《英语演讲稿开头(汇编20篇)》
英语演讲稿开头（通用20篇）
13.英语演讲稿开头 篇1
good morning/afternoon/evening, my name is . It is really a great honor to have this opportunity/chance to introduce myself. I would like to answer whatever you may raise, and I hope I can make a good performance today.
I am a third year master major in automation at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P. R. china. withtremendous interest in Industrial Engineering, I am writing to apply for acceptance into your Ph.d. graduate program.
3.英语演讲稿开头 篇2
good morning teachers and fellow students. today we would like to introduce a few favorite books to you.
my favorite book is (italian: cuore). this is a diary written by an italian boy enrico. the diary is about his life and study. it included various touching stories that happened around enrico, the mottos taught by his parents, as well as the wonderful ten "monthly" stories told by his teacher during the class. every word in the chapter describes the word "love". from patriotism to friendship, and to the love between parents and child -- really touching.
this novel taught me how to love, and how to learn from love. i really like this book very much. how about you? what is your favorite book?
my favorite book is . have you read it before?
9.英语演讲稿开头 篇3
Good morning/afternoon/evening, ladies and gentleman, Thank you for being on time / making the effort to come today. Let me introduce myself first. My name is .
I am pleased to be able to welcome you to our company. / May I take this opportunity of thanking you for coming.
开头问候听众是演讲的基本礼仪。人的好奇心都特别强，如果台上站着一个不认识的人作演讲，听众们一定都想知道演讲者的身份背景信息。所以在英语演讲的开头，大大方方将自己介绍给听众，让大家认识自己，无论如何，这总比演讲结束了，台下的观众还不知道台上那个家伙是谁要强！
I won't take up more than ten minutes of your time.I don't intend to speak for longer than ten minutes.I know that time is short, so I intend to keep this brief.
当听众在席位上安定的坐下来后，必然也会想知道演讲会持续多久，以便安排下面的行程。为了缓解听众的焦虑，可以在说完演讲主题后，友好的告知其演讲持续的时间，相当于给听众吃了颗定心丸。
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell you about.
The subject of my presentation is.
Today we are here to talk about. Before we start, I'd like you meet my team members.
Before we start our presentation, let's take a brief look at the agenda.
英语演讲的开头要告知听众演讲的主题，让听众在心里有一个大致的'了解和准备，这样他们在听演讲的过程中注意力会更加集中，更容易产生思维的交流。
I'd like to thank you for inviting/asking me / giving me the chance to.
I am grateful for the opportunity to present.
I am delighted/pleased/glad to have the opportunity to present / of making this presentation.
通常情况下，在一起企业活动或者学术活动中，有的演讲者会作为嘉宾被邀请发言。这个时候，你可以引用一些经典的句型来开始你的演讲。
My presentation will help solve a problem that has puzzled people for years.
I am going to be talking about a product that could double your profit margins.
Over the next ten minutes you are going to hear about something that will change the way your companies operate.
At the end of this presentation you will understand why this company has been so successful for so long.
演讲的技巧之一就是在英语演讲的开头引入一些能引起听众兴趣的内容。在开头设置悬念，让听众在你的英语演讲中找寻答案，变被动接受为主动汲取，总是能够大大增加演讲的效果。
6.英语演讲稿开头 篇4
as we know, you have to learn how to fly much more independently instead of under your parents’ considerate protection when you get into college, which also means you will come across enormous questions that should be solved by yourself. from my point of view, those main problems can fall into three parts.
first of all, the complicated relationship. for one thing, you have to know how cultural differences function in your relationship and respect them. in addition, college students spend less time studying together owing to different courses’ choosing, which requires us to devote more energy to building relationship. for the other thing, it is also vital to communicate with your parents often by using mobile phones or other tools.
17.英语演讲稿开头 篇5
Welcome to t, let me show a short video to you.
The First team I will talk about is Houston this team,there are two MAP is T-Mac,the other one is Yao e are Bonzi Wells,Steve Francis,Mike James,Shane Battier and Rafer Alston also.I think it’s powerful enough.
