Change the world? change ourselves
good evening, honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen.
it’s my great pleasure to stand here to present my speech—change the world, change ourselves.
it’s noticable that western holidays are becoming increasingly popular day by day, while chinese traditional festivals are being somewhat neglected. not long before about 10 doctors in beijing university and qinghua unversity announced that we should reject the invasion of western holidays ,because they regard western holidays as an challenge against our traditional festivals and culture.
frankly speaking, i don’t quite agree with ed, we should never neglect or even discard our traditonal festivals as china boasts a brilliant history and splendid traditions. (examples) why can’t we absorb the meaningful western holidays and culture.
there are obvious reasons why some western holidays are so popular in china. on the one hand, some of the western holidays which we chinese don’t have are reasonable and meaningful, such as father’s day and april fool’s day etc. on the other hand,the prevalence of globalization enables western culture to prevail in china. overwhelmed by such a trend,chinese unconsiciously get involved in western holidays and culture.
with the further development of the whole world, the cultural communication between different countries and nations becomes faster and more and more important. we are indeed from different nations, but we are the citizens of the same world, so the outstanding culture of different nations is the commom wealth of everyone on the only way for us to protect our traditional culture is to reject the foreign culture? the answer is definitely no. what we ought to do is to spare no effort to educate chinese to get to know and treasure our splendid traditions instead of rejecting foreign culture. only by educating can we set our confidence and belief towards our culture. only by educating can we preserve and promote the wealth that our ancesters left for us.
at last i’d like to share a famouse saying of gandhi with all of you ,that is:if you want to change the world, then you must change yourself first.
Knowing the consequences of choice
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.
All of these sound good. but they are only possibilities. to those of us who are bewildered at the abundance of opportunities, i would like to say: to choose means to accept challenge.
To us young people, challenge often emerges in the form of competition. in the next century, competition will not only come from other college graduates, but also from people of all ages and of all origins.
With increasing international exchanges, we have to face growing competition from the whole outside world. this is calling for a higher level of our personal development.
Fifteen years ago, the knowledge of a foreign language or of computer operation was considered merely an advantage. but today, with wider educational opportunities, this same knowledge has become essential to everyone.
Given this situation, even our smallest choices will require great wisdom and personal determination.
As we gain more initiative in choice making, the consequence of each choice also becomes more important.
As we gain more initiative in choice making, the consequence of each choice also becomes more important.
Nuclear power, for instance, may improve our quality of life. but it can also be used to damage the lives and possessions of millions.
Aconomic development has enriched our lives but brought with it serious harm to our air, water and health.
To those of us who are blind to the consequences of their choices, i would like to say, to choose means to take responsibility. when we are making choices for ourselves, we cannot casually say: "it's just my own business. " as policy makers of the next century, we cannot fail to see our responsibility to those who share the earth with us.
The traditional chinese culture teaches us to study hard and work hard so as to honor our family. to me, however, this family is not just the five of us who quarreled over television programmes. rather, it is the whole of the human family. as i am making my choices, i will not forget the smile of my teacher when i correctly spelled out the word "china" for the first time, i will not forget the happy faces of the boys and girls we helped to send back to school in the mountains of jiangxi province. i will not forget the tearful eyes of women and children in bosnia, chechnya and somali, where millions are suffering from war, famine or poverty.
All these people, known and unknown, make up our big human family. at different points, they came into my life and broaden my perspective. now as i am to make choices for myself, it is time to make efforts to improve their lives, because a world will benefit us all only if every one in it can lead a peaceful and prosperous life.
good afternoon!
recently, ther is a heated debate in our society. the college students are the beneficiaries of a rare privilege, who receive exceptional education at extraordinary places. but will we be able to face the challenge and support ourselves against all odds? will we be able to better the lives of others? will we be able to accept the responsibility of building the future of our country?
