1、洪晔：南京大学选手，第九届“2 1世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛冠军。演讲稿：The Doors that Are Op en to UsGood morning ladies and gentlemen:The title of my speech today is “The Doors that Are Opento Us “.The other day my aunt paid me a visit. She wasoverjoyed. “I got the highest mark in the mid-termexamination!“ she said. Dont be surprise
2、d! My aunt is indeeda student; to be exact, a college student at the age of 4 5 .Last year, she put aside her private business and signedup for a one-year, full-time management course in a college.“This was the wisest decision I have ever made,“ she saidproudly like a teenage girl. To her, college i
3、s always a rightplace to pick up new ideas, and new ideas always make herfeel young.“Compared with the late 7 0 s,“ she says, “now collegestudents have many doors.“ My aunt cannot help but recallher first college experience in 1 9 7 8 when college doors beganto be re-opened after the Cultural Revolu
4、tion. She wasassigned to study engineering despite her desire to studyChinese literature, and a few years later, the governmentsent her to work in a TV factory.I was shocked when she first told me how she (had) hadno choice in her major and job. Look at us today! So manydoors are open to us! I belie
5、ve there have never been suchabundant opportunities for self-development as we havetoday. And my aunt told me that we should reach our goalsby grasping all these opportunities.The first door I see is the opportunity to study differentkinds of subjects that interest us. My aunt said she washappy to s
6、tudy management, but she was also happy thatshe could attend lectures on ancient Chinese poetry and onShakespearean drama. As for myself, I am an English major,but I may also go to lectures on history. To me, if collegeeducation in the past emphasized specialization, now, itemphasizes free and well-
7、rounded development of eachindividual. So all the fine achievements of human civilizationare open to us.The second door is the door to the outside world.Learning goes beyond classrooms and national boundaries.My aunt remembers her previous college days asmonotonous and even calls her generation “fro
8、gs in a well.“But today, as the world becomes a global village, it isimportant that our neighbors and we be open-minded tolearn with and from each other. I have many fellowinternational classmates, and I am applying to an exchangeprogram with a university abroad. As for my aunt, she isplanning to ge
9、t an MBA degree in the United Kingdom whereher daughter, my cousin, is now doing her masters degree inbiochemistry. We are now taking the opportunity to studyoverseas, and when we come back, well put to use what wehave learnt abroad.The third door is the door to lifelong learning. As newideas appear
10、 all the time, we always need to acquire newknowledge, regardless of our age. Naturally, my aunt herselfis the best example. Many of my aunts contemporaries saythat she is amazingly up-to-date for a middle-aged woman.She simply responds, “Age doesnt matter. What matters isyour attitude. You may thin
11、k its strange that I am still goingto college, but I dont think Im too old to learn.“ Yes, she isright. Since the government removed the age limit for collegeadmissions in 2 0 0 1 , there are already some untraditionalstudents, sitting with us in the same classrooms. Like thesepeople, my aunt is old
12、 but she is very young in spirit. Withher incredible energy and determination, she embodies bothtradition and modernity.The doors open to us also pose challenges. For instance,we are faced with the challenge of a balanced learning, thechallenge of preserving our fine tradition while learning fromthe
13、 West, and the challenge of learning continuously whilecarrying heavy responsibilities to our work and family. So,each door is a test of our courage, ability and judgment, butwith the support of my teachers, parents, friends and myaunt, I believe I can meet the challenge head on. When Ireach my aunt
14、s age, I can be proud to say that I havewalked through dozens of doors and will, in the remainder ofmy life, walk through many more. Possibly I will go back tocollege, too.Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.魏香君：复旦大学选手，第九届“2 1世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛亚军。演讲稿：Prep ared Sp eechGood afternoon, ladies and gentl
15、emen, thank you foryour patience. Today I would like to begin with my personalexperience.Before getting enrolled in college, I had been bombardedwith suggestions.“Take courses of different subjects. Broaden yourhorizon.“ my high school teacher advised.“Dive into campus activities. Have fun!“ a frien
16、d said.She was well seasoned in Student Union affairs.“Work hard. Get as many As as possible. Make yourtranscript look good!“ my cousin offered. By the way, shewas a senior busy hunting for a job.As for my mom, she simply said, “Take care. Dont be toohard on yourself.“Composed but hopeful, I eagerly
17、 set out for an excitinglife at college. Yet very soon, as I pondered these goldenrules, I was overwhelmed and bewildered. Such advice allmade perfect sense. Yet I couldnt figure out what should topmy priority list.My first semester at college was stimulating in asomewhat anarchic way. I rushed from
18、 library to club, fromclassroom to tennis court, “enjoying“, as it were, thefreshness of being a freshman at the expense of my sleep.Little by little, however, I became overtaxed and eventuallyfell victim to the “Yu Men“ syndrome - “Yu Men“ beingstressful misery. Literally, I was overwrought from th
19、epressures of work and life at college. I wanted to experienceand excel. I wanted everything. Emotionally, I was like aninsatiable kid whose hand had got stuck in the candy jar withway too many sweets.Luckily I didnt suffer for too long from my “get-everything“ malaise. Recently, Mr. Tom Freston, pr
20、esident ofthe media company MTV came to my school. His talk inspiredme. He proudly told us that the average age of hisemployees is only 2 8 . Whats the secret behind the successof his young team? “Sagacity,“ he told us, “In other words,being conscious of what one is doing and what one is able todo.“
