五分钟英语演讲稿范文（精选28篇）
she kindled a third match. again shot up the flame; and now she was sitting under a most beautiful christmas tree ,far larger, and far more prettily decked out, than the one she had seen last christmas eve through the glass doors of the rich merchant's house. hundreds of wax-tapers lighted up the green branches, and tiny painted figures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked down from the tree upon her. the child stretched out her hands towards them in delight, and in that moment the lights of the match warm quenched; still, however, the christmas candles burned higher and higher， she beheld them beaming like stars in heaven; one of them fell, the lights streaming behind it like a long, fiery tail.
“now some one is dying,” said the little girl, softly, for she had been told by her old grandmother， the only person who had ever been kind to her, and who was now dead that whenever a star falls an immortal spirit returns to the god who gave it.
she struck yet another match against the wall; it flamed up, and surrounded by its light, appeared before her that same dear grandm
A black boy in Wine factory guard oak his father. Every morning, he wipes a clean bucket, then the rows of neatly placed. Make him angry, often overnight, the wind took him neatly arranged barrel blown reel right and left.
The little boy was very sad and cried. The father touched the boy's head and said, "son, don't cry, we can find a way to conquer the wind"
The little boy sat on the edge of the barrel and wiped the tears to think, think for a long time has finally come up with a solution, he from the edge of the well choose a barrel and a barrel of water, then pour them into the empty barrel, and then he was very upset to go home to bed. For second days, just before dawn the little boy, hurriedly climb up, he ran to the place where the vats, the oak a are arranged neatly, no one was blown over by the wind, no one has been blown crooked. The little boy laughed, he said to his father: "to wooden barrels to be blown, will increase the weight of the bucket." the boy's father smiled approvingly.
Yes, we can not change the wind, the world can not change a lot of things, but we can change ourselves, to increase their own, so that we can adapt to change, not to be defeated!
Westminster Abbey in the basement, the tomb of an Anglican Bishop wrote such a sentence: when I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not be changed, so I will focus on the so some, it only changed my country! But my country seems I cannot change. When I arrived in twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I decided to change only my family, those closest to me, but alas! They don't accept change. Now I on his deathbed, I suddenly Realize: if I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. Then, in their inspiration and encouragement, I may change my country. And then, who knows, maybe I can change the whole world.
Life is like water, people can only adapt to the environment. If you can't change the environment, change yourself, the only way to overcome more difficulties and overcome more setbacks, self realization. If can not see their own shortcomings and deficiencies, just blindly blame the environment, so as to change the situation of hope in the changing environment this is really, in vain.
Although we can not change the world, but we can change ourselves, let us with love and wisdom to face all the environment
When the breeze gently hold when LiuXu savoury, When the sun put it golden glorious quietly around the cherry blossom trees on appered handsome; When the beautiful petals in the air to reach several commonly roll long, then gently landed, we are enjoying a brilliant happineof campus life.
Early morning, happy bird singing, accompany us go strollw floral path and watched the we walked into the campus, eye is full of happiness. Sunshine shop in writing has "e, nanjing normal university affiliated yangzi dickers" e, The bronze medal and put downy light reflection to our body, we cheerfully accepted this light, vigorous entered in campus. On the way to the classroom, and every day that we can all see beautiful fountain and pool, and forceful huaihe books and rather ?
The most successful person may not be the smartest ones.According to a survey conducted among a group of people who were in the same university ten years ago , those whose grade-point average was in the middle fifty percent , all become rich or managers of different fields , while not a single young man of the upper ten percent becomes an executive or boss. Why the smartest kids in the classwill not end up the richest? Why those who are not excellent in studies tend to be managers or own their own enterprise in their later life? And what factors lead to succein career and life if brains are not the only answer? According to my observation , academic brightneis only part of the story , the other factors are very important. One ingredient , among other things , is good interpersonal skills. There is stong evidence that friendship can help to tide you over a period of difficulty.
With a wide circle of friends who can be trusted yo provide information and resources, your chances of succeare much higher. On the cntrary , if you are competent in profession , but have difficulty in getting along with your colleagues and even your boss, you can hardly survive the corporation. Another component is the ability to expreoneself . In today s world , what really counts is the ability to expreoneself rather than technical competence or professional knowledge . The larger the orgnization of which you are an employee , and th fiercer the competition , the more important it will be that you know how to convey your thoughts and convince others of your ideas. Personality is also an important factor. Whatever difficulty or situation , those who appear relaxed and confident are nearer to success. Obviously , among the ingredients for succe, intelligence counts for the half , the rest depends on your personality , and other abilities.
Good morning, everybody!
In this world, there is one thing that is very fair to everybody, whether you are a male or female, young or old, rich or poor. Does anybody know what it is called?
Right. It is time. The topic I am going to present to you today is called “ Treasure Every Minute”.
The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with.
And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
Good luck, everybody!
I remember once my high school teacher invited the whole class to share our dreams with each other. I said, “I want to become an architect in future.” My desk mate said, “I want to be a public speaker.” Interestingly, a year later, he flew abroad to go for architecture, and I went to college majoring in English. And Look who is giving a speech right now.
What I learned from this experience was that, the road we end up taking can be different from our first plans. If we all realize our initial dreams, this world will be full of supermen and princesses. As I grew up, I often hear people say, life is all about making compromise. Your dream may die. You have to come terms with your life.
Well, my mother doesn’t see it that way. She is a kindergarten teacher, but she has a gift in painting. I often said to her, “if you had applied for an art school, you would definitely have made a great painter.” She said, “Yes, I would. But you were born!” “But it’s ok,” she continued, “I love kids. I can see their cuteness and innocence every day. Besides, they love me as well. Plus, I have a son who is about to see Rui Chenggang face to face. My colleagues are going to be so jealous of me. I am happy with who I am and I love my job.”
Sometimes when we are stuck in a rut, we may stop and wonder if life could be better had we taken the other road, and we may regret having lost so much for our stupid decisions. But on the threshold of adulthood, I would rather view my life in a positive light. I believe there is no absolute losing. Even though we seem to have made a compromise with each choice, even though we seem to have wasted a lot of effort with each failure, we are gaining something every step of the way.
