5分钟英语演讲稿大全（精选19篇）
Today I am very glad to be here to share with you my ideas of success. What is success? It is what everyone is longing for.Sometimes success would be rather simple. Winning a game is success; getting a high grade in the exam is success; making a new friend is success; even now I am
standing here giving my speech is somehow also success.
However, as a person’s whole life is concerned, success becomes very
complicated. Is fortune success? Is fame success? Is high social status success? No, I don’t think so. I believe success is the realization of people’
s hopes and ideals.Nowadays, in the modern society there are many people
who are regarded as the successful. And the most obvious characteristics of hem are money, high position and luxurious life. So most people believe that s success and all that they do is for this purpose. But the problem is wether it is real success. We all know there are always more money, higher position and better condition in front of us. If we keep chasing them, where is the end? What will satisfy us at last? Therefore, we can see, to get the real Success we must need something inside, which is the realization of
people’ hopes and ideals.
Different people have different ideas about success; cause people’s hopes and ideas vary from one another. But I am sure every success is dear to everybody, cause it is not easy to come by, cause in the process of our striving for success, we got both our body and soul tempted, meanwhile we are enlightened by the most valuable qualities of human beings: love, patient, courage and sense of responsibility. These are the best treasures. So now I am very proud that I have this opportunity to stand here speaking to all of you. It is my success, cause I raise up to challenge my hope.
What is success? Everyone has his own interpretation as I do. But I am sure
every success leads to an ever-brighter future. So ladies and gentlemen, believe in our hopes, believe in ourselves, we, every one of us, can make a
successful life!
Wish you all good success!
Ladies and Gentlemen
I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening because I have some -- some very sad news for all of you -- Could you lower those signs please? -- I have some very sad news for all of you and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens and people who love peace all over the world; and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day in this difficult time for the United States it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black -- considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness and with hatred and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country in greater polarization -- black people amongst blacks and white amongst whites filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort as Martin Luther King did to understand and to comprehend and replace that violence that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land with an effort to understand compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with -- be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act against all white people I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed but he was killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand to get beyond or go beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poem my -- my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote:
Even in our sleep pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart
until in our own despair
against our will
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness but is love and wisdom and compassion toward one another and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country whether they be white or whether they be black.
So I ask you tonight to return home to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King -- yeah it's true -- but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country which all of us love -- a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.
We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past but we -- and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together want to improve the quality of our life and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.
And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
Thank you very much.
Nothing is difficult if you put your heart on it. Nothing is easy if you don’t try your best.
We often hear people say, “Never give up.” This can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in them will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion, the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.
One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel discouraged and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail, we will not be able to develop new skills and grow as people. Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes only if we make a new effort. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted. Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives.
Probably the greatest example of persistence is Abraham Lincoln. Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.
He could have quit many times - but he didn't and because he didn't quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country.
Lincoln was a champion and he never gave up.
In short, it is important that we don’t give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not, we will learn something, and what we learn will help us to become better, more confident people. Furthermore, if we give up, we have no chance of attaining our goals, but if we keep trying, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.Thank you very much!
Take a look at the street, we can see people walking around in Nike and Adidas ，beyond the curb, long lines of vehicles shuttle like wind on the tar among which there’re Mercedes-Benz ,BMW, Toyota ,and some of the Volkswagen whose price is definitely not so “volks” at all. They’re all heading for the same direction: the New Oriental School, coz the Olympics is around and learning English is currently the hottest way blowing away your after-work time and money in town. Everything about this picture is so global that you can hardly tell if it’s Bei Jing or Belgium.
However, there’s one grey speck on this splendid picture of globalization I just can’t shift my eyes away from. It’s a migrant worker covered with dirt. Pushing a large cart of bricks 5 times his own weight with his skinny arms, the man was about my age. His eyes hollow holes, for there’s nothing but the hardship of survival in there. Was he married? Was he smart? Did he go to middle school? Or perhaps primary school? Where was he from? Is there anyone waiting for him at home?
