英语课前五分钟小故事演讲（通用5篇）
good morning/afternoon/evening to mr.____(your teacher's name) and my friends.
i would like to introduce you a short novel named “the old man and the sea”.
it is written by ernest hemingway in cuba in 1951 and published in 1952.
the story of an aging, life-long fisherman who attempts to find himself, and hopefully a fish, on a fishing trip in the gulf waters off cuba.
after spending most of his life alone and losing his only companion who is a young cuban boy, the old man heads out to sea once again.
his 84 days without a notable catch end on this trip, but will he be able to defeat the odds after catching a gigantic marlin?
this short novel is universal in its consideration of the plight of an old man struggling against age, loneliness, mortality, humility and poverty to maintain his identity and dignity. apart from that, the cheerful and optimistic old man wants to reestablish his reputation in the community. besides, he also wants to ensure for all time his relationship with those he loves and to whom he hopes to paon everything he values the most. finally, he survives and wins the battle. this has shown his heroic struggle not only redeems himself but also inspires and spiritually enriches those around him.
thanks for your attention.
a common concept among some people is that opportunities are few. they always complain that opportunities never occur to them. they only admire those people who make a hit or succeed by seizing some opportunities, and always wonder why they are never given a good opportunity to show their talent.
another common notion is that there are opportunities everywhere. opportunity may occur to anybody at any time and under any circumstances as long as he/she keeps ma-ki-ng constant efforts. as a student, you can get to the top through your hard work. as a businessman, you can succeed through accurate calculation and with a complete certainty that you can make a profit.
in my opinion, opportunity favors only those who keep trying and who are ready for it. as the saying goes "god helps those who help themselves", so no matter whether there's opportunity or not, what we should do is to study, to learn and become learned people, only in this way can you seize your opportunity when it occurs. so never say there's no opportunity again, opportunities are around us.
feeling of youth
no young man believes he shall ever die. it was a saying of my brother's, and a fine one. there is a feeling of eternity in youth, which makes us amend for everything. to be young is to be as one of the immortal gods. one half of time indeed is flown-the other half remains in store for us with all its countletreasures; for there is no line drawn, and we see no limit to our hopes and wishes. we make the coming age our own-
the vast, the unbounded prospect lies before us.
death. old age. are words without a meaning. that paby us like the idea air which we regard not. others may have undergone, or may still be liable to them-we "bear a charmed life“, which laughs to scorn all such sickly fancies. as in setting out on delightful journey, we strain our eager gaze forward-
bidding the lovely scenes at distance hail!
and see no end to the landscape, new objects presenting themselves as we advance; so, in the commencement of life, we set no bounds to our inclinations. nor to the unrestricted opportunities of gratifying them. we have as yet found no obstacle, no disposition to flag; and it seems that we can go on so forever. we look round in a new world, full of life, and motion, and ceaseleprogress; and feel in ourselves all the vigor and spirit to keep pace with it, and do not foresee from any present symptoms how we shall be left behind in the natural course of things, decline into old age, and drop into the grave. it is the simplicity, and as it were abstractedneof our feelings in youth, that (so to speak) identifies us with nature, and (our experience being slight and our passions strong) deludes us into a belief of being immortal like it. our short-lives connection with existence we fondly flatter ourselves, is an indissoluble and lasting union-a honeymoon that knows neither coldness, jar, nor separation. as infants smile and sleep, we are rocked in the cradle of our wayward fancies, and lulled into security by the roar of the universe around us0we quaff the cup of life with eager haste without draining it, instead of which it only overflows the more-objects prearound us, filling the mind with their magnitude and with the strong of desires that wait upon them, so that we have no room for the thoughts of death.
Over the past Spring Festival, I got involved in a family dispute. Right before I got home, four satellite channels of CCTV were added to the 14 channels we had already had. In prime time at night, they all had interesting shows. Therefore, the five of us-my parents, my sisters and I-had to argue over what to watch. Finally, we agreed that we should watch the "most interesting" programme... If we could agree what that was.
However, all of us there remember that for a long time after we had TV, there were only one or two channels available. The increase in options reveals an important change in our life: the abundance of choice.
Fifteen years ago we all dressed in one style and in one colour. Today, we select from a wide variety of designs and shades.
Fifteen years ago, we read few newspapers. Today, we read English newspapers like the China Daily and the 21st Century, as well as various Chinese newspapers.
Fifteen years ago, English majors took only courses in language and literature. Today, we also study Western culture, journalism, business communications, international relations, and computer science.
