Failure is so common in our life. No one can avoid it. When we fail in doing something, we often feel so depressed that we have no interest in other things. Sometimes failure can also make us lose heart. Therefore, no one wants to be a failure.
Success is what we all hope for, because it can bring us a sense of pride and a good reputation. The moment we succeed, we always feel so proud, as if having everything in our hands. If one enjoys his continuous success in his career, he will be famous and worshiped by others.
However, failure is the mother of success. One failure doesn’t mean you can never be successful. It depends on what we do to deal with failure. Those who are always afraid of failure and can’t go through it will never win. But as long as we can get some lessons and experience from our failure, we’ll be sure to succeed.
From Walls to Bridges
I'm studying in a city famous for its walls. All visitors to my city are amazed by the imposing sight of the city walls, silhouetted by the setting sun with gold and shining lines. With old, cracked bricks patched with lichen, the walls are weather-beaten guards, standing still for centuries in protecting the city.
Our ancestors liked to build walls. They built walls in Beijing, Xi'an, Nanjing and many other cities, and they built the Great Wall, which snakes through half of our country. They built walls to ward off enemies and evil spirits. This tradition has been maintained to this day as we still have many parks and schools walled off from the public. I grew up at the foot of the city walls, and I've loved them since my childhood. For a long time, walls were one of the most natural things in the world.
My perception, however, changed after a hiking trip to the Eastern Suburbs, a scenic area of my city. My classmates and I were walking with some international students. As we walked out of the city, we found ourselves flanked by taller and taller trees, which formed a huge canopy above our heads. Suddenly an international student asked me, "Where is the entrance to the Eastern Suburbs?"
"We're already in the Eastern Suburbs," I replied.
He seemed taken aback, "I thought you Chinese have walls for everything." His remark set off a heated debate. At one point, he likened our walled cities to "jails," while I insisted that the Eastern Suburbs were one of the many places in China that had no walls.
That debate had no winners, but I did learn a lot from this international student. For instance, he told me that universities like Oxford and Cambridge were not surrounded by walls; the campuses were just part of the cities. I have to admit that we do have many walls in China, and as we are developing our country, we must carefully examine them, whether they are physical or intangible. We will keep some walls but tear down those that impede China's development.
Let me give you an example.
A year ago, when I was working on a term paper, I needed a book on business law and found a copy in the law school library. However, the librarian turned down my request with a cold shoulder, saying, "You can't borrow this book, you are not a student here." In the end, I had to spend 200 yuan buying a copy; meanwhile, the copy in law school was gathering dust on the shelf.
At the beginning of this semester, I heard that my university has started not only to unify its libraries but also link them up with libraries of other universities, so my experience will not be repeated. Barriers will be replaced by bridges. Through an inter-library loan system, we will have access to books from any library. With globalization, with China integrated into the world, I believe many of these intangible walls will be knocked down.
I know globalization is a controversial issue, and it is hard to say whether it is good or bad. But one thing is for sure: it draws our attention to China's tangible and intangible walls and forces us to examine their roles in the modern world.
And how about the ancient walls in my city and other cities? Should we tear them down? Just the opposite. My city, like Beijing and other cities, is actually making a great effort to preserve the walls. These walls attract not only historians and archeologists but also many schoolchildren trying to study our history and cultural heritage. Walls have turned into bridges to our past and to the rest of the world. If the ancient builders of these walls were still alive today, they would be proud to see such great change in the role of their walls. They are now bridges that link East and West, South and North, and all countries of the world. Our cultural heritage will survive globalization.
Good morning everyone：
It's a great honor for me to stand here to deliver a speech to you. Then today I want to talk something about dreams and reality.
As the famous Russian litterateur Lev Tolstoy said, “Ideal is the beacon. Without ideal, there is no secure direction; without a direction, there is no life.” So there’s no doubt that everyone needs his or her own ideal. Have you ever thought that what is practical and sensible will connect with our most treasured dreams? Maybe, to somebody, reality has little relation to ideal. To others nothing can be done without the sense of reality. So make our dreams a part of our reality. And make our reality a part of our dreams. There is no reason why our dreams must oppose our reality. Improve our dreams and our reality by bringing them together.
As a student, establishing a dream is one of the most important things we have to do .But everyone must see the reality clearly at first. Your family condition, your personal ability, your social intercourse (交往、交流), your subject and the job you want to do, these things show you the reality and lead you to establish a dream.
Further more, difficult or otherwise, we should put the power of reality into our dreams. Last but not least remember to work hard at the task of chasing 追逐our dreams. Do believe that we can achieve our ideal step by step by the passage of time!
In the end, I want to share with you a poetry named " I think I can".
Maybe you can not understand the meaning of the poetry , But do not be worried ,Let me tell you the meaning.
Thank you for your listening!
Here are the beacon tower, also known as beacons, Wolf yantai. Independent buildings is not connected to the Great Wall. Once the enemy pounce, communicate its kindle wars and light smoke during the day is called "ran, called flint fire at night. When the Ming dynasty, also on the relationship between the war with the enemy made a strict rules: the enemy hundreds, burning a smoke point a gun; Five hundred people, burning two smoke point two guns; More than one thousand people, three smoke SAN pao; More than five thousand people, four smoke four guns; More than ten thousand people, five five gun smoke. In this way, on the border of the military intelligence can rapid transfer to the imperial city ouchi. See the beacon tower, and then tell you a story, called "must play leud" : the zhou dynasty had a king named weeks you king, he has a beautiful woman, her temper is very strange, always don't smile, think of some way to you king. He lit up a distress signal (fire), as a result, drew leud come white, she laughed, you king is also very happy. But, really have an enemy to attack, you king lit the fire, but no one come, and he was killed by the enemy. There is a story, called "meng jiangnu cry Great Wall collapse" : legend was Meng Gusheng a daughter named meng jiangnu. Because of qin shi huang to build the Great Wall, need a lot of manpower. Qin shi huang was caught many people go to the Great Wall.
All of a sudden, I do not know where to come up to a rumor: only the wan xi is buried under the Great Wall, can make the Great Wall and solid, qin shi huang was, sent people seize wan xi. Wan xi good fled to Bangladesh. People see wan xi meng home good handsome, talented, good let meng jiangnu and wan xi of their marriage. The two men marry less than 10 days, good wan xi is the rulers who grasp to go to repair the Great Wall. In the fall, meng jiangnu saw her husband hasn't come back, give him the woolies. Along the way, reject, hardships, day and night, all the way to the Great Wall. Local people told her: wan xi good would have buried under the wall. She was grief-stricken, crying. Instantly, and dark, the Great Wall was crying collapsed in eight hundred. Just then, qin shi huang to have the Great Wall, with fine features, when he saw meng jiangnu just want her to do concubine. For qin shi huang meng jiangnu agree to her three conditions: one is for wan xi is a grave; The second is to make good full chao wenwu festivals wan xi; Three is in the middle of the Great Wall and the tomb of wan xi good repair a like flying grand bridge. After three things done, she threw herself into the sea.
ladies and gentlemen,
my name is zhang xinyu. today, im going to talk about growing pains. different people have different pains from different places. we are now students,so i think we have pains mainly from studies. time files.
two months ago, i came to a middle school student.but i have a pain.homework is my growing pain. in the secondary school, we have more subjects to study.and homework is more than primary school.so i could’t adapt to the secondary school’s homework. i don’t have other time to do any sports or read any books. however, i think all pains will fade away in the end. i believe that i can adapt the school life step by step. try my best. that’s all. thank you for your attention.
讲故事。
故事更能吸引观众，它比陈述事实和运用修辞手法更能吸引你的读者。所以尽可能地利用故事来展开你的演讲。
英语演讲比赛技巧14.Develop your own style.