Had I not given up my dream to be an architect, I wouldn’t have found my love for English, and I wouldn’t have met my friends, who, in order to boost my confidence before the speech contest, gathered in my dormitory and held a pep rally. I wouldn’t have met my professors who have always been patient with me, even when I couldn’t come up with a satisfying speech for 2 weeks.
And had I not spent the last 2 weeks painfully preparing for the speech contest, I wouldn’t have had a chance to think about this world, to ponder on life and to form a better understanding of myself.
For all my blessings, I owe my life an attitude of gratitude. From time to time I would picture myself working in my own studio, designing a beautiful villa. But I will not regret it, because I’m happy with who I am, and I love what I have.
So ladies and gentlemen, don’t be so obsessed with the other road in your life. The path you chose may not be ideal, but that’s not the end of the world. Fill your heart with gratitude. Break up with your regrets, and fall in love with your dream. Through all the hardships and difficulties, you’ll find that you’ve garnered more than you’ve sacrificed.
The other day my mother called me and said, “When the contest is over, I will give you a reward for your hard work.” I said, “There is no need for another present. I already have my present. ”
“What would you do if you had only one day left to live?”
I asked this question to my young students when teaching English this winter. What were their answers?
“I would watch television!” the first answer. “I would play with the computer!” the second one. “I would play with computer TOO.” The girl finished her sentence perfectly with a serious smile. Indeed how cute and innocent that smile was, but how seriously my heart was hurt. I was too frightened to listen to more answers like that.
Ten years ago, at their age, I had a different answer: I would spend the last day of my life gazing at the face of my dear grandmother until I inscribed every detail of it onto my mind.
When grandmother was getting old and weak, my family bought her a telephone so I could save time and the trouble of traveling to her home by making phone calls instead. Later we bought her a television so she could watch modern dramas by herself. Then grandma must have been, we assumed, very contented and happy.
But I never really knew how grandma felt. She silently passed away without a word one night. When I heard about her death, a chilling pain pierced my empty heart. The pain grew even sharper as I tried to remember in detail exactly how grandma looked and I failed completely! How could I remember? I had not visited her for ages—it seemed like a century! My memories of her dissolved into thin air and leaked away like water.
Even though I have a telephone, can she hear me now?
Even though I might be on television, can she see me now?
Even though I have modern telecommunications, can she still communicate with me now?
With all these “tele”s, I was powerless.
Don't people just love the word of “tele”, which means far away. Indeed this is how modern technology has changed our world. But please don't forget this other word with “tele”: telepathy: which refers to human beings' inborn ability to connect to our loved ones. Our minds are supposed to read each other's minds; our hearts are supposed to feel each other's hearts — and fulfill these without any forms of tool!
But the moment I desperately struggled to remember grandmother's face, the telepathy between her and me had shut down forever. With the help of modern technology, I killed our telepathy.
This shall never happen again! The “tele”s are great inventions. But “telepathy” gives them the warmth of a human face. Let's harness the power of television to excite our kids to develop their telepathy with nature… so that they can read the secret language of flowers. Let's make the telephone lines provoke us to preserve our telepathy with each other, so we can connect in a warm and feeling way. Let technology keep our “telepathy” ALIVE! We need to wake up and make this happen.
I told my grandma's story to those young kids that day. They got very quiet. They asked me for a second chance to answer the question. They had come to a new understanding – that very moment they had made to me and to our future together, a dear promise.
Thank you very much!
Good morning everybody, I’m very glad to stand here and give you a short speech. We all know that Bingxin has a famous saying “we always admire the beauty of flowers but its sprout was watered by tears of struggle and rained by blood of sacrifice”. So for the majority, behind their success, are filled of sweat and tears. Eagle flying in the vast firmament, must be experienced the pain of countless times fall under the cliff, then hammered out a pair of volley wings. A shinning of pearls, inevitably suffered countless body friction and numerous waves’ shock. In this view, a real successful people, and he must experienced numerous times to stand up again and agin after failed, because without sweat and tears on the life road ,no one can casually get the beautiful flowers. Alfter a heavy fall Shi Tiesheng lost his legs, it must be a heavy blow for anyone. But he didn't lose faith in life, but use his brain and hands to show the infinite love of life;
Beethoven was blind and deaf, but he still had written the "Hero""Destiny"nd so on a large number of music works, in his unfortunately life, he doggedly gripped the "fate of the throat. They all had a fall, but they are strong enough to stand up, fight against fate and misfortune, finally they succeed. So for each of us, wrestling is not terrible, lose confidence and courage in life is the most terribe thing. In my opionion, the sweat and tears during the life’ journey are very important for us, they hone our will, and enrich our experience. As the saying goes, how can you see the rainbow without a rainy day, while you don't work hard and not struggle, how can you gain the successful flowers. All in all, the sweat and tears on the struggling road is inevitable, don’t look for shortcuts anymore, steadfast walk every step, we will succeed in the end. So belief yourself, nothing is impossile, just do it. Thank you for taking your time to listen to my speech, I hope in the near future we all can be successful.
大家早上好,我很高兴站在这里给你一个简短的演讲。我们都知道冰心的一句名言“我们总是欣赏花的美丽,但其发芽被眼泪浇灌的斗争和牺牲的血雨”。所以对于大多数人来说,他们的成功背后,是充满汗水和泪水。鹰飞翔在辽阔天空,必须经历无数次的痛苦下悬崖,然后敲定一对凌空的翅膀。闪光的珍珠,不可避免地遭受了无数身体摩擦和许多海浪的冲击。在这个视图中,一个真正成功的人,他一定经历过无数次失败后再次站起来,反对,因为没有汗水和泪水的生活道路上,没有人能随随便便获得美丽的花朵。Alfter重下降摘要史铁生失去了他的腿,它必须对任何人来说都是一个沉重的打击。但他没有对生活失去信心,而是用他的大脑和手显示生命的无限的爱;
贝多芬失明、失聪,但他仍然写了“英雄”的“命运”nd等等大量的音乐作品,在他的不幸的生活,他固执地抓住了“命运的喉咙。他们都有下降,但它们足以站起来,对抗命运和不幸,最后他们成功。所以对我们每个人来说,摔跤并不可怕,对生活失去信心和勇气是最差劲的事情。在我opionion,汗水和泪水在生命的旅程是非常重要的对我们来说,他们磨练我们的意志,并丰富我们的经验。俗话说,你怎么能看到彩虹没有雨天,你不努力,不奋斗,你怎么能获得成功的花朵。总之,汗水和眼泪苦苦挣扎的道路上是不可避免的,不再寻找捷径,坚定的走每一步,最后我们会成功的。所以相信自己,没有什么是impossile,就这样做。谢谢你带你的时间听我的演讲,我希望在不久的将来我们都能成功。
we are not living in vacuum, and the society is formed of various kinds of people. as long as we want to live, study, or work, we have to contact, communicate and cooperate with others. those who enjoy common interests, mutual understanding, common undertakings and common benefits become friends.
