第四届“21世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛冠军——蔡力
蔡力 南京大学
蔡力，出生于江苏南京，1998年起就读于南京大学，1999年于上海参加“21世纪杯”英语演讲比赛，获一等奖。同年赴伦敦参加国际英语演讲比赛，获\称号。本科毕业后赴美国俄亥俄州州立大学攻读传播学硕士。2003年毕业后进入北卡拉罗那大学教堂山分校心理学系攻读博士，改攻心理计量，同事在UNC统计学系修读树立统计硕士。 WE AND OUR YELLOW RIVER: THRIVING TOGETHER
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The issue of the Yellow River has become the biggest concern of members of the Chinese peoples Political Consultative Conference. My childhood, in fact, is closely associated with the river. My father is an engineering geologist, and he used to take me with him on his trips to the hydropower stations on the river. I enjoyed those trips, especially the trip to Longyang Xia reservoir. Although ten years have passed since my visit, I can still recall the scenery; I can still recall the water I saw at the reservoir. It was pure, clean and blue, not like the water I saw in the middle reaches of the river, which had turned brown and muddy after passing through the Loess Plateau.
Once during our stay at the power station, we were caught in a thunderstorm. And when rain
stopped, I could see trickles of water rolling down mountain slopes and flowing into the reservoir. It carried little mud or sand, because at that time, trees and grass still grew around the reservoir. And they protected the soil. At Longyang Xia I was struck by the beauty of nature, and as a child I wanted to stay there and to grow up with our Yellow River.
Li Bai, the Tang Dynasty poet, said praises to the flowing water in the Yellow River. He saw it as coming down from heaven and nurturing the people along her way to the sea. However, in 1997,for 330days, not a single drop of water from the Yellow River went into the sea. And droughts are not the only punishment by nature. A friend of my father's, a university professor, is doing research on the Yellow River. According to this professor, the Yellow River will soon change its course if we allow this situation to continue. Because there is no longer enough water to carry away the silt and mud in the lower reaches of the river and the riverbed rises higher and higher each year.
We have taken too much from nature, but given back too little in return. And this is the cost of the unbalanced growth. If we had taken care of the vegetation in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River, we would still experience the river as Li Bai described it.
While the developed countries are consuming proportionally more natural resources than the rest of the world, they've also taken some good measures in protecting nature. And as a developing country, China can learn from them in this aspect.
Last year, when I was visiting Australia with a group of Chinese students who had won prizes in an English Skills Test, our Australian hosts invited us to join them for a horse-ride in the mountains. After two hours on horseback, we reached a valley, where there was a most beautiful meadow, with flowers in all colors dotted on a huge blanket of green. When I began to praise the beauty of nature, my friends told me that in this valley, there used to be a big mine and the wastewater from the mine turned everything brown. When the mine was abandoned, people made great efforts to restore the green vegetation. They also used the latest biological technology choosing the best grass seeds suitable for the local soil. So the beautiful meadow is a result of commitment, hard work, and new technology.
What happened to this valley in Australia should also happen to our Yellow River and, in fact, it is happening. I have seen farmers planting trees on mountains along the Yellow River. I have seen them climb the mountain tops with seedlings on their shoulders because they had no machinery. I have seen them pour on trees the water they had carried up in buckets from miles down the valley. These farmers are quietly nourishing our Yellow River, just as the river has nourished them.
And these farmers, men and women I don't know, gave me the confidence that we and our Yellow River will grow together, and someday in the future, we will be able to drink the clean water from our Yellow River again, because she is our dearest mother. Thank you.
第六届“21世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛冠军——戚悦
戚悦
北京语言文化大学
1980年11月出生于北京。2001年3月获得“21世纪·爱立信杯”第六届全国英语演讲比赛第一名以及“最具潜力选手奖”。2003年毕业于北京语言大学（原北京语言文化大学），获得英语语言文学学士学位，之后赴英国华威大学英语语言教育系攻读英语语言教学与方法，2004年99月获颁硕士学位。
New Beijing, the Three-colored New Olympics Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen:
Bidding for the Olympic Games is, in a way, an image-creating undertaking. The first and foremost thing is to let people fall in love with the city at first sight, attracting them by its unique image. What image does Beijing intend to create for itself once it has the opportunity to host the 2008 Olympics? It’s known to all that the Beijing Municipal Government has already set the theme for the future games: New Beijing, Great Olympics. For me, the 2008 Olympics will be a great green Olympics illuminated with two more special colors, yellow and red.
First, yellow is a meaningful color. The Yellow River is China’s mother river and the cradle of
Chinese civilization. We are of the yellow race and descendants of the Yellow Emperor. This color has a special origin and great significance for the Chinese people. Beijing is the capital of New China and previously the capital for nine dynasties in Chinese history. So, yellow will naturally add splendor to the 2008 Games.
Secondly, the 2008 Olympics will be a red pageant.
Red is another traditionally cherished color for the whole country. We adore red. On big occasions, we like to decorate our homes in red. It is the color of double happiness, representing joyous moments, 1)auspiciousness, enthusiasm and prosperity. Red is one of the most suitable colors to describe the future of Beijing. Beijing, together with the whole country, is becoming more and more prosperous in the process of modernization. Should the 2008 Olympics be held in Beijing, the whole city will be a sea of red: the red torch, red flags, red flowers, and the radiant faces of millions of joyful people.
Above all, the 2008 Olympics will be a green Olympics.
Adding the green 2) ingredient is essential in creating an appealing image, as we can’t deny the fact that Beijing, at the moment, is not as green a city as what we like it to be. Striving for an environmentally appealing city has become a central task for all the citizens of Beijing. Big efforts have been made in pollution control, replanting and beautification of the city. According to a project entitled “The Green Olympic Action Plan,” between 1998 and 2007, Beijing will have invested 100 billion RMB in preserving and protecting the environment. Some 12.5 million trees and over 1 million acres of grass will be planted along the Fourth Ring Road. By then, the city’s green area will make up 40% of its total. The city will also dredge its 3) reservoirs used as a water supply to Beijing residents, controlling industrial pollution and moving out the 200 factories presently located within the city proper.
Certainly, all of this is no easy task. But I am sure that all of us have confidence that we will realize these “green” goals, for now we have the full support and participation of the environmentally conscious citizens. Each citizen is showing great concern for every one of the steps the city government takes. As the saying goes, “United, we stand”, and a green Beijing will be achieved.
When our aspiration becomes a reality, it will be a unique Olympics. “New Beijing, Great Olympics” will be weaved of these three superb colors: yellow, red and green.
Let us welcome it and look forward to it! Thank you!
第七届“21世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛冠军——孙宁
孙宁
北京外国语大学
1981年生于南京。1993年考取南京外国语学校，其间获全国中学生英语能力竞赛和中澳国际英语能力竞赛高中组特等奖。1999年保送北京外国语大学英语系学习，其间获“21世纪·爱立信杯”第七届全国英语演讲比赛冠军并出版译作三本。2003年8月入外交部翻译室工作，次年9月公派赴英国留学。
Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities for China's Younger Generation Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Today I'm very happy to be here to share with you some of my thoughts on the topic of Globalization. And first of all, I would like to mention an event in our recent history.
Thirty years ago, American President Richard Nixon made an epoch-making visit to China, a country still isolated at that time. Premier Zhou Enlai said to him, \vastest ocean in the world - twenty-five years of no communication.\America have exchanged many handshakes of various kinds. The fundamental implication of this example is that the need and desire to communicate across differences in culture and ideology is