形成自己的风格。
除了模仿和学习优秀演讲者外，你还需要形成自己的风格，这样站在舞台上你就更加自如。将个人故事和你的话题联系起来，能给观众留下更深刻的印象。
英语演讲比赛技巧15.Avoid filler words.
避免冗余。
"basically", "well", and "um"这些词对你的演讲毫无意义。当你不自觉地想要使用这些词时强迫自己安静下来。
英语演讲比赛技巧16.Vary your tone, volume, and speed.
调节你的语调、语音和语速。
优秀的演讲者会不断调节语调、语音和语速。这样可以提起观众的兴趣从而更关注你所讲的内容。
英语演讲比赛技巧17.Make the audience laugh.
逗乐观众。
大笑能够很好地放松自己和别人，在开始的时候，讲几个笑话是一种很好的破冰方式。当然，在此之前你应该掌握好时间并向你的朋友讲一遍笑话来看看他的反馈。
英语演讲比赛技巧18.Find a friendly face.
发现友善的面孔。
如果你感到焦躁，那就在观众席中找到一张笑脸，并想象你只在和他一个人说话。
英语演讲比赛技巧19.Don't apologize.
任何时候都不要抱歉。
如果哪里讲错了，不要道歉。有时候观众们根本没有在意道这些细节。除非你要更正一个事实，纠结只有你发现的小问题是非常不明智的。
i have the answer to a question that we've all asked. the question is, why is it that the letter x represents the unknown? now i know we learned that in math class, but now it's everywhere in the culture -- the x prize, the x-files, project x, tedx. where'd that come from?
about six years ago i decided that i would learn arabic, which turns out to be a supremely logical language. to write a word or a phrase or a sentence in arabic is like crafting an equation, because every part is extremely precise and carries a lot of information. that's one of the reasons so much of what we've come to think of as western science and mathematics and engineering was really worked out in the first few centuries of the common era by the persians and the arabs and the turks.
this includes the little system in arabic called al-jebra. and al-jebr roughly translates to “the system for reconciling disparate parts.“ al-jebr finally came into english as algebra. one example among many.
the arabic texts containing this mathematical wisdom finally made their way to europe -- which is to say spain -- in the 11th and 12th centuries. and when they arrived there was tremendous interest in translating this wisdom into a european language.
but there were problems. one problem is there are some sounds in arabic that just don't make it through a european voice box without lots of practice. trust me on that one. also, those very sounds tend not to be represented by the characters that are available in european languages.
here's one of the culprits. this is the letter sheen, and it makes the sound we think of as sh -- “sh.“ it's also the very first letter of the word shalan, which means “something“ just like the the english word “something“ -- some undefined, unknown thing.
now in arabic, we can make this definite by adding the definite article “al.“ so this is al-shalan -- the unknown thing. and this is a word that appears throughout early mathematics, such as this 10th century derivation of proofs.
My good friend
I have a good friend , his name is Li Hua. He is 12 years old. He is a student in Hui Dong Middle School. He is tall and strong. He works hard at school.
Li Hua is good at studying , so he often helps me with my studies. He loves music and reading books. We always play football after school ..
Li Hua is a good student and a kind person. We all like him. Do you like him ?
My family
There are four people in my family. They are my parents ,my sister and me . My father is a worker . He works in a factory . My mother is a teacher. She teaches English at a middle school . They like eating healthy food , such as meat and vegetables . They all like playing table tennis. My sister and I are students in the same school . I love my family very much.
Dream, everybody has. However, I think, the dream as the growth of the age, will change at any time!
The dream of the age of three
When I was 3 years old, although also just a girl, but, we also have a 3 years old dream! My dream is to every day can eat to the color seductive jelly beans! The kindergarten every day, dad and creak on his bicycle to pick me up, I will think, dad today will certainly bring color jelly beans to pick me up. But, want to return to, dad didn't often bring me eat jelly beans. At that time, I will run to dad's arms, with a peevish tone to dad said: "dad, are you to buy me some color jelly beans?" Father seems a little angry: "oh, don't buy, not buy, jelly beans to eat many will have decayed tooth!" I still don't give up: "I'm not eat every day, you can buy!" Sometimes, after my request for a long time, father finally agreed to me, I am happy to eat a dream at the age of 3, fruity! The food is delicious.
At the age of 8 dream
At the age of eight, I had been sitting in the third grade. Said dream, also won't go to jelly beans. At that time, I am addicted to reading.
Mother and I went to a backgammon supermarket, I entered the house, left flip, flip right, when turn to a book - the story character, I carefully looked up, I could see them forget all about eating and sleeping, even my mother told me to go home, I did not hear. Aunt until the store is closed, when I go home, I was pleased. After that, I often go to read a book, of course, I have mastered a lot of writing skills. The teacher also to me a thumbs-up! The book gives me knowledge and fun.
Dream at the age of 11
At the age of 11, I was in the sixth grade, my dream is as bigger, my dream is to enter key middle school at 1 or 4. Had the goal, to work harder. I write my homework every day, the remedial class around in my side every day, although very hard, very tired, but I still insist on, don't be difficult tripping, strive to succeed.
Because the dream with my growth, let me track on the road to success.
As we all know，the environmemt around us is getting worse and worse .In someplaces，we can't see fish swimming in the river or trees on the hills. Some people even have noclean water to drink. So I think we must do something to protect the environment. But whatcan we do?How to protect our environmemt ?
For example，we can go to school on foot or bybike . we can use shopping baskets not plastic bags when we go shopping，and we can useboth sides of the paper when we write .In a word，if everyone pays more attention to ourenvironment ，there will be less pollution and our life will be better。“There is only oneearth”，I hope everyone will protect our environment well。
Sports are more than competitions. To me, they mean growth under the care of others. I learned this the hard way.
I used to be very shy and often felt lonely. Although I did well in all the academic subjects, I was afraid of physical education. My classmates often laughed at me.
“Look at that girl,” they said. “Her feet don’t leave the ground when she runs!”
Their words embarrassed me. Moreover, whenever the teacher organized some competitive games, no one in the class liked to have me as their partner or team member. As a result, I often ended up looking at others enjoy their games.
Things would go on like that if not for a sports meet in my high school. By mistake, my name was put on the list of those who would compete in the women’s 1500 meters race. By the time people found the mistake, it was too late to change.
My desk-mate was a natural athlete. She said to me, “I couldn’t run that race in your place, because I’ve signed up for three items already.” Other athletic girls of the class said the same.
I was utterly dumbfounded. 1500 meters! Running against the best runners from other classes! And in front of students of the entire school! It would be the worst nightmare I’d ever have!
“You still have time to catch up because there is still one month before the sports meet,” they all said this to me, including my teacher.
My desk-mate patted me on the shoulder, “Cool! You will run for our class! And we will do training together.” Yes, this is not just for myself, but for my class too, I said to myself. But still, 1500 meters to me was like Mount Everest to a beginning climber. I had no idea even how to start my preparation.
Fortunately, my desk-mate gave me a hand. Every afternoon after class, several of us ran together. When the fear of being laughed at struck me, I saw others running right beside me. They gave me strengths. While we were running, some others would stand by the tracks cheering for us.
One month certainly couldn’t make me a good runner. But when I was standing behind the start line, I no longer felt lonely or afraid. I saw my classmates standing by the tracks waving at me as if about to run beside me.
With the shot of the starting gun, I dashed out and ran as fast as I could, as if it were a 200-meter race. Soon I was out of breath and slowed down. Other runners passed me one by one, and gradually I had no idea how many of them were still behind me. My legs were getting heavier and heavier, and I might fall down at any moment. However, I suddenly heard my classmates chanting my name. My desk-mate even ran along the tracks beside me and cheered for me at the same time, just like the month-long training we did together.
