Passage 2
The Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is best known today for his mathematical theorem,which haunts the dreams of many geometry students, but for centuries he was also celebrated as thefather of vegetarianism. A meatless diet was referred to as a "Pythagorean diet" for years, up untilthe modem vegetarian movement began in the mid-1800s.
While Pythagoras was an early proponent of a meatless diet, humans have been vegetarianssince well before recorded history.Most anthropologists agree that early humans would have eaten apredominantly plant-based diet;after all,plants can ’t run away.Additionally,our digestive systemsresemble those of herbivores closer than camivorous animals.Prehistoric man ate meat,of course,but plants formed the basis of his diet.
Pythagoras and his many followers practiced vegetarianism for several reasons,mainly due toreligious and ethical objections.Pythagoras believed all living beings had souls.Animals were noexception,SO meat and fish were banished from his table.Strangely enough,he also banished avegetable that has a place of honor on most vegetarian menus today,the humble bean.His followerswere forbidden to eat or even touch beans,because he thought beans and humans were created fromthe same material.Fava beans were especially bad,as they have hollow steams that could allow thesouls of the dead to travel up from the soil into the growing beans.
While the edict against beans was lifted not long after Pythagoras’death,his followerscontinued to eat a meatless diet.His principles influenced generations of academics and religiousthinkers,and it was a group of these like-minded individuals who founded the Vegetarian Society inEnglish in the mid-1800s.The virtues of temperance,abstinence and self.control were all tied tovegetarian Ideals,while lust,drunkenness and general hooliganism all resulted from a diet too rich inmeat products.Notable early vegetarians included Leo Tolstoy,George Bernard Shaw,MahatmaGa
A.Evil
B.Palatable
C.Plain
D.Notorious