As we look out to globalization with great expectation, there’s also crisis lying within. But the crisis was not brought onto us from anywhere out there. It lies within our system and was made by ourselves. Some call it regional bias, some call it household permit system, but not matter what name it bears. It’s the same thing we see in this country: born a countryman, always a countryman. And countryman here is not just a nickname suggesting where you live. It means that you can’t have a lot of the basic public benefits like free compulsory education and medical insurance like the city men have. It means you would have to be times as outstanding as students from the metropolitans in exams to be admitted into good schools. In means, very much likely, in that migrant worker’s case, that you can work and live in the city honestly for 10 years but people still despises you because they think they are somehow superior. It’s true that globalization is all over the air, but despite it’s the same air that we breathe ,I wonder how many of them feel it even exsit.
Does learning to compete in the global era involve migrant workers? I believe few would think so. Because usually what we care about are things like trade surplus, intercultural communication and Paris Hilton. But does it not involve migrant workers?
Let’s make an interesting assumption here. Today, I see a lot of young faces in this building, in 10 years, many of us will have our children. And I suppose that in 10 years, the migrant worker I saw on the street the other day and many like him will have their children. I can’t help wondering with this globalization gap keep lying between the two of us, can my child work together with his children for the country in the future competition of the global era? And will this country be able to win the competition without its rural people which takes up about 80% of its total population?
No! This situation must be changed! And the time is now! The long and weary journey to its final solution may take decades, or even centuries. But it starts with our little good will. If everyone in this room donate 10 yuan to the Hope project, we might be able to get the son of a migrant worker through junior school. By which we’re not only helping them but also helping ourselves.
If we want to learn to compete with others, we’ll first have to learn to take care of our own man , and if we want to learn to live with globalization,we’ll first learn it, from those who live without it.
With the development of science and technology, change has penetrated into every aspect of our daily life. To illustrate that, I'd like to make a comparison of these two seemingly insignificant things: milkman and mailman, whose differences indicate our changing way of living with the times.
Home milk delivery has almost gone extinct in China now, also gone with it are the milkmen, who once delivered bottled fresh milk door-to-door. On the other hand, mailman's business or the courier service has thrived as online shopping gains popularity. However, in retrospect, I find something has been lost in this transition, something Shakespeare called as “the milk of human kindness”.
When I was a kid, milk wasn't for sale everywhere. For the families who need it, they depended on the milkmen to take it from the local dairy farms to their houses. In our neighborhood, there was such a milkman, whose arrival was much anticipated by the children and always brought us laughter and joy. He knew the name of every kid and could easily see through our tricks. If we didn't behave, he would side with our parents and threaten to rob us of the nutritious drink. The entire neighborhood was acquainted with him; saw him as a member of the community just like the many residents or street vendors. There was a bond between all of us for it was not only the commodities that been transacted, but also a sense of caring and dependability. And that small box fixed onto our door, other than being a drop-off point for milk; it was a communication junction between the people as we took the initiative to reach out to others.
Fast forward to today, milk is ubiquitous with no dedicated delivery system. But the convenience level of our live has gone up a notch. Almost everything is for sale online, which spares us all the travelling and talking. With a few ready clicks, shopping is done. The rest is left for those speed delivery companies. Usually it's a grumpy mailman, who reaches us through cell phone, urging everyone to pick up their parcels as soon as possible. And the minute the receipt is signed, we rush back to unpack while the courier dashes to the next destination. There is barely a conversation carried out, nor do we feel the need to talk to such a stranger, who changes from time to time frequently. It seems that people are always in a hurry now, though we have more conveniences, still we run short of time to stop and stare, to speak and share.
Call me an old-timer, but I think the personal touch represented by the milkman is what has been missing in the modern society. William Wordsworth once wrote that “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” Modern technology may have multiplied our possessions or gave us more conveniences, but we run the risk of reducing our values if we lay waste our power of interpersonal relationships.
Ladies and Gentlemen I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the union but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago almost to the day we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.
And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they the Challenger Seven were aware of the dangers but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith Dick Scobee Judith Resnik Ronald McNair Ellison Onizuka Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.
We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven we cannot bear as you do the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave and they had that special grace that special spirit that says "Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They the members of the Challenger crew were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future and we'll continue to follow them.
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is and we wouldn't change it for a minute.
We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and yes more volunteers more civilians more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.
I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans and a historian later said "He lived by the sea died on it and was buried in it." Well today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was like Drake's complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them nor the last time we saw them this morning as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
Thank you.
When the breeze gently hold when LiuXu savoury, When the sun put it golden glorious quietly around the cherry blossom trees on appered handsome; When the beautiful petals in the air to reach several commonly roll long, then gently landed, we are enjoying a brilliant happineof campus life.