As expected, I was almost the last to cross the finish line. Immediately, my classmates held my arms and urged me to walk on my feet and not to sit down. I was surrounded, with all kinds of drinks handed to me. I felt a kind of warmth I had never felt before. Even though I was almost the last to finish the race, I was full of confidence that I would improve in the future.
That sports meet was an unforgettable experience. The memory of my classmates cheering for me, holding my arms and handing me drinks stays fresh on my mind. Sports are no longer about winning or losing. They give me a lot of confidence, both confidence in my fellow students and confidence in my own potential. I am no longer lonely, no longer afraid. Sports have brought me close to my classmates and helped us grow together.
Now, I participate in the sports meet every year. Even if I am not competing, I would help my classmates with their practice, just like the way my desk-mate and others ran with me.
体育比赛越来越多。对我来说，他们的意思是在别人的照顾下成长。我学会了这个艰难的方式。
我曾经是很害羞，经常感到孤独。虽然我做得很好，在所有的学科，我是害怕体育教育。我的同学经常嘲笑我。
“看那个女孩，”他们说。“当她运行的时候她的脚不离开地面!“
他们的话使我感到尴尬。而且，每当老师组织了一些有竞争性的比赛，在班上没有人喜欢把我当他们的伙伴或团队成员。因此，我经常结束看别人享受他们的游戏。
如果不是我的高中的一个运动会，事情会继续下去。错误地，我的名字被列在那些将参加女子1500米比赛的人名单上。人们发现这个错误，太晚了。
我的同桌是个天生的运动员。她对我说：“我不能在你的地方跑，因为我已经报名参加了三个项目。”。
我完全被惊呆了。1500米!与其他班上最好的赛跑选手赛跑!而在整个学校的学生面前!这将是我曾经有过的最糟糕的噩梦!
“你还有时间赶上，因为还有一个月前的运动会，”他们都对我说，包括我的老师。
我的同桌轻轻地拍了拍我的肩膀，“酷!你将为我们班竞选!我们会一起做的，“是的，这不仅仅是为了我自己，也为了我的课，我对自己说。但是，1500米对我来说就像是珠峰的一个开始攀登者。我甚至不知道如何开始我的准备。
幸运的是，我的同桌给了我一只手。每天下午放学后，我们几个人一起跑。当我害怕被嘲笑时，我看到别人在我身边奔跑。他们给了我力量。当我们在奔跑时，有些人会站在轨道上为我们喝彩。
一个月肯定不能让我成为一个好赛跑者。但是当我站在起跑线后，我不再感到孤独或害怕。我看到我的同学们站在铁轨旁，好像在向我跑来跑去。
我用枪打了一枪，冲出去，跑得很快，好像是200米赛跑。很快我就喘不上气，放慢了速度。其他的赛跑者一个一个地从我身边经过，渐渐地，我不知道他们中有多少人在我身后。我的腿越来越重了，我随时都可能跌倒。然而，我突然听到我的同学们唱着我的名字。我的同桌甚至在我的身边跑过，在同一时间为我喝彩，就像我们在一起的那一个月的训练。
正如所料，我几乎是最后一个越过终点线。立刻，我的同学们抱着我的胳膊，催促我走在我的脚边，而不是坐下来。我被包围了，有各种各样的饮料递给我。我感觉到了一种从未有过的温暖。即使我几乎是最后一个完成比赛，我充满了信心，我会提高在未来。
那次运动会是一次难忘的经历。我的同学们为我欢呼，抱着我的胳膊，递给我一杯酒，我的心都在新鲜。体育不再是关于赢得或失去。他们给了我很大的信心，都对我的同学信心和我自己的信心。我不再孤单，不再害怕。体育把我带到我的同学们，帮助我们一起成长。
现在，我每年参加运动会。即使我不在竞争，我会帮助我的同学与他们的做法，就像我的同桌和其他人一起跑。
Chinese intellectual revolution and sociopolitical reform movement. In 1915young intellectuals inspired by Chen Duxiu began agitating for the reform andstrengthening of Chinese society through acceptance of Western science,democracy, and schools of thought, one objective being to make China strongenough to resist Western imperialism. On May 4, 1919, reformist zeal found focusin a protest by Beijings students against the Versailles Peace Conferencesdecision to transfer former German concessions in China to Japan. After morethan a month of demonstrations, strikes, and boycotts of Japanese goods, thegovernment gave way and refused to sign the peace treaty with Germany. Themovement spurred the successful reorganization of the Nationalist Party and gavebirth to the Chinese Communist Party. See also Treaty of Versailles.
中国知识分子的革命和社会政治改革运动。1915青年知识分子的灵感来自于陈独秀开始鼓动改革和加强华人社会通过接受西方科学，民主，和学校的思想，一个目的是使中国强大到足以抵抗西方帝国主义。1919年5月4日，改革的热情，发现北京的学生对凡尔赛和平会议的决定，特许权转让前德国在中国对日本抗议的焦点。经过一个多月的示威游行，罢工，和抵制日货，政府给予的方式，拒绝与德国签署和平条约。运动引发的民族主义党成功重组，催生了中国共产党。又见凡尔赛条约。
Failure is the mother of success. Sometimes people have to cope with many mistakes and failures in order to reach the successful finals. While others might succumb to failure, they tend to retreat and give in their efforts. Success often provides confidence and satisfaction, nevertheless failure companies with bitter, saddness, and suffering. It seems people have to learn through each experience, as success doesn't always falls from heaven.
I remembered I used to fail on my vocabury test when I was in high school. I had problem to memorize new words which got lloose each day. I almost decided to give up English, but was obliged to one of my neighbour classmates who kept on sending small sheet for me. In the end of the semester, I found I had finished my vocabulary book which became a work force in reading English. I then realized that a new word came and left our brains for several times. Nobody is born as genius for success. Success tends to arrive after a serial of trials and failures.
Of course, success brings confidence and victory. But, life is not always easy and comfortable. There are more difficulties than eases in the real life. It is likely that we have to face some failures ahead. Therefore, those who learn how to deal and endure failures will taste their success eventually.
My hometown, which is in the south of Province, is a very beautiful village. It lies on the east bank of a small river, surrounded by green mountains, In the past my hometown was poor, and people led a hard life. They couldnt afford to send their children to school. But ,great changes have taken place in my hometown in the past twenty years. Many families .have not only color TV sets, but also telephones, fridges, computers, and so on. New roads, houses, schools, hospitals have been built. People in my hometown are working hard for a better life.
我的家乡在南部，是一个非常漂亮的村庄，它位于一条小河的东岸，为绿色的大山所环抱。过去，我的家乡很穷，人们过着艰难的生活，孩子读不起书。但是在刚刚过去的二十年里，我的家乡发生了翻天覆地的变化口许多家庭不仅有了彩色电视机，而且电话、冰箱、电脑等应有尽有。新修了公路，新建了房屋、学校和医院。家乡人民正在为过上更好的生活而辛勤工作。
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.
Economic 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.
