WE AND OUR YELLOW RIVER: THRIVING TOGETHER
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The issue of the Yellow River has become the biggest concern of members of the Chinese peoples Political Consultative Conference. My childhood, in fact, is closely associated with the river. My father is an engineering geologist, and he used to take me with him on his trips to the hydropower stations on the river. I enjoyed those trips, especially the trip to Longyang Xia reservoir. Although ten years have passed since my visit, I can still recall the scenery; I can still recall the water I saw at the reservoir. It was pure, clean and blue, not like the water I saw in the middle reaches of the river, which had turned brown and muddy after passing through the Loess Plateau.
Once during our stay at the power station, we were caught in a thunderstorm. And when rain stopped, I could see trickles of water rolling down mountain slopes and flowing into the reservoir. It carried little mud or sand, because at that time, trees and grass still grew around the reservoir. And they protected the soil. At Longyang Xia I was struck by the beauty of nature, and as a child I wanted to stay there and to grow up with our Yellow River.
Li Bai, the Tang Dynasty poet, said praises to the flowing water in the Yellow River. He saw it as coming down from heaven and nurturing the people along her way to the sea. However, in 1997,for 330days, not a single drop of water from the Yellow River went into the sea. And droughts are not the only punishment by nature. A friend of my father's, a university professor, is doing research on the Yellow River. According to this professor, the Yellow River will soon change its course if we allow this situation to continue. Because there is no longer enough water to carry away the silt and mud in the lower reaches of the river and the riverbed rises higher and higher each year.
We have taken too much from nature, but given back too little in return. And this is the cost of the unbalanced growth. If we had taken care of the vegetation in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River, we would still experience the river as Li Bai described it.
While the developed countries are consuming proportionally more natural resources than the rest of the world, they've also taken some good measures in protecting nature. And as a developing country, China can learn from them in this aspect.
Last year, when I was visiting Australia with a group of Chinese students who had won prizes in an English Skills Test, our Australian hosts invited us to join them for a horse-ride in the mountains. After two hours on horseback, we reached a valley, where there was a most beautiful meadow, with flowers in all colors dotted on a huge blanket of green. When I began to praise the beauty of nature, my friends told me that in this valley, there used to be a big mine and the wastewater from the mine turned everything brown. When the mine was abandoned, people made great efforts to restore the green vegetation. They also used the latest biological technology choosing the best grass seeds suitable for the local soil. So the beautiful meadow is a result of commitment, hard work, and new technology.
What happened to this valley in Australia should also happen to our Yellow River and, in fact, it is happening. I have seen farmers planting trees on mountains along the Yellow River. I have seen them climb the mountain tops with seedlings on their shoulders because they had no machinery. I have seen them pour on trees the water they had carried up in buckets from miles down the valley. These farmers are quietly nourishing our Yellow River, just as the river has nourished them.
And these farmers, men and women I don't know, gave me the confidence that we and our Yellow River will grow together, and someday in the future, we will be able to drink the clean water from our Yellow River again, because she is our dearest mother.
Thank you.
Leo Tolstoy once said, everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
He is right. We always have great plans and dreams in our minds… too ready to achieve something grand that changes the world or benefits all of mankind .For example; we hate pollution and have made up our minds to find new energy sources that keep the environment clean. Yet we still litter on the ground. We complain about traffic jams, so we plan to build more highways to solve the problem, but it never occurs to us that our failure to follow traffic regulations is the leading cause of this situation. We are so concerned that the violence in the media has a bad impact on our children, we urge the government to set laws to protect them. But, do we, as adults, set a good example for our kids? We use nasty words and even spit on the ground in front of them, I dare to say, we harm more!
In my opinion, before we decide to change the world, we had better change ourselves first. As ordinary individuals, we do not have the power to change the world. But we can change our habit of littering, spitting, cussing, we can respect the environment around us, we must act as good models for our kids.
If each of us does all of these little things, all of us, millions and millions of individuals together, together we will be strong …strong enough to change our world!
So please, the next time you do something, think how your actions influence not only you, but those around you too, especially our children …and perhaps more importantly…our planet!
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, honorable judges.As a citizen of a country, I have a birth certificate, a household register and a identity card.