Some experts even claim that they could win 60 in fact,they have lost 7 games.I think maybe they can’t win the games as many as the experts said,but they must be a strong power in the western this season if the stars specially Tracy and Yao could keep health.
The second team is Dallas season,they won more than 60 games,but they were washed out in the this team became the second team which won 60 or more games but lost the champion.
This season,most of the players there are in their golden age and I think they own the ability to create everything what even out of everyone’s expectation.
11.英语演讲稿开头 篇6
Nowadays, more and more graduate student step in society to find a satisfied job. At the same time, we have a serious problem. When these students were finding jobs, the male were easier to get a job than the female.
Now the discrimination in employment became a common phenomenon. Even the tall educational background daughter graduate student is also very difficult to find the good job.
In my opinion, the phenomenon should be eliminated. Maybe many things which need much physical strength to finish. In this aspect, male should be more popular than female. But in many other aspects, female shouldn’t be discriminated. Because female could do many things which men could do . As far as we know, the female’s IQ don’t be lower than man. So these employing units shouldn’t discriminate female. Contrary, the woman more careful than many male person . In some aspects, woman more acuter than man.
Generally speaking, female should get the same treat as male.
My speech is over. Thank you.
4.英语演讲稿开头 篇7
my dream hello everyone! it is my great pleasure to share my dream with you today.
my dream is to become a teacher.
you know being a teacher is a thing that is very valuable and very interesting.
i suggest that it must be a great fun to be with children all the day.
and if i am a teacher， i can teach my students a lot of knowledge.
they might become stronger and cleverer because of me.
that is a very contented feeling.
china is a developing country.
1.英语演讲稿开头 篇8
future?
How to say future?Man’s life is a process of growing up, actually I’m standing here is a growth.
If a person’s life must constituted by various choices, then I grow up along with these choices. Once I hope I can study in a college in future, however that’s passed, as you know I come here, now I wonder what the future holds for (= what will happen to) me.
When I come to this school, I told to myself: this my near future, all starts here.
Following I will learn to become a man, a integrated man, who has a fine body, can take on important task, has independent thought, an open mind, intensive thought, has the ability to judge right and wrong, has a perfect job. Once my teacher said :” you are not sewing, you are stylist; never forget which you should lay out to people is your thought, not craft.”
10.英语演讲稿开头 篇9
Hello,everyone!
Today I am very happy,Because I can talk about with you.
You see I am a lovely girl,yes!I like laughing,I like studying.
That`s me-- zhuyingjie from Badong shiyan primary school.I am
eight. I am young but I know “we are the masters of nature.”
14.英语演讲稿开头 篇10
good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
during his presidency, bill clinton seized important opportunities on issues from welfare to free trade. he was a tireless champion of peace in the middle east. he used american power in the balkans to confront aggression and halt ethnic cleansing. and in all his actions and decisions, the american people sensed a deep empathy for the poor and the powerless. shortly before leaving office, president clinton said, "christ admonished us that our lives will be judged by how we do unto the least of our neighbors." throughout his career, bill clinton has done his best to live up to that standard. and americans respect him for it. at every stage of his remarkable life, president clinton has made and kept countless friends, who share in the joy of this day. and three people in particular have the largest part in this remarkable story. one day more than 30 years ago, inside the yale law library, a fellow student walked over to bill clinton and said, "if you're going to keep staring at me, and i'm going to keep staring back, we ought to at least know each other's name. mine's hillary rodham. what is yours?"that was a good day for both of them, and the beginning of a partnership unique in american history. so today, we honor the former first lady of arkansas, the former first lady of america, the united states senator from new york, senator hillary rodham clinton.
perhaps the clintons' greatest achievement is their daughter, who moved into the white house as a young girl, and left as an accomplished young lady. it's not easy to be a teenager in the white house, but it's a lot easier when you have a loving mother and a loving father that chelsea clinton had.