选择的重要性
去年春节期间，我陷入过一场家庭纷争。在我回家之前，我们家的电视除了已有的14个频道外又增加了四个卫星频道。晚上的黄金时间，每个频道的节目都很精彩.结果，我们一家五口(父母，两个姐姐和我)为了选台而争执起来。最后，我们决定应当看“最有意思”的节目——如果我们在什么是“最有意思”上可以认同的话。
不过我们全都清楚地记得，买了电视后的好长一段时间里，只有一两个频道可供选择。电视频道的增多反映出我们生活中的一个重大变化:选择余地的扩大。
20xx年前，我们身着同样的款式，单一的色调。而如今，纷繁的花色和众多的式样让我们挑得眼花缭乱。
20xx年前，我们几乎无报可读。而如今，除了大大小小的中文报纸，我们还读上了《中国日报》、《21世纪报》这样的英文报纸。
20xx年前，英语专业的学生只能选语言与文学课程。而如今，我们还学习西方文化，新闻，商务，国际关系，甚至还有计算机课程。
选择的涌现标志着中国进入了一个崭新的时代，一个充满多样化的时代，一个物质与精神都愈加丰富的时代，一个中华民族获得新生的时代。
我们为选择之多而欢呼雀跃，同时也深深地感到这一切来之不易。
一个半世纪之前，在西方大炮、战舰的威通下，中国被迫打开了国门。经过祖祖辈辈的抗争与牺牲，我们才最终赢得了当家作主的机会。改革开放这个正确的抉择使一切发生了翻天覆地的变化。
我和其他同龄人一样，太年轻了、没有经历过中国人丧失选择权的岁月。但是，随着下个世纪的脚步越走越近，我们是该们心自间了:选择，对于我们青年一代，到底意味着什么?
选择，是场靠侥幸来获胜的游戏吗?是句不用兑现的空话吗?抑或是种让人知难而退的困境?
首先，我认为，选择意味着抓住机遇。
我是英语专业三年级学生，我所面临的一个重大选择当然是毕业后的去向。我可以攻读硕士学位，或在国内，或在国外。我可以走上工作岗位，做名教师，翻译，记者，编辑或外交家.实际上，双向选择的体制在我面前铺开了通向各行各业的大道。
说真的，这个选择并不好做。我愿意在像北京、上海、深圳这样的大都市里工作，我也盼着能回到虽不那么发达却使我倍感亲切的故乡。我希望可以留在生活节奏快，令人兴奋的沿海地带，我也愿意扎根于广炭的中西部地区，那里虽然条件艰苦，却有极大的发展潜力。
所有这一切听上去令人振奋，但它们毕竟只是可能性。有些人面对五花八门的选择挑得眼花缭乱，我要告诉他们:选择就意味着接受挑战。
对于我们青年一代，挑战常以竟争的形式出现。到下个世纪，竞争者将不仅只是其他大学毕业生，更有各行各业不同年龄层的人们。
随着国际交流的不断增多，我们得面对来自整个外部世界日益激烈的竞争，这就对我们个/、的发展提出了更高的要求。
20xx年前，懂门外语或会用计算机是个优越条件。但今天，随着受教育面的拓宽，以上的知识也成了每个人必备的条件。
在这种形势下，即便最细小的选择也要求我们具有极大的智慧和自主精神。
当我们面对选择不断增强自己的主动性时，每一次选择的结果也同样变得愈加重要。
比方说，核能可以提高人民的生活水平，可它同样也能毁灭千百万人的生命财产。
经济的发展使我们富裕起来，却也给我们的空气、水、健康带来了严重危害。有些人对选择的后果毫不在乎，我要对他们说:选择还意味着承担责任。我们替自己做选择时，不能随口一句“这不关别人的事”。作为下个世纪的决策者，我们必须承担对和我们共同拥有这个地球的人们所负的责任。 传统的中华文化教育我们，要勃奋学习，努力工作，以荣耀家门。然而我认为，这个家门并不只指诸如我的那个争看电视的五口小家。更确切地说，它指的是整个人类这个大家庭。当我为自己的未来做出选择时，我不会忘记自己第一次正确读出“China"这个单词时老师脸上的笑容。我也不会忘记在我们的帮助下重返校园的江西山区的孩子们兴奋的脸庞。我更不会忘记饱受战火、饥荒、贫困蹂蹦的波斯尼亚、车臣、索马里，不会忘记那里成千上万的妇女儿童泪水模糊的双眼。
所有这些我认识或不认识的人们组成了人类这个大家庭。他们从不同的时空中走进了我的生活，开拓了我的视野。现在，我将为自己做出抉择，该是为使他们的生活变得美好而奋斗的时候了。因为只有当每个人都过上和平、富足的生活，世界才能成为大家的乐园.
when i was nine years old i went off to summer camp for the first time. and my mother packed me a suitcase full of books, which to me seemed like a perfectly natural thing to do. because in my family, reading was the primary group activity. and this might sound antisocial to you, but for us it was really just a different way of being social. you have the animal warmth of your family sitting right next to you, but you are also free to go roaming around the adventureland inside your own mind. and i had this idea that camp was going to be just like this, but better. (laughter) i had a vision of 10 girls sitting in a cabin cozily reading books in their matching nightgowns.
(laughter)
camp was more like a keg party without any alcohol. and on the very first day our counselor gathered us all together and she taught us a cheer that she said we would be doing every day for the rest of the summer to instill camp spirit. and it went like this: “r-o-w-d-i-e, that's the way we spell rowdie. rowdie, rowdie, let's get rowdie.“ yeah. so i couldn't figure out for the life of me why we were supposed to be so rowdy, or why we had to spell this word incorrectly. (laughter) but i recited a cheer. i recited a cheer along with everybody else. i did my best. and i just waited for the time that i could go off and read my books.
but the first time that i took my book out of my suitcase, the coolest girl in the bunk came up to me and she asked me, “why are you being so mellow?“ -- mellow, of course, being the exact opposite of r-o-w-d-i-e. and then the second time i tried it, the counselor came up to me with a concerned expression on her face and she repeated the point about camp spirit and said we should all work very hard to be outgoing.
and so i put my books away, back in their suitcase, and i put them under my bed, and there they stayed for the rest of the summer. and i felt kind of guilty about this. i felt as if the books needed me somehow, and they were calling out to me and i was forsaking them. but i did forsake them and i didn't open that suitcase again until i was back home with my family at the end of the summer.
now, i tell you this story about summer camp. i could have told you 50 others just like it -- all the times that i got the message that somehow my quiet and introverted style of being was not necessarily the right way to go, that i should be trying to pass as more of an extrovert. and i always sensed deep down that this was wrong and that introverts were pretty excellent just as they were. but for years i denied this intuition, and so i became a wall street lawyer, of all things, instead of the writer that i had always longed to be -- partly because i needed to prove to myself that i could be bold and assertive too. and i was always going off to crowded bars when i really would have preferred to just have a nice dinner with friends. and i made these self-negating choices so reflexively, that i wasn't even aware that i was making them.
now this is what many introverts do, and it's our loss for sure, but it is also our colleagues' loss and our communities' loss. and at the risk of sounding grandiose, it is the world's loss. because when it comes to creativity and to leadership, we need introverts doing what they do best. a third to a half of the population are introverts -- a third to a half. so that's one out of every two or three people you know. so even if you're an extrovert yourself, i'm talking about your coworkers and your spouses and your children and the person sitting next to you right now -- all of them subject to this bias that is pretty deep and real in our society. we all internalize it from a very early age without even having a language for what we're doing.
ladies and gentlemen, honorable judges, good afternoon.
i come from one of the most lovely and attractive areas of china, the pearlriver delta of guangdong province and i'd love to say a few words about thisarea that is so dear to my heart.
guangdong province is a magically beautiful wonderland, with endlessnatural treasures. the lush and green mountains are inhabited by songbirds andexotic animals; the farm land is fertile and productive, providing all of itspeople with wonderfully nutritious grains and all the fruits they need to behealthy and strong. the pearl river meanders through the province and eventuallycomes to our beautiful seashore with crystal clear blue water, flourishing withall kinds of different fish and sea creatures. all these natural advantages helpto boost the ever-expanding economy of guangdong and increase the welfare of itspeople.
