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由中国日报社与联想集团共同主办、21世纪英文报系承办的第十四届“21世纪·联想杯”全国英语演讲比赛经过连月来的激烈竞争,终于在今年4月份落下帷幕。60名来自中国大陆和港澳台地区的总决赛选手于上海一决雌雄。来自清华大学的金璐,辽宁大学的苏宁馨和来自北京语言大学的陈艺分获冠、亚、季军。
大赛由已备演讲、即席演讲及问答等部分组成。赛程自每年的5-6月至次年4月,分为全国预选赛、地区决赛、全国总决赛等阶段,冠军于次年5月代表中国赴英国伦敦参加国际英语演讲比赛争夺“最佳非英语国家选手奖”。我们选出的片段为本次比赛的季军北京语言大学陈艺的已备演讲,选手的发音准确清晰,演讲内容贴近生活、感情真挚(本文为演讲完整版)。
送奶工与邮递员——今昔大不同
By Chen Yi陈艺
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
The topic of my speech is Milkman v.s. Mailman.
With the development of society, change has 1)penetrated (into) every aspect(s) of our daily life. To illustrate that, I’d like to make a comparison of the milkman and mailman, whose differences indicate our changing way of living with the times.
Home milk delivery has almost gone 2)extinct in China now, also gone with it are the milkmen, who once delivered bottled fresh milk door-to-door. On the other hand, [the] mailman’s business or the 3)courier service has 4)thrived as online shopping gains popularity. Yet, 5)in retrospect, I realize something has been lost in this 6)transition, something Shakespeare would call (as) “7)the milk of human kindness” .
Like 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 also such a milkman, whose arrival was much[greatly] anticipated by the children and always brought us laughter and joy. How did he do that? He knew the name of every kid and could easily see through all tricks. If we didn’t behave, he would side with our parents and threaten to rob us of the nutritious drink. And it worked every time. The entire neighborhood was acquainted with him; saw him as a member of the community, just like the many residents or street 8)vendors. Actually, there was a bond between all of us for what’s being transacted, with not only the commodities, but also a sense of caring and 9)dependability. And that small box fixed onto our door, other than being the drop-off point for milk, (it) served as a kind of communication 10)junction between the people as we took the initiative to reach out to others.
Fast forward to today, milk is 11)ubiquitous with no dedicated delivery system. However, the convenience level of our life[lives] has gone up a 12)notch. Almost everything is for sale online, which spares us all the travelling and talking. With a few ready clicks, the shopping is done. The rest is left for those speed delivery[courier] companies. Usually there will be a 13)grumpy mailman, who reaches us through cell phone, urging everyone to pick up their 14)parcels as soon as possible. And the minute the receipt is signed, we dash back to unpack, while the courier rushes to his 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 do have more convenience. Still, we run short of time to stand and stare, to speak and share.
Call me an old-timer, but I think the personal touch represented by the milkman is what’s been missing in the modern society. William Wordsworth once wrote that “Getting and spending, we 15)lay waste our power.” Modern technology may have multiplied our possessions or gave[given] us more convenience, but we run the risk of reducing our values if we lay waste our power of interpersonal relationships. Thank you.
女士们,先生们,下午好!
