Ancient Greek statue found in Xinjiang

　　Researchers announced the discovery of a small statue in northern Xinjiang, China, recently. The metal statue is of a Greek soldier. When asked how a statue from distant Greece could have appeared in China, researchers explained that no doubt this was a result of Alexander the Great's influence.

　　Alexander the Great (356－323 BC) was the son of a Greek king who defeated many Greek cities in battle. At the age of twenty, Alexander himself became king after his father died. However, many cities rose up against Alexander, so he led an army to take them back. Though his army had only 3,000 troops, he won every battle and many enemy soldiers joined him.

　　In 334 BC, he took his army, now with 42,000 men, into the Middle East and then Egypt, defeating every army that stood in his path. Then he turned his eyes east, and marched all the way to India, finding victory wherever he went. It seemed that nothing could stop him from taking control of the entire world. However, his own army grew tired of endless battles and refused to go any further, so he had to turn back. By the age of thirty, he had already occupied more land than anyone before, and it seemed that more glory was waiting ahead of him. Yet, in 323 BC, he came down with a fever and died. Since he had no son, his generals divided his vast kingdom among themselves.

　　Alexander the Great spread the Greek culture from Europe to Africa and Asia, influencing the world for centuries to come. The statue of the Greek soldier found in northern Xinjiang probably came to China in the 4th century BC as a result of trade. Like many other ancient objects that show a Greek influence, it can now be seen in a museum in Urumqi.

　　The father of Western philosophy

　　The word 'philosophy' means 'love of wisdom'. Philosophy can be thought of as a way of looking at the world around us, or of answering the great questions of life, such as 'Why are we here？'and 'What is truth？'

　　The father of Western philosophy was Socrates(469－399 BC)．Socrates was from Athens, in Greece. When he was young, he was a brave soldier. Later, he became a teacher, but he taught for free and earned his salary from being a common worker. Aside from this, we know very little about him. Since he never wrote a book, we also know very little about his philosophy. Yet, Socrates has had a deep influence on Western thought and science.

　　To understand how this can be true, we must understand how Socrates taught. Socrates taught by asking questions. Through this, he challenged his students to develop and explain their own arguments. In many cases, his questions made his students aware of their own errors. Many students got embarrassed and even angry when this happened, while others changed their opinions. Socrates' way of approaching the truth is now called the Socratic Method. The idea of asking questions until you reach the right answer is the basis of modern philosophy and science.

　　Unfortunately for him, Socrates questioned too much. He always asked challenging questions to everyone he met, upsetting many people in Athens. Finally, some people had had enough of him, so they took him to court for questioning the existence of the Greek gods and for corrupting the young people of Athens. At his trial, he defended himself by asking his judges yet more questions. This just made a bad situation worse. Finally he was put to death by being forced to drink poison. Through his death, Socrates became the hero of all people who search for the truth.

　　新疆发现古希腊雕塑

　　研究者公布了最近在中国新疆北部一个小雕像的发现。这个金属雕像是个希腊士兵。当被问及这个来自遥远的希腊的雕像如何出现在中国时，研究者解释说，这无疑是亚历山大大帝的影响所致。

亚历山大大帝(公元前356～公元前323年)是曾攻取了很多希腊城市的希腊国王的儿子。二十岁时，在他父亲死后他成为希腊国王。然而，很多城市起义反对亚历山大，因此，他率领一支部队又把它们夺了回来。尽管他的部队只有三千人，但他屡战屡胜，因此很多敌军