The Fever of Philosophy Discussion There’s a buzz in the air at the El Diablo Coffee Co, in Seattle, and it’s, not just comi

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问题                         The Fever of Philosophy Discussion
    There’s a buzz in the air at the El Diablo Coffee Co, in Seattle, and it’s, not just coming from the aroma of the shop’s Cuban-style coffee drinks. On a recent Wednesday evening, as most customers sat quietly reading books or tapping away on their laptop computers, about 15 People gathered in a circle discussing philosophy. "What is a well-lived life?" Asked one, as the group enjoyed a intellectual high.
    Known as a Socrates Cafe, the group at El Diablo is just one of 150 or so that meet in coffee shops, bookstores, libraries, churches and community centers across the country. Founded by Christopher Phillips, a former journalist and teacher, the cafes are designed to get people talking about philosophical issues. Using a kind of Socratic method, they encourage people to develop their views by posing questions, being open to challenges and considering alternative answers. Adhering to Socrates’ belief that the unexamined life is not worth living, the cafes focus on exchanging ideas, not using them to pummel other participants.
    "Instead of just yelling back and forth, we take a few steps back and examine people’s underlying values. People can ask why to their heart’s content," says Philips, whose most recent book Six Questions of Socrates, came out earlier this year.
    While a modern day discussion group based on the teachings of a thinker from the 5th century B. C. may seem weirdly outdated, Socrates Cafes have found a surprisingly large and diverse following. "People who get off on ideas come to this," says Fred Korn, 65, a retired philosophy professor, who attends the Wednesday-night meetings at El Diablo. "Outside of college, there’re not a lot of opportunities to get together with people who want to talk about ideas."
    For Philips, the dialogue groups are about much more than good conversation. "It’s grass-roots democracy," he says. "It’s only in a group setting that people can hash out their ideas about how we should act not just as an individual but as a society." To avoid divisive dead-end arguments, the cafes frequently turn current events into broader philosophical questions. For example, instead of arguing about whether gay couples should marry, a group asked, "what is an excellent marriage?"
    While Phillips believes the cafes can benefit anyone, one of his favorite groups is children. Philosophy is important for kids of all ages, Philip says, because "it gives them this great chance to shape their moral code, to figure out clearly who they are and who they want to be. . . The whole idea is not that we have to find a final answer; it’s that we keep thinking about these things". One question at a time.
According to the passage, Socrates Cafes are______.

选项 A、welcomed by a large number of overseas visitors
B、considered good places to talk about philosophy
C、places where people are free to ask all kinds of questions
D、places where people are free to criticize others’ views

答案B

解析 事实细节题。第四段首句指出:苏格拉底咖啡小组已有了众多形形色色的追随者。然后第二句解释原因:来这儿的是那些热衷于各种思想的人。在大学校园外,和愿意讨论思想的人聚在一起的机会并不多。可见他们把Socrates Cafes当作.讨论哲学问题的理想场所。故[B]为答案。这里提到形形色色的追随者,并没有特别指明外国游客,排除[A];文中明确指出他们来cafes讨论哲学问题,排除[C];第二段末句明确指出“他们注重交流思想,而不是用自己的观点攻击别人”,排除[D]。
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