, and, of course, it is fundamental to evaluating what is presented as "what we know" about ancient Egypt in an intelligent fashion. However, you might not want to spend time learning about Egyptology, but instead want to learn about ancient Egypt. If so, this is likely not the book for you right nowThe title of this excellent entry in an excellent series should be 'Egyptology', as it is more about the study of ancient Egypt than the history itself. At 190 pages, it is a little longer than many entries in this series, but the final 30 of those pages are References, Timeline and so on, which provide a good springboard for further study.Pharaonic Egypt was Earth's first great empire and it lasted for 3 millennia. The author examines the way in which that civilization has been perceived, interpreted and mythologized by, among others, Victorians seeking verification of Biblical stories and by modern, popular culture.Ian Shaw writes well and comes across as an erudite and objective scholar. He has not used this book as an opportunity to put forward any unorthodoxy of his own, and has not been afraid to include many quotations from other Egyptologists. All of this makes the book a perfect introduction to this fascinating subject.agree with the other reviewers that this book is not so much about Ancient Egypt as it is about Egyptology. I would say it even expects a previous knowledge of the periods and dynasties of Ancient Egypt. In that respect it fails to live up to its title.As a book about Egyptology it's slightly dry and not very tight. The author seems to be all over the place. After reading this book, I have learned very little of Egyptology as a discipline except for a few theories expounded in the text.I would not recommend this book. I am interested in reading Egyptian Myth: A very short introduction as a possible better introduction to Egyptian history, myths, and beliefs.2I knew absolutely nothing about ancient Egypt and cared less. I was still fascinated by this book and inspired to follow it up.It starts with the Narmer Palette, an artefact in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and uses the decoration on both sides, pictures and hieroglyphs, to explain some of the things we think we know about ancient Egypt and how we think we know them. It's thought the elegantly outlined depression between the serpopards was used for crushing pigment for eyeshadow....serpopards? Leopards with the heads and neck of snakes.The book goes on to look specifically at how we establish the narrative history of ancient history (or rather, perhaps, speculate about it rather than establish it), the roles of kings, and the issues of identity (the significance of race and gender in particular) and of religion (mummification, the pyramids and so on). Ancient Egypt really was ancient - the Pharaonic period started 5000 years ago and the timeline in the book goes further back than that - and covered a very long period, lasting into the Roman era AD. It's not surprising perhaps that it's very hard to "know" much, and of course, things will have changed quite a lot in the thousands of years covered by the Egyptian era.In particular the book exposes some of the conflicts between archeologists, who look at what's left of the buildings and artifacts, and those who read and interpret the writing and hieroglyphs found on them. It had never occurred to me that there might be a division like that.There is an outline of the rise of Egyptology in the nineteenth century, the mistakes made by early investigators which may have destroyed important evidence (and why they made the mistakes), and, finally some discussion of the impact of ancient Egypt on the twentieth century. This short section gives equal space to the Anthony and Cleopatras of Burton and Taylor on the one hand and of Kenneth Williams and Amanda Barrie on the other - this book has its feet on the ground.There are good illustrations to support the text (full-page photos of both sides of the Narmer Palette, for example, so you see exactly what the author is writing about), a glossary and several pages of further reading and useful websites.I was really surprised at being drawn in so thoroughly. Fascinating introduction.另一篇哲学方面的书：The last great mystery for science, consciousness has become a controversial topic. Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction challenges readers to reconsider key concepts such as personality, free will, and the soul. How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could consciousness itself be an illusion? Exciting new developments in brain science are opening up these debates, and the field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. This book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments and clearly describes the major theories, with illustrations and lively cartoons to help explain the experiments. Topics include vision and attention, theories of self, experiments on action and awareness, altered states of consciousness, and the effects of brain damage and drugs. This lively, engaging, and authoritative book provides a clear overview of the subject that combines the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience--and serves as a much-needed launch pad for further exploration of this complicated and unsolved issue.I have to admit that at first I dismissed this little introduction to consciousness, but then I read the book again. It's a gem. Blackmore makes it all clear right up front what the problem