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A group of artists, writers and intellectuals has launched a new "university" in London, designed to help those too tied up with work to appreciate the finer things in life, like art, books and travel.
The School of Life, operating out of a small shop in the arty district of Bloomsbury describes itself as a "chemist for the mind" that plans to dispense "cultural solutions to everyday ailments". It hopes to inspire those who have got out of the habit of reading decent books, cannot keep conversation flowing at dinner parties, or need to expand their holiday horizons.
The philosopher Alain de Botton, author of How Proust Can Change Your Life, and Sophie Howarth, a former curator at the Tate Modern Gallery, are among the faculty members.
The founders believe that people with too little time to spare need after-hours instruction in how to use what little they have to live a more fulfilled existence. "Perhaps you have a burning question for a paleontologist. Perhaps you're considering a career change and want to talk first-hand to a photographer or landscape designer. The School of Life has a large freelance faculty who are willing to meet with you for an hour of chat in exchange for a small fee,” the website explains, listing 50 experts.
Among courses being offered later this year are instruction in life, love, work, family and politics. A typical course, in love, will explore why relationships are so complicated and why attraction ebbs and flows. "We draw on ideas from philosophy, psychoanalysis, literature and art. We discover what the likes of Plato, Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Freud had to say about compassion, empathy and self-love," the instructors promise.
Courses run for six weeks and cost 195 pounds.
參考譯文：
一群藝術家、作家和知識分子在倫敦創建了一所新的“大學”，旨在幫助那些埋頭于工作的人們欣賞生活中更加美好的事物，比如藝術、書籍和旅游等。
這所生活學校開在布魯姆斯博里藝術區的一間小作坊，它把自己形容為“頭腦的藥劑師”，打算給“日常疾病開出文化處方”。該學校希望能啟發那些丟掉了讀好書的習慣、不能在晚宴上侃侃而談，或者需要利用假期擴大視野的人。
《擁抱似水年華》的作者、哲人阿蘭•德•波頓和泰特現代美術館的前館長索菲•豪沃思都是這個學校的教職人員。
學校創建者認為，那些沒有多少空閑時間的人需要額外的指導，學會用他們有限的時間過上更加充實的生活。“也許你正有一個十分想知道的問題要詢問古生物學家，也許你正考慮換個工作、想直接跟某位攝影師或景觀設計師談談。生活學校有很多自由職業的教職員，愿意跟你面對面談上一個小時，只收取一點點費用。”網站如是說明，并列出了50位專家。
今年晚些時候開設的課程將包括關于生活、愛情、工作、家庭及政治方面的指導。標準的愛情課程將會探究情感關系為什么如此復雜，以及相互之間的吸引為什么起起落落。講師們承諾，“我們將從哲學、心理分析、文學和藝術中選取內容，我們將了解像柏拉圖、莎士比亞、托爾斯泰和弗洛伊德這樣的人關于同情、共鳴及自愛的認知。”
這些課程為期六周，學費195英鎊。
