One day in 1819, 3,000 miles off the coast of Chile, in one of the most remote regions of the Pacific Ocean, 20 American sailors watched their ship flood with seawater.
They'd been struck by a sperm whale, which had ripped a catastrophic hole in the ship's hull. As their ship began to sink beneath the swells, the men huddled together in three small whaleboats.
These men were 10,000 miles from home, more than 1,000 miles from the nearest scrap of land. In their small boats, they carried only rudimentary navigational equipment and limited supplies of food and water.
These were the men of the whaleship Essex, whose story would later inspire parts of “Moby Dick.”
Even in today's world, their situation would be really dire, but think about how much worse it would have been then.
No one on land had any idea that anything had gone wrong. No search party was coming to look for these men. So most of us have never experienced a situation as frightening as the one in which these sailors found themselves, but we all know what it's like to be afraid.
We know how fear feels, but I'm not sure we spend enough time thinking about what our fears mean.
As we grow up, we're often encouraged to think of fear as a weakness, just another childish thing to discard like baby teeth or roller skates.
And I think it's no accident that we think this way. Neuroscientists have actually shown that human beings are hard'wired to be optimists.
So maybe that's why we think of fear, sometimes, as a danger in and of itself. “Don't worry,” we like to say to one another. “Don't panic.” In English, fear is something we conquer. It's something we fight.
It's something we overcome. But what if we looked at fear in a fresh way? What if we thought of fear as an amazing act of the imagination, something that can be as profound and insightful as storytelling itself?
It's easiest to see this link between fear and the imagination in young children, whose fears are often extraordinarily vivid.
Let's break the ethnic divide, bridge the gap between rich and poor, hand in hand, to build a Great wall, protecting us from evil; to construct a steady bridge, connecting reality to the ideal society! Let's pursue for that, that's the only way to the bright future! They are watching us! Thank you!
Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease, says the World Health Organisation.
According to their figures, it is responsible for approximately five million deaths worldwide every year.
Tobacco smoking is a known or probable cause of approximately 25 diseases, and even the WHO says that its impact on world health is not fully assessed.
Heart attack and stroke.
UK studies show that smokers in their 30s and 40s are five times more likely to have a heart attack than non'smokers.
Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I'd like to start with a group of pictures.
“Modern and advanced”This society forgets, and ignores the other two thirds of human beings. It's far from the ideal! We call ideal as a utopian, a place where reality does not exist. A few people still look forward to the ideals. We make fun of them, considering they are naive. Will we still be content to live in such a society, if misfortune drops to us? No! Of cause not!
When we feel the warmth of the sun, these people, endure great sorrows and pains. Can we imagine that? They are our brother and sisters!
Facing them, will we still complain about our own misfortune?
Facing them, will we still have the mood shouting for our own freedom? Facing them, will we still want to have more and more unnecessary stuff?
They are unable to meet their needs, even the basic needs of survival! Everyone, as a member of humanity, shouldn't feel ashamed? Our luxury deprived their lives, our indifference violated our soul, and our barbarity destroyed human civilization!
What's the ideal society? It's a society no one worries about their living, a society no one is refused from education, a society everyone can pursue his/her own happiness! The ideal society is filled with love, joy and kindness. In that society, we can touch the other's hearts, we can share our dreams and most important, we can just be the true men!