2011外研社英语演讲解析：A word that has changed the world
2011-10-08 19:10阅读：
题目评价：该题貌似好些，但是很容易落入俗套，跟其他选手撞车几率大。考生要想在比赛中拿名次，必须在题目上下功夫，找出新颖的立足点，好的题目可以说就成功了一半。写一个大众的题目如：Smiling
Has Changed the
World拿大奖的几率小，因为写的人多，你就很容易被别人挤下擂台。相反，如果写一个给人若有所思的题目，则很容易脱颖而出，比如去年有位来自二本院校的选手写到了“An
Empty Village is What I am Concerned
（空壳村，我所忧）”有时代性，不落入俗套，同时也容易跟老一辈的评委产生精神共鸣，结果获得了一等奖。选手可以静下心来想一想，究竟什么可以改变世界呢？自然地力量，人的力量，仅此两种。你是写自然的还是人的？当然是人的。只有些与人相关的力量才有意义。那你写什么呢？大俗大雅可以选“Work-A
Word that Has Changed the
World”，有的人选择honesty，faith，不是说不好，但是这些本身不能改变世界，只有在work这一人化的语境之下，才可能实现改变。试想，改变世界的几个大事件：取火，农耕，工业革命，战争，信息技术革命，这些都是在work的作用下完成。一个有创意的人的把创意付诸于工作之中才能起作用，原子弹威力很大，但是人的work让它沉睡或者爆发。当然，本人也有其他选手的一些题目，只是比赛还未结束，目前暂不公布。
下面贴出几篇网络选文，由选手们自己评判。
选文一出处：http://blog.sina.cn/dpool/blog/s/blog_7182007d0100ulrq.html?vt=4
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen:
Today, my topic is that China is the word that has changed the
world. China
is not only a word, but also a kind of high quality porcelains
originally made in China, a symbol that has been well known all
around the world, a culture that has been producing great effects
on the world literature. Above all, it is a nation that stands in
the East like a giant.
China is a nation with a history of five thousand years. So China
began to change the world at the very beginning. Chinese porcelain,
nay, china, was one of the greatest inventions of Ancient China.
Europeans began to make copies of those beautiful Chinese
porcelains as soon as they were introduced to Europe in seventeenth
century. China made the whole of European porcelain industry
blossom. At the same time, it promoted the development of European
economic history and the European Industry Revolution. Moreover,
four great inventions of Ancient China are known to every
household. They gave enormous impetuses to China’s politics,
economics, and civilization.
What’s more, they made great contributions to the world
civilization. They were introduced to the west in succession long
before the production of European modern civilization. Then they
became the necessary premise of Bourgeois development and provided
material base for Bourgeois to board the stage of politics.
China has changed the world from the past to the present. Now, more
and more people in overseas countries start to learn Chinese and
turn to a Confucius Institute in their own countries as their first
choice learning Chinese language and Chinese culture. As a second
culture, Chinese culture has enriched the life and world outlook of
the learners. This trend, so to speak, is gathering momentum and is
there to stay. Apart from their love for Chinese cuisine, more and
more learners of Chinese language are turning to Chinese
acupuncture, herbal medicines, and martial arts. They are also
interested in kung fu films, fashions and crafts. Seemingly
outlandish words such as dimsum, ginseng, gingko, oolong cha have
crept into their everyday language. The latest Chinese cultural
icons to make its impact there are Taoism, and ancient school of
thought, and fengshui, an ancient art of placement.
So China is the very word that has changed the world. We are proud
that we are Chinese. I wish China, our motherland, is more thriving
in the years ahead.
选文二出处：
http://englishspeech.xust.blog.163.com/blog/static/3612526620114200322645
Honesty-A word that has changed the
world
'I was honest once, and it felt really good. If
you're not honest, you just look bad,' says Brittani, age
6.
Once?
'Honesty is important because people have to trust
you to be a friend,' says Natalie, 9. 'You should be honest so
people will always believe in you, no matter what,' adds Cecile,
8.
A wise biblical proverb says, 'A good name is to be
chosen rather than great riches' (Proverbs 22:1). Your name and
reputation are all you have. Once they're gone, you're broke. Wise
people resist the short-term gain of deceit because they know
honesty pays big dividends in the long run.
'You should be honest because if you aren't, the
guilt will tear you up inside,' says Mallorie, 12. 'You can tell if
someone is honest because they are happier,' adds Scott,
11.
Peace of mind is one of honesty's many dividends,
and it usually shows on a person's face. If someone is lying,
'their face is kind of looking weird,' says Emily, 6.
Actually, the eyes tell the story, says Cody, 12:
'If you look straight into someone's eyes, you can see the word
'liar' or 'honest person.''
I've never seen these words in people's eyes, Cody,
but it's often the case that a shifty-eyed person is up to no good.
At least, that's the way it is in western movies when the camera
gets a close-up of the guys wearing the black hats.