the cynics say the college students are the pampered lost generation, which would cringe at the slightest discomfort. but the cynics are wrong. the college students i see are eagerly learning about how to live independently. we help each other clean the dormitory, go shopping and bargain together, and take part time jobs to supplement our pocket money.
the cynics say we care for nothing other than grades; and we neglect the need for character cultivation. but again, the cynics are wrong. we care deeply for each other, we cherish freedom, we treasure justice, and we seek truth. last week, thousands of my fellow students had their blood type tested in order to make a contribution for the children who suffer from blood cancer.
as college students, we are adolescents at the critical turning point in our lives. we all face a fundamental choice: cynicism or faith, each will profoundly impact our future, or even the future of our country. i believe in all my fellow classmates. though we are still inexperienced and even a little bit childish. i believe that we have the courage and faith to meet any challenge and take on our responsibilities. we are preparing to assume new responsibilities and tasks, and to use the education we have received to make our world a better place. i believe in our future.
Someone said “we are reading the first verse of the first chapter of abook, whose pages are infinite”. I don’t know who wrote these words, but I’vealways liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want it tobe. We are all in the position of the farmers. If we plant a good seed ,we reapa good harvest. If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.
We are young. “How to spend the youth?” It is a meaningful question. Toanswer it, first I have to ask “what do you understand by the word youth?” Youthis not a time of life, it’s a state of mind. It’s not a matter of rosy cheeks,red lips or supple knees. It’s the matter of the will. It’s the freshneof thedeep spring of life.
A poet said “To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour. Severaldays ago, I had a chance to listen to a lecture. I learnt a lot there. I’d liketo share it with all of you. Let’s show our right palms. We can see three linesthat show how our er and life is. I have a short line of life.
What about yours? I wondered whether we could see our future in this , let’s make a fist. Where is our future?
Where is our love, career, and life? Tell , it is in our hands. Itis held in ourselves.
We all want the future to be better than the past. But the future can gobetter itself. Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened. From thepast, we’ve learnt that the life is tough, but we are tougher. We’ve learnt thatwe can’t choose how we feel, but we can choose what about it. Failure doesn’tmean you don’t have it, it does mean you should do it in a different ure doesn’t mean you should give up, it does mean you must try harder.
As what I said at the beginning, “we are reading the first verse of thefirst chapter of a book, whose pages are infinite”. The past has gone. Nothingwe do will change it. But the future is in front of us. Believe that what wegive to the world, the world will give to us. And from today on, let’s be theowners of ourselves, and speak out “We are the world, we are the future.”
一些人說“我們正在讀一本無窮的書中的第一章的第一節。”我不知道誰寫了這些話，但是我一直很喜歡它，因為它提醒了
我，我們能夠創造我們想要的未來。
我們都是農夫。如果我們播下好的種子，我們將會豐收。如果我們的種子很差，有很多草籽，收割的將是無用的莊稼。如果我們什麼也不播種，什麼收穫也沒有。
我們是年輕的。“怎樣度過青春?”這是個有意義的問題。為了去回答它，我首先要問“從‘青春’這個詞中你能理解到什麼?”青春不是人生的一個時期，而是精神的一種狀態。青春不是桃面、丹脣、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，。青春是生命的深泉在湧流.
