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    While a modern day discussion group based on the teachings of a thinker from the 5th century B. C. may seem weirdly outdated, Socrates Cafes have found a surprisingly large and diverse following.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.
The discussion group usually avoids talking about current events in order to______.

选项 A、prevent unsolvable dispute
B、ward off tender subjects
C、focus on general topics
D、study philosophical questions

答案A

解析 事实细节题。倒数第二段第四句指出:为了避免在一些观点分歧上争执不下,咖啡小组往往把时事变成更为宽泛的哲学问题。故[A]为答案。这里提问的是避免谈论时事的目的,也就是避免敏感话题的目的,排除[B];同样[C]是手段,不是目的,排除;[D]没有提及,排除。
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