I am entitled to certain rights, responsibilities and privileges.
I have freedom of movements in the country, I obey the country’s laws, and I enjoy the convenience of social policies and so on .What about a citizen of globe? Is there anything to characterize the global citizenship? A certificate, a register or certain rights? Not really.
Global citizenship means a world where people are treated and respected equally for who they are.
It is about helping people that are less fortunate.
It is about inclusiveness.
Interacting and working together is the core of being and belonging.
We need to realize how important our connections are with others in our friendships, our neighborhoods, our communities, and with our planet.
In another word, Global Citizenship is about people’s awareness of seeking the common good.
It is about everyone.Is my idea too abstract? Here I’ve got a vivid example.
When I was a child, my father always told me some stories about the past generation.
Once he told me a story about a doctor.
When the doctor heard people suffering in Spain because of the civil war, he came to help.
He saw many people dying just because they had no money.
Then he proposed a system that enabled the poor to have medical treatment.
It is the beginning of the idea of Socialized Medical Care.
After the war, the doctor worked hard to improve the treatment of tuberculosis.
In 1938, the second Sino-Japanese war broke out in China.
The fifty-year-old doctor came to help again.
During his years in China, he trained more than 1000 Chinese to be medics and doctors.
It was him that designed the world’s first mobile medical unit which saved thousands of lives.In the story, what impressed me most was a description of this admirable doctor.
My father could still remember it even after decades.
It was “his utter devotion to others without any thought of self was shown in his great sense of responsibility in his work and his great warm-heartedness towards all comrades and the people”.Till now, you must know the doctor.
You are right.
It is Norman Bethune, a distinguished surgeon.
He was a medical hero who helped unite two countries by showing our common humanity beyond cultural and political differences.What kind of spirit is this that makes a foreigner selflessly adopt the cause of the Chinese peoples liberation as his own? It is called the spirit of global citizenship-seeking the common good.As a doctor, Norman Bethune did his best.
Finding me time is important
Hello, my dear friends, it is my great honor to be here and give a speech. Today I want to talk about the importance of finding *me time*.
May I begin my speech by asking you a question? Do you often feel tired, stressed or worried? If you do have these problems, you are lack of me-time to relax yourself. Psychologist tell us that stress is caused by too much work or study , heavy responsibilities , and quickened pace of life . In my point of view, if you want to have a healthy mind and body, having your own me-time is very important.
Let me take myself as an example. I was a carefree and outgoing girl before I entered the junior high school. I had much me-time and did anything I like after class. I kept a lovely pet and whenever I have time I played with her happily. However, the situation is quite different now. When I want to turn on the TV、surf on the internet or go out shopping with my friends, my parents always look at me seriously and say “ Don’t forget to spend more time on your lessons. If you don’t cherish every minute of your time, other students will catch up with you.”
So, every day, every moment, I am overwhelmed by all kinds of assignments. I become more and more silent and can’t sleep well before the exams because I’m dressed and worried about my results. I feel so tired and how I want to have me time to relax myself. I long for a period of time that I could walk in a small path in the countryside, sing my favourite song and smell the essence of nature.
My dear friends, having your own me-time is important. I firmly believe that achievements depend on our health. If we want to have a more harmonious state to work better, we should find more *me time* and keep off the overwhelm stresses. Talks, jokes, games, fresh air or beautiful scenes will be helpful for you. Trust me, you’ll be more refreshable and energetic.
What is success? Different people have different ideas.You may say success is the realization of one's hopesand justified goals.Under such notion,however,people have different understanding of success because the hopes and goals they cherish vary from one another.
there may ba so mangy kinds of success in the world that i can't enumerate them all.So maybe it's difficult to set a defination for success.But ,in my opinion,it's easy to define what is failure---there is only one failure called never try.
Everyone has his dreams but not all of them dare to make it come true.Just like a huter aimed at his game but never fire or a soldier who crying out but never toward.They are afraid of failure that they might encounter.
That reminds me of a game we used to play.We put the chairs in a circle.And the player must pass through th barriers made by the chairs with his eyes covered up.He would be allowed to memorize the positions of the chairs.But as soon as his eyes is covered,we will remove all the chairs.
