芮成鋼全國英語演講稿：East and West have met

east and west have met

東西方相聚

runner-up: rui cheng gang, foreign affair college

honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen:

kipling said:" east is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet!" but now, a century later, they have met.

they have met in business. they have met in education. they have met in the arts.

some would argue that these meetings leave us with a choice between east and west ,but i believe the best future lies in the creative combination of both worlds. we can make western ideas, customs and technology our own, and adapt them to our own use. we can enjoy the best of all worlds, because our tradition is, above all, one of selecting the best and making it our own.

but, do western styles and values threaten our identity?

history makes it easy for us to think so-perhaps too easy.

some people seem to think that adopting western customs, such as a bride wearing white-which has long been a color of mourning in china, instead of the traditional chinese red for her wedding, is another submission to foreign intervention,--a betrayal of our heritage, they say.

they fear that as we become "globalized", we will no longer be chinese.

i do not agree.

history teachers that a strong and confident nation is at ease in hearing from the outside world.

the wedding of eastern and western cultures, whether in white gowns or red, brings us variety.

it is a rich banquet of special foods from all over the world.

as an amateur gourmet of chinese cuisine, our superb flavours delight me.

but my chinese taste appreciates food from any land.

i even allow the convenience of mcdonald's a place in my life without giving up my good taste.

my grandfather taught me to hum tunes of beijing opera from the time i was very young; they are deep in my spirit, part of my soul.

i love beijing opera, because it always reminds me of who i am.

but i am also a fan of modern pop music, the no.1 fan of spice girls on campus.

of course, it goes far beyond food, music and dance. it goes into values and ways of thinking about the world.

once upon a time, or so my teacher told me, a chinese boy and an american girl had a squabble.

both wanted to keep a bunny rabbit they had found in the garden.

surely you've seen a rabbit sunning himself in the grass.

nothing is more lovable, nothing more natural. no wonder they wanted him.

the chinese boy played his er-hu. happiness and joy, longing and passion, filled the air. the little rabbit swayed gently and began to move his ears in the direction of the music. he liked what he heard.

the girl then took out her violin and played it to produce beautiful melodies of her own.

the rabbit began to bounce in her direction.

so intent were the children on their own music that neither paid the other any attention.

the competing melodies confused the little rabbit and he did not know which way to turn le to attract the little creature, both children gave up ;they walked away, in different directions, leaving the rabbit. . e.

but, what if they listened ,what if they really heard each other's music, instead of always playing their own tunes?

when i hear the music of a violin ,rich with the joys of men and women who came together and sang and danced.. . i hear echoes of the music of the grass lands, of the hills, of the my own native land.

is music mine and yours, or is it ours?

what i want to hear is the er-hu and the violin played together, in rhythm and in tune. together, we can produce new and beautiful music, rich with textures and sounds that can only be made in harmony.

the rabbit sits in the grass in the ever-warming sun. waiting for us to play, waiting for the symphony to begin.

will he have to wait forever? the choice is ours . thank you.

尊敬的評委、女士們、先生們：吉卜林説過，“東方是東方，西方是西方，兩者永不聚!”然而如今，在一個世紀之後，東西方相聚了。

它們在貿易中相聚，在教育中相聚，在藝術中相聚。

有人爭論説這種東西方之聚,使得我們能夠在東西方中作出選擇.然而我相信最美好的未來在於東西方世界的創造性的結合，我們可以變西方的觀念、習俗、技術為己所有，為己所用;我們可以享受兩上不同世界之精華，總之，我們的傳統之一就是擇其精華，為己所用。

然而，西方的生活方式和價值會威脅到我們的民族特色嗎?

歷史讓我們輕易相信——也許是太輕易地讓我們相信此説了。

有人似乎認為彩西方習俗，比如新娘結婚穿白色婚紗，是對外國介入的屈服，是對傳統遺產的背叛，因為按中國傳統，結婚新娘要穿紅色，而白色長期以來代表的是哀悼。

這些人擔心一量我們變得全球化，我們也就不在是中國人了。

我不這樣認為。

歷史告訴我們：一個強大自信的民族學起外面的世界易如反掌 。

無論是穿白衣還是黑衣，還是東西方異質文化的聯姻，都給我們帶來多姿多采的生活。

東西方異質文化的聯姻是一席來自世界各地佳餚的盛宴。

身為中國菜的業餘美食家，我喜歡民族的佳餚。

然而我的中國口味也欣賞異國的風味。

生活中我為簡便吃麥當勞，卻不會放棄自己的良好口味。

從小祖父就教我哼唱京劇，京劇深入我的精神之中，成為我靈魂的一部分。

我熱愛京劇，因為京劇讓我總想起自己是誰。

但是我也迷戀現代流行音樂，在學校裏還是“辣味女孩”的頭號歌迷。

當然，異質文化的交流遠不止於食物、音樂和舞蹈，它深入到價值觀和世界觀。

有一次老師給我講了一箇中國男孩和一個美國女孩發生爭執的故事。

在花園裏他們倆發現了一隻小兔，兩人都想要。

你肯定見過草叢中曬太陽的小兔。

沒什麼東西比小兔子更可愛的，更富有自然情趣了，難怪他們兩人都想要它。

男孩拉起了二胡，愉快喜悦的琴聲，充滿了渴望和激情，迴盪在空中，小兔子聽着這音樂輕輕搖擺，耳朵轉向音樂，它喜愛男孩的琴聲。

女孩也取出小提琴，拉出悠揚的旋律。

小兔子聽了朝她跑去。

兩人都全神貫注於自己的音樂，絲毫沒注意對方演奏的音樂。

交雜在一塊的音樂困惑了小兔子，它不知該朝哪走。男孩和女孩都不能將小兔子吸引過來，只好放棄，各自走開了，扔下小兔子獨自一人。

然而倘若他們傾聽對方的音樂，而不是各自為歌，那麼結果會如何呢?

當我聽到小提琴聲響起，男男女女走道一起又唱又跳，樂聲中充滿了歡樂， 此時我也聽見了草原上、山谷間、小河旁傳來得我們本民族的音樂的回聲。

音樂分你我，還是屬於我們大家?

我想聽的是二胡與小提琴的合奏，旋律與節奏和諧一致。

大家一起才能創造出新穎動聽音樂， 只有在和諧中大家才能創造出富有神韻的樂聲。

在温暖的陽光中，小兔子在等待着我們一起演奏，等待着交響樂開始。

他有必要再永遠的等下去嗎?決擇在於我們自己。謝謝。