First listen and then answer the questions.
1. What is the real meaning of freedom?
2. How to obtain such freedom?
It is not only true that most people entirely misunderstand Freedom, but I sometimes think I have not yet met one person who rightly understands it. The whole Universe is absolute Law. To the degraded or undeveloped—and even to too many others—the thought of freedom is a thought of escaping from law—which, of course, is impossible. More precious than all worldly riches is Freedom—freedomfromthepainfulconstipationandpoornarrownessof ecclesiasticism—freedom in manners, habiliments, furniture, from the silliness and tyranny of local fashions—entire freedom from party rings and mere conventions in Politics—and better than all, a general freedom of oneself from the tyrannic domination of vices, habits, appetites, under which nearly every man of us, (often the greatest brawler for freedom), is enslaved. Can we attain such enfranchisement—the true Democracy, and the height of it? While we are from birth to death the subjects of irresistible law, enclosing every movement and minute, we yet escape, by a paradox, into true free will. Strange as it may seem, we only attain to freedom by a knowledge of, and implicit obedience to Law. Great—unspeakably great—is the Will! The free Soul of man! At its greatest, understanding and obeying the laws, it can then, and then only, maintain true liberty.For there is to the highest, that law as absolute as any—more absolute than any—the Law of Liberty. The shallow, as intimated, consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent law of Laws, namely, the fusion and combination of the conscious will, or partial individual law, with those universal, eternal, unconscious ones, which run through all Time, pervade history, prove immortality, give moral purpose to the entire objective world, and the last dignity to human life.
大部分人不僅徹底曲解了“自由”的含義，更可怕的是，我有時覺得還沒有見過一個能恰當了解“自由”的人。整個宇宙是一個亙古不變的法則。對於墮落和愚昧無知的人，甚至芸芸眾生來說，自由就是避開法律，而這肯定是不能實現的。比世俗的所有財富更珍貴的是自由，自由意味著從教會神學的痛苦禁閉和悲觀的狹隘中脫離出來；自由意味著在禮儀、服飾、家具上的隨心所欲；自由意味著從地方流行的愚蠢和束縛中脫離出來；自由意味著徹徹底底從黨派小圈子和政治運作的舊例中脫離出來；其中最為重要的是，當我們每個人差不多都（我
們常常大聲叫喊著要自由）受控於罪惡、惡習、欲望時，自由意味著自我從奴役的嚴酷壓迫中徹底脫離出來。
我們可以獲得這樣的自由嗎？自由是真正的民主，高度的民主。從出生到死亡，這無法阻擋的法則都在束縛著我們，束縛著我們的一舉一動、分分秒秒。可是，說起來有些矛盾，我們卻一直想方設法要擺脫擁有真正的自由意誌。奇怪的是，唯有學習法則並默默地服從法則，我們才能獲得自由。意誌是偉大的!人類自由的靈魂是偉大的！偉大得無法形容。當意誌力達到完美，理解並服從法則，那時候，僅僅是那時候，人們才能獲得真正的自由。這是因為自由的法則無比高尚，同其他法則一樣絕對，不，比其他法則還要絕對。膚淺的人認為自由意味著從一切法則的約束中脫離出來。而智者則截然相反，他們從中意識到了威力無窮的眾法之法，它是有意識的意誌力、局部的個人準則與通用的、持久的、沒有意識的法則的融合。而這種法則經曆了所有時代，寫進了整個曆史，被證明是恒久不變的。這種法則為整個客觀世界指明了道德方向，為人類的生活保證了最後的尊嚴。
自由比一切財富更為珍貴！芸芸眾生，不渴望生活的自由，心靈的自由，行動的自由？我們無時無刻不在想方設法擺脫一切世俗的束縛，尋求真正的自由。然而，隻有理解並服從法則，才能獲得真正的自由。自由——這自然界恒久不變的至高法則，在冥冥之中，為整個客觀世界指明了道德方向。
如果小鳥擁有一片天空，就能自由飛翔；如果小樹擁有一片天空，就能茁壯成長；而人類，如果擁有一片寬廣的天空，就能充分展現自我，探究創造，實現理想……自由，是每一個人都向往的。自由，是每一個人都應該要追求的。
Learning for Better Understanding
Keywords and expressions
1. tyranny
作名詞：暴政
例：Love is a sweet tyranny, because the lover endures his torment willingly.
愛情是甜蜜的專橫，因為愛人樂意忍受這些折磨。
2. irresistible
作形容詞：不可抵抗的
例：I cannot refuse this offer; it is irresistible.
這一提議我無法拒絕，太“誘人”了。
Practicing for Better Learning
Do the following statements agree with the information in the reading text?
Write
TRUEif the statement agrees with the information
FALSEif the statement contradicts the information
_______ (1) While we are from birth to death the subjects of irresistible law, enclosing every movement and minute, we yet escape, by a paradox, into true free will.
_______ (2) The shallow, as intimated, doesn’t consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint.
Chunks in Practice
Listen to the following passage twice and then fill in the blanks with appropriate words.
1. It is not only true that most people _______ misunderstand Freedom, but I sometimes think I have not yet met one person who rightly _______ it.
2. While we are from birth to death the _______ of irresistible law, enclosing every movement and minute, we yet _______ , by a paradox, into true free will.