Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,

I am Chinese. I am proud of being a Chinese with five thousand years of civilization behind. I've learned about the four great inventions made by our forefathers. I've learned about the Great Wall and the Yangtze River. I've learned about Zhang Heng(张衡)and I've learned about Zheng He(郑和)．Who says the Yellow River Civilization has vanished(消失)？I know that my ancestors have made miracles(奇迹)on this fertile land and we're still making miracles. Who can ignore the fact that we have established ourselves as a great state in the world, that we have devised our own nuclear weapons, that we have successfully sent our satellites into space, and that our GNP ranks No. 7 in the world? We have experienced the plunders (掠夺) by other nations, and we have experienced the war. Yet, based on such ruins, there still stands our nation----China, unyielding and unconquerable!

I once came across an American tourist. She said, “China has a history of five thousand years, but the US only has a history of 200 years. Five thousand years ago, China took the lead in the world, and now it is the US that is leading.” My heart was deeply touched by these words. It is true that we're still a developing nation, but it doesn't mean that we can despise (鄙视) ourselves. We have such a long-standing history, we have such abundant resources, we have such intelligent and diligent people, and we have enough to be proud of. We have reasons to say proudly： we are sure to take the lead in the world in the future again, for our problems are big, but our ambition (雄心) is even bigger, our challenges (挑战) are great, but our will is even greater.

I am Chinese. I have inherited (继承) black hair and black eyes. I have inherited the virtues of my ancestors. I have also taken over responsibility. I am sure, that wherever I go, whatever I do, I shall never forget that I am Chinese!

Thank you.

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I received a devastating blow to my self-confidence in the first interview of my college years. I applied to be a host in our Student Acting Troupe and felt confident that I would be accepted. But one of the panel members told me: "You seem inadequate and you are a little vertically-challenged." My life has never been the same since. I used bigger heels to complement my height and psychological maneuvers and tricks to hide my lack of confidence. But no matter how hard I tried to look the part, there was still something missing.

As president of English Club, I organized the rehearsal of Snow White for an English party. Unfortunately, we could not find an actor to be the last dwarf. It had to be someone who was humorous by nature and fluent in English. Suddenly, all eyes turned to me, and I knew I would have to be the dwarf. To my great surprise and delight, once on stage, I was totally absorbed in the performance and my humorous nature was put to full use. As the dwarf, I was a big hit.

Yes, each of us is only one among millions of others, but each of us is an individual and each of us is unique. Cultivating our individuality will transform our lives, making of them a kaleidoscope of new colors and textures.

A world deprived of diversity would be a bland and boring place. The real tragedy is not being short or shy or ugly, but having your identity lost in a world in which everyone is a clone of a model cool boy or a flawless charming girl.

Given a choice, I would rather be ugly than live in such a world. I'd rather be a genuine dwarf accompanying a Snow White than be a Snow White among nothing but Snow Whites. I would rather be myself. I would contribute my individual and unique colors to create a more diverse universe. Please, be yourself.

译文：

大学生活的几年里，当我参加第一次面试时，我的自信心受到了沉重的打击。我向“学生剧团”申请出演一个主角，而且我十分自信地认为我会被录用。但是，其中有个剧团成员告诉我：“你似乎不太合适出演这个角色，因为你的身高有点问题。”我从未遇到过这种情况。我穿着高跟鞋来弥补我的身高，采用心理策略和技巧来掩盖自己信心的缺乏。但是，不论我怎样努力进入角色，感觉还是缺少些什么。

作为英语俱乐部的主席，我为英语晚会组织排演了《白雪公主》短剧。不幸的是，我们找不到合适的人选出演最后一个小矮人。这个角色必须生性幽默，英语流利。突然，所有人的目光都转向了我，我知道那个小矮人就是我了。让我极度奇怪而又高兴的是，一上台，我完全投入到演出中，而且我那幽默的天性被发挥得淋漓尽致。作为一个“小矮人”，我取得了巨大的成功。