this magnificent presidential library, and the american life it celebrates, would not have been possible without the love and sacrifice of a special lady. among his heroes, president clinton always includes his mother, virginia kelley, "a working woman and a widow." virginia was there when her son took the oath of office, and we know that she would be incredibly proud of this day.
the story that began in a little house on hervey street in hope, arkansas is the kind of story that inspires people from every background, all over america. in this great nation, it is always possible for a child to go as far as their talent and vision can take them. visitors to this place will be reminded of the great promise of our country, and the dreams that came true in the life of our 42nd president. the william j. clinton presidential library is a gift to the future by a man who always believed in the future. and today, we thank him for loving and serving america.
5.英语演讲稿开头 篇11
As everyone knows,English is very important today.It has been used everywhere in the world.It has become the most common language on Internet and for international trade. If we can speak English well,we will have more chance to succeed.Because more and more people have taken notice of it,the number of the people who go to learn English has increased at a high speed.
But for myself,I learn English not only because of its importance and its usefulness,but also because of my love for it.When I learn English, I can feel a different way of thinking which gives me more room to touch the world.When I read English novels,I can feel the pleasure from the book which is different from reading the translation.When I speak English, I can feel the confident from my words.When I write English,I can see the beauty which is not the same as our Chinese...
I love English,it gives me a colorful dream.I hope I can travel around the world one day. With my good English, I can make friends with many people from different contries.I can see many places of GREat interests.I dream that I can go to London,because it is the birth place of English.
19.英语演讲稿开头 篇12
Money is indeed important, but money cannot buy everything. A miser maythink that “money talks,” but if you only give your attention to making money,you may lose many things, such as health, friendship and love. I don't think weshould regard money as everything. Money is just a tool that can help us solveproblems or enable us to live a comfortable life. What we should do is to use itappropriately and not become misers. This way, all of us can lead a happierlives.
钱确实是很重要的，但钱买不到所有的东西。守财奴可能认为“金钱万能”，但是如果你只将注意力放在挣钱上，你将失去很多东西，例如，健康，友谊和爱。我认为我们不应该将金钱看作一切。钱仅仅是一个可以帮助我们解决问题和过更舒适的生活的工具。我们应该做的是如何正确的使用金钱，不要变成守财奴。这样，我们才能过上幸福的生活。
7.英语演讲稿开头 篇13
i wanna welcome everybody here in this cheer team. thank you for coming here this morning to stand on my side cheering me on. it’s my dream to have the opportunity to challenge all the foreign athletes to the championship at this great occasion: 20xx olympic games. now, the dream came true. as an athlete of china, i’m here to win the gold medal of orienteering for our motherland.
i’m so proud of being one of the best players in the world. but could you believe i had been a lazy girl when i was in junior high. i’m not kidding! at that time, running was my last favorite. i really don’t know how to describe the first time i was on the track. it was horrible. when i started to run, i was simply out of breath. and while i touched the finishing line, i really didn’t know if i was still alive. it’s so funny, huh? but it’s true, i did.
well, something happened and changed the situation. we won the right of holding the olympic games in 20xx. after that, sports became a kind of game in campus. and there are many sports clubs in school. one day someone asked me:“are you gonna try one of those?”first i felt so wired.
“try to get into sports clubs? are you kidding?” i said. and she goes: “why not it’s not hard at all, and so fascinating!” so i did tried one and i was so lucky to become one of those who did orienteering. that is a fantastic sport! you need to run and find where to go just by using a map and a compass. it’s wasn’t popular in china at first. but when we heard it might become a new event in 20xx, we did practiced hard, and aimed to win the first champion of orienteering in the world. when we practiced, there were a lot of troubles. you know, sometimes you need to go with your feet, but sometimes you need to go with your heart. in some situations, we faced the difficulties and problems. and we need to solve that through teamwork and strong willpower. so we can run faster, go higher and be stronger. that is what we say—olympic spirit.
now the dream came true. i’m standing here with all my body and my heart put in sports. so do the people from all over the world to here at the olympic games. it’s the olympic games that make us together. we are here for a big day of sport; we are here for a dream of sports. we are here for a spirit of sport that encourages us to face the difficulties of today and tomorrow.