'Sometimes when you lie, people ask questions about
the lie, and then you have to lie again,' says Ashley, 8. You've
heard of chain-smoking? Here, we have 'chain-lying.' Just as the
chain-smoker lights one cigarette on another, the chain-liar tells
one lie to cover another. The mental energy alone to remember all
the lies takes its toll.
'Honesty is telling the whole truth, even if it gets
you into trouble,' says Matthew, 11. Jesus didn't promise us a rose
garden in this world. He said, 'In the world, you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world' (John
16:33).
Have you ever had a dishonest boss who hinted that
if you told the truth about something, your job would be in
jeopardy? If you're determined to be honest, get ready for
tests.
'An honest person has one of the most important
virtues,' says Matthew, 12.
In 'The Book of Virtues,' author William Bennett
defines honesty as 'real, genuine, authentic and bona fide. To be
dishonest is to be partly feigned, forged, fake or fictitious.
Honesty expresses both self-respect and respect for others.
Dishonesty fully respects neither oneself nor others. Honesty
imbues lives with openness, reliability and candor; it expresses a
disposition to live in the light.'
'You should be honest because it is good, and God
likes it,' says Colby, 7. Thank you, Colby, for your brevity and
candor. In the Bible, honesty is not an abstract concept. It begins
by being honest with God. He created us to live in an open, honest
relationship with him. Remember what Adam and Eve did when they
heard God walking in the garden after they sinned? They
hid.
'You should be an honest person always to God and
Jesus,' says Frances, 8.
If you hide from God, you'll be exposed. Your mask
will fall, and your web of deceit will come undone.
Point to ponder: Determine to live honestly and
openly before God and people.
Scripture to remember: 'I am the way, the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me' (John
14:6).
选文三：
Justice means giving each person what he or she
deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or
her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are
often today used interchangeably. There have, however, also been
more distinct understandings of the two terms. While justice
usually has been used with reference to a standard of rightness,
fairness often has been used with regard to an ability to judge
without reference to one's feelings or interests; fairness has also
been used to refer to the ability to make judgments that are not
overly general but that are concrete and specific to a particular
case. In any case, a notion of desert is crucial to both justice
and fairness. The Nortons and Ellisons of this world, for example,
are asking for what they think they deserve when they are demanding
that they be treated with justice and fairness. When people differ
over what they believe should be given, or when decisions have to
be made about how benefits and burdens should be distributed among
a group of people, questions of justice or fairness inevitably
arise. In fact, most ethicists today hold the view that there would
be no point of talking about justice or fairness if it were not for
the conflicts of interest that are created when goods and services
are scarce and people differ over who should get what. When such
conflicts arise in our society, we need principles of justice that
we can all accept as reasonable and fair standards for determining
what people deserve.
But saying that justice is giving each person what
he or she deserves does not take us very far. How do we determine
what people deserve? What criteria and what principles should we
use to determine what is due to this or that person?
Principles of Justice
The most fundamental principle of justice—one that has been widely
accepted since it was first defined by Aristotle more than two
thousand years ago—is the principle that 'equals should be treated
equally and unequals unequally.' In its contemporary form, this
principle is sometimes expressed as follows: 'Individuals should be
treated the same, unless they differ in ways that are relevant to
the situation in which they are involved.' For example, if Jack and
Jill both do the same work, and there are no relevant differences
between them or the work they are doing, then in justice they
should be paid the same wages. And if Jack is paid more than Jill
simply because he is a man, or because he is white, then we have an
injustice—a form of discrimination—because race and sex are not
relevant to normal work situations.
There are, however, many differences that we deem as
justifiable criteria for treating people differently. For example,
we think it is fair and just when a parent gives his own children
more attention and care in his private affairs than he gives the
children of others; we think it is fair when the person who is
first in a line at a theater is given first choice of theater
tickets; we think it is just when the government gives benefits to
the needy that it does not provide to more affluent citizens; we
think it is just when some who have done wrong are given
punishments that are not meted out to others who have done nothing
wrong; and we think it is fair when those who exert more efforts or
who make a greater contribution to a project receive more benefits
from the project than others. These criteria—need, desert,
contribution, and effort—we acknowledge as justifying differential
treatment, then, are numerous.
On the other hand, there are also criteria that we
believe are not justifiable grounds for giving people different
treatment. In the world of work, for example, we generally hold
that it is unjust to give individuals special treatment on the
basis of age, sex, race, or their religious preferences. If the
judge's nephew receives a suspended sentence for armed robbery when
another offender unrelated to the judge goes to jail for the same
crime, or the brother of the Director of Public Works gets the
million dollar contract to install sprinklers on the municipal golf
course despite lower bids from other contractors, we say that it's
unfair. We also believe it isn't fair when a person is punished for
something over which he or she had no control, or isn't compensated
for a harm he or she suffered. And the people involved in the
'brown lung hearings' felt that it wasn't fair that some diseases
were provided with disability compensation, while other similar
diseases weren't.
选文四：
