四条基本价值观WhatAre People Good for（1/2）

First listen and then ahe questions.

1. What are the four vaes?

2. What’s the retiohe?

One’s beliefs are revealed not so uchwords orfora creeds asthe assuptions on whie habitually acts andthe basic vaes by which all choices are tested.

The rone of y own vae syste was idchildhood by parents who believed that personal tegrity ca first. They never asked,“What will people thk?”The question was,“What will you thk of yourself if you do this or fail to do that?”Th livg up to one’s owion of oneself beca a basic vae and the question“What will people thk?”took a subordate pce.

A send basic vae,so ways aension of the first, I owe to an old llege professor who had suffered ore than his share of grief and trouble. Over and over he said to :“The ohg that really atters is to be bigger thahgs thathappen to you. Nothg thathappen to you is half so iportant as the waywhich you et it.”

Gradually I realized that here was the basis of the only real security and peace of d that a huan beghave. Nobodybe sure when disaster, disappotnt, jtice or huiliation ay e to hi through no fault of his own. Norone be guaranteed agast one’s own istakes and faires. But the way we et life is ours to choose and whey, fortitude, dignity and passion are our choice, the thgs thathappen tolose their power over .

The aeptance of these o basic vaes led to a third. If what one is and how os life are of first iportance, one is not ipressed by another’s oney, stat or power, nor does one judge people by their race, lor or social position. This opens up a whole new world of retionships, for when friendships are based on qualities of d and character onehave friends aong old and young, rid poor, fao and unknown, educated and uered, and aong people of all races and all nations.

Givehree basic vaes, a fourth beca evitable. It is one’s duty and obligation to help create a social orderwhich persons are ore iportant than thgs, ideas ore precio than gadgets, andwhich dividuals are judged on the basis of personal worth. Moreover, for this judgnt to be fair hua have an opportunity for the fullest developnt of which they are capable. One is th led to work for a world of freedo and jtice through those social agencies and stitutions which ake it possible for people everywhere to realize their highest potentialities.

Perhaps all this adds up to a beliefwhat has been called the huan e of huan begs. We are set off fro the rest of the anial world by our capacity nscioly to transd our physiern theselves with these thgs. When we worship, pray, or feel passion, when we enjoy a patg, a su or a sonata, whehk and reason, pursue ideas, seek truth，or read a book, when we protect the weak and helpless, when we honor the noble and cherish the good, when we -operate with our fellow n to build a better world, our behavior is worthy of our stat as huan begs.

人类的信仰并非全是通过言辞或形式的教条，以及对一个人行为习惯的设想或其做出选择所依据的价值观所体现出来的。

孩提时，父母的教诲正是我个人基本价值观的来源，他们相信人格是一切之首。他们从不问：“人们会怎么想？”而是问：“如果你做这件事而不做那件，你会怎么想？”因此，按自己的意愿生活便成为了最基本的价值观，而“人们会怎么想？”这个问题则退居二线。

从某种程度上来说，第二条基础价值观就是对第一条的延伸，这是我从一位大学老教授那里了解到的。他所遭受的不幸与痛苦比常人要多得多。他不止一次地告诉我们：“你要比发生在你身上的苦难更为强大；面对不幸的态度比你所遭受的不幸更为重要。这一点很重要。”慢慢地，我了解到，这正是人类拥有真正安全感与平和心态的基础。即使自己并无任何过错，也没有人确切地知道，灾难、失望、不公或羞辱何时会降临到自己的头上，而且也没有人敢保证自己不会犯错、不会失败。但是，我们可以选择面对生活的方式。当我们选择正直、坚韧、尊严与同情时，任何不幸的威胁都无法影响到我们。

当你接受了前两条基本的价值观，也就能够接受这第三条。如果一个人坚持自我以及自己的生活方式，他就不会为他人的金钱、地位与权利所动，也不会以人们的种族、肤色或社会地位来评价他们。全新的人际关系世界就此开启了。因为，当友谊基于思想与人品时，老人与青年、富人与穷人、名人与普通人、受过良好教育的人与目不识丁者，以及不同种族、不同民族的人们都能够成为你的朋友。

有了上面三条基本的价值观，这第四条自然就无法避免。它是一个人协助创造社会秩序的责任与义务。在这个社会秩序中，人比物重要，思想比精巧的器具重要，个人的价值是以人的基本原则为基础的。此外，为保证这个评判的公正，人类必须有机会全面发展自身的能力。于是，社会组织与机构便致力于使世界各地的人们认识到他们最大的潜能，并引导人们为创造一个自由公平的世界而工作。

也许，所有这一切加起来就形成了一种信仰，那就是人类如何实现自我价值。人类之所以优于动物，是因为人类拥有自觉控制自身需求与欲望的能力。人类必须考虑食物与自身的需求，必须保护自身与亲人不受伤害，但是这些行为并不仅限于人类。很多动物都拥有这方面的本能。当我们膜拜、祈祷或感动时；当我们欣赏画作、夕阳或奏鸣曲时；当我们思考推理、追随灵感、寻求真相或阅读一本书时；当我们保护弱者与无助的人时；当我们尊敬高尚的人、心怀行善的愿望时；当我们为建设更美好的世界与他人合作时；我们的行为才使我们无愧于“人类”这个称呼。

Aend

作动词：胜过，超越

例：1. These issues transd borders.

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