全屏显示专题章节

Good morning! Today I feel great honored to stand here and give my opinion about the generation gap.

With the rapid development of science and technology, the world is taking on a new look with each passing day. What is being considered new, fashionable or highly advanced today may be thrown into the garbage can tomorrow? Those rapid developments in the last three decades or so have transformed our traditional life patterns. Social life has become complex and new social problems have emerged. What is considered the norm these days is not approved by the old, while the traditional pattern is not accepted by the young. This creates the problem called“generation gap”.

Generation gap is a natural phenomenon, arising from different understanding and appreciation of the constant great changes of the world, the different reactions to new things and concepts, and the different attitudes towards traditional principles and beliefs.

The old have very traditional attitudes and values towards family and jobs. In the past, they enjoyed the important position at home. But now they have to have the idea of mutual^[26] understanding and mutual respect. They have to recognize the attitudes and manners of others in the family. What’s more, in the past, if they had the expertise at a particular job, there was no fear of losing the job. Instead, they could get promotion as time went by. But now they have to compete out there with those up-and-coming talents who are armed with knowledge and expertise^[27]. Life is becoming tougher for them because this fast changing world observes law of the jungle: only the fittest survive; therefore, the old often feel disappointed and ignored and have a strong sense of loss of position and importance.

On the other hand, the young demand sympathy and understanding from the old. At home, they want to have their own opinion and position. When they want relief and comfort, they would like to spend time with their friends instead of their parents. Besides, the young are full of passion. They can learn and accept the fashion and new ideas quickly, whereas the old usually tend to look upon it with suspicion and disapproval.

Well, some people put too much emphasis on the generation gap. They regard it as a serious social problem, causing family disharmony and even family violence. But I think they are wrong. In this increasingly fast changing world, generation gap is really a very common and natural phenomenon we should accept it. Don’t regard it as a ghost. What we should do is to try our best to bridge the gap. The old people should give more trust and understanding to the young, while the young should show our respect to the old. Because whether you like it or not, as long as there are the old and the young, there is the generation gap.

[点评] 虽然父母给予子女无微不至的照顾、体贴，但是随着孩子年龄的增长，父母与子女之间总是存在这样或那样的分歧。作者在文中细致地分析了出现这种社会现象的原因，并提出了怎样解决这一问题。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。

Good afternoon! Today I am very happy to be allowed to stand here and address my speech titled “Thank you, Mum”.

On this special day, Mother’ s Day, on behalf of all the children in the world, I would like to say to all the mothers in the world, “We love you, Mum! Thank you, Mum!”

In my mind, mother is a special and unique profession in the world. Being a mother requires a lot more skills unlike any other job on the earth.

First of all, there is the manual labor, such as giving birth itself and continuing years of tired hard work, such as changing diapers^[28], holding and carrying babies, and schlepping kids and things from place to place. With their unconditional and unselfish love, our mothers do all of these with great care, patience and pleasure.

Secondly, mothers are also highly skilled professionals they must be teachers, doctors, diplomats, politicians, and even police officers just; like an omnipotent person capable of doing all kinds of jobs, for example, helping the kids with homework; treating wounds from sport negotiating between quarrelling brothers and sisters; cutting a deal to get the kids in bed; and enforcing time-outs what other job demands such a wide range of skills.

Thirdly, mothers are in the service industry as well a mother is nearly always a patient waitress, a wonderful chef, a professional fashion consultant, an industrial house-cleaner, and making the bed, cooking meals, dressing up the kids, cleaning the rooms, and making arrangements for the children to play with friends or taking telephone messages from friends who call.

As we grow up, it becomes unnecessary for our mothers to perform the “manual labor” and provide the“service” and change their roles to be our most trusted counselors and truest friends. They give sincere advice on the most important decisions in our lives, such as marriage, career, and even how to bring up our own children.

Every day of the week, every week of the year, every year of our lives, our mothers bless us with great love. On this special day, we thank our mothers for everything they have done for us. We owe what we are today to our dear mothers. Thank you, Mum! Thank you for being our mothers!

[点评] 这是一篇歌颂母亲的文章。演讲稿开门见山，开宗明义，提出了全文的中心——在母亲节这一特殊的日子里表达对母亲的热爱。本文第一个特点是论述层次清楚、思想脉络清晰；第二个特点是说理与抒情结合，语言生动活泼。

Why do you teach? My friend asked the question when I told him that I don’t want to be considered for an administrative position. He was puzzled that I did not want what was obviously a “step up” toward what all Americans are taught to want when they grow up: money and power.

Certainly I don’t teach because teaching is not easy for me. Teaching is the most difficult of the various ways to have attempted to earn my living: mechanic, carpenter, and writer. For me, teaching is a red-eye, sweaty-palm, sinking-stomach profession. Red-eye, because I never feel ready to teach no matter how late I stay up preparing. Sweaty-palm, because I’m always nervous before I enter the classroom, sure that I will be found out for the fool that I am. Sinking-stomach, because I leave the classroom an hour later convinced that I was even more boring than usual.

Nor do I teach because I think I know answers, or because I have knowledge I feel compelled to share. Sometimes I am amazed that my students actually take notes on what I say in class!

Why, then, do I teach?

I teach because I like the pace of the academic calendar. June, July, and August offer an opportunity for reflection, research and writing. I teach because teaching is a profession built on change. When the material is the same, I change—and more important, my students change.

I teach because I like the freedom to make my own mistakes, to learn my own lesson, to stimulate myself and my students. As a teacher, I’m my own boss. If I want my freshmen to learn to write by creating their own textbook, who is to say I can’t? Such courses may be huge failures, but we can all learn from failures.

I teach because I like to ask questions that students must struggle to answer. The world is full of right answers to bad questions. While teaching, I sometimes find good questions.

I teach because I enjoy finding ways of getting myself and my students out of the ivory tower and into the real world. I once taught a course called “Self-Reliance in a Technological Society”, My 15 students read Emerson, Thoreau and Huxley. They kept diaries. They wrote term papers.

But we also set up a corporation, borrowed money, purchased a run-down house and practiced self-reliance by renovating it. At the end of the semester, we sold the house, repaid our loan, paid our taxes, and distributed the profits among the group.

So teaching gives me pace and variety, and challenge, and the opportunity to keep on learning.

However, the most important reasons why I teach are that my students grow up and change in front of me. Some have become doctoral students with excellent success and found good jobs; some have become interested in the urban poor and served as civil rights lawyers; some have decided to finish high school and go to college.

A “promotion” out of teaching would give me money and power. But I have money. I get paid to do what I enjoy: reading, talking with people, and asking question like, “What is the point of being rich?”

And I have power. I have the power to nudge, to fan sparks, to suggest books, to point out a pathway. What other power matters?

But teaching offers something besides money and power: it offers love. Not only the love of learning and of books and ideas, but also the love that a teacher feels for that student who walks into a teacher’s life and begins to breathe. Perhaps love is the wrong word: magic might be better.

I teach because, being around people who are beginning to breathe, I occasionally find myself catching my breath with them.

[点评] 该演讲稿以疑问句开篇，引发听众的思索，并且更加肯定了作者对教育工作的热爱及自豪。并且运用排比句，如：“I have the power to nudge, to fan sparks, to suggest books, to point out a pathway.” 增加了文章的说服力。