in the matter of courage we all have our limits. there never was a hero who did not have his bounds. i suppose it may be said of nelson and all the others whose courage has been advertised that there came times in their lives when their bravery knew it had come to its limit.
i have found mine a good many times. sometimes this was expected--often it was unexpected. i know a man who is not afraid to sleep with a rattle-snake, but you could not get him to sleep with a safety-razor.
i never had the courage to talk across a long, narrow room. i should be at the end of the room facing all the audience. if i attempt to talk across a room i find myself turning this way and that, and thus at alternate periods i have part of the audience behind me. you ought never to have any part of the audience behind you; you never can tell what they are going to do.
i'll sit down.
It is the duty of every citizen to make the country rich and powerful (to make the country rich and strong is...). in order to accomplish this object one must be patriotic (love his country). i consider this an unchangeable truth.
How can a student love his country (be patriotic)? i find my answer very simple and clear. he must study hard and store up knowledge so as to serve his (the) country in the future. if every student can do according to what i said, the country will certainly be rich and powerful.
once upon a time, a weenie ant was walking on his way. as he was walking, suddenly he felt the ground shaking terribly. he looked around with his paranoid eyes and saw an elephant walking right behind him. quickly, the little ant covered himself with dirt, but one leg was unfortunately left out. a sparrow saw everything, so she flew down with the purpose of teasing the ant: “hey, chicken! watch out your leg, it’s out!” the ant felt embarrassed at first but then calmly responded: “ shi…i am going to trip that elephant.”
right now, i’m standing on this glamorous stage. but everything here reminds me of is a not so fun memory. around this time last year i was in nanjing competing in another speech contest. that was the first time for me to be in such a large event. of course the pressure i was under was immense too. after a sleepless and stressful night, i went onto that stage without the feeling in my legs. that speech turned out to be horrible. i don’t remember how i get down from there, but i do remember afterwards i just wanted to find a hole to hide in just like the ant in the story. back at my school, it took a long time for me to recover. thanks to all the help i got from my special friends. my confidence was restored. after rounds of giving speeches and answering tough questions, i am here today. from all that i’ve been through i’ve learned that a good future is based on a forgotten past, if i want my life to go on well i have to let go of my past failure. so today, with out fear, i am tripping my elephant again.
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.
now to see the bias clearly you need to understand what introversion is. it's different from being shy. shyness is about fear of social judgment. introversion is more about, how do you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation. so extroverts really crave large amounts of stimulation, whereas introverts feel at their most alive and their most switched-on and their most capable when they're in quieter, more low-key environments. not all the time -- these things aren't absolute -- but a lot of the time. so the key then to maximizing our talents is for us all to put ourselves in the zone of stimulation that is right for us.
dear my friends,
do you know what is the most precious and everlasting thing in the world ?money?you may lose everything you have if you don't use money carefull h?in one's long life youth is like a flash in the pan and no one in the world has the secret to keep his youth tiful look?many people pray that they can get hold of beauty,but it disappears far more quickly than they can when they are in real trouble beauty itself feels helpless.a good job?as you grow older and your brain and hands can't work as fast as will become other people's wealth.
then what is the most precious and everlasting thing in the world?
when you are far away from your family and feel especially lonely,who will you think of?when you stand on the crossoad in your life and don't know which way to choose,who will you think of?when you encounter greater difficulties than ever and need other's encouragement,who will you think of?when you decide to make the greatest decision in your favorite course,who shed cheerful tears when see you get achievements?whose wholehearted blessing will be always with you no matter how far you will go?
yes,it's mother who you will always think of and it's mother's love that willbe always be with you.
i once heard a moving story about a childrens were drawn into the flood and the situations was very r mother jumped into the water without the mother couldn't swim at ing into the water means she might lose her at that time she had no time to think about just wanted to try all means to save her e her courage touched the miracle finally succeeded in saving her both she,of course,felt extremely exhausted.
my friends,mother's love is the greatest er's love is the safest matter you are happy or depressed ,rich or poor ,mother's love will always stay with you.
thank you.
on my birthday two years ago, many special things happened on me. and i would
remember them forever.
that morning, i rode my bike to school happily as usual. on my way to the
classroom, i saw some of my classmates. but when they saw me, they rushed away. that made me confused. because they would talk to me or play jokes on me before. but it was strange today.
when i came into the classroom, i found the atmosphere was quite strange.
everybody looked at me and laughed loudly. suddenly they all said in good order,“happy birthday to you!” then they began to sing “happy birthday to you~~~~~~” that made me moved. i never told anyone about my birthday, how did they know? i believed they must have done a lot of things. at that moment, i found nothing to say but thanks instead!