我演讲的题目是《送奶工与邮递员——今昔大不同》。
随着社会的发展,我们日常生活的方方面面都发生了变化。为了充分地说明这一点,我打算将送奶工和邮递员加以对比,他们的不同命运表明了随着时代的发展,我们的生活方式所发生的变化。
如今,送奶到户的服务在中国已经基本上销声匿迹了,同样随之消失的还有送奶工,他们曾经挨家挨户地递送瓶装的新鲜牛奶。而在另一方面,邮递员的行当或者说是快递服务却由于网上购物的普及而兴盛起来。然而在回顾往事时,我发现某些东西也在这种变迁中流失了——某些会被莎士比亚称之为“人情味”的东西。
正如当我还是个孩子时,牛奶并不是随处都能买到的。对于那些有需要的家庭来说,他们只能依靠送奶工将牛奶从当地奶场送到他们家。在我们的社区里也有这么一位送奶工,孩子们总是热切地盼望着他的到来,他也总能带给我们笑声和欢乐。他是如何做到的呢?他知道每一个孩子的名字,也能够轻易地看穿我们的小把戏。如果我们不乖乖听话,他就会站在我们的父母那边,吓唬说要抢走我们的营养饮料,而这招次次都奏效。我们整个社区的人都跟他挺熟,将他看作是社区的一员,就如同许多住户或街边小贩一样。实际上,在我们的买卖之中有一种纽带将我们所有人联系在了一起,这纽带不仅是各类货物,还有一种关心和信任的感觉。而装在我们家门口的那个小盒子绝不仅仅是一个投奶箱,它还充当了一种人与人之间相互交流的连接点,让我们主动与他人接触。
时光飞逝,到了现在,牛奶已是随处可得,不再需要专门的递送系统了。而我们生活的方便程度又上了一个新的台阶。从网上几乎什么都能买到,这节省了我们的交通和交谈时间。只要轻松地点几下鼠标,购物就完成了,剩下来的就交给那些快递公司了。通常会有一个脾气暴躁的邮递员通过手机与我们联系,催促每个人尽可能快地取走他们的包裹。一签完收条后,我们就会冲回家去拆包裹,而快递员则会奔向他的下一个目的地。在这一过程中很少会有什么交谈,而我们也觉得没必要与一个陌生人交谈,因为快递员经常会换人。虽然现在我们的生活确实越来越方便了,但人们似乎总是很忙,依然缺少时间停下来对视、交谈与分享。
你尽可以管我叫老古董,但我认为送奶工所传递的人情味正从现代社会中慢慢消失。威廉·华兹华斯曾写道:“无论是获得还是消耗,我们都在损毁着我们的力量。”现代科技也许增加了我们的财富,或带给了我们更多的便利,但如果我们损毁了人际关系的力量,我们就将面临降低我们自身价值的危险。谢谢!
翻译:小狐
大赛由已备演讲、即席演讲及问答等部分组成。赛程自每年的5-6月至次年4月,分为全国预选赛、地区决赛、全国总决赛等阶段,冠军于次年5月代表中国赴英国伦敦参加国际英语演讲比赛争夺“最佳非英语国家选手奖”。我们选出的片段为本次比赛的季军北京语言大学陈艺的已备演讲,选手的发音准确清晰,演讲内容贴近生活、感情真挚(本文为演讲完整版)。
送奶工与邮递员——今昔大不同
By Chen Yi陈艺
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
The topic of my speech is Milkman v.s. Mailman.
With the development of society, change has 1)penetrated (into) every aspect(s) of our daily life. To illustrate that, I’d like to make a comparison of the milkman and mailman, whose differences indicate our changing way of living with the times.
Home milk delivery has almost gone 2)extinct in China now, also gone with it are the milkmen, who once delivered bottled fresh milk door-to-door. On the other hand, [the] mailman’s business or the 3)courier service has 4)thrived as online shopping gains popularity. Yet, 5)in retrospect, I realize something has been lost in this 6)transition, something Shakespeare would call (as) “7)the milk of human kindness” .
Like 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 also such a milkman, whose arrival was much[greatly] anticipated by the children and always brought us laughter and joy. How did he do that? He knew the name of every kid and could easily see through all tricks. If we didn’t behave, he would side with our parents and threaten to rob us of the nutritious drink. And it worked every time. The entire neighborhood was acquainted with him; saw him as a member of the community, just like the many residents or street 8)vendors. Actually, there was a bond between all of us for what’s being transacted, with not only the commodities, but also a sense of caring and 9)dependability. And that small box fixed onto our door, other than being the drop-off point for milk, (it) served as a kind of communication 10)junction between the people as we took the initiative to reach out to others.
