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It is not difficult to imagine a world short of ambition. It would probably be a kinder world: without demands, without abrasions, without disappointments. People would have time for reflection. Such work as they did would not be for themselves but for the collective. Competition would never enter in, conflict would be eliminated, and tension would become a thing of the past. The stress of creation would be at an end. Art would no longer be troubling, but purely celebratory in its functions. The family would become superfluous as a social unit, with all its former power for bringing about neurosis drained away. Longevity would be increased, for fewer people would die of heart attack or stroke cause by tumultuous endeavour. Anxiety would be extinct. Time would stretch on and on, with ambition long departed from the human heart.
Ah, how unrelievedly boring life would be!
There is a strong view that holds that success is a myth, and ambition therefore a shame. Does that mean that success does not really exist? That achievement is at bottom empty? That the efforts of men and women are of no significance alongside the force of movements and events? Now not all success, obviously, is worth esteeming, or all ambitions are worth cultivating. Which are and which are not is something one soon enough learns on one’s own. But even the most cynical secretly admit that success exists; that achievement counts for a great deal; and that the true myth is that the actions of men and women are useless. To believe otherwise is to take on a point of view that is likely to be deranging. It is, in its implications, to remove all motives for competence, interest in attainment and regard for posterity.
——Joseph Epstein, “Ambition”
What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
The author’s purpose is to argue that ambition is indispensable to the world.
（文章开头设想了一个没有抱负的世界，紧接着指出没有抱负的世界会变得十分地无聊乏味，最后论述 成功与抱负的存在性。）
What does the author think of “a world shortage of ambition”? Try to find clues that betray the author’s attitude towards the existence of such a world.
The author thinks a world short of ambition would be a kind of unrelieved boring life. “The stress of creation would be at an end. Art would no longer be troubling, but purely celebratory in its functions. The family would become superfluous as a social unit...”Such sentences, especially the words like “celebratory” and “superfluous” betray the author’s negative attitude towards the existence of such a world.
（从文章第一段列举了在一个没有抱负的世界可能会出现的场景。第二段作者发出感叹，“Ah, how unrelievedly boring life would be!”。由此可知，在作者看来，没有了抱负，人生将会变得非常乏味无聊。）
What do you think is the most convincing evidence employed by the author to support his view?
From my point of view, “Competition would never enter in, conflict would be eliminated, and tension would become a thing of the past” is the most convincing evidence employed by the author to support his view. A world without competition, conflict and tension will not evolve since no new idea exists. Thus, such world could only be boring and stagnant.
（作者在文章第一段提出了许多例子来证明自己的观点，其中最让人信服的是离开了抱负，竞争将不复 存在，矛盾会消失，紧张感也会变成过去式。）
What does “To believe otherwise” refer to?
“To believe otherwise” refers to holding the view that success does not exist.
（前文提到即使是最为愤世嫉俗的人暗地里也承认成功确实存在，那么不这样想，自然就是指认为成功 不存在。）