全屏显示专题章节

Facing this audience on the stage, I have the exciting feeling of participating in the march of history, for what we are facing today is more than a mere competition or contest. It is an assembly of some of China’s most talented and motivated people, representatives of a younger generation that are preparing themselves for the coming of a new century.

I’m grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity, at such a historic moment, to stand here as a spokesman of my generation and to take a serious look back at the past 15 years, a crucial period for every one of us and for this nation as well.

Though it is only within my power to tell about my personal experience, and only a tiny fragment of it at that, it still represents, I believe, the root of a spirit which has been essential to me and to all the people bred by the past 15 years.

In my elementary years, there was a little girl in the class who worked very hard but somehow could never do satisfactorily in her lessons.

The teacher asked me to help her, and it was obvious that she expected a lot from me. But as a young boy, restless, thoughtless, I always tried to evade^[8] her so as to get more time to enjoy myself.

One day before the final exam, she came up to me and said, “Could you please explain this to me? I want very much to do better this time.” I started explaining, and finished in a hurry. Pretending not to notice her still confused eyes, I ran off quickly. Not surprisingly, she again did very badly in the exam. And two months later, at the beginning of the new semester, word came of her death of blood cancer. No one ever knew about the little task I failed to fulfill, but I couldn’t forgive myself. I simply couldn’t forget her eyes, which seem to be asking, “Why didn’t you do a little more to help me, when it was so easy for you? Why didn’t you understand a little better the trust placed in you, so that I would not have to leave this world in such pain and regret?”

I was about eight or nine years old at that time, but in a way it was the very starting point of my life, for I began to understand the word “responsibility” and to learn to always do my duties faithfully and devotedly, for the implications of that sacred word has dawned on me: the mutual need and trust of people, the co-operation and inter-reliance which are the very foundation of human society.

Later in my life, I continued to experience many failures. But never again did I feel that regret which struck me at the death of the girl, for it makes my heart satisfied to think that I have always done everything in my power to fulfill my responsibilities as best I can.

As I grew up, changed and improved by this incident and many other similar ones, I began to perceive the changes taking place around me and to find that society, in a way, was in its formative years like myself. New buildings, new commodities and new fashions appear every day.

New ideas, new information, new technologies. People can talk with each other from any corner of the earth in a matter of seconds. Society is becoming more competitive.

Words like individuality and creativity are getting more emphasis and more people are rewarded for their hard work and efforts. Such is the era in which this generation, grows and matures.

Such is the era in which this generation will take over the nation from our fathers and learn to run it. Yet in the meantime, many problems still exist.

We learn that crimes take place in broad daylight with crowds of people looking on and not assisting. We hear that there are still about 1 million children in this country who can’t even afford to go to elementary schools while enormous sums of money are being squandered away on dinner parties and luxury cars.

We buy shoddy^[9] medicines, or merely worthless junk in the name of medicines, that aggravate^[10], rather than alleviate our diseases since money, many people believe, is the most important thing in the world that must be made, even at the expense of morality and responsibility.

Such an era, therefore, determines that we are a generation with a keener sense of competition and efficiency and a greater readiness to think critically and act creatively.

Such an era, furthermore, demands, that we are a generation with a clear perception of our historical responsibility and an aggressive will to take action and solve the problems. History has long been preparing these qualities in this generation and it is now calling us forward to give testimony to our patriotism and heroism towards this nation and all humanity.

Standing here now, I think of the past 15 years of my life as an ordinary student. Probably I’ll be an ordinary man for the rest of my life. But this doesn’t discourage me any, for I know that with my sense of responsibility and devoted efforts to always strive, for the best, it’s going to be a meaningful and worthwhile life that I will be living.

Standing here now, I think of the past 15 years of this nation, which has achieved greatness that inspired millions of people of my age, most of whom will not attain fame or prestige and only a few of whom will be remembered by posterity. But that doesn’t discourage us any, because we know that the world watches, the world listens, the world is waiting to see where this nation will be heading in a time of rich opportunities and fierce competition.

I can’t ever forget that little girl in my class who couldn’t have the same opportunities as any of us here to enjoy a wonderful life today and a hopeful world tomorrow.

It is the sacred responsibility of this generation to face up to the challenges of the new century and to devote our sweat and blood, our wisdom and passion, to the historic cause of making this nation a greater and happier land for every one of us.

We are not going to evade that responsibility. We are going to let people down. And people, far and near, will hear of us. Frost will be brought to their backbones and tears to their eyes when our stories are told and retold. So let us go forth, my fellow members of this luckily chosen generation, and meet the new century in victory and glory.

[点评] 该演讲稿条理清楚。作者以亲身经历作为演讲的开始，点明培养青年人责任感的重要性，随后进一步论证责任感在他们成长过程中所起的作用。全文一气呵成，思路清晰，节奏鲜明。论证环环相扣，尤其是举例、对比等多种论证方法的综合运用，更增加了文章的说服力。

Since the quality of honesty applies to all behaviors, one cannot refuse to consider factual^[11] information, for example, in an unbiased manner and still claim that one’s knowledge, belief or position is an attempt to be truthful. Such a belief is clearly a product of one’s desires and simply has nothing to do with the human ability to know. Basing one’s positions on what one wants — rather than unbiased evidence gathering — is dishonest even when good intentions can be cited^[12] — after all even Hitler could cite good intentions and intended glory for a select group of people. Clearly then, an unbiased approach to the truth is a requirement of honesty.