21、Exactly! As a freshman about to be a sophomore, Irealize now that our time and stamina dont allow us toextend ourselves in all directions. So the moral responsibilityof college education is to teach students the art of makingimportant choices. No matter how hard the growing painsare, mastering this
22、art is at the heart of everyundergraduates success, whether in school now or in lifelater on.So I am learning to make such choices. Joining thiscompetition, for instance, has been one. Ive wanted to fullyexperience this contest, to make friends, to discover what myage peers believe and to stretch my
23、self in new andunexpected ways. I imagine this is true for most contestantshere today. But to do so, weve chosen to set asidepleasures, such as watching TV series “Friends“ and karaokeevenings, so we could invest more time in more reading,speaking, and study.Yet this competition, by forcing us to ta
24、ke charge of ourdecisions, has surely helped us define our values, find outwhat were capable of doing, and learn what best suits ourindividual development. I believe this knowledge of onesown caliber is the most valuable, integral and longest lastinglesson for students in this increasingly competiti
25、ve world.As for the challenges and opportunities for us, they willbe determined by how adequately our education trains us togain a clear perception of ourselves, and thereby to makesensible choices that follow. College education, as Britishphilosopher Alfred North Whitehead said, “should beenergizin
26、g as the poet of our dreams and the architect of ourpurposes.“ Such purpose, self-discipline and vision all hingeon the art of choice-making.As I look back on the advice received those very firstdays on campus, I no longer feel perplexed, because I nowhave my own guideline: Make choices that lead to
27、 a clearervision of who I am, what I can do, and how I may best tapmy potential. The horizon is now wide but distinct. And thetaste already feels sweet.Thank you!钟雨柔：清华大学选手，第九届“2 1世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛季军。演讲稿：Prep ared Sp eechGood morning, ladies and gentlemen. At present, myfellow students and I have before
28、us great personal andeducational opportunities. At the same time, we are runninginto a variety of challenges.Todays college education provides us with opportunitiesfor bringing out the creativity and talent that we have withinus. This is nurtured both by our learned professors, and bythe growing dim
29、ension of knowledge sources, such as theWorld Wide Web and multimedia sources. Our educationalexperience is being transformed both within and beyond thetraditional classroom. However, challenges still exist.At the end of every semester, students in my universityare required to fill out a questionnai
30、re as a review of theprevious semester. The questions usually cover a broadrange of college life, from curriculum adjustment to canteenservice. And almost every time, the questionnaire includesone essential question, that is: As a college student, what areyour major challenges? And almost every answ
31、er includestwo aspects: studying and professional. These two challengeswill remain our preoccupations as long as we live in such acompetitive world.A series of challenges in our studies start from almost thebeginning of our freshman year. We may wonder whetherweve chosen the right major. We may wond
32、er if theextracurricular activities add credits to our studies. We maywork our heads off to get a glorious A, because B is alreadymediocre and C is almost unacceptable. Later on we may becompeting with our hardworking, intelligent peers, includingour best friends to get into an ideal graduate school
33、. All ofthese sound so familiar and they have somehow made ourcollege education so goal-obsessed that we sometimes fail tofully enjoy our educational experience.Apart from challenges in learning, there are alsoprofessional challenges. The competitive world today has alsobrought about the “Knowledge
34、Economy,“ which requires theeffective use of knowledge for economic and socialdevelopment, and also requires skilled and multi-orientedstudents with a marketable vocational sense. Therefore,sophisticated calculations upon the value of a universitydegree are being made. Graduate employability statist
35、ics arebeing scrutinized. Programs like resume writing and interviewskills are seen as a must. Again as Ive said above, whenprofessional concern dominates our college education, wemay lose the essence of our educational experience.Indeed, facing these two challenges, how can studentsmanage to be wha
36、t the employers seek and at the same timeto enjoy a valuable, insightful and rewarding educationalexperience?For me, the solution to the problem lies in what can becalled an “Educational Synthesis“. I remember attending alecture by Professor Tu Weiming, director of HarvardYenching Institute. In his
37、lecture, Professor Tu argued thatthe ideal state of college education is to arrive at a synthesis,a combination of specific knowledge, humanistic insight andsense of social responsibility.Admittedly, there is much to do to bridge the gapbetween our educational experience in college and the socialemp
38、loyment in society. “Educational synthesis“ can help usnarrow the gap. Fortunately, todays college educationprovides us with such a diverse world. From this diverseworld we may choose what we want to form our owneducational synthesis.Ladies and gentlemen, as Charles Dickens oncecommented upon the ti
39、me of the French Revolution, “It wasthe best of times; it was the worst of times.“ And Im afraidso it is with our time.I believe, once we achieve our own educationalsynthesis, we will be able to transform our challenges intoopportunities. We will be able to see the best time of our life.And more importantly, we will be able to see the best time ofour nation. Thank you.