some friends are called fair-weather friends, because they are together just for entertaining themselves by eating, drinking, and gossiping. once there's nothing to eat and drink, their friendship is finished. some are spiritual friends who share common ambitions, pursuits and education. “they enjoy talking and laughing with the great talents and never make friends with the good-for-nothings”. the best examples would be yu boya and zhong ziqi of the ancient times who are famous not only for their lofty music but mainly for their lofty characters and mutual understanding and appreciation. they cared very little about material wealth, so their friendship is known as “gentlemen's friendship as pure as water”.the third type of friendship belong to those who show their utter devotion to each other. they are ready not only to share weal and woe but also to die for each other, like the three brothers liu, guan and zhang in the novel romance of the three kingdoms. . we all wish to have this kind of friendship, but it's of great difficulty for the ordinary people to be as devoted as they were.
granny liu, a distant kinsfolk, in a dream of the red mansions , claims kinship with the wealthy jia family, thinking that she may benefit from it in some ways. liu might have run away without any traces if the jia family had been a poor one. another saying goes “close neighbors are better than distant relatives.” the most difficult is to manage the relatives when doing business together, just as what the tv series program liu laogen discloses. it is all right to stay poor together, but as soon as the business grows prosperous, the group will become estranged and even dissolve because of the unfair distribution. family love is like a maze which we shouldn't go too far into it, otherwise, we'll surely get lost. love is a bilateral matter and unilateral love can only lead you to nowhere in spite of your good intentions. family love is, sometimes, like an arranged marriage, leaving no choices to you. due to the different experiences and tastes, staying together temporarily can be entertaining, while living together for a long time can only be boring due to the lack of common interest and understanding. how can we communicate with each other without understanding? parents have the duty to support the children who are not yet economically independent, and children have the responsibility to provide for the elderly parents who are lack of economic abilities to support themselves. except these two kinds of duties which we must fulfill, other kinds of love become conventional formalities such as paying visit to the sick or the dead and giving presents to the newly-born etc.
no love among relatives has become a normal phenomenon which needn't to be fussed about. what's worse is when love is contaminated by money. sooner or later we will get hurt. the sooner we get out of this net of love, the more we can preserve beautiful memories.
Today I am very glad to be here to share with you my ideas of success. What is success? It is what everyone is longing for.Sometimes success would be rather simple. Winning a game is success; getting a high grade in the exam is success; making a new friend is success; even now I am
standing here giving my speech is somehow also success.
However, as a person’s whole life is concerned, success becomes very
complicated. Is fortune success? Is fame success? Is high social status success? No, I don’t think so. I believe success is the realization of people’s hopes and ideals.Nowadays, in the modern society there are many people
who are regarded as the successful. And the most obvious characteristics of hem are money, high position and luxurious life. So most people believe that s success and all that they do is for this purpose. But the problem is wether it is real success. We all know there are always more money, higher position and better condition in front of us. If we keep chasing them, where is the end? What will satisfy us at last? Therefore, we can see, to get the real Success we must need something inside, which is the realization ofpeople’ hopes and ideals.
Different people have different ideas about success; cause people’s hopes and ideas vary from one another. But I am sure every success is dear to everybody, cause it is not easy to come by, cause in the process of our striving for success, we got both our body and soul tempted, meanwhile we are enlightened by the most valuable qualities of human beings: love, patient, courage and sense of responsibility. These are the best treasures. So now I am very proud that I have this opportunity to stand here speaking to all of you. It is my success, cause I raise up to challenge my hope.
What is success? Everyone has his own interpretation as I do. But I am sure every success leads to an ever-brighter future. So ladies and gentlemen, believe in our hopes, believe in ourselves, we, every one of us, can make a successful life! Wish you all good success!
I Love You, China!
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I’m very glad to make a speech here. Today my topic is “I love you, China.”
Since the day I was born, I began to have a proud name—Chinese. Since the day I began to talk, the most beautiful sentence I’ve ever learnt has been “I love you, China!”
I love you, China, and I’m so proud of being a Chinese. I’m proud that I’ve got the beautiful yellow skin, black eyes and black hair. I’m also proud that I speak the most beautiful language in the world—Chinese.
I love you, China, for I can feel the deep love you give me every day, every minute. Last year, I got an opportunity to visit the United States of America. During my staying there, my father’s boss once invited my family to dinner. While at table, he looked at me and asked: “Little boy, how long have you been in America?” “About a month,” I answered, “How lucky you are!” he said, “If you were living in China, how could you learn such perfect English?” I smiled and told him proudly that all the students in China are able to learn English at school. I saw his surprised eyes and said to myself, “I’m proud of you, China. For you are offering us the best education.”
When I came back from the USA, my friends asked me: “How do you feel about your staying there?” “Wonderful” I said. “Then why do you come back?” Hearing this, I told them there were lots of beautiful countries in the world, but none of them can compare with our own country—China. How true the saying is: “There’s no place like home!”
I love you, China. As a young student, all we should do is to study hard and devote ourselves whole-heartedly in the future, to the great cause of building you into an even stronger and greater country in the world. I love you, my dear motherland! I love you, China!
Thank you for your listening !