guangdong is privileged to have such a beautiful landscape, with hundredsof historical sites and places of great interest to local people and foreignersalike. our capital city, guangzhou, is also known as "the city of flowers".everywhere you look you will see flourishing plants and blossoming flowersoverflowing with vigor.
the people of guagdong are very friendly to visitors from anywhere. whoeveryou are and wherever you come from, guangdong people will greet you with theonly language---guangdong dialect.
guangdong is also known as the chinese capital of delicious food. there isan old saying that "the only best delicacies are in guangdong.” food from thisprovince is internationally famous. its variety of tastes, shapes and colors cansatisfy even the most refined palette. i'm sure, the moment you seat yourself ata cantonese banquet, your appetite will naturally become keen and eager to tasteall the numerous delicacies of the region. here are but a few i will mention inpassing: steamed fish in ginger sauce, seasoned chicken, drunken shrimp, dancefish balls, fried jellyfish, roast suckling pig or duck, braised crispy chickenor squab, shark fin soup, moon cakes, refreshments and desert, and so many more.my mouth is watering just at the sound of these wonderful dishes.
i would like you all to know that there is truly nowhere in the world iwould rather live and i invite you all to come discover the hidden treasures ofmy hometown. i would be glad to serve as your personal guide.
thank you all.
All over the world people listen to classical music.Classical music is difficult to describe.It means different things to different people.
Some famous classical composers were Bach,Vivaldi,Haydn and Mozart.In their music,they did not tell a story or show strong emotions.They wanted to make beautiful and interesting music with lovely sounds.
Then composers started to express ideas.They told stories about love and war.They also wrote about religion.Sometimes they composed music for holidays.Through their music composers showed strong emotions.Some of these composers were Beethoven,Schumann,Chopin,Mendelssohn,Wagner and Tchaikovsky.
Classical music has been popular for hundreds of years.Bach wrote about 300 years ago.Beethoven wrote about 200 years ago.And Tchaikovsky wrote over 100 years ago.
Sometimes people close their eyes while listening to classical music.It is difficult to understand sometimes.When they close their eyes they have to think about the music.
Chinese teacher treats us just like friends, we also very trust to her. On one occasion, my language result in the decline, the in the mind very anxious didn't know what to do, then I remembered the Chinese teacher told us what is not happy at ordinary times, the confused things can tell her, I summon up courage to find a Chinese teacher, she is to have a rest. Chinese teacher saw me come in and asked me what's the matter, I said I wanted to find her talk. She listened to the very happy, immediately brought me to the conference room. I sat down in the heart of all of the unhappy said out, Chinese teacher help me analysis, I also know how to improve their performance, shu teacher and told my hands to answer questions in class, have confidence in yourself, no matter right or wrong answer, all want to brave answer. Answer to very happy, very confident. Also don't answer wrong, don't be discouraged, for the next answer correct.
Listen to the teacher's these words, I really changed, my grades have improved, also love in class to answer the question, I'm really happy for that.
And let me have such a big change is the teacher's words, from the bottom of my heart to thank her. Is she told me to have confidence in yourself; Is she let me learn how to face setbacks; Is she let me make more friends. In this two years, I learned in ordinary school a few years also learn something, maybe is this school is different from other schools!
Will be leaving soon, I think I will never forget this make me change my teacher, she will always be in my heart.
i have the answer to a question that we've all asked. the question is, why is it that the letter x represents the unknown? now i know we learned that in math class, but now it's everywhere in the culture -- the x prize, the x-files, project x, tedx. where'd that come from?
about six years ago i decided that i would learn arabic, which turns out to be a supremely logical language. to write a word or a phrase or a sentence in arabic is like crafting an equation, because every part is extremely precise and carries a lot of information. that's one of the reasons so much of what we've come to think of as western science and mathematics and engineering was really worked out in the first few centuries of the common era by the persians and the arabs and the turks.
this includes the little system in arabic called al-jebra. and al-jebr roughly translates to “the system for reconciling disparate parts.“ al-jebr finally came into english as algebra. one example among many.
the arabic texts containing this mathematical wisdom finally made their way to europe -- which is to say spain -- in the 11th and 12th centuries. and when they arrived there was tremendous interest in translating this wisdom into a european language.
but there were problems. one problem is there are some sounds in arabic that just don't make it through a european voice box without lots of practice. trust me on that one. also, those very sounds tend not to be represented by the characters that are available in european languages.
here's one of the culprits. this is the letter sheen, and it makes the sound we think of as sh -- “sh.“ it's also the very first letter of the word shalan, which means “something“ just like the the english word “something“ -- some undefined, unknown thing.
now in arabic, we can make this definite by adding the definite article “al.“ so this is al-shalan -- the unknown thing. and this is a word that appears throughout early mathematics, such as this 10th century derivation of proofs.
the problem for the medieval spanish scholars who were tasked with translating this material is that the letter sheen and the word shalan can't be rendered into spanish because spanish doesn't have that sh, that “sh“ sound. so by convention, they created a rule in which they borrowed the ck sound, “ck“ sound, from the classical greek in the form of the letter kai.
later when this material was translated into a common european language, which is to say latin, they simply replaced the greek kai with the latin x. and once that happened, once this material was in latin, it formed the basis for mathematics textbooks for almost 600 years.
but now we have the answer to our question. why is it that x is the unknown? x is the unknown because you can't say “sh“ in spanish. (laughter) and i thought that was worth sharing.
(applause)
Whatever one does, one should do it with confidence. If one has no confidence, there is little possibility that one would ever achieve anything, especially when oneis faced with drawbacks or hardships. This truth seems to be evident. However, in reality we do see a lot of people who complain that they like the ability to do something or that their difficulties are too great to be overcome. For someone, this might be true. But for many others, this only shows that they have lost heart.
Why do people often feel frustrated even though they are capable of doing something? There are, among others, two main reasons. First, these people do have a correct estimate of themselves. Second, they overestimate the difficulties.
It is possible to build up faith in oneself by having the right attitude towards one’s abilities. We should never underestimate one’s abilities. But believe in the proverb: “Where there is a will, there is a way.” Confidence is the promise for fulfilling a task successfully.
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.
Chinese Youth's Day is on May 4th, it is to in honor of the students'movement in the year of 1919, at that time, the government made a failingdiplomacy in Paris, which resulted in signing the treaty of losing the land.When the students heard about this, they were so angry that they paraded aroundthe street to go against the government's decision. The movement is completelyagainst the imperialism and feudalism, it has great effect on Chinese history.Since then, the new Chinese government made that day as Youth's Day tocommemorate its influence. Now on that day, many activities will be hold, wecould see the new feature in the young generation, they are brave and fight fortheir future.
