口语比赛演讲稿(精选5篇)
I'm studying in a city famous for its walls. All visitors to my city are amazed by the imposing sight of the city walls, silhouetted by the setting sun with gold and shining lines. With old, cracked bricks patched with lichen, the walls are weather-beaten guards, standing still for centuries in protecting the city.
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 through half of our country. They built walls to ward off enemies and evil spirits. This tradition has been maintained to this day as we still have many parks and schools walled off from the public. I grew up at the foot of the city walls, and I've loved them since my childhood. For a long time, walls were one of the most natural things in the world.
My perception, however, changed after a hiking trip to the Eastern Suburbs, a scenic area of my city. My classmates and I were walking with some international students. As we walked out of the city, we found ourselves flanked by taller and taller trees, which formed a huge canopy above our heads. Suddenly an international 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 have 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 international student. For instance, he told me that universities like Oxford and Cambridge were not surrounded by walls; the campuses were just part of the cities. I have to admit that we do have many walls in China, and as we are developing our country, we must carefully examine them, whether they are physical or intangible. We will keep some walls but tear down those that impede China's development.
Let me give you an 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 turned down my request with a cold shoulder, saying, "You can't borrow this book, you are not a student here." In the end, I had to spend 200 yuan buying a copy; meanwhile, the copy in law school was gathering dust on the shelf.
At the beginning of this semester, I heard that my university has started not only to unify its libraries but also link them up with libraries of other universities, so my experience will not be repeated. Barriers will be replaced by bridges. Through an inter-library loan system, we will have access to books from any library. With globalization, with China integrated into the world, I believe many of these intangible walls will be knocked down.
I know 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 roles in the modern world.
And how about the ancient walls in my city and other cities? Should we tear them down? Just the opposite. My city, like Beijing and other cities, is actually making a great effort to preserve the walls. These walls attract not only historians and archeologists but also many schoolchildren trying to study our history and cultural heritage. Walls have turned into 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 change 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.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen:
When I was in the primary school, I have a dream. I want to invent a device which could bring you from one place to another in no time at all. When I was in the secondary school, my dream was to study in my ideal university. And when eventually I got into the university, my dream was to graduate.
How pathetic! When we grow up, we dream less and become more realistic. Why? Why do we have to change our dreams, so, so in order to let it be "fulfilled"? Why do we have to surrender to the so-called "reality"? What IS the reality actually?
Ladies and gentlemen, the reality is not real. It is a barrier keeping us from all the possible fantasies. Flying, for example, had been a dream to mankind for thousands of years. A hundred years ago, "man could not fly" was still regarded as the "reality". Now if that was really the reality, what did the Wright brothers do? How did some of you get to Macau? Only when we believe that the reality is not real can we soar with our dreams.
People say that our future is a battle between the reality and our dreams. And if, unfortunately, Mr. Reality wins this war, then I see no future of mankind at all. AIDS will never be curable as this IS the reality; People living in the undeveloped countries will suffer from starvation forever as this IS the reality; 4)Disputes among different countries would never be settled as this misunderstandings and intolerance IS the reality.
Ladies and gentlemen, how many of you have a dream of being able to make a lot of money? Please raise your hands. Oh, quite a number of you! Actually, ladies and gentlemen, this is not a dream, but a task. Every one of us has to make a living, right? Anyway I hope your task will be accomplished. How many of you think that you have already fulfilled your dream and that you don't dream anymore? Dear 5)adjudicators, what do you think? C.S. Lewis once said, "You are never too old to dream a new dream." So for our future, please dream and be unrealistic.
Now that I am a university student, my goal is to graduate with excellences. But at the same time, I have a dream deeply rooted in our future. One day, people living in the areas now 6)sweltering with the horror of wars will be able to sit with their families and enjoy their every moment. One day, people from the rich countries are willing to share what they have with those from the poor countries and those from the poor countries will eventually be able to make their own happy living themselves. One day, different cultures in this age of globalization will coexist with tolerance and the unfriendly confrontations among them will be 7)eliminated. One day, the globe will share the dream with me and we will all contribute to making our dream come true. One day, our dream will defeat the reality! Thank you very much.
Seven centuries ago, Marco Polo, after staying in our country for almost twenty years, brought the secrets of spaghetti and ice-cream with him back to Italy. More than seven hundred years later, with the prevalence of globalization, our people, our food, our products and many other items, have traveled to many other places beyond Italy. No matter where these Chinese people, Chinese food, Chinese products and many other Chinese items are, they carry with them qualities that are unique to our very own Chinese culture - our traditional values.
In the whole process of globalization that the world is integrating politically, economically and culturally, into one, we do witness in our country a great influx of western culture and values - McDonald's, KFCs, soccer players and NBA players. And we are even having this prestigious national speaking competition in a language that does not belong to us. In the midst of western products pouring in China as a result of globalization, sometimes we do wonder, where does our own culture belong? When we see our younger generations going away from traditional values such as contextual and role-based ethics, ideal of community, hierarchy, paternalism and non-litigious nature of society, we may even think our traditional values are challenged and even threatened. But, are we really losing our values?
Ladies and gentlemen, we must remember, the traffic of globalization is two-way. Yes, films from Hollywood, soccer from the United Kingdom and restaurants from America, do have an impact on our values. But, if we see globalization in China a synonymous term with western economic cultural hegemony, we are underestimating the impact of not only globalization but also our values.