Life is not long, but many times choose, you have many choices come through today. Wait more than 60 days, you in turn to make a choice, but the choice is your life is very important, very crucial choice. The choice to a large extent directly related to your future direction in life, whether related to the future glory of life, and even the success of the big problems of life.
The last choice, because your young, largely by your parents or relatives to help you to make choices. Then the choice of their ability to help so you can create conditions to help you (for example, taking your difference, they can give you the money you read Choosing Health). Entrance options, but this largely depends on yourself decide the. Because: First, the difficulty of the selection bigger, some parents and relatives also lack guidance capability; second is the choice of policy, a more equitable, they may have money, but you also can not score enough money to help you. So many choices in this and future autonomy of the major is in your own hands.
Select certain subjective and objective conditions. The university entrance exam already created the objective conditions of choice. For example, the University has long been the face of the door here open for each student, you can enter with their conditions. Another example is that the state's admission policy is not directed against an individual, but against all the candidates this year, has been formed, you can only prepare the conditions required by policy to choose. Another example: you face the teachers and the teaching environment of objective factors in the last more than 60 days are basically constant. You can only adjust themselves to the further adaptation. Therefore, the objective conditions of your current studies, as if we can only face each generation has been formed as the productivity of conditions, can only be subjective on this basis up efforts to promote the development of the existing productive forces, not to complain about now have low productivity. This year's college entrance
examination, you can only have been formed by the face of these subjective and objective conditions to efforts to improve their academic performance. Not to complain about the objective conditions than me.
In addition to other life choices, and many give up. But a lot of life to give up in order to better choices. You this time, the face of the university are beckoning to you, you can choose not to give up. Can also say: You give up a lot in the past, that is, to this choice. Example, Why did not you work outside the home? Why not stay at home farming? Why seeing your parents morning to evening, busy doing farming work, and even sick exertion in the field, and you share those concerns did not go home for their problem-solving, can you give up so they are not all for this time of choice?
Both gave up so much, they chose today, why not try to choose tomorrow? Beckon you do not choose to have this as another of the universities? There is the further purification of your soul, raise your quality, and increase your survivability, and improve your quality of life in the future to achieve greater value of life your furnace.
This is a glass of water, tasteless, right? However if you add sugar, it will taste sweet, but if you add vinegar, it will become bitter. The same is true with our life——the flavor is created by our choices.
If kindness is added to a strange you will have a friend; but if hostility is added, you will have an enemy. If love is added to a pile of red bricks you will have a home, but if hatred is add to those bricks , you will have an concentration camp.
So my dear friends, never complain that life is boring and the world is disappointing. If don’t like the taste of your life, change the ingredients. Three year ago, I weighed more than 100 hundred kilograms which caused
significant embarrassment and frustration in my life. Like always failing my P.E examinations, like always being laughed at by girls, like being terrified to speak in public. It was my grandmother’s encouragement that revived from my passive attitude to become confident in myself. She said “ My dear, if you can’t change you figure, why not treat it as your own style. So I began to cautiously employ the new way of thinking. By choosing to change my outlook on life, I developed the confidence to make a difference and finally I found a totally new world.
So my dear friend, if faith, hope, love, endurance are added to your life, you will find the confidence to conquer your limitation and embrace new challenges. And hopefully with my speech included, you will have a fantastic speech contest.
On New Year's Eve, our class had a party. The atmosphere was good. It was out of the ordinary from the very begining. The boy student from one bedroom gave an unusual performance. We saw a boy named Li Xinmin turn off all the lights in a sudden snap. Then with three resounding crow of a cock echoing in the hall, the hall was again brightly lit in a snap.
Then, the representative of the bedroom Zhu Guozhang asked us to guess a line of a poem related to the above situation. He added that Li Xinmin alone was born in the year of the dog and the other three were all born in the year of the chicken. They left us all in confusion. And it was our monitor who was quickwitted. He shouted our, “The day breaks as the cock crows three times at dawn.” The hall After that, they had another item.
This time Li Xinmin was placed in the middle of the circle. While he was standing there, the other three stood around him, each bowing down to him at an angle of 120 degrees. It was an idiom. This time I got it right:“The dog stands out among a group of chickens.”
Then we all sang and played games until it was eleven o'clock at night. The old man on night watch came to turn off the lights. We had to tear ourselves away from the party.
From this activity, I discovered that many of our classmates are really talented singers.
Dear judges:
I am very glad to make a speech here ! Today I'd like to talk something about English.
I love English. English language is now used everywhere in the world. It has become the most common language on Internet and for international trade. Learning English makes me confident and brings me great pleasure.
When I was seven, my mother sent me to an English school. At there, I played games and sang English songs with other kids . Then I discovered the beauty of the language, and began my colorful dream in the English world.
Everyday, I read English following the tapes. Sometimes, I watch English cartoons.
On the weekend, I often go to the English corner. By talking with different people there, I have made more and more friends as well as improved my oral English.
I hope I can travel around the world someday. I want to go to America to visit Washington Monument, because the president Washington is my idol. Of course, I want to go to London too, because England is where English language developed. If I can ride my bike in Cambridge university, I will be very happy.
I hope I can speak English with everyone in the world. I'll introduce China to them, such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Anshan.
Take a look at the street, we can see people walking around in Nike and Adidas ，beyond the curb, long lines of vehicles shuttle like wind on the tar among which there’re Mercedes-Benz ,BMW, Toyota ,and some of the Volkswagen whose price is definitely not so “volks” at all. They’re all heading for the same direction: the New Oriental School, coz the Olympics is around and learning English is currently the hottest way blowing away your after-work time and money in town. Everything about this picture is so global that you can hardly tell if it’s Bei Jing or Belgium.
However, there’s one grey speck on this splendid picture of globalization I just can’t shift my eyes away from. It’s a migrant worker covered with dirt. Pushing a large cart of bricks 5 times his own weight with his skinny arms, the man was about my age. His eyes hollow holes, for there’s nothing but the hardship of survival in there. Was he married? Was he smart? Did he go to middle school? Or perhaps primary school? Where was he from? Is there anyone waiting for him at home?