after school, a thing coming as a surprise happened on me on my way back home. when i was riding suddenly a crowed of people rushed out to stopped my bike.i recogized them at once. they were my senior classmates. they all comlained to me,“why don't you tell us about your birthday? don't you fear that we will let you stand treat? this time you owe us.” then each of them gave a gift and a card with best wishes to me. i was deeply moved again. i suggested having a dinner together. but they all refused because of the time. then they left me saying we would ask you to pay us another day!
when i got back home, i thought of everything happened today. suddenly i felt so happy because i had such great friends around me. i thanked them from the bottom of my heart. i would value the precious friendship forever!
i have so many feelings through that special day. the only rose without thorns in the world is friendship. a true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget. one friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, three are hardly possible. stick to make friends, forlife without friends is like life on a desert island. to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune, to keep him is a blessing.
thank you for your attention!
Good afternoon, my dear friends.
I am very happy to meet you is my great honor to communicate with you at such a special t of all,please allow me to express my appreciation to you all to listion to me.
I am proud of being a college collegelife is fresh,new teachers, new classmates and new friends. I like the friendship, and their wide knowledge and opening mind. The grand library, school buildings and wide playground attrattde me very college life is better than I expected, I can do anything I like. In the college we can not only learn the professional knowledge,but also develop our comprehensive we can make full use of the period,we can learn many useful des,we should have the active attitude to our life,do a contributionto the egelife is the most precious time in our of us want to become an outstanding man. But there are some students still waste their time. They get together for eating, drinking or playing cards. They're busy in searching for a girlfriend or a boyfriend. They completely forget their task as college students.
Finally, I hope everybody can try their best to become a worthy person to our country, and make great contributions to the society!
as you slowly open your eyes, look around, notice where the light comesinto your room; listen carefully, see if there are new sounds you can recognize;feel with your body and spirit, and see if you can sense the freshnein theair.
yes, yes, yes, it’s a new day, it’s a different day, and it’s a bright day!and most importantly, it’s a new beginning for your life, a beginning where youare going to make new decisions, take new actions, make new friends, and takeyour life to a totally unprecedented(空前的) level.
in your mind’s eye, you can see clearly the things you want to have, thepaces you intend to go, the relationships you desire to develop, and thepositions you aspire(励志) to reach.
you can hear your laughters of joy and happineon the day when everythinghappens as you dream. you can see the smiles on the people around you when themagic moment strikes. you can feel your face is getting red, your heart isbeating fast, and your blood is rushing all over your body, to every singlecorner of your being!
you know all this is real as long as you are confident, passionate andcommitted!(效忠的) and you are confident, you are passionate, you arecommitted!
you will no longer fear ma-ki-ng new sounds, showing new facialexpressions, using your body in new ways, approaching new people, and asking newquestions.
you will live every single day of your life with absolute passion, and youwill show your passion through the words you speak and the actions you take.
you will focus all your time and effort on the most important goals of yourlife. you will never succumb(屈服,屈从) to challenges of hardships.
you will never waver(动摇) in your pursuit of excellence. after all, you arethe best, and you deserve the best!
as your coach and friend, i can assure you the door to all the best thingsin the world will open to you, but the key to that door is in your hand. youmust do your part. you must faithfully follow the plans you make and take theactions you plan; you must never quit and you must never fear. i know you mustdo it, you can do it, you will do it, and you will succeed! now stand firm andtall, make a fist, get excited, and yell it out:
i must do it! i can do it! i will do it! i will succeed!
i must do it! i can do it! i will do it! i will succeed!
i must do it! i can do it! i will do it! i will succeed!
Good morning/afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Consider the lowly toilet. Many of you may not think of the toilet as a form of technology if you think of toilets at all. But, it is and has contributed greatly to the improved health and overall quality of life for mankind.
On a recent trip to Japan, I was impressed by, among other things, a gadget in most public women's restrooms, called Otohime or Sound Princess. This device produces the sound of flushing water without the need for actual flushing. The technology saves the user both the embarrassment of being heard during urination and some 20 liters of water per use in cases where a woman might flush the toilet continuously while using it.
Every time I used Otohime, I felt like a princess, an environmentalist princess on the toilet.
It was a longed for feeling. Over the past decade, I shuffled in and out of many kinds of public restrooms in China--filthy smelly water closets in outlying areas, spacious luxurious lavatories in five-star hotels, forever-occupied girls' stalls on campus during school, and smart modern mobile toilets in international fairs. But not one single "room" evoked my pride of being a princess.
And I knew why the Sound Princess had. It was not because of the high technology the small bathroom boasted which is becoming ubiquitous worldwide. It was the idealism embodied in the technology that keeps reminding me that in this ever-changing world, I am a responsible and dignified human being even when sitting on a toilet.