of consciousness is and several ways that consciousness might be defined. She considers whether consciousness is some integral feature of brain processes or something in addition to the physical features of the brain (a position that goes by the clumsy name of "epiphenomenalism"). Next she talks about a last Cartesian seduction in the thinking of some materialists called "the Cartesian theatre", a phrase coined by Daniel Dennett that means that some scientists have embraced the material operation of the brain but still believe that consciousness is something that appears at a place and time in the brain. It as if there is a little theatre in the brain where consciousness is played.Blackmore next questions the natural or intuitive idea that consciousness is present in a continuous stream: this is a grand illusion and how the brain may create this illusion is investigated. She focuses on visual perceptual consciousness and presents research that questions our natural understanding of what is going on with our brains while we experience the world. There follows a consideration of "the self" (a useful construction, it seems), conscious will, and altered states of consciousness (psychedelic drugs, meditation, and out-of-body experiences). All in all this is a brief, but very clear and stimulating discussion of consciousness. I find it remarkable that so much was packed in a little volume that left me stimulated and grateful instead of exhausted, bored, or confused.It's just a great place to begin trying to get a grip on what the fuss is and why consciousness is such a curious and marvelous phenomenon.No one book can cover all there is to say about the burgening field of Consciousness Studies of Consciousness Research, but this book comes as close as any one up-to-date one can; furthermore, it has all the usual physical advantages of Oxford University Press' "Very Short Introduction" titles: small enough to actually fit into a pockes yet so well bound that when carried so the spine will never crack nor pages ever fall out.Susan Blackmore's experience as a Zen meditator adds depth to the section on altered states of consciousness as well as to her final summary on the future of consciousness and consciousness research.A minor disappointment was the abscence of any treatment of Artificial Intelligence and the philosophical problems it raises, especially unfortunate since she sha covered that subtopic well and thoroughly in a longer book. Also some cartoon drawings are rudimentary and add little to the text, but on the other hand, some photographic, do-it-yourself demonstrations of how our conciousness differs from what we believe we introspectively know it to be are excellent.Another positive for any book but especially one suitable as an initial introduction to a topic is an excellent bibliography for further reading.2I first encountered Blackmore's work when, after searching long and hard for a scientific explanation of out-of-body experiences, I came across her book Beyond the Body. It was astonishingly well researched and offered a rational, convincing explanation for phenomena that were usually neglected by the scientific community. I became an instant fan and have followed her work ever since. But now, alas, she has aligned herself with the Dawkins/Dennett axis of drivel, and my loyalty to her is badly shaken. In this book (a shorter version of her Consciousness: An Introduction) she follows Dennett by denying the existence of consciousness and then indulging in much speculation about the properties and evolutionary history of this non-existent entity. Consciousness, she maintains, is an 'illusion', which she defines as something that exists but does not have the properties it appears to have. She then proceeds to discuss it as if it does not in fact exist, and slips into calling it a 'delusion', which she apparently regards as a synonymous term. So far, so Dennett. She follows Dawkins by labeling just about everything a 'meme' (as Poe might have said 'All that we see or seem is but a meme within a meme'), unless she happens not to approve of it, in which case it is 'a virus of the mind'. As an example, she indulges in a quite intemperate and completely irrelevant rant against religion, in which Roman Catholicism is described as a parasitic infection. Like Dennett and Dawkins, she leaves no axe unground.So why do I give the book 5 stars if I disagree with so much of it? Well, I guess you can't keep a good scientist down, and Blackmore is still a great scientist. She brings considerable knowledge and erudition to the subject, presents fair summaries of opposing views, and gives excellent descriptions of odd phenomena like Libet's Delay and the Cutaneous Rabbit. And her style is as readable as ever. I was suspicious when I saw that her son Jolyon had contributed many of the illustrations - it smacked of nepotism - but I have to say his drawings are really charming and add greatly to the text. The other illustrations are useful too - with the possible exception of a photograph of the author opening a fridge door - which isn't always the case with this series. The book ends with a very useful Further Reading list. It's thus an excellent introduction to the subject (although I think John Searle's The Mystery of Consciousness is still the best place to start).So, I shall keep the faith and continue to read everything Susan Blackmore publishes. I just hope that one day, just as she once abandoned a belief in the paranormal, she sees