As we look out to globalization with great expectation, there’s also crisis lying within. But the crisis was not brought onto us from anywhere out there. It lies within our system and was made by ourselves. Some call it regional bias, some call it household permit system, but not matter what name it bears. It’s the same thing we see in this country: born a countryman, always a countryman. And countryman here is not just a nickname suggesting where you live. It means that you can’t have a lot of the basic public benefits like free compulsory education and medical insurance like the city men have. It means you would have to be times as outstanding as students from the metropolitans in exams to be admitted into good schools. In means, very much likely, in that migrant worker’s case, that you can work and live in the city honestly for 10 years but people still despises you because they think they are somehow superior. It’s true that globalization is all over the air, but despite it’s the same air that we breathe ,I wonder how many of them feel it even exsit.
Does learning to compete in the global era involve migrant workers? I believe few would think so. Because usually what we care about are things like trade surplus, intercultural communication and Paris Hilton. But does it not involve migrant workers?
Let’s make an interesting assumption here. Today, I see a lot of young faces in this building, in 10 years, many of us will have our children. And I suppose that in 10 years, the migrant worker I saw on the street the other day and many like him will have their children. I can’t help wondering with this globalization gap keep lying between the two of us, can my child work together with his children for the country in the future competition of the global era? And will this country be able to win the competition without its rural people which takes up about 80% of its total population?
No! This situation must be changed! And the time is now! The long and weary journey to its final solution may take decades, or even centuries. But it starts with our little good will. If everyone in this room donate 10 yuan to the Hope project, we might be able to get the son of a migrant worker through junior school. By which we’re not only helping them but also helping ourselves.
If we want to learn to compete with others, we’ll first have to learn to take care of our own man , and if we want to learn to live with globalization,we’ll first learn it, from those who live without it.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Today my topic is The Road Not Taken in Life.
“Why are you doing this? Don’t you know it’s a total waste of time?” That’s what my mom yelled at the ten-year-old me, when she found out that I had signed up for an English story-telling competition.
I bowed my head; yes, she was right. By then I was entering Grade Six, faced with the biggest challenge yet to come—the examination to enter my dream junior high school. For that, I had given up my beloved piano lesson, my favorite cartoon program and even the playful weekend family reunion with my cousins. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if my very-strict-university-teacher mother got furious at me when I chose to do anything besides study at that crucial moment.
But that’s not all to it. Now please take a good look at the twenty-year-old me, and imagine what I was like when I was ten. Here are the key words: nervous, timid, shy, tongue-tied when facing strangers, and essentially a bookworm. These signs looked fatal to my mother, and possibly to you, too; she thought that I could be anything but a good public speaker.
Well, I myself actually said no to my English teacher at first, because I had never done anything like that before and I was afraid. But he told me since I liked reading so much, why not try to tell a story I love to everyone? He also promised me that the judges were not frightening at all; just think of them as carrots and cabbages in a vegetable patch.
The ten-year-old me was persuaded by my teacher’s words. The feeling of telling my beloved stories to someone else ignited a spark of anticipation in my little chest. So I chose to endure my mother’s ranting for an entire hour, then raised my head bravely and pleaded: “Mom, please. I just want to try.”
My mother looked as if she was on the verge of another outburst—but she only sighed. I took that as her permission, and started working with my teacher day and night to find a story, to illustrate the details, and to practice my facial expressions and gestures in front of the mirror. On the day of the competition, I went on the stage for the very first time in my life; I could feel the nervousness threatening to bring me down, and I felt cheated by my teacher: it was impossible to picture the judges as mere carrots and cabbages. But I went on. Although I only got the third prize at that time, on that stage I stayed ever since, even to this very moment.
I should thank my teacher and my mother for letting me take a road that I have never taken before. Little did I know then that this road would one day lead the shy little ten-year-old me into a wonderland; it led me to meet all of you here today. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that it isn’t so terrifying to venture into the unknown at all; all you need is a little courage and determination. See where my road has led me, and bravely take your first step.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,
As I stand here speaking to you in English, I am already globalized. While shopping, I see the fair Chinese ladies carrying Prada handbags, I find they are globalized. Watching Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings with friends—yes, you can anticipate the refrain, we are all globalized!
In this era of globalization, we are one way or another all globalized. But realize this: when people’s heads turn to the fresh things that globalization literally delivers to our doors, the traditional things which we take for granted become ignored and sometimes forgotten. ConsiderLao Qiang, an ancient form of opera. It has almost vanished from the stage and only fewer than 20 people know how to sing it. So, how can we discover and explore our traditional culture? How can we rejuvenate and share them with the whole world? Well, there are three factors we need to keep in mind.
To begin with, the mass media plays a vital role in discovering traditional culture and connecting it with the widest possible audience. One evening in 20xx, for example, when my father and I were watching the final round of the popular TV showStar Road, we both became fans for a contestant named A Bao. We were attracted by his high pitched tenor voice, his traditional Shaanxi folk tunes and Shaanxi costumes. Apparently we were not his only fans. Star Road has aroused great popular interest in Shaanxi folk music. Such media can help popular audiences to discover lost arts and introduce people to them for the first time.
The mass media raise the people’s popular interest in the traditional arts, but it is the performing artists who really develop the people’s understanding of traditional culture. Yang Liping’s dance show Yunnan Image, based on primitive Yunnan dance style, has had an enormous influence in and out of China. Yang has recovered for us the primitive life in Yunnan. It is the raw and unadorned beauty of nature in her dancing that moves her audience most. We desperately need professional artists’ endeavor to discover traditional arts, to train apprentices, and to project our traditional culture on the global stage.
The third strategic factor in promoting our culture in global competition is an audience who knows what and how to appreciate our culture. But today’s youth—tomorrow’s explorers—are ill equipped to appreciate the traditional culture. Take myself as an example: I have had no painting or music classes since senior high school! No extracurricular activities like Chinese painting or calligraphy since primary school! What paltry little we learn about our traditional Chinese culture is relegated to a few lines and pictures in history books. We need our government and our school system to give us a better opportunity to embrace our traditional culture and discover its rich legacy for ourselves.