Sometimes,our life is just like such kind of game.We tried our best not to bump against the barriers.But these things turn out to be existing only in our minds.And sometimes,we made them for ourselves.We dare not to participate a competition or get cold feet to call the boy or girl we love.It turns out that the barriers we made for ourselves lead to the loss of a lot of things.
Don't give up trying untill you really bump against the chairs.Even so,at least you have a place to sit on.
Some people would say i tried but i failed to pass an exam or to find a job.I'am a failure .But on the contrary,i prefer to call these things setbacks instead of failures.There is no failure in a winner 's dictionary.
It doesn't matter i you have a tumble , what really matters is that you lose the courage to stand up and give it another try.The process is full of tears and pains.
Just look back on how we learn to walk when we are young.If we gave up easily,today we may only crawl .If Tomas Edison gave up easily in finding a proper material to make a bulb,maybe we will live in the darkness after the sunset.Perhaps we need some torches to go on with our competition.
I,myself,a shy person by nature who easily suffers from stage fright,had to get up my courage to take part in this speech contest like this.I could have stayed away and had an easy time of it by not coming here.But i chose to accept the challenge and to face the difficulties. Now here i am.I will try my best because i know i would broaden my horizon and make a lot of friends here.
I still remember the first time i sang a song at a party ,the first time talking to a foreign friends,the first time made a speech on the platform,etc.Although at first they almost scared me to death,but when it was over,i feel it's worthing trying.There is a saying goes,'people often reGREt what they didn't do instead of what they have done.'
Forrest Gump often says,'life is like a box of chacolate ,you never know what you are gonna get.' I would say if the chacolate you got is not your favourite.Don't get upset but try the next.
“Way to Blue. Everybody Hurts. Glad to be Unhappy.”
These were some of the chart-toppers announced on the radio while I was at the barbershop a year ago. Quite depressing, huh.
I asked my brother, Joe, why songs that display such unhappiness reach the charts. Joe is an established businessman who is always confident with his viewpoints. He reacted quickly and questioned me in a matter-of-fact tone, “can’t you relate to the song?” He then confidently pointed to the Buddhists’ explanation of happiness, explaining to me that happiness is never a constant state, but rather only a temporary escape from suffering. While I respect the Buddhist explanation, I couldn’t help but ask: so what is keeping you from experiencing happiness? Joe lost his assertiveness when I mentioned this and he replied, “While I gain acceptance from my peers and family, I feel like I’m a nobody. These songs act as a route for me to escape. I don’t see happiness as attainable in my life.”
While Joe transformed from a confident speaker to a soft-spoken melancholic within a matter of a minute, my barber offered him a sympathetic smile. He spoke up. “I was exactly like you - once upon a time, I deceived myself into thinking I was happy. I followed the majority’s norms of a stable job in brokerage and felt I gained society’s acceptance. I was loved! But deep down, I loved songs like these because I felt so useless. I felt that whatever I did made no difference in the world. I found an escape from this mainstream music as a means of explaining myself. Then the next day, I’d put on my suit and be a nobody again.
Then I asked, but how about now? “Now?” The barber said, smiling. “Now, I don’t think this music deserves its place on the charts.” He flipped over to his playlist and played us a song - “Mayfly” by Cheer Chen.
The lyrics goes “Everyday when we open our eyes, we are all mayflies. Living a simple life, chasing a dream vigorously, searching for nothing but happiness.”
“I think this music deserves a place on the charts. I wish people could search for happiness by only looking forward, and be brave enough neglect harsh criticisms and mockeries along the way - just like a mayfly. A mayfly only sees what is ahead of it - why else would their lives be so simple otherwise? I became a barber because I wanted to attain happiness - sure, I experienced disapproval from peers and such, but I did not want to become “a firefly without light”. I find happiness when I mix with trendy young people that are eager to make their customers look better - sure, some may not understand why this brings me happiness, but does it matter?”
My brother Joe and I had a long conversation that evening. We debated vigorously on our different values of happiness - while the conversation with the barber relit my childhood dream of being a conductor, Joe still questions whether stable happiness can achieved even if his dreams are fulfilled. But ultimately, we agreed that one should not let others decide your own standard of happiness. Don’t deceive yourself into sadness and despair; pick yourself up and find your own definition of happiness. Thank you.