the light and abandons the axis of drivel.3Scientists try to approach the function of the human brain just as they approach the functioning of any other organ in our bodies: as a natural feature of the natural world. According to this view, what we call our "mind" is dependent upon the physical brain, making the mind just as natural and material as other biological processes like digestion. Even so, it's difficult to entirely escape the lure of dualism — the view that "mind" is completely separate from and independent of the physical brain. Usually dualism is accompanied by the belief that the mind is basically the soul — an immaterial, eternal "thing" which represents our true selves. This view has been promoted by theistic religions for millennia.Because research into the nature and functioning of the brain is still in its relatively early stages, there's a lot of open ground and disputed ideas. Scientific researchers are not united behind a single explanation or way of conceptualizing how the brain creates the mind and consciousness. This means that there is a lot to read and digest before you can claim to at least understand where the current research stands — but fortunately there is a good place to start. Susan Blackmore's Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction is part of Oxford University Press "very short introduction" series and, like other volumes, does a great job at explaining even complicated issues in a way that is comprehensible and engaging for even a general audience. Perhaps the most significant problem in the study of human consciousness is whether there is real problem there or not.Some argue that there are "easy problems" like explaining how processes like perception and memory work, then the "hard problem" of explaining how consciousness itself works. Others argue that there is no "hard problem" because if we can explain all the "easy problems," then we will have explained consciousness (or at least the explanation for consciousness will immediately and obviously follow). The difference can stated as: is consciousness an "extra thing" or "extra ingredient" in our minds, or is any sufficiently advanced mental processing system also necessarily "conscious"?For many religious theists, this question necessarily turns on the existence of a soul. Machines and robots cannot be "conscious," for example, because they cannot have souls — only God can imbue a living being with a soul and it cannot automatically appear simply because a system becomes complex enough. Even some scientists who don't believe in souls will agree that simply having all the same parts and complexities as a human brain would not lead to consciousness, but many others think that it would. This means that efforts to create a "conscious" machine will have profound implications for the common belief in dualism, souls, and a "mind" that is immaterial, supernatural, and separate from the physical brain.Like most scientists and researchers, Blackmore rejects the traditional religious explanations for the mind: she rejects dualism, she rejects the existence of a mind or soul that is independent of the brain, and she rejects the idea that the mind is in any way eternal.Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction, by Susan BlackmoreBlackmore goes further than most, however, and is inclined to believe that even the existence of a coherent, consistent "self" is likely an illusion. Most scientists seem to be trying to hold on to this, and intuitively it is something that seems to be true. There is a significant amount of evidence and logic which suggests otherwise, though — and if it's true that our traditional, intuitive notion of consistent self is wrong, then what does this say about the existence of a soul?Although Susan Blackmore certainly has her own views, this doesn't interfere with her explanations — readers won't get the feeling that she is only setting up straw men to attack or that she's giving short shrift to views she doesn't accept. She doesn't hide her own perspective, but she also doesn't let it get in the way of giving readers a broad education in where current research stands, what different researchers think, and of course possible problems with it all.Blackmore doesn't cover everything, of course, nor could she in a short introduction like this. Yet she does cover plenty, and anyone simply looking for an overview of the field will get all they need. If someone would like more detailed information, a good follow-up would be Blackmore's Conversations on Consciousness, where she interviews many leading researchers to ask them what they think and why.
薇宝儿521
Title:The Catcher in the Rye（麦田里的守望者）Author:J.D.SalingerNumber of Page:220Content:The protahonist,Holden Caulfield,told the experiences and feelings of himself wondering around the New York City,trying to escape from the hypocritical and pretentious world of adults and find teh purity and truth after being dismissed from school.Moral Value:The novel reveal and betray a strong distain towards the sham and false and the desire of finding the real,the true and beauty of nature in the adults' world.The classical and typical image of the protagonist has influenced seveal generations of teenagers in the United Sates.
yyh心随我动
初中英文读书报告：
I have been reading a book for many days. The books name is CAT AND MOUSE IN A HAUNTED HOUSE. It is telling about Geronimo Stilton who is a newspaper mouse who runs newspaper in New Mouse City—the capital of Mouse island.