Ladies and gentlemen, the age of globalization should be a time for cultural discovery, not cultural extinction! Our traditional culture needs our concern and support to survive! With our combined efforts, we can save our valuable culture from extinction and showcase it, so it can shine brightly on the global stage, shared and enjoyed by people all around the world!
fraternal love or friendship is wide-ranged and flexible. generally speaking, everyone is our friend, just as chairman mao says “our friends are all over the world”。 but transcend age, sex, nationality, state and economic conditions. to them the most important is common benefit, common interest and understanding. friendship is formed during the course of studying, working and fighting. the battle companions who have survived many hazards usually enjoy long-lasting friendship.
however, fraternal love is not stable. being away for too a long time, losing all common benefits, friends will become estranged. once their interest has changed, they no longer understand each other, and even this would harm friendship. at all times and in all countries, many close friends and battle companions who once worked together and fought together became enemies in the end. quiet a few of the emperors in ancient china even killed those who had helped them found their dynasties. the taiping heavenly kingdom would not have failed if it hadn't been for the contending and massacring among the those who first rose in rebellion at the beginning of the uprising. what else we need to pay attention to is that some friends, after being away from each other for too long a time, have lost so much of their original characters that when meeting again, you will feel that you are still the same as you were, while they are no longer themselves. they may have the same feeling about you, so sometimes it's better not to meet each other again. as the chinese proverb goes “friendship can not last for three years and flowers can not stay in blossom for three months”.it's not so easy to maintain real friendship which needs mutual understanding, tolerance and sacrifice. any kinds of harsh treatment will damage friendship.
I was seventeen, almost a senior in high school. I was riding my bike to school. I had taken a special route to pick up a gift, but that day, "the road less traveled by" led to disaster. Crossing a road, a drunk driver ran a red light, slammed into me, and shattered my left knee.
It made all the difference.
I was forced to postpone college, plunged into painful therapy . . . but eventually, I also learned much about life and myself. I found the strength to withstand adversity, learned compassion, and above all, I learned that the road not taken is not just about regrets or choices but also about the perpetual now and the always-coming future.
When I first studied Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” in middle school, I was unable to grasp its ambiguity. I always thought that Frost’s persona chooses “a road less traveled by” and lives life being subversive and irreverent. I was wrong. In the poem, both of the two roads that “diverged in a yellow wood” are actually “about the same.” But there has to be a choice, and sometimes, they it can be involuntary (as I learned the hard way). This makes me extremely thankful and resolute when I can make conscious choices and plan for the future, and so I know now that Frost's poem is also about "the road not [yet] taken."
For everyone, this means something slightly different. For me, it means constant vigilance, learning, and love. Our journey is hard, complex, and it often presents unexpected twists, but reflecting on the roads not taken and not yet taken each day gives us a little more strength and confidence. Life cannot and will not me perfect, and the truth is it will end. But as Willa Cather would say, “The end is nothing, the road is all.” The road not taken in the past, and the road not yet taken that lies ahead.
But about the present? It joints the past and the future. What then, is “the road not taken” in the perpetual now? Personally, I find an answer in these lines from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses”:
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Thank you.
The fairytale of Aladdin has always been my childhood favorite. I was mesmerized by how Aladdin used his three magic wishes. As a small girl, I dreamed of having the magic wishes to go wherever I wanted to go and see whatever I wanted to see. As you can probably guess, I haven't found my genie in the lamp yet, however, I have found something just as exciting and it has made marvelous changes in not only my life, but the lives of all human-beings. It is called technology.
I still remember how my father told me about his childhood back in those days when China was not as open and developed as it is now. Children would run for kilometers to school, make toys with wood by themselves, and the biggest dream of a child was holding two jars of sugar, one white, the other brown in each arm and having the choice of eating whichever he wanted. Just look at what we have now. Magnificent technological advancement has opened up a whole new world to us.
However, just as our lives become more convenient, problems arise from this new life style. We seem to be caged in the modern technology; we are thinking alike as a result of using the same search engine, we are getting lazy as most of our work can be done by machines, and we are alienating people around us for we are more comfortable talking on phones and typing in front of a computer.
If I was given the chance to make my magic wishes now, I would wish we could go back in time and live for three days without advanced technology. I wonder what we would do in those three days. Here is what I imagine:
On the first day, people would be feeling so uncomfortable with the new situation that they would probably be confused and just not know what to do. The world would be in a mess for the whole day.
On the second day, as life goes on, people would have to find alternative ways to deal with their daily rituals: students would have to go to libraries for information they wanted instead of searching on Google; boys would have to express their affection to girls in person instead of sending an annoying txt message; and the young people of today would have the chance to experience the childhood of their parents. On this particular day, we could recover all we had lost in the modern world.
Then comes the third day. After the previous two days, we would gradually come to realize that we should have paid more attention to our studies and work as we actually have so much creativity and potential within ourselves. We would also realize that we should have spent more time with a friend, a parent or a child as we do love them, but we don't really understand them due to the lack of personal communication. We shouldn't have been so dependent on modern technology as it wasn't invented to confine us, but to inspire us. This last day would be spent in sparks of new ideas and sweet moments with our loved ones.
Maybe some would argue that it is just my imagination, and that magic would never work in our world. True, but magic can always work in our hearts, helping us understand that we, instead of the machine, are the masters of the world. The key is to treasure our human initiative and connections, to see the world with our own eyes, explore the unknown with our minds and treat others with our hearts. Just like Aladdin didn't choose to use magic to gain a happy life, we can make our choice, too. And when we do, we will live, as in the fairy tales, happily ever after. Thank you.
“What would you do if you had only one day left to live?”
I asked this question to my young students when teaching English this winter. What were their answers?
“I would watch television!” the first answer. “I would play with the computer!” the second one. “I would play with computer TOO.” The girl finished her sentence perfectly with a serious smile. Indeed how cute and innocent that smile was, but how seriously my heart was hurt. I was too frightened to listen to more answers like that.
Ten years ago, at their age, I had a different answer: I would spend the last day of my life gazing at the face of my dear grandmother until I inscribed every detail of it onto my mind.
When grandmother was getting old and weak, my family bought her a telephone so I could save time and the trouble of traveling to her home by making phone calls instead. Later we bought her a television so she could watch modern dramas by herself. Then grandma must have been, we assumed, very contented and happy.
