A、People automatically feel with others. B、It’s human nature to focus on oneself. C、There’s a subtle difference between empathy

Moderator:
    Daniel Goleman brought the notion of " EI" to prominence as an alternative to more traditional measures of IQ with his 1995 best-seller Emotional Intelligence. Since the publication of that book, conferences and academic institutes have sprung up dedicated to the idea. EI is taught in public schools, and corporate leaders have adopted it as a new way of thinking about success and leadership. EI, and one’s "EIQ" , can be an explanation of why some "average" people are incredibly successful, while "geniuses" sometimes fail to live up to their promise. Now, let’s welcome Mr. Goleman. Mr. Goleman-.
    Thank you. Today, I’d like to share with you some of the thoughts of compassion.
    There was a very important study done a while ago at Princeton Theological Seminary that speaks to why it is that when all of us have so many opportunities to help, we do sometimes, and we don’t other times. They took a test on a group of religion students at the Princeton Theological Seminary. What turned out to determine whether someone would stop and help a stranger in need was how much of a hurry they thought they were in—were they feeling they were late, or were they absorbed in what they were going to talk about. And this is, I think, the unpleasant situation of our lives: that we don’t take every opportunity to help because our focus is in the wrong direction.
    There’s a new field in brain science, social neuroscience. This studies the function of people’s brains that activates while they interact. And the new thinking about compassion from social neuroscience is that our nature makes us want to help at the beginning. That is to say, if we attend to the other person, we automatically empathize, we automatically feel with them. But then the question is: Why don’t we? And I think this speaks to a range that goes from complete self-absorption to noticing, to empathy and to compassion. And the simple fact is, if we are focused on ourselves, if we’re preoccupied, we don’t really fully notice the other. And this difference between the self and the other focus can be very subtle.
    Despite the harsh reality of the society that many people just ignore, here comes my own experience. One day, I was going down to the subway. It was rush hour and thousands of people were streaming down the stairs. And all of a sudden, I noticed that there was a man leaning to the side, shirtless, not moving, and people were just stepping over him. The moment I stopped, half a dozen other people immediately ringed the same guy. Each offered their help and this guy was back on his feet immediately. But all it took was that simple act of noticing, and so I’m optimistic.
    Thank you very much.
    Questions 16 to 19 are based on the recording you have just heard.
    16. What can we learn about "EI" from the introduction part?
    17. What is the finding of the research carried out at the Princeton Theological Seminary?
    18. What does social neuroscience reveal about compassion?
    19. What did the speaker do on his way down to the subway?