Early morning, happy bird singing, accompany us go strollw floral path and watched the we walked into the campus, eye is full of happiness. Sunshine shop in writing has "e, nanjing normal university affiliated yangzi dickers" e, The bronze medal and put downy light reflection to our body, we cheerfully accepted this light, vigorous entered in campus. On the way to the classroom, and every day that we can all see beautiful fountain and pool, and forceful huaihe books and rather ?
The most successful person may not be the smartest ones.According to a survey conducted among a group of people who were in the same university ten years ago , those whose grade-point average was in the middle fifty percent , all become rich or managers of different fields , while not a single young man of the upper ten percent becomes an executive or boss. Why the smartest kids in the classwill not end up the richest? Why those who are not excellent in studies tend to be managers or own their own enterprise in their later life? And what factors lead to succein career and life if brains are not the only answer? According to my observation , academic brightneis only part of the story , the other factors are very important. One ingredient , among other things , is good interpersonal skills. There is stong evidence that friendship can help to tide you over a period of difficulty.
With a wide circle of friends who can be trusted yo provide information and resources, your chances of succeare much higher. On the cntrary , if you are competent in profession , but have difficulty in getting along with your colleagues and even your boss, you can hardly survive the corporation. Another component is the ability to expreoneself . In today s world , what really counts is the ability to expreoneself rather than technical competence or professional knowledge . The larger the orgnization of which you are an employee , and th fiercer the competition , the more important it will be that you know how to convey your thoughts and convince others of your ideas. Personality is also an important factor. Whatever difficulty or situation , those who appear relaxed and confident are nearer to success. Obviously , among the ingredients for succe, intelligence counts for the half , the rest depends on your personality , and other abilities.
Good morning, everybody!
In this world, there is one thing that is very fair to everybody, whether you are a male or female, young or old, rich or poor. Does anybody know what it is called?
Right. It is time. The topic I am going to present to you today is called “ Treasure Every Minute”.
The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with.
And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
Good luck, everybody!
Life is not long, but many times choose, you have many choices come through today. Wait more than 60 days, you in turn to make a choice, but the choice is your life is very important, very crucial choice. The choice to a large extent directly related to your future direction in life, whether related to the future glory of life, and even the success of the big problems of life.
The last choice, because your young, largely by your parents or relatives to help you to make choices. Then the choice of their ability to help so you can create conditions to help you (for example, taking your difference, they can give you the money you read Choosing Health). Entrance options, but this largely depends on yourself decide the. Because: First, the difficulty of the selection bigger, some parents and relatives also lack guidance capability; second is the choice of policy, a more equitable, they may have money, but you also can not score enough money to help you. So many choices in this and future autonomy of the major is in your own hands.
Select certain subjective and objective conditions. The university entrance exam already created the objective conditions of choice. For example, the University has long been the face of the door here open for each student, you can enter with their conditions. Another example is that the state's admission policy is not directed against an individual, but against all the candidates this year, has been formed, you can only prepare the conditions required by policy to choose. Another example: you face the teachers and the teaching environment of objective factors in the last more than 60 days are basically constant. You can only adjust themselves to the further adaptation. Therefore, the objective conditions of your current studies, as if we can only face each generation has been formed as the productivity of conditions, can only be subjective on this basis up efforts to promote the development of the existing productive forces, not to complain about now have low productivity. This year's college entrance
examination, you can only have been formed by the face of these subjective and objective conditions to efforts to improve their academic performance. Not to complain about the objective conditions than me.
In addition to other life choices, and many give up. But a lot of life to give up in order to better choices. You this time, the face of the university are beckoning to you, you can choose not to give up. Can also say: You give up a lot in the past, that is, to this choice. Example, Why did not you work outside the home? Why not stay at home farming? Why seeing your parents morning to evening, busy doing farming work, and even sick exertion in the field, and you share those concerns did not go home for their problem-solving, can you give up so they are not all for this time of choice?
Both gave up so much, they chose today, why not try to choose tomorrow? Beckon you do not choose to have this as another of the universities? There is the further purification of your soul, raise your quality, and increase your survivability, and improve your quality of life in the future to achieve greater value of life your furnace.
This is a glass of water, tasteless, right? However if you add sugar, it will taste sweet, but if you add vinegar, it will become bitter. The same is true with our life——the flavor is created by our choices.