中国青年日是5月4日，这是为了纪念学生在1919年这一年的运动，在那个时候，政府做了一个失败的外交在巴黎，导致签署失去土地的条约。当学生们听到这个消息，他们非常生气，他们游街示众在街上四处去反对政府的决定。该运动是完全反对帝国主义和封建主义，但对中国历史有很大的影响。自此，新中国政府所做的一天，青年的纪念日，以纪念其影响力。现在，在这一天，许多活动将举行，我们可以看到新的功能，在年轻一代，他们是勇敢争取自己的未来。
i have the answer to a question that we've all asked. the question is, why is it that the letter x represents the unknown? now i know we learned that in math class, but now it's everywhere in the culture -- the x prize, the x-files, project x, tedx. where'd that come from?
about six years ago i decided that i would learn arabic, which turns out to be a supremely logical language. to write a word or a phrase or a sentence in arabic is like crafting an equation, because every part is extremely precise and carries a lot of information. that's one of the reasons so much of what we've come to think of as western science and mathematics and engineering was really worked out in the first few centuries of the common era by the persians and the arabs and the turks.
this includes the little system in arabic called al-jebra. and al-jebr roughly translates to “the system for reconciling disparate parts.“ al-jebr finally came into english as algebra. one example among many.
the arabic texts containing this mathematical wisdom finally made their way to europe -- which is to say spain -- in the 11th and 12th centuries. and when they arrived there was tremendous interest in translating this wisdom into a european language.
but there were problems. one problem is there are some sounds in arabic that just don't make it through a european voice box without lots of practice. trust me on that one. also, those very sounds tend not to be represented by the characters that are available in european languages.
here's one of the culprits. this is the letter sheen, and it makes the sound we think of as sh -- “sh.“ it's also the very first letter of the word shalan, which means “something“ just like the the english word “something“ -- some undefined, unknown thing.
now in arabic, we can make this definite by adding the definite article “al.“ so this is al-shalan -- the unknown thing. and this is a word that appears throughout early mathematics, such as this 10th century derivation of proofs.
the problem for the medieval spanish scholars who were tasked with translating this material is that the letter sheen and the word shalan can't be rendered into spanish because spanish doesn't have that sh, that “sh“ sound. so by convention, they created a rule in which they borrowed the ck sound, “ck“ sound, from the classical greek in the form of the letter kai.
later when this material was translated into a common european language, which is to say latin, they simply replaced the greek kai with the latin x. and once that happened, once this material was in latin, it formed the basis for mathematics textbooks for almost 600 years.
but now we have the answer to our question. why is it that x is the unknown? x is the unknown because you can't say “sh“ in spanish. (laughter) and i thought that was worth sharing.
(applause)
Everybody is good! Welcome to badaling scenic area tourism. Accompany you visit together, today I am very happy, hope all can spend a good time in badaling.
My friends, have a look at your feet? Guess what weigh? Tell you! This is a stone, a piece of have two or three one thousand catties! At that time, there is no train, automobile, also have no crane, is by the shoulder of countless countless hands, step by step, carry on the steep mountains. This is how many working people sweat and wisdom, to condense into the former does not see the head, after see the tail of the Great Wall!
This is the Great Wall! This is the west jiayuguan, east to shanhaiguan, which meet the sea sunrise and gobi desert sun, or turned on the peaks, or bent over in the valley, the ups and downs, stretching thousands of miles of the Great Wall. It is such a magnificent verve, Great Wall is a great miracle in the history of the world!
Dear visitors, today's visit here will be over, thank you very much for my support and cooperation. The majestic Great Wall forever awaits respectfully you the presence!
Some people say that youth is a song, echoed the cheerful, beautifulmelody; Some people say that youth is a draw, engraved with the rich, romanticcolors.
有人说，青春是一首歌，回荡着欢快，美妙的旋律;有人说，青春是一幅画，镌刻着瑰丽，浪漫的色彩。
80 years ago, in order to expel darkness for light, for an independenthomeland and the rich and powerful, a group of high-spirited youth with bloodand lives to write the song the most magnificent song of youth, drawn on a mostmagnificent picture of the youth.
80年前，为了驱逐黑暗，争取光明，为了祖国的独立和富强，一群意气风发的青年用热血和生命谱写了一曲青春的最壮丽的青春之歌，绘上最壮丽画卷青年。
Today, "54" Sports as a glorious page has been included in the annals ofthe Chinese nation. However, "54" is much more than just a historical case, itis a spirit, to show young people of our nation fiery love for the future anddestiny of the country concerned about the performance of duty and mission ofyoung people.
如今，“54”体育作为光辉的一页已被列入中国民族的史册。然而，“54”不仅仅是一个历史事件，更是一种精神，展现我们的民族炽热的爱年轻人为国家关心的职责年轻人的性能和使命的前途和命运。
Today, we had the honor of this generation of young people living in thereform and opening up a good time, had the honor of standing at the meetingpoint of century and millennium on. We are fortunate. Facing the new century,our responsibility. Recalling our carry forward the "54" the spirit of thinkingseriously, and they should have a kind of youth, what kind of life. Recall thatthe initial start Know "54" is a history lesson from the primary andsecondary.
今天，我们有幸这一代的年轻人生活在改革开放的大好时代，有幸站立在世纪和千年交汇点上。我们是幸运的。面对新世纪，我们的责任。我们回顾发扬“五四”思想严重的精神，他们应该有一个怎样的青春，什么样的生活。记得，最初开始认识“五四”是从小学和中学的历史课。
Good afternoon, dear teachers. I’m very glad to be here to have a speech. The topic of my speech is <the spirit of sports>.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m a sheer amateur of sports, being fascinated by swimming, running, mountaineering and so on. I couldn’t agree with these perspectives from people who dislike sports, because you’ll feel greatly relieved after being drenched in sweats by sports. Sports can also help you forget your worries and stress, feeling unprecedented relaxed.
As is known, a healthy body is extraordinarily crucial. Moreover physical exercise undeniably exerts a far-reaching influence on keeping ourselves fit. In taking part in out-door sports, we are closer to nature and can take in fresh air. The beauty of nature will keep us clear-headed, which is essential to our health. Besides sports can stimulate the circulation of blood and help to excrete the wastes in the body. It also can work up our appetite and activate or digestion. In a word, sports can give rise to a strong body for us.
In contemporary society, with the increasing focus on health, people in ever expanding numbers join the trend of doing sports and begin to accept more and more sorts of fashionable sports, ranging from hiking to diving. From this phenomenon, we can see not only do sports play a significant role in health, but also lay a solid foundation for human beings’ spirit.
Taking hiking for example, it’s a blend of man and nature completely way to travel, and also a kind of sports that not only need your physical strength, but also need the patience, perseverance and persistence. At the beginning of climbing a mountain, you’ll be exciting with the fantastic scene of mountain, river and water. However, after a half way, you’ll fell so tired and exhausted. The climbing road becomes more and more steep. At that time, it requires your persistence and determination to conquer arduous situations. It just likes the life, the closer the success is, the more difficulties you must endure.
From my aspects, the enchantment of sports is that it’s a challenge for the limit of your body --- both a sort of healthy and popular life style and an reflection of optimistic and positive attitude. Just like nowadays, the development of Olympic games is harmonious and prosperous, for the reason that it’s not only for shaping human’s body, but more for pursuing a king of spirit --- faster, higher, stronger.
This is my speech. Thank you.
now i think at this point it's important for me to say that i actually love extroverts. i always like to say some of my best friends are extroverts, including my beloved husband. and we all fall at different points, of course, along the introvert/extrovert spectrum. even carl jung, the psychologist who first popularized these terms, said that there's no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert. he said that such a man would be in a lunatic asylum, if he existed at all. and some people fall smack in the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum, and we call these people ambiverts. and i often think that they have the best of all worlds. but many of us do recognize ourselves as one type or the other.
and what i'm saying is that culturally we need a much better balance. we need more of a yin and yang between these two types. this is especially important when it comes to creativity and to productivity, because when psychologists look at the lives of the most creative people, what they find are people who are very good at exchanging ideas and advancing ideas, but who also have a serious streak of introversion in them.
and this is because solitude is a crucial ingredient often to creativity. so darwin, he took long walks alone in the woods and emphatically turned down dinner party invitations. theodor geisel, better known as dr. seuss, he dreamed up many of his amazing creations in a lonely bell tower office that he had in the back of his house in la jolla, california. and he was actually afraid to meet the young children who read his books for fear that they were expecting him this kind of jolly santa claus-like figure and would be disappointed with his more reserved persona. steve wozniak invented the first apple computer sitting alone in his cubical in hewlett-packard where he was working at the time. and he says that he never would have become such an expert in the first place had he not been too introverted to leave the house when he was growing up.
now of course, this does not mean that we should all stop collaborating -- and case in point, is steve wozniak famously coming together with steve jobs to start apple computer -- but it does mean that solitude matters and that for some people it is the air that they breathe. and in fact, we have known for centuries about the transcendent power of solitude. it's only recently that we've strangely begun to forget it. if you look at most of the world's major religions, you will find seekers -- moses, jesus, buddha, muhammad -- seekers who are going off by themselves alone to the wilderness where they then have profound epiphanies and revelations that they then bring back to the rest of the community. so no wilderness, no revelations.
