Dutch university digs grave for students to reflect on life & death

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難詞探意

1. meditate /'med?te?t/ v. 冥想；沉思

2. transience /'tr?nzi?ns/ n. 短暫；轉瞬即逝

3. consumerism /k?n'sju?m?r?z?m/ n. 消費主義

4. nihilism /'na??l?z?m/ n. 虛無主義

Radboud University in the Dutch town of Nijmegen offers a novel solution to those struggling with everyday challenges of student life and anxious uncertainty about the future—a “purification grave”.

The project uses “memento mori”—Latin for “remember you will die”—as its motto, offering a unique glimpse of what comes after death.

The “purification grave” is quite traditional—an open hole in the ground in the garden behind the student church. It is equipped with a yoga mat and a pillow—basic necessities to make yourself comfortable andmeditate: Below you there's the earth, and above is the sky.

The grave experience can be booked for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to three hours—students decide for themselves how long they want it to last. And since the authors are offering something real, not a 21st century app-imitation version, telephones and books are prohibited during the session.

John Hacking， the author of the idea， thinks that the creation would help the youth appreciate the beauty of life and realize itstransience: “The end of life, death, is a taboo, difficult for students to understand. Death is very difficult to talk about, especially when you are 18 to 20 years old.”

He also believes the experience is a tool to get away fromconsumerism: “As you see in society, people are empty inside sometimes because of some kind ofnihilism.”

Ajuna Soerjadi, one of the students who tried the “purification grave” experience, describes what she felt when she was inside: “When you think about death, you automatically also think about life. That is because you realize that life isn't endless and that we are all going to die at one point. It makes you think about what you want to do in life, what you think is the most important, how your heart feels and what your mind wants to do.”

According to some students, the project is so popular that they have to be wait-listed. “My housemate and I were planning on going a week ago, a week and a half ago, and we found that there was a waiting list to actually get into the grave, so it's quite popular, and we didn't get the chance yet,” says Sean McLaughlin, one of the students.

Reading Check

Given a chance, would you also like to experience the programme? Why?

Language Study

Sentence for writing

According to some students, the project is so popular that they have to be wait-listed.

【信息提取】so...that... 意為“如此……以至于……”，so后面接形容詞或副詞。

【句式仿寫】這道數學題如此難，以至于沒有人能解答出來。