If kindness is added to a strange you will have a friend; but if hostility is added, you will have an enemy. If love is added to a pile of red bricks you will have a home, but if hatred is add to those bricks , you will have an concentration camp.
So my dear friends, never complain that life is boring and the world is disappointing. If don’t like the taste of your life, change the ingredients. Three year ago, I weighed more than 100 hundred kilograms which caused
significant embarrassment and frustration in my life. Like always failing my P.E examinations, like always being laughed at by girls, like being terrified to speak in public. It was my grandmother’s encouragement that revived from my passive attitude to become confident in myself. She said “ My dear, if you can’t change you figure, why not treat it as your own style. So I began to cautiously employ the new way of thinking. By choosing to change my outlook on life, I developed the confidence to make a difference and finally I found a totally new world.
So my dear friend, if faith, hope, love, endurance are added to your life, you will find the confidence to conquer your limitation and embrace new challenges. And hopefully with my speech included, you will have a fantastic speech contest.
Dear teacher and classmates:
I am very glad to make a speech here in this class again! This time, I'd like to talk something about English.
I love English. English language is now used everywhere in the world. It has become the most common language on Internet and for international trade. Learning English makes me confident and brings me great pleasure.
When I was seven, my mother sent me to an English school. At there, I played games and sang English songs with other children . Then I discovered the beauty of the language, and began my colorful dream in the English world.
Everyday, I read English following the tapes. Sometimes, I watch English cartoons.
On the weekend, I often go to the English corner. By talking with different people there, I have made more and more friends as well as improved my oral English.
I hope I can travel around the world someday. I want to go to America to visit Washington Monument, because the president Washington is my idol. Of course, I want to go to London too, because England is where English language developed. If I can ride my bike in Cambridge university, I will be very happy.
I hope I can speak English with everyone in the world. I'll introduce China to them, such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Anshan.
I know, Rome was not built in a day. I believe that after continuous hard study, one day I can speak English very well.
If you want to be loved, you should learn to love and be lovable. So I believe as I love English everyday , it will love me too.
Today I am very glad to be here to share with you my ideas of success. What is success? It is what everyone is longing for.Sometimes success would be rather simple. Winning a game is success; getting a high grade in the exam is success; making a new friend is success; even now I am
standing here giving my speech is somehow also success.
However, as a person’s whole life is concerned, success becomes very
complicated. Is fortune success? Is fame success? Is high social status success? No, I don’t think so. I believe success is the realization of people’s hopes and ideals.Nowadays, in the modern society there are many people
who are regarded as the successful. And the most obvious characteristics of hem are money, high position and luxurious life. So most people believe that s success and all that they do is for this purpose. But the problem is wether it is real success. We all know there are always more money, higher position and better condition in front of us. If we keep chasing them, where is the end? What will satisfy us at last? Therefore, we can see, to get the real Success we must need something inside, which is the realization ofpeople’ hopes and ideals.
Different people have different ideas about success; cause people’s hopes and ideas vary from one another. But I am sure every success is dear to everybody, cause it is not easy to come by, cause in the process of our striving for success, we got both our body and soul tempted, meanwhile we are enlightened by the most valuable qualities of human beings: love, patient, courage and sense of responsibility. These are the best treasures. So now I am very proud that I have this opportunity to stand here speaking to all of you. It is my success, cause I raise up to challenge my hope.
What is success? Everyone has his own interpretation as I do. But I am sure every success leads to an ever-brighter future. So ladies and gentlemen, believe in our hopes, believe in ourselves, we, every one of us, can make a successful life! Wish you all good success!
Honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen,
The fairytale of Aladdin has always been my childhood favorite. I was mesmerized by how Aladdin used his three magic wishes. As a small girl, I dreamed of having the magic wishes to go wherever I wanted to go and see whatever I wanted to see. As you can probably guess, I haven’t found my genie in the lamp yet, however, I have found something just as exciting and it has made marvelous changes in not only my life, but the lives of all human-beings. It is called technology.
I still remember how my father told me about his childhood back in those days when China was not as open and developed as it is now. Children would run for kilometers to school, make toys with wood by themselves, and the biggest dream of a child was holding two jars of sugar, one white, the other brown in each arm and having the choice of eating whichever he wanted. Just look at what we have now. Magnificent technological advancement has opened up a whole new world to us.
