Maxims（1）
Diligence（2） is the mother of good luck.
Eat to live, and not live to eat.
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
Fish and visitors stink（3） in three days.
-Benjamin Franklin（4）
Unless we choose to live in a world of our own, we need to think about the expectations of the people around us. Ev-ery day, we spend time improving ourselves and our rela-tionships with friends and family. Maxims, such as those by Benjamin Franklin, teach individuals how to fulfill themselves（5）and at the same time get along with others. In fact, Franklin was an excellent practitioner（6） of the maxims he himself preached.（7） Born to a poor family, he taught himself to read and write. By the time he died, at the age of eighty-four, he was a famous writer, inventor, diplomat（8） and statesman. One of the people who drafted（9） the Declaration of Independence,（10） he was the American Dream（11） come true.（12） His entire life was a lesson in self-reliance13 and practical wisdom（14） (or EQ（15）).
Dialogue
Susan：I heard that you're planning to spend two weeks sightseeing（16） in Hualien during the summer vacation.
John：Yes. There are so many interesting things to see and do in the mountains and by the ocean. It would be great fun to go there with a group of friends.
Susan：Have you made your hotel reservations?（17）
John：No, we'll be staying with Melissa's grandparents. They have a large apartment in downtown Hualien.
Susan：Is that a good idea? I remember one of Franklin's maxims from our American literature class: "Fish and visitors stink in three days."
1.maxim：格言，金玉良言。2.diligence：勤勉。3.to stink：發惡臭。4.Benjamin Franklin：富蘭克林（1706-90）。5.to fulfill oneself：充分發揮自己的能力。6.practitioner：實踐者。7.to preach：倡導。8.diplomat：外交官。9.to draft：起草。10.the Declaration of Independence：（美國）獨立宣言（1776年7月4日）。11.American Dream：「美國夢」（美國立國精神，追求自由、富庶和機會均等）。12.come true： realized，（被）實現。13.self-reliance：信賴自己，自力更生。14.practical wisdom：實用的智慧。15.EQ：（emotional quotient）心理的商數、成熟度。相對於IQ（intelligence quotient，智商）。16.sightseeing：觀光。17.to make hotel reservations：預訂旅館房間。
最近蕃茄當紅，被肯定對身體有益。格言猶如心靈的蕃茄，能夠維持「內在美」，以及加強外在的表現。除非我們選擇到深山獨自過日，否則在任何團體生活中培養EQ都是不可少的一件工作。