15.英语演讲稿开头 篇14
We're going to go on a dive to the deep sea， and anyone that's had that lovely opportunity knows that for about two and half hours on the way down， it's a perfectly positively pitch—black world。 And we used to see the most mysterious animals out the windowthat you couldn't describe： these blinking lights —— a world of bioluminescence， like fireflies。 Dr。 Edith Widder —— she's now at the Ocean Research and Conservation Association —— was able to come up with a camera that could capture some of these incredible animals， and that's what you're seeing here on the screen。
好了，我们即将潜入海底深处。 任何一个有过这种美妙机会的人都知道 在这两个半小时的下降过程中， 是一个完全漆黑的世界。 我们透过窗户会看见世界上各种最神秘的动物， 各种无法形容的动物。这些闪亮着的光， 完美地构成了如萤火虫般发光的世界。 研究保护协会的Edith Witter博士 发明了一种照相机， 这种照相机可以拍下这些令人难以置信的生物。 这就是你现在在屏幕上看到的。
That's all bioluminescence。 So， like I said： just like fireflies。 There's a flying turkey under a tree。 （Laughter） I'm a geologist by training。 But I love that。 And you see， some of the bioluminescence they use to avoid being eaten， some they use to attract prey， but all of it， from an artistic point of view， is positively amazing。 And a lot of what goes on inside 。。。 there's a fish with glowing eyes， pulsating eyes。 Some of the colors are designed to hypnotize， these lovely patterns。 And then this last one， one of my favorites， this pinwheel design。 Just absolutely amazing， every single dive。
他们全部都是生物发光体。像我说的，就像萤火虫一样。 这是个会飞的火鸡，在树下。（笑声） 我知道我现在像是个实习期的地质学家，不过我就是喜欢。 你可以看到这些生物发出的光， 有些是为了避免被吃掉。 有些又是为引诱食物上钩。 尽管如此，用艺术的角度来看，这些都如此神奇。 再来看看这里发生了些什么—— 这条鱼有着会发光，闪烁的眼睛。 有些颜色则可以催眠。 多么有趣的图案。这是最后一个： 也是我的最爱，像转轮一样的设计。 每一次潜水都充满着惊喜。
That's the unknown world， and today we've only explored about 3 percent of what's out there in the ocean。 Already we've found the world's highest mountains， the world's deepest valleys， underwater lakes， underwater waterfalls —— a lot of that we shared with you from the stage。 And in a place where we thought no life at all， we find more life， we think， and diversity and density than the tropical rainforest， which tells us that we don't know much about this planet at all。 There's still 97 percent， and either that 97 percent is empty or just full of surprises。
这正是一个未知的世界。到今天为止，我们只探索了其中的极小部分， 大约只占了所有海洋的3%。 到现在，我们已经发现了世界上最高的山峰， 最深的峡谷， 水下湖，水下瀑布， 还有我们刚才看到的。 然而，恰是我们曾经以为根本不可能有生命的地方， 我们发现了众多的生物，还有它们的密度和多样性， 都超过了热带雨林。这告诉我们 我们实际上对自己的星球还不甚了解。 还有剩下的97%，那里要不就是一片荒芜，要不就是充满惊喜。
But I want to jump up to shallow water now and look at some creatures that are positively amazing。Cephalopods —— head—foots。 As a kid I knew them as calamari， mostly。 （Laughter） This is an octopus —— this is the work of Dr。 Roger Hanlon at the Marine Biological Lab —— and it's just fascinating how cephalopods can， with their incredible eyes， sense their surroundings， look at light， look at patterns。 Here's an octopus moving across the reef， finds a spot to settle down， curls up and then disappears into the background。 Tough thing to do。
不过我现在还是想说说浅水里的世界， 来看看那些神奇的生物。 头足类动物，有头有角。小时候我把他们当作是枪乌贼。 这是一条章鱼。 这是来自Roger Hanlon博士，海洋生物实验室的成果。 这些头足类动物真令人着迷， 它用它们的眼睛，它们那难以置信的眼睛来观察周围的环境， 看光，看图案。 这有只章鱼正在穿过礁石。 找到一个位置，停下来，卷起，然后马上消失在背景之中。 这很难做到。
In the next bit， we're going to see a couple squid。 These are squid。 Now males， when they fight， if they're really aggressive， they turn white。 And these two males are fighting， they do it by bouncing their butts together， which is an interesting concept。 Now， here's a male on the left and a female on the right， and the male has managed to split his coloration so the female only always sees the kinder gentler squid in him。 And the male 。。。 （Laughter） We're going to see it again。 Let's take a look at it again。 Watch the coloration： white on the right， brown on the left。 He takes a step back —— so he's keeping off the other males by splitting his body —— and comes up on the other side 。。。 Bingo！ Now I'm told that's not just a squid phenomenon with males， but I don't know。 （Laughter）