Fast forward to today, milk is 11)ubiquitous with no dedicated delivery system. However, the convenience level of our life[lives] has gone up a 12)notch. Almost everything is for sale online, which spares us all the travelling and talking. With a few ready clicks, the shopping is done. The rest is left for those speed delivery[courier] companies. Usually there will be a 13)grumpy mailman, who reaches us through cell phone, urging everyone to pick up their 14)parcels as soon as possible. And the minute the receipt is signed, we dash back to unpack, while the courier rushes to his 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 do have more convenience. Still, we run short of time to stand and stare, to speak and share.
Call me an old-timer, but I think the personal touch represented by the milkman is what’s been missing in the modern society. William Wordsworth once wrote that “Getting and spending, we 15)lay waste our power.” Modern technology may have multiplied our possessions or gave[given] us more convenience, but we run the risk of reducing our values if we lay waste our power of interpersonal relationships. Thank you.
女士们,先生们,下午好!
我演讲的题目是《送奶工与邮递员——今昔大不同》。
随着社会的发展,我们日常生活的方方面面都发生了变化。为了充分地说明这一点,我打算将送奶工和邮递员加以对比,他们的不同命运表明了随着时代的发展,我们的生活方式所发生的变化。
如今,送奶到户的服务在中国已经基本上销声匿迹了,同样随之消失的还有送奶工,他们曾经挨家挨户地递送瓶装的新鲜牛奶。而在另一方面,邮递员的行当或者说是快递服务却由于网上购物的普及而兴盛起来。然而在回顾往事时,我发现某些东西也在这种变迁中流失了——某些会被莎士比亚称之为“人情味”的东西。
正如当我还是个孩子时,牛奶并不是随处都能买到的。对于那些有需要的家庭来说,他们只能依靠送奶工将牛奶从当地奶场送到他们家。在我们的社区里也有这么一位送奶工,孩子们总是热切地盼望着他的到来,他也总能带给我们笑声和欢乐。他是如何做到的呢?他知道每一个孩子的名字,也能够轻易地看穿我们的小把戏。如果我们不乖乖听话,他就会站在我们的父母那边,吓唬说要抢走我们的营养饮料,而这招次次都奏效。我们整个社区的人都跟他挺熟,将他看作是社区的一员,就如同许多住户或街边小贩一样。实际上,在我们的买卖之中有一种纽带将我们所有人联系在了一起,这纽带不仅是各类货物,还有一种关心和信任的感觉。而装在我们家门口的那个小盒子绝不仅仅是一个投奶箱,它还充当了一种人与人之间相互交流的连接点,让我们主动与他人接触。
时光飞逝,到了现在,牛奶已是随处可得,不再需要专门的递送系统了。而我们生活的方便程度又上了一个新的台阶。从网上几乎什么都能买到,这节省了我们的交通和交谈时间。只要轻松地点几下鼠标,购物就完成了,剩下来的就交给那些快递公司了。通常会有一个脾气暴躁的邮递员通过手机与我们联系,催促每个人尽可能快地取走他们的包裹。一签完收条后,我们就会冲回家去拆包裹,而快递员则会奔向他的下一个目的地。在这一过程中很少会有什么交谈,而我们也觉得没必要与一个陌生人交谈,因为快递员经常会换人。虽然现在我们的生活确实越来越方便了,但人们似乎总是很忙,依然缺少时间停下来对视、交谈与分享。
你尽可以管我叫老古董,但我认为送奶工所传递的人情味正从现代社会中慢慢消失。威廉·华兹华斯曾写道:“无论是获得还是消耗,我们都在损毁着我们的力量。”现代科技也许增加了我们的财富,或带给了我们更多的便利,但如果我们损毁了人际关系的力量,我们就将面临降低我们自身价值的危险。谢谢!
翻译:小狐