However, just as our lives become more convenient, problems arise from this new life style. We seem to be caged in the modern technology; we are thinking alike as a result of using the same search engine, we are getting lazy as most of our work can be done by machines, and we are alienating people around us for we are more comfortable talking on phones and typing in front of a computer.
If I was given the chance to make my magic wishes now, I would wish we could go back in time and live for three days without advanced technology. I wonder what we would do in those three days. Here is what I imagine:
On the first day, people would be feeling so uncomfortable with the new situation that they would probably be confused and just not know what to do. The world would be in a mess for the whole day.
On the second day, as life goes on, people would have to find alternative ways to deal with their daily rituals: students would have to go to libraries for information they wanted instead of searching on Google; boys would have to express their affection to girls in person instead of sending an annoying txt message; and the young people of today would have the chance to experience the childhood of their parents. On this particular day, we could recover all we had lost in the modern world.
Then comes the third day. After the previous two days, we would gradually come to realize that we should have paid more attention to our studies and work as we actually have so much creativity and potential within ourselves. We would also realize that we should have spent more time with a friend, a parent or a child as we do love them, but we don’t really understand them due to the lack of personal communication. We shouldn’t have been so dependent on modern technology as it wasn’t invented to confine us, but to inspire us. This last day would be spent in sparks of new ideas and sweet moments with our loved ones.
Maybe some would argue that it is just my imagination, and that magic would never work in our world. True, but magic can always work in our hearts, helping us understand that we, instead of the machine, are the masters of the world. The key is to treasure our human initiative and connections, to see the world with our own eyes, explore the unknown with our minds and treat others with our hearts. Just like Aladdin didn’t choose to use magic to gain a happy life, we can make our choice, too. And when we do, we will live, as in the fairy tales, happily ever after. Thank you.
Good morning, everybody!
In this world, there is one thing that is very fair to everybody, whether you are a male or female, young or old, rich or poor. Does anybody know what it is called?
Right. It is time. The topic I am going to present to you today is called “ Treasure Every Minute”.
The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with.
And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
Good luck, everybody!
“What would you do if you had only one day left to live?”
I asked this question to my young students when teaching English this winter. What were their answers?
“I would watch television!” the first answer. “I would play with the computer!” the second one. “I would play with computer TOO.” The girl finished her sentence perfectly with a serious smile. Indeed how cute and innocent that smile was, but how seriously my heart was hurt. I was too frightened to listen to more answers like that.
Ten years ago, at their age, I had a different answer: I would spend the last day of my life gazing at the face of my dear grandmother until I inscribed every detail of it onto my mind.
When grandmother was getting old and weak, my family bought her a telephone so I could save time and the trouble of traveling to her home by making phone calls instead. Later we bought her a television so she could watch modern dramas by herself. Then grandma must have been, we assumed, very contented and happy.
But I never really knew how grandma felt. She silently passed away without a word one night. When I heard about her death, a chilling pain pierced my empty heart. The pain grew even sharper as I tried to remember in detail exactly how grandma looked and I failed completely! How could I remember? I had not visited her for ages—it seemed like a century! My memories of her dissolved into thin air and leaked away like water.
Even though I have a telephone, can she hear me now?
Even though I might be on television, can she see me now?
Even though I have modern telecommunications, can she still communicate with me now?
With all these “tele”s, I was powerless.
Don’t people just love the word of “tele”, which means far away. Indeed this is how modern technology has changed our world. But please don’t forget this other word with “tele”: telepathy: which refers to human beings’ inborn ability to connect to our loved ones. Our minds are supposed to read each other’s minds; our hearts are supposed to feel each other’s hearts — and fulfill these without any forms of tool!
But the moment I desperately struggled to remember grandmother’s face, the telepathy between her and me had shut down forever. With the help of modern technology, I killed our telepathy.
This shall never happen again! The “tele”s are great inventions. But “telepathy” gives them the warmth of a human face. Let’s harness the power of television to excite our kids to develop their telepathy with nature… so that they can read the secret language of flowers. Let’s make the telephone lines provoke us to preserve our telepathy with each other, so we can connect in a warm and feeling way. Let technology keep our “telepathy” ALIVE! We need to wake up and make this happen.
I told my grandma’s story to those young kids that day. They got very quiet. They asked me for a second chance to answer the question. They had come to a new understanding – that very moment they had made to me and to our future together, a dear promise.