In our daily lives, we have many choices to make, such as what to eat forsupper,what clothes to wear, or what to do on weekends. at certain times in ourlives, we need to make even more critical choices, such as which school toattend, what job to take or who to choose as husband or wife. yes, life is amatter of choice. seemimgly, it means a choice of tangible things. but inessence, it means choosing a way of life. life is to be lived, savored, andenjoyed, not to be wasted or complained about.
Hardly can we forget the time when our society faced the grave threat fromthe life-and-death disease--sars. yet, even during those dreadful times, someafflicted people remained optimistic. instead of wearing neutral white masks,some people turned to colouful ones, and thus display a happy mood. and somecreative people dubbed sars to mean "smile and remain smiling." i was deeplytouched by their optimisim, nearly forgetting that we're still in a battle.people who survive these kinds of circumstances, (at some point)decide in theirminds to carry on in spite of the overwhelming odds.
Laid-off workers, typically regarded as the victims of economicadvancement, are subject to desperation that being unmeployed has brought onthem. but, encouragingly, we have witnessed some of them striving hard torebuild confidence toward life and discover new opportunities for demonstratingtheir values.
Although we cannot choose our appearance, inborn gifts and even avoidunexpected disasters and adversities, we do have the privilege to choose to liveoptimistcally,to love our lives, to have dreams, and to cherish hopes.
Every morning when we get up, we have a choice of how we want to approachlife that day. as for me, i choose to be cheerful.
whether there's afterlife, the answer has never been the same. the atheists deny after life, believing that our life is no more than from the cradle to the grave. they may care about their illustrious names after death; they may feel attached to the affection of their offspring, but they never lay their hopes on their afterlife. they may also say that good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil, but they don't really believe any retribution in their after life.
however, in the religious world or among the superstitious people, the belief in afterlife is very popular. they do not only believe in afterlife, but thousands of reincarnations as well. in the mysterious world, there are the paradise and the hell, the celestial beings and the gods, the buddha and the bodhisattvas.
maybe they really believed it, or maybe they just wanted to make use of people's veneration, the ancient emperors always declared that they were the real dragons, the sons of god, while the royal ministers claimed to be the reincarnations of various constellations. but can the stars reincarnate?
many people burn incense and kowtow, do good deeds and strive for virtues, not just for the present, but mainly to let god see their sincerity so as to be reborn into a better afterlife, or to achieve the highest enlightenment after several lives of practice. they do believe in afterlife. but i can't help asking: suppose there were no afterlife, would you still do good deeds and strive for virtues? and if god does not see what you are doing, would you still be so upright and selfless? if you work, not for serving the public and liberating the others, but just for a better afterlife of your own, isn't it a little too selfish? comparing with this kind of believers, those who don't believe in afterlife, but still keep doing good deeds, are the most sincere and honest philanthropists, because they do them not for themselves but for other.
you may wonder if i believe in afterlife. my answer is: i know nothing about my previous life, so i dare not make improper comments on afterlife. but i do hope there's afterlife! because our present life is so short that so many things slip away before our proper understanding. i have so many dreams, so many wishes, so many ambitions, as well as so many regrets and concerns. if there were no afterlife, all of them will remain unrealized!
i'm not contented with the present commonplace life, i'm very much attached to the affections that should have been mine but have been washed away by the hurrying time, and i yearn for the perfection and maturity if i could start all over again. so believe it or not, i'd rather there were afterlife.
look! there is a rainbow! on the first day of my university life, when iwalked into the campus, there was a rainbow bridging over the fountain, i hadn’tseen rainbow for a long time. i was so excited, and leaped high with joy. myponytail danced with my happiness. it was a propitious sign indicated that mylife in university would be colorful, and actually it is!
after my entry into university, i found my life so busy. what i should dois not only gaining the scholarship but also being a good monitor and leader ofshanghai university percussion band. i got the 1st and 2nd price of scholarshipin my 2 years of study. i organized charity donations for schoolmates withfinancial difficulty or disease. every week, i give drum lesson to new membersof our percussion band. and there are always a lot of non-business performances,such as entertaining guests, celebrating party, cultural exchange with foreignstudents delegations and their bands. of course, part-time job is indispensablein my vacations. i ask for no payment but aim at getting accustomed to thesociety.
sometimes, my friends advise me not to tire myself out with such a tightschedule. i wake up before the rooster crow, and continue working till very latewhen others are enjoying their sweet dreams. every time i come back from therehearsal of percussion band, i have to finish my homework with the help of myown charged light because of the blackout in out dormitory. maybe such kind oflife is something like an ascetic, but we should work hard and try hard in ouryouth, aren’t we?
when i represented shanghai university to take part in the pond’s newcentury lady competition held in may, when i show off on the stage, when iemerged as “the girl of vitality”, i made use of every bit of time to compensatethe classes i had missed, i made use of every chance to learn from other girlswith vitality, versatility and intelligence, i made use of this opportunity topresent our university students’ state of mind.
there is a little bitterness in my busy life, but at the same time, thereis sweetness. it is colorful. i make fun out of it. i love it. when i snatch alittle leisure i lie on the green grass, reading books, i cripple myself in thewindow-seat in our library---the 2nd largest in shanghai---i absorb knowledgelike a hungry sponge, i wonder along the bank of river, listening to oriels inwillows and get a splendid sunset view of the campus. the sky is drunk with thesunset; i am drunk with the sweetness of my like.
this is no surprise though if you look at the insights of contemporary psychology. it turns out that we can't even be in a group of people without instinctively mirroring, mimicking their opinions. even about seemingly personal and visceral things like who you're attracted to, you will start aping the beliefs of the people around you without even realizing that that's what you're doing.
and groups famously follow the opinions of the most dominant or charismatic person in the room, even though there's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas -- i mean zero. so ... (laughter) you might be following the person with the best ideas, but you might not. and do you really want to leave it up to chance? much better for everybody to go off by themselves, generate their own ideas freed from the distortions of group dynamics, and then come together as a team to talk them through in a well-managed environment and take it from there.
now if all this is true, then why are we getting it so wrong? why are we setting up our schools this way and our workplaces? and why are we making these introverts feel so guilty about wanting to just go off by themselves some of the time? one answer lies deep in our cultural history. western societies, and in particular the u.s., have always favored the man of action over the man of contemplation and “man“ of contemplation. but in america's early days, we lived in what historians call a culture of character, where we still, at that point, valued people for their inner selves and their moral rectitude. and if you look at the self-help books from this era, they all had titles with things like “character, the grandest thing in the world.“ and they featured role models like abraham lincoln who was praised for being modest and unassuming. ralph waldo emerson called him “a man who does not offend by superiority.“
but then we hit the 20th century and we entered a new culture that historians call the culture of personality. what happened is we had evolved an agricultural economy to a world of big business. and so suddenly people are moving from small towns to the cities. and instead of working alongside people they've known all their lives, now they are having to prove themselves in a crowd of strangers. so, quite understandably, qualities like magnetism and charisma suddenly come to seem really important. and sure enough, the self-help books change to meet these new needs and they start to have names like “how to win friends and influence people.“ and they feature as their role models really great salesmen. so that's the world we're living in today. that's our cultural inheritance.
