Our future: the battle between dream and reality
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen:
When I was in primary school, I had a dream. I want to invent a device that can take you from one place to another at any time. When I was in middle school, my dream was to study in my ideal university. When I finally enter the university, my dream is to graduate.
How pathetic! When we grow up, we have less dreams and become more realistic. Why? Why should we change our dream, so, so to make it "come true"? Why should we surrender to the so-called "reality"? What is the reality?
Ladies and gentlemen, the reality is not real. This is an obstacle that keeps us away from all possible fantasies. For example, flying has been a dream of mankind for thousands of years. One hundred years ago, "people can't fly" was still considered as "reality". If this is true, what did the Wright brothers do? How did some of you go to Macau? Only when we believe that reality is not true can we soar with our dreams.
People say that our future is a battle between reality and dreams. If, unfortunately, Mr. Reality wins this war, then I can't see the future of mankind at all. AIDS can never be cured, because it is a reality; People living in underdeveloped countries will suffer from hunger forever, because this is a reality; 4) Disputes between different countries will never be resolved, because this misunderstanding and intolerance is a reality.
Ladies and gentlemen, how many of you dream of making big money? Raise your hands, please. Oh, many of you! Actually, ladies and gentlemen, this is not a dream, but a task. Each of us has to make a living, right? Anyway, I hope your task can be completed. How many of you think you have realized your dream and stopped dreaming? Dear judges, what do you think? Lewis once said, "It's never too old to learn." So for our future, please dream and don't be unrealistic.
Now I am a college student, and my goal is to graduate with excellent results. But at the same time, I have a dream deeply rooted in our future. One day, people living in the areas tortured by the horrors of war will be able to sit with their families and enjoy every moment. One day, people from rich countries are willing to share what they have with people from poor countries, and people from poor countries will eventually be able to live a happy life by themselves. One day, in this era of globalization, different cultures will coexist with tolerance and unfriendly confrontation between them will be eliminated. One day, the earth will share this dream with me, and we will all contribute to the realization of our dream. One day, our dreams will overcome reality! Thank you very much.
The winner of the 10th "2 1 Century Foreign Teachers' Club Cup" National English Speech Competition —— Speech by Peng Xia of Nanjing University
From wall to bridge
I study in a city famous for its city walls. All the tourists who have been to my city will be amazed at the magnificent walls set off by the sunset. The wall made of mossy old bricks is a weather-beaten guard, which has stood still for centuries to protect the city.
Our ancestors liked to build walls. They built city walls in Beijing, Xi 'an, Nanjing and many other cities, and they also built the Great Wall which winds through half of China. They built walls to resist enemies and evil spirits. This tradition has been maintained to this day, because we still have many parks and schools isolated from the public. I grew up at the foot of the city wall and loved it since I was a child. For a long time, walls were one of the most natural things in the world.
However, my opinion changed after a hiking trip to the eastern suburb, which is a scenic spot in my city. My classmates and I walked with some international students. When we walked out of the city, we found ourselves surrounded by taller and taller trees, which formed a huge crown above our heads. Suddenly an international student asked me, "Where is the entrance to the eastern suburbs?"
"We are already in the eastern suburbs," I replied.
He seemed startled. "I thought you China people had walls for everything." His words sparked a heated debate. On one occasion, he compared our walled city to a "prison", and I insisted that the eastern suburb was one of many places in China without walls.
There was no winner in that debate, but I did learn a lot from this international student. For example, he told me that universities like Oxford and Cambridge have no walls; Campus is only a part of the city. I have to admit that we do have many walls in China. When we develop our country, we must carefully check them, whether they are tangible or intangible. We will keep some walls, but tear down those that hinder the development of China.
Let me give you an example. A year ago, when I was writing my term paper, I needed a book on business law and found one in the library of law school. However, the librarian coldly refused my request and said, "You can't borrow this book. You are not a student here." Finally, I had to spend 200 yuan to buy a book; At the same time, the law school book is gathering dust on the shelf.
At the beginning of this semester, I heard that my university has not only started to unify its libraries, but also connected them with the libraries of other universities, so my experience will not be repeated. Barriers will be replaced by bridges. Through the interlibrary loan system, we can borrow books from any library. With globalization and China's integration into the world, I believe many invisible walls will be torn down.
I know that globalization is a controversial issue, and it is hard to say whether it is good or bad. But one thing is certain: it draws our attention to the tangible and intangible walls of China and forces us to examine their role in the modern world.
And what about the ancient city walls of my city and other cities? Should we tear them down? On the contrary. My city, like Beijing and other cities, is actually trying to protect the city walls. These walls not only attract historians and archaeologists, but also attract many primary school students who try to study our historical and cultural heritage. The wall becomes a bridge to our past and the rest of the world. If the ancient builders of these city walls were alive today, they would be proud to see that the role of the city walls has changed so greatly. They are now bridges connecting East and West, South and North, and all countries in the world. Our cultural heritage will survive globalization.
The winner of the 9th "2 1 Century Foreign Teachers' Club Cup" National English Speech Competition —— Speech by Ye Hong of Nanjing University
The door open to us
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen:
The topic of my speech today is "The Door Open to Us".
My aunt came to see me the other day. She was in the seventh heaven of rapture. "I got the highest score in the mid-term exam!" She said. Don't be surprised! My aunt is really a student; To be exact, a 45-year-old college student.
Last year, she put aside her personal affairs and signed up for a one-year full-time management course in a university. "This is the wisest decision I have ever made," she said proudly as a teenage girl. For her, college is always a good place to learn new ideas, which always make her feel young.