Have a look at languages. Yes, it is the desire and dream of every single Chinese to speak fluent English, including every single one of us here. But, have you ever wondered how many non-Chinese are learning Chinese? Let me tell you, by the end of 20xx, nearly 30 million people from 85 countries and regions were learning standard Chinese, Putonghua. And who knows about the number of people learning regional dialects such as Shanghainese and Cantonese. In these two years, I am sure none of us here will be surprised that the number is skyrocketing.
Have a look at Feng Shui, within 0.21 seconds Google brings you 1,270,000 websites about Feng Shui, not in Chinese, not from all over the world, but in English, just within the United States. And I guess some of you still remember, when the previous American president, Bill Clinton, first became president. He actually had the furniture of his office rearranged according to feng shui ideas.
Have a look at traditional Chinese medicine. Four years ago, in 20xx, there were already more than 120 000 traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, researchers and related business trading companies in Europe, just Europe. Our holistic approach of taking care of a person's health has been proven popular in the world.
Our values, language, our Feng Shui, our traditional medicine and also Kung Fu that I have not really talked about, are all parts and messengers of our culture and values. What does their success in the west tell us? Their popularity tells us that, alongside cheap consumer products, we are exporting to the west, Chinese beliefs and, values.
Ladies and gentlemen, globalization, yes it has its impacts on our values. It is sending our values overseas and bringing in new ones. Let's not see the bringing in of new ones a threat to our own culture. As a matter of fact, the bringing in is a very good opportunity and time to rethink and reflect who we are and what we want to be. It is upon us whether globalization has a positive or negative impact on our traditional values. Ladies and gentlemen, I see this positively, I know even if our traditional values are changing or to change, the change is for better, not for worse.
Thank you very much.
My favorite Animal-Black Faced Spoonbill
Good afternoon, dear judges. Today my speech is “I love black-faced spoonbill.
On a beautiful winter day, I happened to meet the lovely spirit----
Black Faced Spoonbill, a type of migratory bird, which spends winter at Hong-Shu-Lin in my city every year. Covered with snow-white feathers, it has black legs and a black beak. Besides the blacks and whites, an amazing splash of yellow is under its neck. So elegant that I couldn’t help loving it at first sight.
With a big and spoon-shaped beak, it can clasp fishes easily, which makes it a powerful hunter in birds.
However, with human expansion and pollution, only around 20xx ones are living all over the world.
Like the eleven swan princes in Andersen’s Fairy Tale, the Black Faced Spoonbills have always been struggling to find a tiny rock which can offer them a momentary tranquility. Fortunately, they have found one in my beloved home. I would always hold them dearly to my heart and wish they would return with flocks of chicks in the following years, and singing…
Oh, I have a home, such a beautiful home, where I play and rest happily.
Oh, give them a home, such a wonderful home, where the spoonbills play all day.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen:
Before western and Chinese civilization came into close contact, Chinese people had always longed for a life depicted in traditional Chinese paintings. Those paintings present a harmonious coexistence of people and other life forms. Regarded as the essence of ancient Chinese philosophies, harmony has been deeply-rooted in the minds of the Chinese people. On the one hand, it has contributed to the unique continuity of Chinese civilization. On the other, Chinese people became too much contented with their achievements to desire any further changes. As globalization deepens, it is bound to affect our ideal of harmony.
First, globalization urges China to speed up its modernization, which threatens our regard for the harmony between Man and Nature. For instance, many dams and hydropower stations are being built for economic benefits at the expense of the well-preserved natural habitats. However, ecological malpractice of such kind goes against the notion of harmonious coexistence in ancient Chinese philosophies. More than 2,000 years ago, long before the concept of environmental protection came into being, DuJiang Weir, a great irrigation project was built in southwestern China's Sichuan province. It succeeded both in controlling floods and in facilitating the agriculture without posing a threat to the environment.
Moreover, globalization has brought with it intense competition. Traditionally, moderation is a golden principle, presiding over inter-personal relations in China. Today, however, motivated to come to the top, some people become so self-centered that they choose to sacrifice love, friendship and even family ties.
Last but not least, diverse cultures have met in China as a consequence of globalization. Therefore, a clash of cultures becomes inevitable. Unfortunately, the past decades have witnessed a huge loss of cultural heritage in China. In cities like Beijing and Xi'an, hundreds of century-old Chinese-style houses are being demolished to make room for skyscrapers, shopping malls and eight-lane expressways.
From these examples, we see the disharmony brought about by globalization. Yet it is not globalization that is to blame. As long as we approach globalization with harmony in mind, its benefit will outweigh its cost. Take my hometown, Hangzhou, for example, thanks to the strenuous efforts made by the municipal government in achieving eco-development, various water birds have returned to the West Lake, calling it home again after years of migration elsewhere. From the lake bank, we see skateboarders and trick cyclists showing off together with people flying kites and kicking shuttlecocks on the plaza nearby. Although they compose a picture quite distinct from traditional Chinese paintings, this picture conveys a modern sense of harmony in this era of globalization.
Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude, I would like to quote from British philosopher Bertrand Russell. In contrasting Chinese and Western civilizations, he observed: "The distinctive merit of western civilization is the scientific method; the distinctive merit of the Chinese is a just conception of the ends of life. It is these two that one must hope to see gradually uniting." As we see the tremendous progress China has been making drawing on experience abroad, we may also expect the Chinese traditional value of harmony to enrich the world. I look forward to the time when Russell's prophecy comes true.
Thank you very much.