接下来，再来一起看一对鱿鱼。 这就是鱿鱼。当雄性鱿鱼搏斗时， 如果它们想要显示出自己的侵略性，它们就变为白色了。 这有两条雄鱿鱼在搏斗。 它们用撞屁股的方式来搏斗， 真是挺有意思的方法。这里有一条雄性在左边， 雌性在右边。 看，这条雄性能有办法利用颜色把自己分为两半， 所以雌性只能看到它温顺，优雅的一边， 雄性—— （笑声）再来看一次。 让我们再看一次。注意它的颜色： 白色在右边，棕色在左边。 它后退一步，让其它的雄性无法靠近 来到另外一边，并且马上转换颜色。 瞧！以前有人告诉我 这个雄性特征不仅仅是在鱿鱼身上，不过我也不太确定。 （掌声）
16.英语演讲稿开头 篇15
At first, you must understand the meaning of climate change.
It means any long-term significant change in the average weather, which may include average temperature, precipitation, wind patterns and so on. For example, Australia is experiencing rapid climate change. Since the middle of the twentieth century, Australian temperatures have risen by about average one temperature degree with an increase in the frequency of heat waves and a decrease in the numbers of frosts and cold days.
Rainfall patterns have also changed, which means that the northwest has seen an increase in rainfall over the last fifty years while much of eastern Australia and the far southwest have experienced a decline. From this example, it indicates climate change that is occurring today has sped up, and affects long-term weather. The Earth’s climate is largely affected by how much heat is stored in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the climate change is caused by dynamic process on Earth, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more recently by human activities.
18.英语演讲稿开头 篇16
Dear friends,Today, I want to talk to you about the power of faith. Faith is a powerful force that can transform our lives and bring us closer to our goals and aspirations.
First of all, let me explain what faith is. Faith is a belief in something with no evidence or proof. It is a feeling or a sense of trust that we have in something, whether it is in ourselves, our loved ones, or our beliefs. Faith can bring us comfort and peace, and it can also help us overcome challenges and obstacles.
Now, let me share with you some examples of the power of faith. One of the most famous people who has demonstrated the power of faith is Jesus Christ. Jesus walked the earth as a man of faith, and his teachings and actions speak volumes about the power of faith. For example, when Jesus was being arrested and taken to prison, he did not resist or pray for his own safety. Instead, he allowed himself to be arrested and then went to prison with his own hands. Despite this, he continued to teach and heal people, demonstrating the power of faith.
Another example of the power of faith is a person named Martin Luther King Jr. Luther King Jr. was a leader in the civil rights movement and was known for his strong faith. He believed in the power of God to transform people's lives, and he used his faith to fight for the rights of African Americans and other marginalized groups.
In conclusion, faith is a powerful force that can transform our lives and bring us closer to our goals and aspirations. It is a feeling or a sense of trust that we have in something, whether it is in ourselves, our loved ones, or our beliefs. By following the example of Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King Jr., we can all demonstrate the power of faith and use it to make a positive impact in our lives and the lives of those around us. Thank you.