On one night of October, he decided to visit his aunt, Sweetfur. But he got lost when he was driving through the Dark Forest because of the foggy. Then his car was out of gas. He thought“I wish I was at home”．
Suddenly there was a lightning in the sky and he saw a big castle. When he walked closer to the front door, he saw two stone cats and a sign that says: To Canny Cat’s castle. The door bell was in one stone cat’s mouth. When Geronimo was deciding to go into the castle, it starts to rain, so he went into the castle……
At last Geronimo’s sister, little nephew Benjamin and his cousin Trap all came and helped him find out all of two little cat. They don’t want others to come into the castle because the castle is their ancestor Canny Cat’s. So they make many tricks.
After reading this story, I think it’s very interesting, and I had a lot of fun. My favorite character is Geronimo’s nephew Benjamin. Because he is very cute and clever, he always observes every detail. He found out the foot prink on the floor and the nail on the wall. In the story it shows Geronimo is a very timid mouse that always scared himself.
I like this story very much, so I’ll still read more this set of book.
译文
我已经读了一本书很多天了。这本书的名字叫《鬼屋里的猫和老鼠》。它讲述了Geronimo Stilton的故事，他是一个在老鼠岛首府新老鼠城经营报纸的报社老鼠。
十月的一个晚上，他决定去看望他的姑妈斯威特福尔。但是，由于大雾，他开车穿过黑暗的森林时迷路了。然后他的车没油了。他想：“我希望我在家。”。
突然，天空中出现了一道闪电，他看到了一座大城堡。当他走近前门时，他看到两只石猫和一块牌子，上面写着：去精明猫的城堡。门铃在一只石头猫的嘴里。当Geronimo决定进入城堡时，天开始下雨，所以他进入城堡……
最后，杰罗尼莫的妹妹，小侄子本杰明和他的表弟特拉普都来了，帮他找到了这两只小猫。他们不希望其他人进入城堡，因为城堡是他们的祖先坎尼猫的。所以他们耍了很多花招。
读完这个故事后，我觉得它很有趣，我玩得很开心。我最喜欢的角色是Geronimo的侄子Benjamin。因为他非常可爱和聪明，他总是观察每一个细节。他发现了地板上的脚印和墙上的钉子。在这个故事中，Geronimo是一只非常胆小的老鼠，总是害怕自己。
我非常喜欢这个故事，所以这本书我还会读更多。
烟点燃空虚
. 简爱 Oliver Twist, one of the most famous works of Charles Dickens’, is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of the life in Britain in 18th century. The author who himself was born in a poor family wrote this novel in his twenties with a view to reveal the ugly masks of those cruel criminals and to expose the horror and violence hidden underneath the narrow and dirty streets in London. The hero of this novel was Oliver Twist, an orphan, who was thrown into a world full of poverty and crime. He suffered enormous pain, such as hunger, thirst, beating and abuse. While reading the tragic experiences of the little Oliver, I was shocked by his sufferings. I felt for the poor boy, but at the same time I detested the evil Fagin and the brutal Bill. To my relief, as was written in all the best stories, the goodness eventually conquered devil and Oliver lived a happy life in the end. One of the plots that attracted me most is that after the theft, little Oliver was allowed to recover in the kind care of Mrs. Maylie and Rose and began a new life. He went for walks with them, or Rose read to him, and he worked hard at his lessons. He felt as if he had left behind forever the world of crime and hardship and poverty. How can such a little boy who had already suffered oppressive affliction remain pure in body and mind? The reason is the nature of goodness. I think it is the most important information implied in the novel by Dickens-he believed that goodness could conquer every difficulty. Although I don’t think goodness is omnipotent, yet I do believe that those who are kind-hearted live more happily than those who are evil-minded. For me, the nature of goodness is one of the most necessary character for a person. Goodness is to humans what water is to fish. He who is without goodness is an utterly worthless person. On the contrary, as the famous saying goes, ‘The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose’, he who is with goodness undoubtedly is a happy and useful person. People receiving his help are grateful to him and he also gets gratified from what he has done, and thus he can do good to both the people he has helped and himself. To my disappointment, nowadays some people seem to doubt the existence of the goodness in humanity. They look down on people’s honesty and kindness, thinking it foolish of people to be warm-hearted. As a result, they show no sympathy to those who are in trouble and seldom offer to help others. On the other hand, they attach importance to money and benefit. In their opinion, money is the only real object while emotions and morality are nihility. If they cannot get profit from showing their ‘kindness’, they draw back when others are faced with trouble and even hit a man when he is down. They are one of the sorts that I really detest. Francis Bacon said in his essay, ‘Goodness, of all virtues and dignities of the mind, is the greatest, being the character of the Deity, and without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing, no better than a kind of vermin.’ That is to say a person without goodness is destined to lose everything. Therefore, I, a kind person, want to tell those ‘vermin-to-be’ to learn from the kind Oliver and regain the nature of goodness.2.双城记 After reading "A tale of two cities" "A tale of two cities" is one of Dickens's most important representative works.The novel profoundly exposed the society contradiction before the French Revolution,intensely attacks the aristocratic social class is dissolute and cruel,and sincerely sympathizes with the depressed classes.The novel also described many magnificent scenes like the revolt people attacked Bastille and so on,which displayed people's great strength. The novel has portrayed many different people. Doctor Manette is honest and kind but suffers the persecution actually ， Lucie is beautiful and gentle ，Charles is graceful and noble，Lorry is upright and honest ，Sydney is semblance of indifferent, innermost feelings of warm,unconventional but also selfless and lofty，Miss Pross is straightforward and loyal，Evremonde brothers are cruel and sinister......The complex hatred is hard to solve, the cruel revenge has made more hatreds, loves rebirth in the hell edge,but take the life as the price. As an outstanding writer,in Dickens's work,the language skill is essential.Each kind of rhetoric technique,like the analogy,the exaggeration,the contrast,the humorous,and the taunt are handled skillfully,and the artistry of the work is also delivered the peak."A tale of two cities" has its difference with the general historical novel, its character and the main plot are all fictionalizes.With the broad real background of the French Revolution,the author take the fictional character Doctor Manette's experience as the main clue,interweaves the unjust charge, love and revenge three independences but also incident cross-correlation stories together,the plot is criss-crossed,and the clue is complex.The author use insert narrates,foreshadowing,upholstery and so many techniques,causes the structure integrity and strictness,the plot winding anxious and rich of theatrical nature,it displayed the remarkable artistic skill.the style "A tale of two cities" is solemnity and melancholy,fills indignantion,but lacks the humor of the early works.3.老人与海 This year summer vacation, I read the American well-known writer Hemingway's novel " old person and sea ". I extremely admire in the novel the senior fisherman's will, he let me understand one person certainly must have relentless spirit, only then could obtain successfully. The novel description is one year near sixty years of age senior fisherman, when alone goes to sea in one fishing, fished one big fish, actually did not pull. The senior fisherman socialized several days after the fish, only then discovered this was the big marlin which one surpassed the oneself fishing boat several fold, although knew perfectly well very difficult to win, but still did not give up. Afterwards and further because in the big marlin wound fish fishy smell brought in several crowds of shark fish snatches the food, but the old person still did not hope like this to give up, finally highlighted encircles tightly, returned to the big fish belt the fishing port, lets other fishermen not admire already. When I read " the senior fisherman think: Here to the seacoast really was too near, perhaps could have a bigger fish in a farther place... " When, I extremely admire this senior fisherman, because he by now already projected on some fish, but he had not settled to the present situation, but was approaches the bigger goal advance. Again has a look us, usually meets one slightly is difficult, we all complain incessantly. We will be the motherland future, will be supposed to like this old person same mind lofty aspiration, will even better pursue even better, the bigger goal. When I read " the big marlin start fast to gather round the young fishing boat hover, twined the cable on the mast, the old person right hand lifted up high the steel fork, leapt the water surface in it the flash, did utmost throws to its heart, one wail ended the big fish's life, it was static static floats on the water surface... " When, my heart also liked together the big stone falls. I extremely admire old person that kind do not dread, the relentless spirit, although knows the match strength is very strong, but he not slightly flinches, but is welcomes difficultly above. Just because had this kind of spirit, the senior fisherman only then achieved this life and death contest success. We also must study senior fisherman's spirit in life, handles the matter does not fear the