My speech on this English summer program
Ladies and Gentlemen: Good morning!
My name is Hob. I am an -------
I am very happy to participate in this English Summer Program because it helps me to improve my oral English.
Each day I arrive early for class; and sit in the first row which is nearest to the teacher so that I can hear the teacher clearly.
I have attended every class, not missed a single one, only because I cherish this opportunity to learn to speak English well.
Our teacher is a wonderful teacher. She speaks English slowly and clearly so that we can easily understand her. She tries hard to help us with pronunciation, intonation and rhythm and teaches us to speak English smoothly. She helps everyone with every difficult sound. She tells us stories and teaches us life skills, which will be useful to us in the future. She is very kind to us and we all love her.
In the beginning, many of our students were shy about standing up in front of the class to speak English, but with the help of our teacher; and with the encouragement of our teacher every one of our class can now stands up and speak English loudly.
Our teacher seems not to be an expert on languages. She does not tell us that the word “goodbye” originally means: ’god be with you’ or “god bless you” when we are talking about the basic expressions of saying goodbye. She does not tell us such things. She only teaches us every day English to help us to communicate with others. And that is just what I needed. So, this program has been very helpful to me.I hope there will be more such programs in the future so that many more people can benefit from it.
Now, I have a dream!
My dream is that one day I can go to America for a Chinese Summer program to teach Americans to speak Chinese and tell them about China.
My dream is that Chinese and Americans understand each other better, will be good friends forever!
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to improve my oral English. Thank you!
Sports are more than competitions. To me, they mean growth under the care of others. I learned this the hard way.
I used to be very shy and often felt lonely. Although I did well in all the academic subjects, I was afraid of physical education. My classmates often laughed at me.
“Look at that girl,” they said. “Her feet don’t leave the ground when she runs!”
Their words embarrassed me. Moreover, whenever the teacher organized some competitive games, no one in the class liked to have me as their partner or team member. As a result, I often ended up looking at others enjoy their games.
Things would go on like that if not for a sports meet in my high school. By mistake, my name was put on the list of those who would compete in the women’s 1500 meters race. By the time people found the mistake, it was too late to change.
My desk-mate was a natural athlete. She said to me, “I couldn’t run that race in your place, because I’ve signed up for three items already.” Other athletic girls of the class said the same.
I was utterly dumbfounded. 1500 meters! Running against the best runners from other classes! And in front of students of the entire school! It would be the worst nightmare I’d ever have!
“You still have time to catch up because there is still one month before the sports meet,” they all said this to me, including my teacher.
My desk-mate patted me on the shoulder, “Cool! You will run for our class! And we will do training together.” Yes, this is not just for myself, but for my class too, I said to myself. But still, 1500 meters to me was like Mount Everest to a beginning climber. I had no idea even how to start my preparation.
Fortunately, my desk-mate gave me a hand. Every afternoon after class, several of us ran together. When the fear of being laughed at struck me, I saw others running right beside me. They gave me strengths. While we were running, some others would stand by the tracks cheering for us.
One month certainly couldn’t make me a good runner. But when I was standing behind the start line, I no longer felt lonely or afraid. I saw my classmates standing by the tracks waving at me as if about to run beside me.
With the shot of the starting gun, I dashed out and ran as fast as I could, as if it were a 200-meter race. Soon I was out of breath and slowed down. Other runners passed me one by one, and gradually I had no idea how many of them were still behind me. My legs were getting heavier and heavier, and I might fall down at any moment. However, I suddenly heard my classmates chanting my name. My desk-mate even ran along the tracks beside me and cheered for me at the same time, just like the month-long training we did together.
As expected, I was almost the last to cross the finish line. Immediately, my classmates held my arms and urged me to walk on my feet and not to sit down. I was surrounded, with all kinds of drinks handed to me. I felt a kind of warmth I had never felt before. Even though I was almost the last to finish the race, I was full of confidence that I would improve in the future.
That sports meet was an unforgettable experience. The memory of my classmates cheering for me, holding my arms and handing me drinks stays fresh on my mind. Sports are no longer about winning or losing. They give me a lot of confidence, both confidence in my fellow students and confidence in my own potential. I am no longer lonely, no longer afraid. Sports have brought me close to my classmates and helped us grow together.
Now, I participate in the sports meet every year. Even if I am not competing, I would help my classmates with their practice, just like the way my desk-mate and others ran with me.
ladies and gentlemen, i can say i'm no less nervous than my fellow and he was on the first time coming before this house. i can say ladies and gentlemen, that the problem we are facing before us, the problem that i have to deal with today, is how to define success.
it is often too easy, it is often too simplistic to define success as something external, something objective, something dealing with money, fame or reputation. but what i believe success is that it is not external. it comes from within. it is internal. i believe success is that you have to have your own ideals, and that you have faith in those ideals, even in the face of extreme adversity. and that is my definition of success.
i also believe that success is not discriminatory. success does not attach to a mere particular class of individuals. i believe that each and every individual, regardless of race, gender, class or even economic background, has an equal right to success, because each person has the right to develop his own ideals and to pursue those ideals.
a good example of this is the composer beethoven, a man who all of us know has created great symphonies. this man was deaf. this man was unable to hear his own majestic pieces of work. and yet, he held to his ideal of creation of music to the very end. then what exactly does the definition of success mean to me? to answer this question, to exemplify it, i pose a question to this house. i pose a question what brings us here together today, ladies and gentlemen, students and educators as you like. and the answer that i have found is the love for the spoken word.
love for the spoken word means how it is to express, how it is to listen, how it is to understand. because what happens when you have a pause, what happens when you have a rhetoric speech all differs on the impact and communication that you have on your audience. but the meaning of the spoken word applies ever more strongly to those who are unable to speak, or are unwilling to speak. because all the beautiful thoughts and emotions encapsulated in that person will inevitably be lost, if that person is not able to speak.
i once went to australia in 1998,and i saw two pictures drawn by three-year-old children. one was drawn by a normal child, one was drawn by what is known as an autistic child, a child which is exclusive, which is unable to express himself verbally to other people. and you could see the difference between the pictures. one was a picture of a horse very simple and straightforward. one was a picture of a horse a gain, but you could see the life, you could see the spirit, and you could see the detail behind that picture.
so the point i want to make here is that these people do have emotion they understand a lot, but it is very very fatal that they are not able to express themselves. and my definition of success is to share with them the beauty of the spoken word. my definition of success is to teach and be able to change these people's lives, because i have had the opportunity of encountering these people in my times either at school or during my summer jobs. i have had the time and opportunity to change these people. i have had the time to see exactly what exactly they go d1rough and to understand that point.
my ideal here is to share the beauty of the spoken word to these people. it is fright fatal that these people are not given the opportunity to be understood by the world. i say it because these people are often neglected by the public. i say it because people often think they are awkward and different. but i say we cannot forgive these acts because we must have a proactive approach to teach these people.
i say, ladies and gentlemen, that is important to keep your ideals. i say we should not have a premature abortion of ideals. it is easy to stray; it is easy to be distracted. what i say is let your ideals live on. let the child of your ideals live on, because what i want to leave you with is living you life without an ideal means that your life is not worth living at all. thank you.