But I never really knew how grandma felt. She silently passed away without a word one night. When I heard about her death, a chilling pain pierced my empty heart. The pain grew even sharper as I tried to remember in detail exactly how grandma looked and I failed completely! How could I remember? I had not visited her for ages—it seemed like a century! My memories of her dissolved into thin air and leaked away like water.
Even though I have a telephone, can she hear me now?
Even though I might be on television, can she see me now?
Even though I have modern telecommunications, can she still communicate with me now?
With all these “tele”s, I was powerless.
Don’t people just love the word of “tele”, which means far away. Indeed this is how modern technology has changed our world. But please don’t forget this other word with “tele”: telepathy: which refers to human beings’ inborn ability to connect to our loved ones. Our minds are supposed to read each other’s minds; our hearts are supposed to feel each other’s hearts — and fulfill these without any forms of tool!
But the moment I desperately struggled to remember grandmother’s face, the telepathy between her and me had shut down forever. With the help of modern technology, I killed our telepathy.
This shall never happen again! The “tele”s are great inventions. But “telepathy” gives them the warmth of a human face. Let’s harness the power of television to excite our kids to develop their telepathy with nature… so that they can read the secret language of flowers. Let’s make the telephone lines provoke us to preserve our telepathy with each other, so we can connect in a warm and feeling way. Let technology keep our “telepathy” ALIVE! We need to wake up and make this happen.
I told my grandma’s story to those young kids that day. They got very quiet. They asked me for a second chance to answer the question. They had come to a new understanding – that very moment they had made to me and to our future together, a dear promise.
Thank you very much!
Firstly, I am glad to be here, let me introduce myself. My name is Li Wei, my English name is Aleevon. I am 22 years old. I come from the northwest of China, the most ancient city in China——Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province. I am studying in the Foreign Language department of Minjiang University situated in Fu Zhou of Fujian Province.
I cross the whole of China to Study because I want to redefine myself; I want to stand on my own two feet. So I left my beloved home town, and started a new life in the southeast of China.
In the past 3 years, I learnt a lot about myself. I never knew that I could have a charming voice, but later I became a Broadcaster on the Campus Broadcasting Station; I never thought that I could have the courage to go on stage, but later I became the First place winner in Campus Host Competition and still do the host every now and then; I never thought that I could be an Inspiring person, but later I became the Head of College Students’ Art Ensemble; and I love to dance ever since I was a kid, I never thought I could dance professionally, but on campus, I became a cheerleader in our cheerleading squad, and we competed throughout the country, from provincial to regional, to the nationals.
I have found a new me in the past 3 years, a new me that I never knew before, and I am still surprising myself. So that’s me, an inspired young man, a cheerleader who will always smile even in the days of despair.
With the development of science and technology, change has penetrated into every aspect of our daily life. To illustrate that, I’d like to make a comparison of these two seemingly insignificant things: milkman and mailman, whose differences indicate our changing way of living with the times.
Home milk delivery has almost gone extinct in China now, also gone with it are the milkmen, who once delivered bottled fresh milk door-to-door. On the other hand, mailman’s business or the courier service has thrived as online shopping gains popularity. However, in retrospect, I find something has been lost in this transition, something Shakespeare called as “the milk of human kindness”.
When I was a kid, milk wasn’t for sale everywhere. For the families who need it, they depended on the milkmen to take it from the local dairy farms to their houses. In our neighborhood, there was such a milkman, whose arrival was much anticipated by the children and always brought us laughter and joy. He knew the name of every kid and could easily see through our tricks. If we didn’t behave, he would side with our parents and threaten to rob us of the nutritious drink. The entire neighborhood was acquainted with him; saw him as a member of the community just like the many residents or street vendors. There was a bond between all of us for it was not only the commodities that been transacted, but also a sense of caring and dependability. And that small box fixed onto our door, other than being a drop-off point for milk; it was a communication junction between the people as we took the initiative to reach out to others.
Fast forward to today, milk is ubiquitous with no dedicated delivery system. But the convenience level of our live has gone up a notch. Almost everything is for sale online, which spares us all the travelling and talking. With a few ready clicks, shopping is done. The rest is left for those speed delivery companies. Usually it’s a grumpy mailman, who reaches us through cell phone, urging everyone to pick up their parcels as soon as possible. And the minute the receipt is signed, we rush back to unpack while the courier dashes to the next destination. There is barely a conversation carried out, nor do we feel the need to talk to such a stranger, who changes from time to time frequently. It seems that people are always in a hurry now, though we have more conveniences, still we run short of time to stop and stare, to speak and share.
Call me an old-timer, but I think the personal touch represented by the milkman is what has been missing in the modern society. William Wordsworth once wrote that “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” Modern technology may have multiplied our possessions or gave us more conveniences, but we run the risk of reducing our values if we lay waste our power of interpersonal relationships.
Good morning everyone，may I have your attention，please? I am glad to be able to give a lecture on this classroom. This once , I want to talk about English. My topic of conversation is that I love English.
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 Chines.
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 intrests.I dream that I can go to London,because it is the birth place of English.
I also want to use my good English to introduce our great places to the English spoken people,I hope that they can love our country like us.
I know, Rome was not built in a day. I believe that after continuous hard study, one day I can speak English very well.
If you want to be loved, you should learn to love and be lovable. So I believe as I love English everyday , it will love me too.
I am sure that I will realize my dream one day!
Thank you!
Happiness is like a snowflake, each one unique because the perception of a meaningful life varies from person to person. To many people, happiness means a simple life without any ups and downs, but my happiness comes from a life full of challenge and experience.
When I was a child, happiness was the rare taste of independence, a brave leap from the mundane. I remember the first time I tried to to ride a bike by myself without the support wheels. I went back home with a flat tire, skinned knees, and the biggest grin my face could hold. While other toddlers preferred the safe and secure, I was tumbling down hills and swerving off sidewalks. Even now, I can still recall the exhilaration I had felt when I managed to stay atop that bike for those few short moments.