difficulty, only then can obtain successfully. Was reading the big fish's smell of blood is smelled by one crowd of shark fish, struggled swims snatches the food, old person's left hand happen to in the convulsions, he only could use the right hand, with wooden stick， the mouth and so on all was allowed to use for the weapon self-defense which attacked, and finally expelled this crowd of shark fish. But the big fish's meat was already eaten one most, but the old person also charmingly criticized oneself the left hand " this work time actually was resting " time, I also was subdued by the old person optimistic spirit. In the life, some losses are inevitable, we should treat by the optimistic manner, cannot be calculating. Finally, the novel sees by one youth the senior fisherman fully has 18 foot long big marlin in the measure, once more described this fish's hugeness, explained senior fisherman overcomes the difficulty was big, non- was more common than. The novel eulogized the spirit which the senior fisherman fear hard and dangerous diligently did not struggle, we also should like his such, could not satisfy the present situation, should positively to above, do any matter all is relentless, meets difficultly must welcome difficultly above, could give up halfway in no way. Only has this, we only then can obtain a bigger success and the victory. 4.雾都孤儿 To Regain the Nature of Goodness -- Review of ‘Oliver Twist’ Oliver Twist, one of the most famous works of Charles Dickens’, is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of the life in Britain in 18th century. The author who himself was born in a poor family wrote this novel in his twenties with a view to reveal the ugly masks of those cruel criminals and to expose the horror and violence hidden underneath the narrow and dirty streets in London. The hero of this novel was Oliver Twist, an orphan, who was thrown into a world full of poverty and crime. He suffered enormous pain, such as hunger, thirst, beating and abuse. While reading the tragic experiences of the little Oliver, I was shocked by his sufferings. I felt for the poor boy, but at the same time I detested the evil Fagin and the brutal Bill. To my relief, as was written in all the best stories, the goodness eventually conquered devil and Oliver lived a happy life in the end. One of the plots that attracted me most is that after the theft, little Oliver was allowed to recover in the kind care of Mrs. Maylie and Rose and began a new life. He went for walks with them, or Rose read to him, and he worked hard at his lessons. He felt as if he had left behind forever the world of crime and hardship and poverty. How can such a little boy who had already suffered oppressive affliction remain pure in body and mind? The reason is the nature of goodness. I think it is the most important information implied in the novel by Dickens-he believed that goodness could conquer every difficulty. Although I don’t think goodness is omnipotent, yet I do believe that those who are kind-hearted live more happily than those who are evil-minded. For me, the nature of goodness is one of the most necessary character for a person. Goodness is to humans what water is to fish. He who is without goodness is an utterly worthless person. On the contrary, as the famous saying goes, ‘The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose’, he who is with goodness undoubtedly is a happy and useful person. People receiving his help are grateful to him and he also gets gratified from what he has done, and thus he can do good to both the people he has helped and himself. To my disappointment, nowadays some people seem to doubt the existence of the goodness in humanity. They look down on people’s honesty and kindness, thinking it foolish of people to be warm-hearted. As a result, they show no sympathy to those who are in trouble and seldom offer to help others. On the other hand, they attach importance to money and benefit. In their opinion, money is the only real object while emotions and morality are nihility. If they cannot get profit from showing their ‘kindness’, they draw back when others are faced with trouble and even hit a man when he is down. They are one of the sorts that I really detest. Francis Bacon said in his essay, ‘Goodness, of all virtues and dignities of the mind, is the greatest, being the character of the Deity, and without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing, no better than a kind of vermin.’ That is to say a person without goodness is destined to lose everything. Therefore, I, a kind person, want to tell those ‘vermin-to-be’ to learn from the kind Oliver and regain the nature of goodness.
