Vocabulary

Walking Along the Road

One day, long ago, a young man was walking along a country road.

After a while, he saw an older man sitting on the roadside under a tree.

“Hello sir,” said young man. “How are you? What are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“My name is Socrates,” answered the older man. “I live in Athens, but today I have come here to contemplate the meaning of life.”

“Ah. Okay. And I was wondering if you tell me the direction to Athens?”
“At the next fork, take the road on the right.”
 

The Athenians

“Alright, thank you sir. . . by the way, What the people of Athens are like?” asked the young man.
“Where are you from?” asked the older man?
“I’m from Thebes.”
“What are the people of Thebes like?”
“Oh, they are very nice and friendly. They are very open and hospitable to anyone, including strangers.”

“Well, the Athenians are exactly the same.”

Walking Down the Road

A few hours later, another young man came walking down the same road.

“Hey old man!” he cried out. “Why are you sitting under that tree, wasting your time? ”
“I have come here to contemplate the meaning of life,” answered the older man.
“How stupid! Why don’t you do something useful, like cutting trees and selling firewood? Anyway, how far is it to Athens?”
“It’s about two leagues further.”
 

The Athenians

“And what are the people of Athens like?” the second man asked.
“Where are you from?” asked the older man?
“I’m from Thebes.”
“And what are the people of Thebes like?”
“Oh, they’re terrible; they’re horrible! They cheat. They lie. They steal. They are rude, insulting, and disrespectful. They are vulgar, treacherous and dishonest — given the opportunity, they WILL stab you in the back. And the front too.”

“Well, the Athenians are exactly the same.”

Questions

Athens. This story took place in the agora (open marketplace) in the center of Athens. True or false?

Sparta. What happened in the opening of the story? Was a grandmother gathering wild mushrooms?

Delphi. Did the older man meet a tramp, hobo, bum?

Odessa. They talked about the weather. Is this correct or incorrect?

Miletus. There was only one traveler. Is this right or wrong?

Thebes. Was the second traveler the same as the first? How did they differ?

Ephesus. Did Socrates give the second man the same answer he had given to the first, or did he give different answer?

Syracuse. Is there a moral or lesson to the story?
 
 
Alexandria. When I visited another town (neighborhood, region or country), the people turned out to be exactly as I had expected. Yes, no, it varies, it depends?

Antioch. Have you been to a school, company, town, place or country where the people were friendlier than what you had expected?

Samos. I have been to places where the people where ruder and less friendly than what I had thought. True or false?

Rhodes. Can you think of any examples of this story among you, your classmates, friends or coworkers? Have people been cold or unfriendly to a (new) person because he or she was cold and unfriendly?

Troy. Have you or someone become friendlier because a new person was friendly?