Thank you very much!
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,
As I stand here speaking to you in English, I am already globalized. While shopping, I see the fair Chinese ladies carrying Prada handbags, I find they are globalized. Watching Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings with friends—yes, you can anticipate the refrain, we are all globalized!
In this era of globalization, we are one way or another all globalized. But realize this: when people’s heads turn to the fresh things that globalization literally delivers to our doors, the traditional things which we take for granted become ignored and sometimes forgotten. ConsiderLao Qiang, an ancient form of opera. It has almost vanished from the stage and only fewer than 20 people know how to sing it. So, how can we discover and explore our traditional culture? How can we rejuvenate and share them with the whole world? Well, there are three factors we need to keep in mind.
To begin with, the mass media plays a vital role in discovering traditional culture and connecting it with the widest possible audience. One evening in 20xx, for example, when my father and I were watching the final round of the popular TV showStar Road, we both became fans for a contestant named A Bao. We were attracted by his high pitched tenor voice, his traditional Shaanxi folk tunes and Shaanxi costumes. Apparently we were not his only fans. Star Road has aroused great popular interest in Shaanxi folk music. Such media can help popular audiences to discover lost arts and introduce people to them for the first time.
The mass media raise the people’s popular interest in the traditional arts, but it is the performing artists who really develop the people’s understanding of traditional culture. Yang Liping’s dance show Yunnan Image, based on primitive Yunnan dance style, has had an enormous influence in and out of China. Yang has recovered for us the primitive life in Yunnan. It is the raw and unadorned beauty of nature in her dancing that moves her audience most. We desperately need professional artists’ endeavor to discover traditional arts, to train apprentices, and to project our traditional culture on the global stage.
The third strategic factor in promoting our culture in global competition is an audience who knows what and how to appreciate our culture. But today’s youth—tomorrow’s explorers—are ill equipped to appreciate the traditional culture. Take myself as an example: I have had no painting or music classes since senior high school! No extracurricular activities like Chinese painting or calligraphy since primary school! What paltry little we learn about our traditional Chinese culture is relegated to a few lines and pictures in history books. We need our government and our school system to give us a better opportunity to embrace our traditional culture and discover its rich legacy for ourselves.
Ladies and gentlemen, the age of globalization should be a time for cultural discovery, not cultural extinction! Our traditional culture needs our concern and support to survive! With our combined efforts, we can save our valuable culture from extinction and showcase it, so it can shine brightly on the global stage, shared and enjoyed by people all around the world!
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man but to my work -- a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit not for glory and least of all for profit but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before.
我感觉，这个奖不是授予我这个人，而是授予我的工作，它是对我呕心沥血、毕生从事的人类精神探索的工作的肯定。我的这项工作不为名，更不图利，而是要从人类精神的原始素材里创造出前所未有的东西。
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man but to my work -- a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit not for glory and least of all for profit but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing.
我感到这份奖金不是授予我个人而是授予我的工作的授予我一生从事关于人类精神的呕心沥血工作.我从事这项工作不是为名更不是为利而是为了从人的精神原料中创造出一些从前不曾有过的东西.因此这份奖金只不过是托我保管而已.为这份奖金的钱找到与奖金原来的目的和意义相称的用途并不难但我还想为奖金的荣誉找到承受者.我愿意利用这个时刻利用这个举世瞩目的讲坛向那些听到我说话并已献身同一艰苦劳动的男女青年致敬.他们中肯定有人有一天也会站到我现在站着的地方.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about worth the agony and the sweat.
我们今天的悲剧是人们普遍存在一种生理上的恐惧这种恐惧存在已久以致我们能够忍受下去了.现在再没有精神上的问题了.唯一的问题是：我什么时候会被炸得粉身碎骨?正因为如此今天从事写作的男女青年已经忘记了人类内心的冲突.然而只有接触到这种内心冲突才能产生出好作品因为这是唯一值得写值得呕心沥血地去写的.
He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and teaching himself that forget it forever leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed -- love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value of victories without hope and worst of all without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands.