As we all know, "Failure is the mother of success." But few people can really understand what the saying means.
In the world, I am sure that no one dare say he hasn't met any trouble all his life. So we must face failure. In fact, failure is not fearful, but important thing is how to face it correctly. Facing failure, people will never take their fate lying down. They will try their best to work harder and harder until at last they succeed.
Not being courageous to face setbacks, people have no chance to enjoy the pleasure of success. So they have nothing to do but feel sad and empty all day and all night. In fact, they lose the chance of success themselves.
My friend, whenever in trouble, please remember, "Failure is the mother of success."
我们都知道，“失败是成功之母”。但很少有人能真正理解这句话的意思。
在这个世界上，我相信没有人敢说他在生活中还没有遇到任何麻烦，所以我们必须面对失败。事实上，失败并不可怕，重要的是如何正确面对它。敢于面对失败，人们将不再被命运打倒。他们越来越努力工作直到最后成功。
不敢面对挫折，人们也就没有机会享受成功的喜悦。他们会无所事事而感到伤心和整天整夜的空虚。事实上，他们丧失了成功的机会。
我的朋友，无论何时你遇到了困难，请记住：“失败是成功之母。”
A Scene to Remember
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen:
Today I would like to begin with a story. There was once a physical therapist who traveled all the way from America to Africa to do a census about mountain gorillas. These gorillas are a main attraction to tourists from all over the world; this put them severely under threat of poaching and being put into the zoo. She went there out of curiosity, but what she saw strengthened her determination to devote her whole life to fighting for those beautiful creatures. She witnessed a scene, a scene taking us to a place we never imaged we've ever been, where in the very depth of the African rainforest, surrounded by trees, flowers and butterflies, the mother gorillas cuddled their babies.
Yes, that's a memorable scene in one of my favorite movies, called Gorillas in the Mist, based on a true story of Mrs. Diana Fossey, who spent most of her lifetime in Rwanda to protect the ecoenvironment there until the very end of her life.
To me, the movie not only presents an unforgettable scene but also acts as a timeless reminder that we should not develop the tourist industry at the cost of our eco-environment.
Today, we live in a world of prosperity but still threatened by so many new problems. On the one hand, tourism, as one of the most promising industries in the 21st century, provides people with the great opportunity to see everything there is to see and to go any place there is to go. It has become a lifestyle for some people, and has turned out to be the driving force in GDP growth. It has the magic to turn a backward town into a wonderland of prosperity. But on the other hand, many problems can occur - natural scenes aren't natural anymore. Deforestation to heat lodges are devastating Nepal. Oil spills from tourist boats are polluting Antarctica. Tribal people are forsaking their native music and dress to listen to U2 on Walkman and wear Nike and Reeboks.
All these appalling facts have brought us to the realization that we can no longer stand by and do nothing, because the very thought of it has been eroding our resources. Encouragingly, the explosive growth of global travel has put tourism again in the spotlight, which is why the United Nations has made 20xx the year of ecotourism, for the first time to bring to the world's attention the benefits of tourism, but also its capacity to destroy our ecoenvironment.
Now every year, many local ecoenvironmental protection organizations are receiving donations - big notes, small notes or even coins - from housewives, plumbers, ambulance drivers, salesmen, teachers, children and invalids. Some of them cannot afford to send the money but they do. These are the ones who drive the cabs, who nurse in hospitals, who are suffering from ecological damage in their neighborhood. Why? Because they care. Because they still want their Mother Nature back. Because they know it still belongs to them.
This kind of feeling that I have, ladies and gentlemen, is when it feels like it, smells like it, and looks like it , it's all coming from a scene to be remembered, a scene to recall and to cherish.
The other night, as I saw the moon linger over the land and before it was sent into the invisible, my mind was filled with songs. I found myself humming softly, not to the music, but to something else, someplace else, a place remembered, a place untouched, a field of grass where no one seemed to have been except the deer.
And all those unforgettable scenes strengthened the feeling that it's time for us to do something, for our own and our coming generation.
Once again, I have come to think of Mrs. Diana Fossey because it is with her spirit, passion, courage and strong sense of our ecoenvironment that we are taking our next step into the world.
And no matter who we are, what we do and where we go, in our minds, there's always a scene to remember, a scene worth our effort to protect it and fight for it.
Thank you very much.
In Calaveras, California, there lived a man whose name was Jim Smiley. Jimenjoyed betting somuch that he would bet on anything. If anyone said goodmorning to him, he would bet themthat it was not a good morning. Whenever therewas a horse race or a chicken fight, Jim wouldbet on it. He didn’t care whichside he bet on, as long as he had a bet.
One day, Jim showed a frog to a stranger who had just arrived in Calaveras,and bet thestranger forty dollars that the frog can jump farther and faster thanany other in CalaverasCounty. The stranger said he didn’t see anything about thefrog different from any other, and ifhe had a frog he would bet Jim. Jim lefthis frog with the stranger and go out to find a frog forthe stranger. Meanwhile,the stranger took out a bag of gunshot, forcing the frog’s mouthopen and pouredthe shot into it.
Soon Jim returned with a frog for the stranger.The two frogs were put onthe floor, and theneach man gave his frog a push. The stranger’s frog hopped offsmartly. But Jim’s frog just satthere, unable to move an inch. Jim had nochoice. He gave forty dollars to the stranger, whotook the money and startedaway. Jim picked up his frog, and found it extremely heavy. Heturned it upsidedown, and the gunshot came out. He knew he had been fooled and, like a madman,started running after the stranger.
As he ran, he passed one of his friends, who asked him where he wasgoing.
"To catch a thief!" shouted Jim. "No matter how fast he may run, I'll catchhim. I'll bet you fivedollars!"
在加利福尼亚的卡拉维拉斯县，有个人名叫吉姆?斯迈里。他好打赌，见什么赌什么。要是有人跟他说“早上好”，他会说，这天早上不怎么样，不信就打个赌。只要有赛马和斗鸡，他都要去赌。在哪一边下注他不在乎，有机会赌就行。
有一天，吉姆见到一个来到卡拉维拉斯县的陌生人，就把自己的一只青蛙给他看，说这是卡拉维拉斯全县跳得最快最远的青蛙，不信就打个赌，赌40块钱。陌生人说他看不出那只蛙有什么非凡之处，如果他手头有一只蛙，就赌一赌。听了这话，吉姆就把自己的青蛙交给陌生人看管，出去为陌生人找一只蛙来。他不在的时候，陌生人掏出一口袋铅弹，掰开青蛙嘴，把铅弹灌了进去。
不久吉姆就给陌生人带了一只青蛙回来。两只青蛙在地上摆好，然后各人将各自的青蛙轻轻一推。陌生人的青蛙一下子就跳起来，跳得好快好远。但吉姆的蛙却呆在那里纹丝不动，像钉在地上似的。吉姆无奈，只得交出40块钱。陌生人拿了钱就走了。吉姆把自己的蛙拿起来，觉得沉甸甸的。他把蛙倒提起来一抖，铅弹掉了出来。他知道自己上了当，就像疯子似的去追陌生人。
正跑着，一个朋友瞧见他，不问他风风火火地去干什么。
“去抓贼!”他吼道，“无论他跑得有多快，我都要追上他。不信打5块钱的赌!”