For a nation's dream， we start from the 1840 sea surface; to a constant pursuit， we deep in the years to write a glorious. In global view shows choice of the Chinese road of national rejuvenation; concentrated panorama in history." Around the millennium change， eventful years， Chinese new century， great turning point， span， the future of six theme， reflects China's great achievements since 1840， arduous and tortuous road of revitalization of the nation and the Chinese people made in China under the leadership of the Communist party. The "shock" "excited" tears ""…… This is my watch， taste right is felt when discourse. Process of reading and rejuvenation of the great， I reviewed the history of the Chinese nation 100 years the dream of power and unremitting exploration. Full and accurate historical data， magnificent momentum， a language， a precious historical pictures， shows a picture of the world national revival.
Give a help hand as a volunteer.
We everyone all ought to make one being generous in giving help , does not ask bring back a report, do not ask the back-off people for help. Be just to make one being ready to help for free other peoples people.
The people who makes one being generous in giving help is in fact very simple , person little thing , that all so to speak are to be generous in giving help other even though being to help. Finish having as the saying goes: Do not think any vice trivial, and so practice it .
It is just because that such, we do not believe helping others is piece of minor matter, the morning makes night compose it makes no difference, had better not compose, may make you become a egoistic people like that only, others is ready to be that egoistic one person gives a hand neither hereafter during the period of you have difficulty.
In life, we can come across the people who needs to give a hand always and everywhere all , we may feel happy as long as helping his once, soon, possibly will be joyful one such our state of mind has also finished changing naturally all day long, also accommodate oneself to energy more well, happier life.
We are wanted as far as possible help others, bear range as long as not exceeding us. Others’ fault what thing help to be going to help, to need to draw a clear distinction between the bad thing and the good deed in helping. If one people let you go to help him to commit murder and arson, rob stealing; be to be able to help him never. Carry going to a thing , asking about a road down and so on in selfs hand if one people lets you give a hand , be to be able to tell him then.
You have helped that person not only single, this has also implied, you have helped self while you help others, having helped self to have known that a friend, helps self moment having difficulty in hereafter is able to help you coming somebody, one among them probably having helped your that person to be that you once helped during the period of you come up against difficulties.
Therefore, we need to act as a people who is generous in giving help, have shown our loving heart like that not only , have become a sight for sore eyes
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.
a dream from beyond
i was sound asleep. my grandfather appeared in a dream. he asked why i had never visited him and grandma at the cemetery. he said that even my mom hadn’t visited since october 4 (grandma’s birthday). he told me that, when i was young, i had walked out into a pond and slipped under water. he had rescued me. he said grandma was supposed to be watching me, but that she had gotten sick all of a sudden and was throwing up. it was probably the fresh blackberries they had picked and eaten earlier. grandma had a bad stomach.
my parents were out on a boat in the pond. they did not know that grandpa had saved me until they got back to shore. i was in a towel and my clothes were drying on bushes. my brown and white buster brown shoes were also soaked. i was only three years old, grandpa said. my parents were angry at first, but when they saw that grandma was still feeling sick, they forgave her.
grandpa told me that we had a picnic after that. the four of us ate some chicken, potato salad, and homemade cookies. we drank lemonade. then grandpa took me for a walk in the woods (i sat on his shoulders). i saw some daisies, and we picked them. when we returned, i presented three daisies to mom and three to grandma, who was finally feeling better. grandpa said to bring some daisies to the gravesite. then i woke up.
the next day, i called my mom. “do you remember me walking into the pond and grandpa rescuing me?”
“my god! who told you about that?”
“you mean, it really happened?”
“yes, but your father and i never told you about it because grandma swore us to silence. even though it wasn’t her fault, she felt that she had failed in her responsibility, and never wanted you to know about it. my goodness, that was so long ago. who told you this?”
“mom, did i go for a walk with grandpa and return with daisies for you and grandma?”
“okay, i get it. you and your dad are playing some kind of prank. okay, it’s very funny. now, quit it.”
“this is no prank, mom. grandpa told me this in a dream last night.”
“it still sounds like a prank.”