一位詩人說“從一粒沙看世界，從一朵花看天堂，把無限放在你的手掌，永恆在一剎那裡收藏”。幾天前，我有了一個聽講座的機會，從中我學到了很多東西。現在，我想把這些與大家共享。讓我們伸出右手，我們可以看到手掌中的展示我們的愛，事業和生活的三條線。我在生活方面這條線很短，那你們的呢?我想知道我們是否可以用這種辦法去看我們的未來。好的，讓我們一起握拳。我們的未來在哪兒?我們的愛、事業和生活在哪兒?告訴我!是的，它們就在我們的手中。它們被我們自己掌握著。
我們所有人都希望未來能比過去更美好，但是未來能自己變得更好。不要因為結束而哭泣，微笑吧，為你的曾經擁有。從過去來看，生活是艱苦的，但我們是更堅強。我們知道我們不能選擇感覺，但是我們能選擇和它相關的東西。失敗並不意味著你不擁有成功，它只意味著你應該用另一種方式去做這件事。失敗並不意味著你應該放棄，只意味著你應該更加努力。
正如我在前面所說的“我們正在讀一本無窮的書中的第一章的第一節。”過去的已經過去，無論我們無力改變，但是未來卻在我們前方。相信“我們給了世界什麼，世界也將給我們”。並且從今天起，讓我們一起做我們自己的主人，一起大聲說出“世界是我們的，未來是我們的。”
Do you know what is the most precious and everlasting thing in the world ? Money ? You may lose everything you have if you dont use money carefully enough. Youth? In ones long life youth is like a flash in the pan and no one in the world has the secret to keep his youth forever. Beautiful look? Many people pray that they can get hold of beauty, but it disappears far more quickly than they can imagine. And when they are in real trouble beauty itself feels helpless. A good job? As you grow older and your brain and hands cant work as fast as before. It will become other peoples wealth.
Then what is the most precious and everlasting thing in the world?
When you are far away from your family and feel especially lonely, who will you think of? When you stand on the crossroad in your life and dont know which way to choose, who will you think of? When you encounter greater difficulties than ever and need others encouragement, who will you think of? When you decide to make the greatest decision in your favorite course, who shed cheerful tears when see you get achievements? Whose wholehearted blessing will be always with you no matter how far you will go?
Yes, its mother who you will always think of and its mothers love that will be always with you.
I once heard a moving story about a mother. Two children were drawn into the flood and the situation was very dangerous. Their mother jumped into the water without hesitation. But the mother couldnt swim at all. Jumping into the water means she might lose her life. But at that time she had no time to think about herself. She just wanted to try all means to save her children. Maybe her courage touched the God. The miracle happened. She finally succeeded in saving her both children. And she, course, felt extremely exhausted.
My friends, mothers love is the greatest love. Mothers love is the safest love. No matter you are happy or depressed ,rich or poor ,mothers love will always stay with you.
你知道什麼是世界上最珍貴的,永恆的東西嗎?錢嗎?你可能會失去你所擁有的一切,如果你不使用錢不夠仔細。青年嗎?長壽命的青年就像曇花一現,世界上沒有一個永遠保持年輕的祕訣。看一下美麗的?許多人祈禱他們能找到美,但它消失的速度遠遠快於他們的想象。當他們在真正的麻煩美本身感到無助。一個好的工作嗎?隨著你年齡的增長,你的大腦和雙手不能像以前那麼快工作。它將會成為別人的財富。
那麼什麼是世界上最珍貴的,永恆的東西嗎?
當你遠離你的家人和感覺特別孤獨,你會想到誰?當你站在十字路口在你的生活中,不知道選擇哪條路,你會想到誰?當你遇到更大的困難比以往任何時候都需要別人的鼓勵,你會想到誰?當你決定做的決定在你最喜歡的課程中,見到你時快樂的眼淚一成就嗎?全心全意的祝福將永遠與你,無論你會走多遠?
是的,這是你母親總是認為母親的愛,會永遠和你在一起。
我曾經聽說過一個感人的故事關於一個母親。兩個孩子被拖入洪水和情況是非常危險的。母親毫不猶豫地跳進水裡。但母親不會游泳。跳進水裡意味著她可能失去她的生活。但當時她沒有時間考慮自己。她只是想嘗試所有的方法來拯救她的孩子。也許她的勇氣感動了上帝。奇蹟發生了。她終於成功地拯救了她的兩個孩子。她,當然,感到非常疲憊。
我的朋友,母親的愛是最偉大的愛。母親的愛是最安全的愛。不管你是快樂或沮喪,富有或貧窮,母親的愛永遠與你同在。
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