Humanism, no matter how it is defined, aims to strike a balance between us being at the mercy of nature and being too human-centered. In my case, I haven't relieved myself under a tree for a while. I am a proud, dutiful Chinese citizen. Gone are the days when people just found a corner to do their business resulting in poor sanitation and threats to public health. The Otohimetechnology renders me two warnings: First, I am a humble human being with an obligation to save not only my face but also natural resources. Second, there is still a long way to go in my own country not just in developing technology and the economy, but also in upholding human dignity and promoting human welfare. Take the toilet: Dirty, crowdedtoilets shall, at least, give way to clean, human-friendly ones.
Fortunately, I have seen improvements. At Shanghai World Expo 20xx, 8,000 toilets, all modern and technologically sophisticated, were installed across the site. What really delighted the visitors, however, was the user-friendly design and services. Toilets were situated every 100 meters. Several hundred volunteers served as toilet guides and sanitation workers. The ratio of female to male toilet space was set at 2.5 to 1. Soft music was played in the toilets. All this seems to celebrate the glory of comprehensive humanism.
Ladies and gentlemen, science and technology are here to improve earthly life and maximize human happiness. When our world benefits from technology, coupled with human considerations, we are bound to enjoy our life. Conversely, we suffer.
The toilet is a piece of sanitaryware and the quintessence of humanism that underlies technological innovation. Like GNP, employment rates, and space exploration efforts, the lowly equipment is an equally important measure of a progressive society. When on a toilet if we feel like a princess, we shall be proud of living in a society that values humanity. If not, we must stand up and make some changes.
And if you are still baffled with what I have said, I suggest you take off right now and go experience the bathrooms in this auditorium, because they are what makes our life beautiful or ugly, humanism considered or ignored.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
My topic is Honesty.
As a correspondent of the Qingdao Morning News, I visited Dr. James Gilman, the President of the International Committee for Marco Polo Studies in England. In this picture, this is James, and this is me and we are looking at a dragon’s tooth. This is a true story.
65 years ago, James lived in Qingdao. Then he was only 5 years old. He often visited the Aquarium and was fascinated by a creature on display there, which he thought was a dragon. He was afraid of its sharp teeth and wanted one to keep as a treasure.
He kept the tooth for the next 65 years, but the feeling of guilt at having stolen it was there in the background all through his life. It was always on his conscience, and the feeling intensified as he became older. Finally he decided to put right his childish error. In 20xx, he visited Qingdao and returned it to the Aquarium with his sincere apologies. He received a warm welcome.
When James visited Qingdao, I accompanied him all the time and reported on his visit. I was deeply touched by his honesty. It has taught me a lot. I think to err is human. The important thing is to have the courage to admit and correct one’s error.
Honesty is a vital quality of human behaviour. So we should try to keep an honest mind in everything we say and do. I would like to say to all of my friends: Let’s be honest people of good moral character.
Thank you.
Let me begin my speech with a replay of scenes familiar to most, if not all, of those present here today. “Mum, I'm sorry, but I need 3,000 yuan for my tuition this year.”
“Mum, it is my friend's birthday tomorrow, I must buy her a present.”
“Mum, this jacket was out of fashion long ago, would you do me a favor? ”
Take. Take. Take. The relationship between a mother and a child always seems to follow such a pattern. I know my mother is always there for me, providing me with everything I need; from food to clothing, from tuition to pocket money. I never thought twice about all she did until one day she said, “Will there be a time that you'll say you have taken enough from me? ”
Like a child endlessly asking, we humans, throughout history, have been continually demanding what we desire from nature. We enjoy the comfort and beauty of our furniture, yet we never bother to think about the serious soil erosion caused by deforestation. We take it for granted that we must warm ourselves in winter times, yet we seldom realize the burning away of precious natural resources. We appreciate all the prosperity from the development of modern industry, yet few would give the slightest consideration to the global air and water pollution caused by industrial wastes. Our ruthless exploitation has permanently impaired our mother earth. As we tragically learned from last summer's floods. we cannot continue our carelessness.
INTRODUCTION
1. Tomorrow，we celebrate our 38th year of independence. 62 years is a short history for any country. But we have come a long way. 62 years ago，we were a poor country trying to create as many jobs as we could to feed our people. There was no Changi Airport，no multinational corporations or financial centre，no defence capability of our own. Only 60% of our people were literate. Only 11% of our students progressed beyond secondary school. Few people thought we could succeed，or even survive. But we overcame the odds. By working hard，finding our own solutions and tying our futures together as a people，we transformed Singapore into what it is today.
2. We now face renewed challenges as a nation. Terrorism is a real and continuing threat. Our economy has also been hit by the global economic slowdown，and more recently by SARS. Even after our economy recovers，we will face formidable competitors，especially in China and India.