Because intentions are closely related to fairness and certainly affect the degree of honesty/dishonesty, there is a wide spread confusion about honesty—and a general belief that being dishonest means that one ALWAYS correctly understands if their behavior is either honest or dishonest. Self-perception of our morality^[13] is non-static and volatile. It’s often at the moment we refuse to consider other perspectives that there is a clear indication we are not pursuing the truth, rather than simply and exclusively at the moment we can muster up evidence that we are right. Socrates had much to say about truth, honesty and morality, and explained that if people really understood that their behavior was wrong — then they simply wouldn’t do it — by definition. Unfortunately, honesty in the western tradition has been marginalized^[14] to specific instances — perhaps because a thorough understanding of honesty collides with ideologies of all types. Ideologies and idealism often exaggerate and suppress evidence in order to support their perspectives — at the expense of the truth. This process erodes the practice and understanding of honesty. To an ideologist the truth quite often becomes insignificant, what matters most are their ideals and whatever supports their desires to enjoy and spread those ideals.

Human beings are inherently biased about what they believe to be good due to individual tastes and backgrounds, but once one understands that a decidedly biased approach to what is true — is inherently dishonest, one can also understand how idealism and ideology have poorly served the quest for an honest, moral society. Both honesty and morality require that we base our opinions about what is good — upon unbiased ideas of what is TRUE — rather than vice versa^[15] (determining what is true based on what we feel is good) — the way all ideologies would have us believe.

[点评] 该演讲稿开门见山，开宗明义，提出全文的议论中心——诚信的重要性。文章采用事例论证的论证方法，使听众从中受到启发。文章结尾画龙点睛，加深了全文的思想意义，突出了中心。

There was a handful of clay in the bank of a river. It was only common clay, coarse and heavy; but it had high thoughts of its own value, and wonderful dreams of the great place which it was to fill in the world when the time came for its virtues to be discovered.

Waiting blindly in its bed, the clay comforted itself with lofty hopes. “My time will come,” it said, “I was not made to be hidden forever. Glory and beauty and honor are coming to me due season.”

One day the clay felt itself taken from the place where it had waited so long. A flat blade of iron passed beneath it, and lifted it, and tossed it into a cart with other lumps of clay, and it was carried far away, as it seemed, over a rough and stony road. But it was not afraid, nor discouraged, for it said to itself, “This is necessary. The path to glory is always rugged. Now I am on my way to play a great part in the world.”

But the hard journey was nothing, compared with the tribulation^[17] and distress that came after it. The clay was put into a trough and mixed and beaten and stirred and trampled^[18]. It seemed almost unbearable. But there was consolation in the thought that something very fine and noble was certainly coming out of all this trouble. The clay felt sure that, if it could only wait long enough, a wonderful reward was in store for it.

Then it was put upon a swiftly turning wheel, and whirled around until it seemed as if it must fly into a thousand pieces. A strange power pressed it and molded it, as it revolved, and through all the dizziness and pain it felt that it was taking a new form.

Then an unknown hand put it into an oven, and fires were kindled about it —fierce and penetrating—hotter than all the heat of summer that had ever brooded^[19] upon the bank of the river. But through all, the clay held it self together and endured its trials, in the confidence of a great future. “Surely,” it thought, “I am intended for something very splendid, since such pains are taken with me. Perhaps I am fashioned for the ornament of a temple, or a precious vase for the table of a king.”

At last the baking was finished. The clay was taken from the furnace and set down upon a board, in the cool air, under the blue sky. The tribulation was passed. The reward was at hand.

Close beside the board there was a pool of water, not very deep, nor very clear, but calm enough to reflect, with impartial truth, every image that fell upon it. There for the first time, as it was lifted from the board, the clay saw its new shape —a common flower-pot, straight and stiff, red and ugly. And then it felt that it was not destined for a king’s house, nor for a palace of art.

Many days it passed in sullen^[20] discontent. Then it was filled with earth and something rough and brown and dead looking, and thrust into the middle of the earth and covered over. The clay rebelled as this new disgrace.

But presently it was set in a greenhouse, where the sunlight fell warm upon it, and water was sprinkled^[21] over it, and day by day as it waited, a change began to come to it.

One day the clay was lifted again from its place, and carried into a great church. Its dream was coming true after all. It had a fine part to play in the world. Glorious music flowed over it and it was surrounded with flowers. It could not understand. So it whispered to another vessel of clay, “Why have they set me here? Why all the people look toward us?” “Because you are carrying a royal scepter of lilies, and the people look this way because the flower is the most wonderful in the world. And the root of it is in your heart.”

Then the clay was content, and silently thanked its maker, because, though an earthen vessel, it held so great a treasure.

[点评] 这篇文章寓意深刻。从表面来看，作者详细叙述了一把普通的黏土历经各种磨难，终于成为大教堂里一件艺术品的艰难历程。作者采用拟人的手法，赋予黏土以人性的思维，既有对美好未来的向往，也有面对困难时的沮丧，更有终成正果时的喜悦。实际上，人的一生何尝不像这把黏土，只有经过千锤百炼，才能苦尽甜来，走向成功。