“no, i’m serious. he told me that grandma had a reaction to blackberries. he said i was wearing brown and white buster brown shoes. he said i gave you and grandma daisies.”
“oh, my god. your father would never remember all this. it must be daddy! did he say anything about visiting his gravesite?”
“yes, that was his problem. he wanted me to visit them. he also said you had not visited since—”
“—since mom’s birthday six years ago?”
“well, not—”
“i’ve got to get over there right now!”
“wait for me! i’m coming with you, and i’ve got to bring those daisies. maybe we’d better start going every year, huh, mom?”
“yes. there’s no telling what grandpa might tell you next time.”
Honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen, good morning!
Today, my topic is "Changing Ourselves".
At first, I'd like to tell you a little story about an insurance salesman in Tokyo. Even though this man tried very hard to promote the insurance, nobody bought it. One day, he came to a small temple and began to brag about his insurance. After listening to his introduction, the monk said: "Your recommendation of insurance can't arouse any of my interests! When you are communicating with others, you must have the charm to attract others, or you will be unpromising in the future. Young man, try to change yourself!"
The salesman thought deeply about each word. From then on, he invited all his friends to point out his weakness and kept on improving himself bit by bit for all his life. Thirty years later, he became a millionaire. And this man is the famous salesperson in the world: Yuan Yi Ping. His experience reflects one attitude: sometimes, we should change ourselves instead of changing the world.
Human beings always scan others, therefore, lots of people just see the flaws of them, then they will blame and criticize the outside factors, some people will even try to change them! Unfortunately, they ignore the importance of the inner factors.
Everybody in the world needs to examine himself critically, everybody has to learn to be tolerant and generous. You won't think the world is splendid unless you change your attitude first.
Dear friends, we'd better remodel ourselves rather than blame each other. If we do so, we'll find that yesterday's sorrow is today's gratification, yesterday's opponent is today's assistant, and yesterday's failure is today's success! Remember: if we can change ourselves, we can change the whole world!
Thank you!
good evening , ladies and gentlemen .
i am joy and glad to give you a speech about stress , yes , just the topic you see on the screen.
psychologist tell us that stress is a state of worry caused by the problem of living , such as too much work or study , heavy responsibilities , and quickened pace of life .
statistics show that stress comes from every detail in our life . financial problems , poor health , being laid off may be the stress that most adults now suffering . as students in the university , we are also under our special stress . while study , having to take various tests and submit a project against a deadline may put a great pressure on us . and the things make us felt stressed may be our parents’s greater expectations on us than we could reach . later , when we are likely to graduate , some other problems will also annoy us . i think we will worry a lot about our ability to compete in the job market and how we can best use what we’ve learned at college in our future job .
the chief problem we should face to is our atitude towards stress .people usually say they can not live in the sun except they escape from stress . it’s unwelcome ! yes , however , very necessary . just image a world where stress does not exist and people lead their life in a very comfortable way . but is this kind of living condition as perfect as we hope ? without stress , they may feel very satisfied with the current life but lack of power to discover new things result in nothing except a countermarch of the society . no stress , no development . so a certain amount of stress is good . it can stimulate us and increase our level of alertness .
and our answer to stress is another vital problem . how to do with ourselves when stress suddenly break into our life ? to wave the white flag and admit our unability , to give up to our ideality , or worstly , just to suicide as to put an end to everything … of cause not . the principle is to tackle with stress gentlely and harmoniously. we should try our best to release ourselves . such as to do some exercise , to linsen to traditional chinese music or classical music to ease our minds and to learn to view these changes of life as challenges .it’s no use crying over spilt milk . only to accept what has happened can solve the problem .
ok , i think i was under large stress 3 minutes before , but now i am here and have finished my speech . here is the last thing i want to add to my topic ,face to it and overcome it ,stress is also a piece of cake
I am losing friends left and right, well, actually, only left. Some friendships, however, have been strengthened during this election.
When I was 6, I learned a song: "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold." Even as a child, I was a born raconteur, so I always had lots of friends. But, by the time I got to fourth grade, I was already getting into political brawls. Early on, I began living my politically active mother's joke, "My name, it opens some doors and closes others."