3. We can overcome these challenges. We have faced up to many challenges before，especially when independence was first thrust upon us. We are in a stronger position today than in 1965. We have a skilled population，a world-class infrastructure，and the confidence of international investors. Most importantly，we are a united people，determined to meet challenges together.
THE FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS：ONE UNITED PEOPLE
4. A strong nation is not just made up of individuals，however talented. It rests on our collective efforts as one people.
5. Our experience with SARS is a good example of how we can overcome great challenges if we work together. All Singaporeans played a part in fighting SARS - the doctors and nurses in our hospitals，defence engineers working on the thermal scanners，the cleaning staff in our buildings and food centres，and everyone of you in our schools.
6. Our schools can take pride in how we stood up to the challenge of SARS. It has been a massive task to monitor the well being of more than half a million pupils and give their parents confidence in the safety of our schools. Our principals，teachers and other school staff rose to the challenge，calmly and meticulously. As pupils，you played your part well，by taking your temperature daily and exercising responsibility to prevent the spread of the disease. Even our Primary 1 and 2 pupils learnt how to take their own temperatures with the guidance of their teachers. The fact that a very large majority of parents sent their children back to schools as soon as we reopened them was a major vote of confidence，especially in our teachers.
Hold Fast To Your Dreams
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every vally shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Wow, what a dream it has been for Martin Luther King. But the changing world seems telling me that people gradually get their dreams lost somehow in the process of growing up, and sometimes I personally find myself saying goodbye unconsciously to those distant childhood dreams.
However, we meed dreams. They nourish our spirit; they represent possibility even when we are dragged down by reality. They keep us going. Most successful people are dreamers as well as ordinary people who are not afraid to think big and dare to be great. When we were little kids, we all dreamed of doing something big and splashy, something significant. Now what we need to do is to maintain them, refresh them and turn them into reality. However, the toughest part is that we often have no ideas how to translate these dreams into actions. Well, just start with concrete objectives and stick to it. Don’t let the nameless fear confuse the eye and confound our strong belief of future. Through our talents, through our wits, through our endurance and through our creativity, we will make it.
Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow. So my dear friends, think of your old and maybe dead dreams. Whatever it is, pick it up and make it alive from today.
May 12, 20xx, bearing in mind the history of the day, live the life of the number of disappeared in an instant. The earthquake, shook the Chinese people each. With our determination and courage, emergency toward the disaster areas, risking their lives, searching for the ruins of a desire for the survival of both eyes, looking for our loved ones. Finally, the difficulties one by one the children in your feet turn into nothing. Among these, the number of heroic sons and daughters of TV drama to your shaking earth spirits tell the true story, this is for your children! It was with you, we have the courage, have confidence. We are grateful to you!
Motherland, gave birth to sons and daughters of your classmates and plug in a Wings of Hope, you are on the East China Sea a rising sun; you are an oriental dragon is soaring; you are the descendants of reform and opening up blueprint for prosperity of the Chinese nation to catch up the footsteps of ... ...
Motherland, I love you like you, you're always in my heart!
Bless you! My dear motherland! ! !
This concludes my presentation, thank you.
Principal，teachers and students
students are free but polite and they respect each other. they can leave at 4:00 every afternoon, or perhaps earlier. they have the freedom to organize time. they can go to the library, go to the lab, the computer rooms or the playground. they’re self-motivated and have a strong thirst for knowledge. and there are no frequent exams and rankings. students won’t be forced to wear uniforms everyday, and there is no required hair style. everyday is so colorful that they are looking forward to the next day when going to bed at night,
every teacher in this school can give a course as they like. there is no tedious rating, no scraps of quantitative management and no rigid standard. teachers can fully display their personality in class, and they feel very happy and content to teach. every morning, on thoughts of giving lessons, they are excited. after class, they are delighted , with smiles on their faces. some experts, scholars and masters are also visiting teachers in this zhenning can give physics classes for a day. yi zhongtian opens lectures on chinese culture for a week. speaking of music, we can ask wang lihong to give music lectures, just as he did in oxford university. if necessary, we can also invite david beckham to speak something about the world cup …
the principal of the school focuses on education rather than waste time in endless meetings and social activities. teachers’ wages are not high but enough to live comfortably. there are no other things to do except to teach. there are no paper requirements, no titles and no ranks because they don’t need to be judged by those things. almost every teacher is a well-known scholar and master in a particular field. a language teacher may be a writer at the same time. a math teacher may try to overcome a world-class guess. a physics teacher can win invention awards and a music teacher may return from an international music competition again.
in short, in this school, the principal is satisfied, the teachers are happy and the students are joyful. that’s my dream.