12.英语演讲稿开头 篇17
My dreams:
Ladies and gentlemen , good afternoon! I’m very glad to stand here and give you a short speech. Today my topic is “youth”. I hope you will like it .
I want to be a teacher when I listen to my teacher carefully. I think I can be a teacher when I grow up. I can help many students learn things well. I can play with my students, too. So we are good friends. I want to be a doctor when I see many doctors save their patients. To be a doctor is really great.
20.英语演讲稿开头 篇18
Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning!
The title of my speech today is "the joy of growth".
On the road of life, everyone can find their own happiness. Do your best to enrich and improve yourself. Like students, campus is his joy; Because of social arrangements, the scope of student activities is reduced only. But no one would argue, because a person's student days are good -- happy -- full of hope...
I am now a childhood, a young adult. Although my life has just begun, but my heartfelt thanks to growth, is that he brought me happiness, is he let me gradually maturing, but he gave me the journey brings a lot of oasis and the ocean.
Remember, in primary school I was a naive romantic, lively and lovely girl. It was not natural to come to school because of the bad habit at home, and it was repulsive; But because of my natural disposition, it didn't take long to get used to it. But the old problem was solved, and the new problem came again. I began to question everything about the school. For example: why did the teacher teach me and I didn't teach them? Why does the bell ring when I have class? Why does the teacher make what, do what? These questions are always moving around in my mind... A long time cannot be waved away. When I got up the courage to ask the teacher, I got a sneer. When I ask about the most trusted mom, I get the "silly child, you are really boring". While I was holding my breath, my father came back. I had no hope, and with the possibility of criticism, I told him what I thought and what I was rejected... TO MY SURPRISE dad answered MY question. It was also a kind of "natural law", I was very happy that day, for my FATHER AND SOLVE PROPLEM.
Look at all the trouble and how much criticism and silly kids have been given to me. But I don't really feel that way. I'm happy and proud. I have already explained why.
I graduated from primary school and entered high school. Happiness did not decrease, but increased. For example: friendship tug of war, oral English class, students get together to chat and so on... This makes our heavy learning task much easier. I found that in the middle school garden, extra happy, I don't know why? Anyway, there is a kind of motivation that makes me work hard and soar in my own world like a bird.
Yeah! The lovely campus life has brought me great joy, both in the classroom and in the playground, which is full of our vitality. More importantly, I have gained a lot of my own oasis and ocean.
Indeed, growth is fun. It's a little unfortunate, but every time it's better, it's fun. May we thrive in this joy and be a useful free man in the future!
8.英语演讲稿开头 篇19
Good evening, everyone. My name is WangHaili. I am an outgoing girl who likes reading and traveling. It’s really my great honor to stand here and give everyone a short speech.
People say, youth is fire which is ignited by passion. People say, youth is a chapter of the poem which is written by stories. The color of youth is bright and we make most use of our ardor to draw the scenes to the canvas of painting. But we may be confused and lose our direction in the youth time. Under this, youth slips away. Roman Roland says, life doesn’t issue return ticket and can never come back once sets out. So we should seize the short youth time and try our best to pursue our ideal. Do what should we do and let our youth without regret.
When we refer to ideal, we will realize the importance of ideal. Ideal is the beacon,. Without ideal, we will lose the firm direction. Without direction, we will lose our life. According to this, every one of us should establish our own ideal .so that we have the direction of straggle to the future. Tolstoy tells us, we should have the life objective from the whole life to the second. So we should cherish every moment and form our systematic objective. Youth is the prime time. We have strong body and energy and can sense the meaning of life under the guide of ideal.