I learned to tone it down a bit by the time I got to college. As a theater major, it was fun in an acting class one day, when we each had to pretend to be another student. I chose to mimic a beautiful petite girl with long dark hair. She was my polar opposite, this former cheerleader-turned-hippie-princess named Michelle. She got a kick out of my impression of her. I thought it was cool that she could laugh at herself. We began a friendship that has brought us to the present day.
Yet we were always opposites. I am Roman Catholic, she is Jewish. I am tall, she is short. One rainy afternoon on campus, Michelle insisted on carrying the umbrella for both of us, (I don't think I stood up straight until the next day!)
Back then, she was as passionate a Democrat as I was a Republican. However, my friend and I still had something in common that was more important than all the differences. We shared the same values and they showed up in a dozen little ways. That is why we are friends almost 30 years later. Furthermore, she had been moving in my direction politically before, but Sept. 11, 20xx, brought us to a new level of communication. We have bonded even more during this election.
Sadly, I also have re-evaluated some other friendships as tensions increased due to the Kerry-Edwards demagoguery. This is the first time in memory that I've even been appalled by both spouses of the Democratic ticket. I rather liked Tipper Gore and Hadassa Lieberman. I thought they were sweet. And that's the way I used to feel about my liberal pals. But, now a Teresa Heinz-Kerry-like irrationality/Elizabeth Edwards snotty innuendo has infected some of them -- and it makes them unpleasant to be around.
This election may leave those friendships in its wake. The outlook is definitely not good for their Christmas card inclusion.
Sept. 11, Iraq, the demonization of Israel by Kerry's European fans, the beheadings -- all of the latter just doesn't seem to change the '90s mentality of those I know who are voting for the Democratic Party ticket. Like Kerry, they still seem to consider the United States' life-and-death struggle a nuisance. These liberal friends of mine are certainly not bad people, but deep down, they still don't get that we are at war with a greater evil than any of us has ever known. Combined with the extremism culturally on the left, these people are becoming more than a nuisance themselves.
The sobering fact is that these friendships are just too taxing (in both senses of that word). Those relationships have become like old prom dresses in that they just don't fit anymore. There comes a point where some associations can become a fire hazard in one's closet. It may be time to do spring cleaning, even if the season is autumn.
Sure, friends can't agree on everything, nor are they supposed to but though I may think someone's a nice person, fun, etc., increasingly deep differences in our world view can't be ignored in these frightening times.
Three decades later, Michelle is no longer the shorter-than-me actress who insisted on carrying the umbrella as we walked to class, though she is still shorter than me. But she and I easily walk together under an umbrella of shared concerns. A few weeks ago we sat side by side at a most moving event celebrating Jewish and Christian support of Israel and each other.
Yet, we still live very different lives. My college friend has been married for 25 years to the love of her life, the mother of three and an executive in an entertainment corporation. And meanwhile her single free-lancing writer/actress friend, even after all these years still does impressions of her only in print now.
Happily, others have also come along to become comrades in arms this election. They represent a diversity in lifestyle that would warm any liberal's heart (although said liberal wouldn't warm our hearts). There's Genie the stockbroker, Cathy the casting director, Robin the mom of one of my former acting students, Sally the daughter of one of my mother's old friends and many others. Their e-mail messages and calls let me know that though other friendships may wither during this election, I'm hardly alone. They all have a point of view that enables us to skip to shorthand. ("Did you read Drudge?" "Yep!") All of these women make up my own personal non-elitist version of "The View, The Conservative Cut."
Yes, now those old children's lyrics resonate with a new meaning in "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold." Regretfully, without shared values even after this tumultuous election of 20xx, some friendships may have turned to a tin that rings hollow in these perilous times.
By the way, I recently chatted with one of those former Brownies who sang with me so long ago, She is a "security mom." She is voting for George W. Bush and she will definitely be included on my Christmas card list.
Good afternoon ，ladies and gentlemen!
I’m very honored to stand here and give you a short speech! my topic is Opportunities and Challenges.
First, I would like to know, what does your destiny offer you? Happiness, wisdom, a strong body or something else. If I had asked this question to president Nixon, he would probably had said,”Our destiny offers not the cup of despair, but the chalice of opportunity.”