他一定要重新认识这些问题.他必须使自己明白世间最可鄙的事情莫过于恐惧.他必须使自己永远忘却恐惧在他的工作室里除了心底古老的真理之外不允许任何别的东西有容身之地.缺了这古老的普遍真理任何小说都只能昙花一现注定要失败;这些真理就是爱情荣誉怜悯自尊同情牺牲等感情.若是他做不到这样他的力气终归白费.他不是写爱情而是写情欲他写的失败是没有人感到失去可贵东西的失败他写的胜利是没有希望甚至没有怜悯或同情的胜利.他不是为有普遍意义的死亡而悲伤所以留不下深刻的痕迹.他不是在写心灵而是在写器官.
Until he relearns these things he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice but because he has a soul a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.
在他重新懂得这些之前他写作时就犹如站在人类末日中去观察末日的来临.我不接受人类末日的手法.因为人能传种接代而说人是不朽的这很容易.因为即使最后一次钟声已经消失消失在再也没有潮水冲刷映在落日的余晖里海上最后一块无用的礁石之旁时还会有一个声音那就是人类微弱的不断的说话声这样说也很容易.但是我不能接受这种说法.我相信人类不仅能传种接代而且能战胜一切.人之不朽不是因为在动物中唯独他能永远发出声音而是因为他有灵魂有同情心有牺牲和忍耐精神.
The poet’s the writer's duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man it can be one of the props the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
诗人和作家的责任就是把这些写出来.诗人和作家的特殊光荣就是去鼓舞人的斗志使人记住过去曾经有过的光荣他曾有过的勇气荣誉希望自尊同情怜悯与牺牲精神以达到不朽.诗人的声音不应只是人类的纪录而应是帮助人类永存并得到胜利的支柱和栋梁.
Good morning,ladies and gentlemen,today i am so happy to stand here to give you a speech.Or rather, a real story of mine.
Though with time going by,i can still remember what you once told me.You should be a brave girl.Smiling,you looked into my eyes.Year in,year out,nearly most of my memories are fading little by little.But only this simple sentence remained,without being forgotten in my life.
Again and again,i can not stop myself from thinking about it.So ordinary,but so impressive,so moving,just like the brightest sunshine,it helps me go through the darkest night.I am such a sensitive girl in your heart.You said,my sorroful facial expression made feel so distersssed.However,there is one thing i never tell you,that is ,i am becoming a big girl gradually with your words and smiles.I never tell you about it,for i believe oneday,you can see the great changes of mine for yourself.That is what i want to do in return.As i know,that will be the best gift for you.
I suddenly think of a song named MY HEART WILL GO ON.There is a beautiful sentence going like this.You are safe in my heart.More than once,i was moved to tears by it.I know ,i am also safe in your heart.i have already forgotten when i told you i was going to leave for Australia this summer holiday.You just smiled as usual,gently speaking.Whatever you decide to do,i will be in favor of it,but, just onething,remember,when you fell lonely abroad,do not forget we are here ,praying for you.We are all around you,far across the distance and space between us.i closed my eyes,the flashback started.The memories we had together,once we played games on the palyground,we played jokes on each other,you always wrote a lot of sentences on my articles to encourage me.And the most unforgetable thing,you told me,you believed m i could be a big girl.Sooner or later.
At that specific moment,i suddenly understood the meaning of this sentence totally.So on that day,i smiled as you used to,looking at you.The last words i said were,keep walking in sunshine.
Yes,keep walking in sunshine.I said to you ,also to myself.I know i am not alone wiht your company,and we can keep walking in sunshine till the last minute of our days.
I promise,i will be a big girl.
I promise,i will be a brave girl.
I promise,i will keep walking in sunshine.
That is my speech,thank you!
China has its own sport legends. Back to Song Dynasty, People started to play a game called Cuju, which is regarded as the origin of Ancient football. So now, you will understand why our women football team is so good today.
With a concept inspired by the famed Silk Road, our Torch Relay will break new ground, traveling from Olympia through some of the oldest civilizations known to man-Greek, Indian and Chinese. Carrying the message “Share the peace, Share the Olympics. “ The flame will pass through Tibet, cross the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, Travel the Great Wall and visit Chinese Taiwan and the 56 Ethnic communities who make up our society. On its journey, the flame will be seen by and inspire more human beings than any previous relay.
I am afraid I cannot prevent the whole picture of our cultural programs within such a short period of time. Actually, what we have shown you here today is only a fraction of Beijing that awaits you. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that Beijing will prove to be a land of wonders to athletes, spectators and the worldwide television audience alike. Come and join us.
Thank you. Thank you all.