2.英语演讲稿开头 篇20
Just make to it the finals, they had to get past 60 others speaking on “The impact of globalization on traditional Chinese values”。 That was at the semi-final on April 8-9. What will Chinese college students think about the impact? Each contestant had his own take on the subject. Xia summed up globalization by saying: “It’s just controversial and hard to say whether it is good or bad.” Xia took the old wall of his city, Nanjing, as a metaphor. He spoke about the conflict over whether to protect the old walls or tear them down to represent the conflict of ideas. He suggested that people protect the wall as a valuable relic while tearing down the “intangible walls” of their minds that prevent communication. While some other students are more focusing on the impact of globalization on family relations, attitudes towards love, and job-hunting.
Over the past 10 years, the national English speaking competition has given contestants a chance to speak on a variety of topics closely related to their lives. Chinese students become more open-minded and receive various ideas and thinking over the decade. Diversity becomes more obvious on campus, students have more opportunities to express and show themselves. It’s not an easy task for the contestants to win through the fierce competition. Owning to their passion, hard work and persistence, they finally succeeded in the contest.
Liu Xin, the first champion of the national contest, is now an anchorperson of CCTV-9. Recalling the passion of study on campus, she said: “When you want to express your idea by a foreign language without finding a right way, you’re really upset. Then you have to encourage yourself, and after a long term of bitterness, suddenly you find you get the right way with joy.” With the champion title in 21st Century Cup, Liu attended the International Public Speaking competition in London in May 1996 afterward and got the first prize historically.
The winner in 20xx surprised the audience, since she came from accounting major instead of English major. Gu Qiubei, then 22 years old, was a senior in Shanghai Foreign Studies University. While being asked whether she had some good methods to learn English, she said: “Learn English with passion and enthusiasm.” Attracted by the greatness of English language, Gu even changed her major from accounting to English in her postgraduate study. The most important issue in English learning process she pointed out is personal interests. Only people interested in English benefit a lot from the learning methods and those with passion will finally achieve their dreams.
When chief of global media giant Viacom Sumner Redstone gave a speech in Tsinghua University on his autobiography A Passion to Win, he was asked what made him to restart his career at the age of 60, the 81-year-old media tycoon said: “Firstly, there’s a self-driving force in my deep heart, which keeps my passion to succeed and surpass others; secondly, I don’t think I’m too old to leave work, actually I love my work very much.”
Some of the contestants have achieved their dreams as Redstone; still others are on the way to their dream. With a passion to win, you will overcome obstacles and succeed at the end.
I’m studying in a city that’s famous for its walls. People who visit my city are amazed at the imposing sight of its walls, especially when silhouetted against the setting sun with gold, shining streaks. The old, cracked bricks are covered with lichens and the walls are weather-beaten guards standing still for centuries.
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 across half our country. They built walls to protect against enemies and evil spirits. This tradition has survived to this day: we still have many parks and schools walled off from the public.
For a long time, walls were one of the most natural things in the world to me.
My perceptions, however, changed after I made a hiking trip to the eastern suburbs of my city. My classmates and I were walking with some foreign students. As we walked out of the city, we found ourselves flanked by tall trees, which formed a wide canopy above our heads. Suddenly one foreign 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 had 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 student. For instance, he told me that some major universities like Oxford and Cambridge were not surrounded by walls. I have to admit that we do have many walls in China, and as we develop our country, we must look carefully at them and decide whether they are physical or intangible. We will keep some walls but tear down those that impede our development.
Let me give another 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 coldly rejected my request to borrow it, saying, “You can’t borrow this book, you’re not a student here.” In the end, I had to spend 200 yuan to buy a copy. Meanwhile, the copy in the law school gathered dust on the shelf.
At the beginning of this semester, I heard that my university had started to think of unifying its libraries and linking them to libraries at other universities, so my experience wouldn’t be repeated. Barriers would be replaced by bridges. An inter-library loan system would give us access to books from any library. With globalization and China integrated into the world, I believe many of these intangible walls will be knocked down.
I know that 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 role in the modern world.
And how about the ancient walls of mine and other cities? Should we tear them down? Definitely not. My city, like Beijing and other cities, is actually making a great effort to preserve the walls. These walls attract historians, archaeologists, and many schoolchildren who are trying to study our history and cultural heritage. Walls have become 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 changes 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.