选择的重要性——大学英语演讲稿
overthepastspringfestival,igotinvolvedinafamilydispute.rightbeforeigothome,foursatellitechannelsofcctvwereaddedtothe14channelswehadalreadyhad.inprimetimeatnight,theyallhadinterestingshows.therefore,thefiveofus-myparents,mysistersandi-hadtoargueoverwhattowatch.finally,weagreedthatweshouldwatchthe"mostinteresting"programme...ifwe
couldagreewhatthatwas.
however,allofusthererememberthatforalongtimeafterwehadtv,therewereonlyoneortwochannelsavailable.theincreaseinoptionsrevealsanimportantchangeinourlife:theabundanceofchoice.
fifteenyearsagowealldressedinonestyleandinonecolour.today,weselectfromawidevarietyofdesignsandshades.
fifteenyearsago,wereadfewnewspapers.today,wereadenglishnewspaperslikethechinadailyandthe21stcentury,aswellasvariouschinesenewspapers.
fifteenyearsago,englishmajorstookonlycoursesinlanguageandliterature.today,wealsostudywesternculture,journalism,businesscommunications,internationalrelations,andcomputerscience.
theemergenceofchoicesmarksthebeginningofanewerainchina’shistory;aneraofdiversity,ofmaterialandculturalrichness,andaneraoftherebirthofthechinesenation.
weenjoytheabundanceofchoice.butthishasnotcomeeasily.
about150yearsago,chinawasforcedtoopenupitsdoorbywesterncanonsandgunboats.ithasbeenthroughthestruggleandsacrificeofgenerationsthatwefinallyhavegainedtheopportunitytochooseforourselves.thepolicyofreformandopennessisthechoicethathasmadeallthedifference.
likeothersofmyage,i’mtooyoungtohaveexperiencedthetimewhenthechinesepeoplehadnorighttochoose.however,asthenextcenturydrawsnear,itistimetoask:whatdoeschoicereallymeantousyoungpeople?
ischoiceagamethatreliesonchanceorluck?ischoiceanemptypromisethatnevermaterializes?orischoiceapuzzlesodifficultthatwehavetoavoidit?
first,iwouldliketosay:tochoosemeanstoclaimopportunities.
iamathird-yearenglishmajor.animportantchoiceforme,ofcourse,iswhattodoupongraduation.icangotograduateschool,athomeorabroad.icangotoworkasateacher,atranslator,ajournalist,aneditorandadiplomat.actually,thesystemofmutualselectionhasallowedmetoapproachalmosteverycareeropportunityinchina.
indeed,thisisnotgoingtobeaneasychoice.iwouldlovetoworkinsuchbigcitiesasbeijingorshanghaiorshenzhen.iwouldalsolovetoreturntomyhometown,whichisintimate,thoughslightlylaggingindevelopment.iwouldlovetostayinthecoastalareawherelifeisexcitingandfast-paced.iwouldalsolovetoputdownrootsincentralandwesternchina,whichisunderdeveloped,butholds
greatpotential.
allofthesesoundgood.buttheyareonlypossibilities.tothoseofuswhoarebewilderedattheabundanceofopportunities,iwouldliketosay:tochoosemeanstoacceptchallenge.
tousyoungpeople,challengeoftenemergesintheformofcompetition.inthenextcentury,competitionwillnotonlycomefromothercollegegraduates,butalsofrompeopleofallagesandofallorigins.
withincreasinginternationalexchanges,wehavetofacegrowingcompetitionfromthewholeoutsideworld.thisiscallingforahigherlevelofourpersonaldevelopment.
fifteenyearsago,theknowledgeofaforeignlanguageorofcomputeroperationwasconsideredmerelyanadvantage.buttoday,withwidereducationalopportunities,thissameknowledgehasbecomeessentialtoeveryone.
giventhissituation,evenoursmallestchoiceswillrequiregreatwisdomandpersonaldetermination.
aswegainmoreinitiativeinchoicemaking,theconsequenceofeachchoicealsobecomesmoreimportant.
aswegainmoreinitiativeinchoicemaking,theconsequenceofeachchoicealsobecomesmoreimportant.
nuclearpower,forinstance,mayimproveourqualityoflife.butitcanalsobeusedtodamagethelivesandpossessionsofmillions.
economicdevelopmenthasenrichedourlivesbutbroughtwithitseriousharmtoourair,waterandhealth.
tothoseofuswhoareblindtotheconsequencesoftheirchoices,iwouldliketosay,tochoosemeanstotakeresponsibility.whenwearemakingchoicesforourselves,wecannotcasuallysay:"it’sjustmyownbusiness."aspolicymakersofthenextcentury,wecannotfailtoseeourresponsibilitytothosewhosharetheearthwithus.
thetraditionalchinesecultureteachesustostudyhardandworkhardsoastohonorourfamily.tome,however,thisfamilyisnotjustthefiveofuswhoquarreledovertelevisionprogrammes.rather,itisthewholeofthehumanfamily.asiammakingmychoices,iwillnotforgetthesmileofmyteacherwhenicorrectlyspelledouttheword"china"forthefirsttime,iwillnotforgetthehappyfacesoftheboysandgirlswehelpedtosendbacktoschoolinthemountainsofjiangxiprovince.iwillnotforgetthetearfuleyesofwomenandchildreninbosnia,chechnyaandsomali,wheremillionsaresufferingfromwar,famineorpoverty. 12