The emergence of choices marks the beginning of a new era in China's history; an era of diversity, of material and cultural richness, and an era of the rebirth of the Chinese nation.
We enjoy the abundance of choice. But this has not come easily.
About 150 years ago, China was forced to open up its door by Western canons and gunboats. It has been through the struggle and sacrifice of generations that we finally have gained the opportunity to choose for ourselves. The policy of reform and openness is the choice that has made all the difference.
Like others of my age, I'm too young to have experienced the time when the Chinese people had no right to choose. However, as the next century draws near, it is time to ask: What does choice really mean to us young people?
Is choice a game that relies on chance or luck? Is choice an empty promise that never materializes? Or is choice a puzzle so difficult that we have to avoid it?
First, I would like to say: To choose means to claim opportunities.
I am a third-year English major. An important choice for me, of course, is what to do upon graduation. I can go to graduate school, at home or abroad. I can go to work as a teacher, a translator, a journalist, an editor and a diplomat. Actually, the system of mutual selection has allowed me to approach almost every career opportunity in China.
Indeed, this is not going to be an easy choice. I would love to work in such big cities as Beijing or Shanghai or Shenzhen. I would also love to return to my hometown, which is intimate, though slightly lagging in development. I would love to stay in the coastal area where life is exciting and fast-paced. I would also love to put down roots in central and western China, which is underdeveloped, but holds great potential.
on my birthday two years ago, many special things happened on me. and i would
remember them forever.
that morning, i rode my bike to school happily as usual. on my way to the
classroom, i saw some of my classmates. but when they saw me, they rushed away. that made me confused. because they would talk to me or play jokes on me before. but it was strange today.
when i came into the classroom, i found the atmosphere was quite strange.
everybody looked at me and laughed loudly. suddenly they all said in good order,“happy birthday to you!” then they began to sing “happy birthday to you~~~~~~” that made me moved. i never told anyone about my birthday, how did they know? i believed they must have done a lot of things. at that moment, i found nothing to say but thanks instead!
after school, a thing coming as a surprise happened on me on my way back home. when i was riding suddenly a crowed of people rushed out to stopped my bike.i recogized them at once. they were my senior classmates. they all comlained to me,“why don't you tell us about your birthday? don't you fear that we will let you stand treat? this time you owe us.” then each of them gave a gift and a card with best wishes to me. i was deeply moved again. i suggested having a dinner together. but they all refused because of the time. then they left me saying we would ask you to pay us another day!
when i got back home, i thought of everything happened today. suddenly i felt so happy because i had such great friends around me. i thanked them from the bottom of my heart. i would value the precious friendship forever!
i have so many feelings through that special day. the only rose without thorns in the world is friendship. a true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget. one friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, three are hardly possible. stick to make friends, forlife without friends is like life on a desert island. to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune, to keep him is a blessing.
thank you for your attention!
president clinton, senator clinton, president carter and mrs. carter, president bush and mother governor and mrs. huckabee, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: laura and i are really pleased to be a part of this happy and historic occasion. on this day of dedication, we honor the man from hope, arkansas, who became the 42nd president of the united states. mr. president, congratulations.
this presidential library chronicles a vivid era in american history, for the benefit of future generations. it will contribute to the vitality of this fine city and to the great state of arkansas. the collections here record the dedication and hard work of thousands, who brought talent and idealism to public service. and at the center of that era, at the head of that administration, was an able and energetic american. president bill clinton led our country with optimism and a great affection for the american people, and that affection has been returned. he gave all to his job, and the nation gave him two terms.
in the early 1990s, the american people saw a young, well-spoken, relatively unknown governor rise to national prominence. yet for decades here in arkansas, the signs of destiny were clear. when young william entered a new school in the 4th grade, a classmate recalls, "he didn't mean to, but he just took the place over." when governor clinton declared his candidacy for president in this city, his close friends were not surprised in the least. they'd always known that bill clinton's moment in history would come.
arkansas is a state that knows political skill when you see it. a fellow in saline county was asked by his son why he liked governor clinton so much. he said, son, he'll look you in the eye, he'll shake your hand, he'll hold your baby, he'll pat your dog -- all at the same time.
over the years, bill clinton showed himself to be much more than a good politician. his home state elected him governor in the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s, because he was an innovator, a serious student of policy, and a man of great compassion. in the white house, the whole nation witnessed his brilliance and mastery of detail, his persuasive power, and his persistence. the president is not the kind to give up a fight. his staffers were known to say, "if clinton were the titanic, the iceberg would sink."