的确，我们中的任何一个人都是千百万中的一员，但我们中的每个人都是一个与众不同的个体。发挥我们自己的个性会改变我们的生活，使它们成为美丽的万花筒。

失去了多样性的世界是个冷漠、乏味的地方。真正的悲剧不是个矮、害羞或丑陋，而是将自己的个性迷失在一个克隆的世界里，那里到处都是典型的酷男孩或无瑕、迷人的好姑娘。

如果让我选择，我宁可面貌五陋，也不愿生活在这样一个世界里；我宁可做一个伴随“白雪公主”的真实的小矮人，也不愿做“白雪公主”世界里的一个白雪公主，而随波逐流。我宁可作为一个真实的自我而出现。我愿将自己独特的、与众不同的色彩奉献给多姿多彩的世界。“走自己的路，让别人去说吧！”

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Nature Is Our Mother

Let me begin my speech with a replay of scenes familiar to most, if not all, of those present here today.

"Mum, I'm sorry, but I need 3,000yuan for my tuition this year."

"Mum, it is my friend's birthday tomorrow. I must buy her a present."

"Mum, this jacket was out of fashion long ago, would you do me a favor? "

Take. Take. Take. The relationship between a mother and a child always seems to follow such a pattern. I know my mother is always there for me, providing me with everything I need; from food to clothing, from tuition to pocket money. I never thought twice about all she did until one day she said, "Will there be a time that you'll say you have taken enough from me? "

Like a child endlessly asking, we humans, throughout history, have been continually demanding what we desire from nature. We enjoy the comfort and beauty of our furniture, yet we never bother to think about the serious soil erosion caused by deforestation. We take it for granted that we must warm ourselves in winter times, yet we seldom realize the burning away of precious natural resources. We appreciate all the prosperity from the development of modern industry, yet few would give the slightest consideration to the global air and water pollution caused by industrial wastes. Our ruthless exploitation has permanently impaired our mother earth. As we tragically learned from last summer's floods, we cannot continue our carelessness.

Finally, standing here at the threshold of the 21st century, we cannot help thinking of our posterity. Nature is not only the mother of the present generation, but also the mother of the generations to come. How severely our descendents will criticize us if we leave them a barren and lifeless mother? How much more they will appreciate us if we give them a world of harmony to inherit? Let us start respecting and caring for nature from now on. Let us start the campaign of creating a mutually beneficial relationship between people and nature right from this moment. With this new start, I firmly believe, that our children, and our children's children will live in a brand new age of green trees, clean air, crystal water, blue sky and an even more promising world!

译文：

自然是我们的母亲

请允许我用一个我们今天在座的大部分人，就算不是全部，都很熟悉的场景来展开我的演讲。

“妈妈，不好意思，今年的学费要三千元。”

“妈妈，明天是我朋友的生日，我要给她买份礼物。”

“妈妈，这件衣服早过时了，帮我买件新的，好吗?”

索取，索取，再索取。母亲和孩子的关系似乎永远都是这一种形式。我知道母亲总是我的靠山，给我一切需要的东西，从食物到衣服，从学费到零用钱。我觉得她所做的一切都是理所当然的，直到有一天，她说：“会不会有这么一天你对我说我已经索取够了?”

就像孩子无止境的要求一样，我们人类，从古到今，也一直在向自然索求以满足欲望。我们享受家具的美丽与舒适，但我们从来就不愿去想一想由于采伐树林而引起的严重的土壤侵蚀问题。我们认为冬天要取暖是理所当然的事情，却未曾意识到宝贵的自然资源就这样被烧掉。我们高兴地看到现代工业发展带来了繁荣，但很少人会对由于工业废物导致的全球空气和水质污染问题稍加考虑。我们无情的剥削已经永远地伤害了地球母亲。我们从去年夏天的洪灾悲剧中已经认识到，我们不能再继续漠不关心下去了。

最后，站在21世纪的门槛上，我们不禁展望着繁荣昌盛。自然不仅是现在这一代人的 3

母亲，更是未来一代人的母亲。如果我们留给他们的是一位贫瘠、毫无生气的母亲，那么我们会受到子孙们何等严厉的批评？如果我们留给他们的遗产是一个和谐的世界，他们会对我们做出何等的称赞?让我们从现在开始尊重、关爱自然。让我们立刻开展一场建立人类与自然互惠互利关系的运动。我坚信，有了这个新的开始，我们的孩子、孩子的孩子必将生活在一个绿树青葱、空气清新、水碧天蓝的崭新世纪，一个前景更加灿烂的世界！

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