【英语演讲】Global Citizenship Begins at Home

2013-05-19作者：Anonymous出处：外研社官网

        Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

　　This is my second time speaking for this competition, and the third time is the charm.

　　Take a look at the street. We can see people walking around wearing Nike and Adidas while listening intently to the latest American Idol over their ipod nanos. Beyond the curb, there are vehicles moving like wind on the tar among which there’re named BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and some of the so-called Volkswagen whose price I’m afraid is not so “volks” at all. They’re all moving towards the same direction: the New Oriental Language School, because with the approaching of the Olympic Games, learning English is currently the hottest way of blowing away all your after-work time and money in town.

　　Everything about this picture is so global that one can hardly find if it’s Beijing or Belgium. But just like any other rosy pictures, this one has another side, too. At the other end of the street, there is a nationally-acclaimed university half of whose students are made up of native-residents. Students from other cities would sometimes have to be times as outstanding in exams to be admitted.
　　
　　And if we zoom out far enough, we’ll be able to see that this is not the only case of regional biases in the country. People from metropolises tends[ tends应改为tend。] to have a sense of superiority over those small-city residents, but as city dwellers, they share their sense of revulsion against those who’re from the countryside. As for the massive rural population, just because they come from a different place, they don’t even have the same right to some of very basic public benefits like medical insurance and free compulsory education as the city men do.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, I’m impressed by the development globalization has bought us over the years, and I’m shocked, by the preposterous biases that we still hold against our own compatriots. If the point of global citizenship is to break down the regional biases and work hand in hand for a better tomorrow for everybody, we should first ask ourselves the question: How can we talk about global citizenship when we’re not even so civil to our own citizens? Ladies and gentlemen, all these years, we took it for granted that a global citizen is someone who looks out to the world, never knowing that it actually begins at where we stand.

　　So what can we do?
　　Ladies and gentlemen, I say let’s take actions because there are things we can do as individuals to make a difference. If we can’t give the poor health care once and for all, then at least let’s give them our respect; if we can’t give migrant workers free education, let’s show them our friendly smiles. By this random act of kindness once at a time, and we will be finally able to break down the very foundation of regional biases in people’s head, that is, regional pride and prejudice. And until then, ladies and gentlemen, will we be finally able to understand the true virtue of global citizenship. Let it begin at home. Let it begin in here.
　　Thank you very much!

Comments:
　　This is a very appealing persuasive speech with a significant message to convey to the audience: let’s shatter regional bias and begin our global citizenship at home. The speaker organizes his speech well by problem-solution order，and it is easy and clear to follow. He always keeps his purpose in mind, never getting diverted from his central idea.
　　One remarkable thing about his speech is his vivid use of language. Firstly, he generates a vivid image in the audience’s mind by using concrete words to show regional bias in a global environment. For example, the lively word picture at the beginning and his concrete and specific call for the audience to give our respect and show our friendly smiles to people from small places are deeply imprinted on the audience’s mind. Secondly, he also turns to create a kind of rhythm in his speech such as the use of alliteration in “if it’s Beijing or Belgium” and parallelism with “If we can’t…, If we can’t …” or “Let’s begin at home. Let’s begin in here.” Thirdly, he has a sense of humor such as Volkswagen being not so “volks” at all, his expectation on winning and coming on the stage for the third time.
　　But what he needs to improve is his delivery style. He is fluent although he may stumble over some words. However, he seems to read from his memory. He seems to talk with little pause, rigid eye contact and a lack of enthusiasm. He needs to talk with the audience instead of talking to them.