Later on, overcoming challenges that I encountered in life was what brought me happiness. You see, I started learning the violin. It was extremely hard and I sounded like I was flaying a cat every time I picked it up. My fingers were awkward and the bow slipped off the strings more times than it stayed on. I spent three hours everyday, sawing at my violin. My fingers bruised and my neck ached, but gradually the mistakes lessened and I was making music. Three years later, I was First Chair violinist in the school orchestra. I still remember the pride I had felt when I took my very first bow in front of an applauding audience. Happiness had felt so much sweeter after a hard won success.
When I got older and saw more of the world, I wanted to contribute more. So when most people my age chose to spend the three months before college relaxing, I decided to get a part-time job as a TA at a summer school. I woke up at the crack of dawn, took an hour's bus to the school every day and spent most of the summer vacation sitting in the back of classrooms, grading papers and taking notes on the lecture and tutoring students. It definitely wasn't the most glamorous summer, but it was one of the happiest and most memorable moments of my life. It didn’t just make me happy because it had been my first part-time job. I was happy because I had spent my time doing something worthwhile. I had contributed in my own way, and the children were going to do better in school in the coming year.
Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of cuts and bruises, but the scars left behind are the testimony of my own unique experiences and the fulfilling life that I want to pursue. Our time is limited and I want to experience as much as life can offer. My happiness comes from living an exciting and worthy life, true to myself and true to the world.
If personal happiness were a self portrait, then each day would be a stroke of the brush, each experience a splash of vivid paint. And when we are old, we can look back upon our life and the dots will connect, every brush of color will come together and reveal a life worth living and a person worth being.
Honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen,
The fairytale of Aladdin has always been my childhood favorite. I was mesmerized by how Aladdin used his three magic wishes. As a small girl, I dreamed of having the magic wishes to go wherever I wanted to go and see whatever I wanted to see. As you can probably guess, I haven’t found my genie in the lamp yet, however, I have found something just as exciting and it has made marvelous changes in not only my life, but the lives of all human-beings. It is called technology.
I still remember how my father told me about his childhood back in those days when China was not as open and developed as it is now. Children would run for kilometers to school, make toys with wood by themselves, and the biggest dream of a child was holding two jars of sugar, one white, the other brown in each arm and having the choice of eating whichever he wanted. Just look at what we have now. Magnificent technological advancement has opened up a whole new world to us.
However, just as our lives become more convenient, problems arise from this new life style. We seem to be caged in the modern technology; we are thinking alike as a result of using the same search engine, we are getting lazy as most of our work can be done by machines, and we are alienating people around us for we are more comfortable talking on phones and typing in front of a computer.
If I was given the chance to make my magic wishes now, I would wish we could go back in time and live for three days without advanced technology. I wonder what we would do in those three days. Here is what I imagine:
On the first day, people would be feeling so uncomfortable with the new situation that they would probably be confused and just not know what to do. The world would be in a mess for the whole day.
On the second day, as life goes on, people would have to find alternative ways to deal with their daily rituals: students would have to go to libraries for information they wanted instead of searching on Google; boys would have to express their affection to girls in person instead of sending an annoying txt message; and the young people of today would have the chance to experience the childhood of their parents. On this particular day, we could recover all we had lost in the modern world.
Then comes the third day. After the previous two days, we would gradually come to realize that we should have paid more attention to our studies and work as we actually have so much creativity and potential within ourselves. We would also realize that we should have spent more time with a friend, a parent or a child as we do love them, but we don’t really understand them due to the lack of personal communication. We shouldn’t have been so dependent on modern technology as it wasn’t invented to confine us, but to inspire us. This last day would be spent in sparks of new ideas and sweet moments with our loved ones.
Maybe some would argue that it is just my imagination, and that magic would never work in our world. True, but magic can always work in our hearts, helping us understand that we, instead of the machine, are the masters of the world. The key is to treasure our human initiative and connections, to see the world with our own eyes, explore the unknown with our minds and treat others with our hearts. Just like Aladdin didn’t choose to use magic to gain a happy life, we can make our choice, too. And when we do, we will live, as in the fairy tales, happily ever after. Thank you.
With the development of science and technology, change has penetrated into every aspect of our daily life. To illustrate that, I'd like to make a comparison of these two seemingly insignificant things: milkman and mailman, whose differences indicate our changing way of living with the times.
Home milk delivery has almost gone extinct in China now, also gone with it are the milkmen, who once delivered bottled fresh milk door-to-door. On the other hand, mailman's business or the courier service has thrived as online shopping gains popularity. However, in retrospect, I find something has been lost in this transition, something Shakespeare called as “the milk of human kindness”.
When I was a kid, milk wasn't for sale everywhere. For the families who need it, they depended on the milkmen to take it from the local dairy farms to their houses. In our neighborhood, there was such a milkman, whose arrival was much anticipated by the children and always brought us laughter and joy. He knew the name of every kid and could easily see through our tricks. If we didn't behave, he would side with our parents and threaten to rob us of the nutritious drink. The entire neighborhood was acquainted with him; saw him as a member of the community just like the many residents or street vendors. There was a bond between all of us for it was not only the commodities that been transacted, but also a sense of caring and dependability. And that small box fixed onto our door, other than being a drop-off point for milk; it was a communication junction between the people as we took the initiative to reach out to others.
Fast forward to today, milk is ubiquitous with no dedicated delivery system. But the convenience level of our live has gone up a notch. Almost everything is for sale online, which spares us all the travelling and talking. With a few ready clicks, shopping is done. The rest is left for those speed delivery companies. Usually it's a grumpy mailman, who reaches us through cell phone, urging everyone to pick up their parcels as soon as possible. And the minute the receipt is signed, we rush back to unpack while the courier dashes to the next destination. There is barely a conversation carried out, nor do we feel the need to talk to such a stranger, who changes from time to time frequently. It seems that people are always in a hurry now, though we have more conveniences, still we run short of time to stop and stare, to speak and share.
Call me an old-timer, but I think the personal touch represented by the milkman is what has been missing in the modern society. William Wordsworth once wrote that “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” Modern technology may have multiplied our possessions or gave us more conveniences, but we run the risk of reducing our values if we lay waste our power of interpersonal relationships.