Needless to say, one of the biggest opportunities given to China is the 20xx Olympic Games. Till now, we have used two sevenths of the preparation time. How much changes have you seen? New roads, new subway lines, public-exercising equipments with beautiful colors, large blocks of grass fields, and also lots of modern gyms which are under construction.
Other than those, there are even more good effects brought to us by the Olympic Games that cannot be seen directly. For example, more and more people will get to know China. I’m sure the mysterious Chinese culture will attract them strongly. And the games will also do good to the economy and environment, for it is gaining the attention of foreign investors and the awareness of environmental protection is being strengthened. What is more, Olympic Games give a unique opportunity to inspire and educate a new generation of Chinese youth with the Olympic values and the Olympic spirit. Now that we have seen so many advances, could you even imagine us losing the holding rights?
I’ve already said a lot about the Olympics and China. But I think everyone should use some time to think of this question, ”Does the Olympic Games have any special meaning to you?”
For us, I mean the Chinese youth, 20xx Olympic Games is a tremendous gift. Because what we are waiting for is to do something significant as repaying the love given to us .The society is just like a ship, and in our dreams the captain is waving his hand and saying ”Hey! Come here and take the helm! ”How charming his voice is, but we have never heard of it in our true life. This morning, however, when we wake up, we will see the Olympic Games waving its hand. After chewing, most of us will have at least one plan about what to do for the Olympic Games. And mine is to be a “comforter” ----that is someone who will give comfort to others.
At the end of my speech, I hope all the preparation will go well, and everyone will show their ability to the world. Let us seize opportunities and give a big smile to challenges.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,
When I was little, I lived in a remote village in southern China with my grandparents. Like many kids in the countryside, I enjoyed digging a hole in the opening among paddy fields, using branches and hay to bake sweet potatoes and playing hawk-and-chicken with my friends. Every Chinese New Year Eve, my grandmother would prepare our festive food called Guo. It was a tradition that neighbors help each other prepare Guo. While adults were busy pouring flour on the cutting board, pressing the paste flat and moulding it into beautiful shape, kids would run around in the village’s ancestral temple and immerse ourselves in the enchanting and cheerful smell of holiday.
Having lived in the city for the following ten years, I always feel the changes happening in my hometown every time I go back--the village looks surprisingly similar to the coastal city where I live! The opening field where I baked potatoes was leveled and a manufacturing factory has been built there, blocking the sunlight of our yard. The ancestral temple has been torn down and is now a small supermarket for villagers. The number of people knowing how to prepare Guo is diminishing and young people seem to be more interested in fast food and oblivious of traditional arts and skills. The village seems quite empty because most young people have become migrant workers in cities and only return home once or twice a year.
In the course of urbanization, villages gradually languish and die out when the passing on of traditions lose its population base. The total number of Chinese villages has declined from 3.7 million in 20xx to 2.6 million in 20xx. Approximately 300 villages in China are disappearing every day. It’s saddening to see that many ancient villages, which survived warfare and natural disasters over thousands of years, have been demolished or annexed by cities in peacetime. Lulei Village, hometown for the famous mathematician, Chen Jingrun, was an affluent village in southern China with a history of over 700 years. Since the village obstructed the construction of the local railway station, it was almost torn down, including the former residence for Chen’s family.
We Chinese have been reveling in urbanization for decades. What worries me is that one day on this way to modernization, we turn back but are unable to see the link with our origins and ancestors. When we’re surrounded by skyscrapers and neon glamour, what defines us as Chinese? Urbanization does not mean brutally encroaching upon the countryside and strangling rural culture. It should not sever the ties with our beloved homeland. While promoting the country’s economy, it should also allow space for cultural diversity. In the ideal urbanization process, we should no longer emphasize the binary opposition of city and village, but endeavor to form a reciprocal relationship between the two.
Ladies and gentlemen, fallen leaves return to the roots. If we do not redefine and reorient urbanization, we will not be able to save millions of villages, neither can we revert to the origin where we belong.
Thank you.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its belief: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood; I have a dream .....
That one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state suffering from the heat of unfairness, suffering from the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice; I have a dream
That my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character; I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its evii racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and invalidity, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers;
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be gone,every hill and mountain shall be made Iow, and rough places will be made plane and crooked places will be made straight,and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.