"Compared with the late 1970s," she said, "college students now have many doors." My aunt can't help but recall her first university experience in 1978, which was after the Cultural Revolution, when the doors of universities began to reopen. Although she was eager to study China literature, she was assigned to study engineering. A few years later, the government sent her to work in a TV factory.
I was shocked when she first told me that she had no choice in her major and work. Look at us today! So many doors are open to us! I believe there have never been so many opportunities for self-development as today. My aunt told me that we should achieve our goal by seizing all these opportunities.
The first door I saw was the opportunity to learn different subjects that we were interested in. My aunt said that she was very happy to study management, but she was also very happy that she could attend lectures on China's ancient poems and Shakespeare's plays. As for myself, I am an English major, but I may also attend lectures on history. For me, if the university education in the past emphasized specialization, now it emphasizes everyone's free and all-round development. Therefore, all the outstanding achievements of human civilization are open to us.
The second door is the door to the outside world. Learning transcends classrooms and national boundaries. My aunt remembers that her former college life was monotonous, and even called her generation a "frog in the well". But today, with the world becoming a global village, we and our neighbors should learn from each other with an open attitude. I have many international classmates, and I am applying for an exchange program with a foreign university. As for my aunt, she plans to get a master's degree in business administration in Britain, and her daughter, my cousin, is now studying for a master's degree in biochemistry in Britain. We now seize the opportunity to study abroad, and when we come back, we will use what we have learned abroad.
The third door is the door of lifelong learning. With the emergence of new ideas, we always need to acquire new knowledge, regardless of our age. Naturally, my aunt herself is the best example. Many of my aunt's peers say that she is very fashionable for a middle-aged woman. She simply replied, "Age doesn't matter. What matters is your attitude. You may think it strange that I am still in college, but I don't think I am too old to study. " Yes, she's right. Since the government abolished the age limit for university entrance in 200 1, there have been some non-traditional students sitting in the same classroom with us. Like these people, my aunt is old, but she is young in spirit. With her amazing energy and determination, she embodies tradition and modernity.
The door opened to us also brings challenges. For example, we are faced with the challenge of balanced study, the challenge of maintaining our fine traditions while learning from the west, and the challenge of constantly learning while taking on heavy responsibilities for our work and family. Therefore, every door is a test of our courage, ability and judgment, but with the support of my teachers, parents, friends and aunts, I believe I can meet the challenge. When I reach the age of my aunt, I can proudly say that I have walked through dozens of doors, and I will walk through more doors in the rest of my life. Maybe I'll go back to college, too.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
The Champion of the 8th "2 1 Century Ericsson Cup" National English Speech Competition —— A speech by Gu Qiubei of Shanghai International Studies University
An unforgettable scene
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Today I want to start with a story.
Once a physiotherapist came to Africa from the United States not far from Wan Li to conduct a general survey of mountain gorillas. Gorillas are the main reason for attracting tourists from all over the world; This makes them seriously threatened by poaching and being put in zoos. She went there for protection, but what she saw strengthened her determination to fight for those beautiful creatures all her life. She witnessed a scene, which took us to a place we never imagined. In the deepest part of the African rainforest, surrounded by trees, flowers and butterflies, mother gorillas hugged their babies.
Yes, this is an unforgettable scene in Gorilla in the Fog, one of my favorite movies. This movie is based on the true story of Mrs. Dian Fossey, who spent most of her life protecting the ecological environment in Rwanda until the last moment.
For me, this film not only presents an unforgettable scene, but also serves as an eternal reminder that we should not develop tourism at the expense of the ecological environment.
Today, we live in a prosperous world, but we are still threatened by many new problems. On the one hand, tourism is one of the most promising industries in 2 1 century, which provides people with a good opportunity to visit all the things they should see and go anywhere they should go. It has become the lifestyle of some people and the driving force of GDP growth. It has the magic power to turn a backward town into a prosperous fairyland. But on the other hand, many problems will happen-natural scenes are no longer natural. Deforestation and heating are destroying Nepal. Oil spilled from tourist boats is polluting Antarctica. Tribal residents gave up their local music and costumes and listened to U2 with walkman instead, wearing Nike and Reebok.
All these appalling facts make us realize that we can't stand by and do nothing any more, because the thought of it erodes our resources. The explosive growth of global tourism has made tourism once again the focus of people's attention, which is why the United Nations designated 2002 as the year of eco-tourism, which made the world pay attention to the benefits of tourism and its ability to destroy the ecological environment for the first time.
Now every year, many local eco-environmental protection organizations receive donations from housewives, plumbers, ambulance drivers, salesmen, teachers, children and disabled soldiers-large denominations, small denominations and even coins. Some people donate even though they can't afford the money. These people drive taxis, work as nurses in hospitals and suffer ecological damage in their communities. Why? Because they care. Because they still want their mother nature back. Because they know it still belongs to them.
Ladies and gentlemen, my feeling is that when it feels like it, smells like it and looks like it, it comes from a scene to remember, a scene to remember and cherish.
One night, when I saw the moon hovering on the earth, before it disappeared, my mind was full of songs. I found myself humming softly, not to the music, but to something else, somewhere else. A remembered place, an untouched place, a meadow where no one seems to have been except deer.
All these unforgettable scenes reinforce the feeling that it is time to do something for ourselves and our next generation.
I once again thought of Mrs. Dian Fossey, because it is with her spirit, passion, courage and strong awareness of our ecological environment that we are taking our next step to the world.
No matter who we are, what we do and where we go, there is always a scene to remember in our minds, a scene worthy of our efforts to protect and fight for.
Thank you very much.
Source /sywykx