Question

急求一篇英语美文演讲稿

本人欲参加校园的演讲比赛，任何题材不限，苦于找不到文章。本来想读奥巴马的就职演讲，有个性，但太长，学校要求最短2分钟，最长10分钟。我的英语阅读速度一般，找一篇题材新颖的美文。最好是政商界名人的，谢谢，演讲时间是4月22日，时间不多了。
怎么还只有两个答案啊，同志们，

Answer 1

《YOUTH》
YOUTH
Samuel Ullman

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of
rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a
quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of
the deep springs of life.

Youth means a tempera-mental predominance of courage over timidity, of the
appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of
60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We
grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spring back to dust.

Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder,
the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of
living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless
station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and
power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism
and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as
your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die
young at 80.

青春

塞缪尔·厄尔曼

青春不是年华，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，恢宏的想
象，炙热的恋情；青春是生命的深泉在涌流。

青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，二十后生而有之，六旬男子
则更多见。年岁有加，并非垂老，理想丢弃，方堕暮年。

岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓废必致灵魂。忧烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定使心
灵扭曲，意气如灰。

无论年届花甲，拟或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐，奇迹之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不
衰。人人心中皆有一台天线，只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的
信号，你就青春永驻，风华常存。

一旦天线下降，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，即使年方二十，实
已垂垂老矣；然则只要树起天线，捕捉乐观信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉
年轻。

Answer 2

wish that I could tell every person that I meet that he or she is a beautiful person--and have them believe it. I wish I could look them in the eyes and tell them of their beauty and have them accept the words for what they truly are--the truth, plain and simple.

You know what I mean, don't you? You and I both know that most people will deny their beauty, expressing what they feel is modesty or humility. It's easier for us to be told that we're talented or intelligent--our own beauty is something that we don't want to face.

You could help me to convince people of their innate beauty. You could agree with me in an effort to reinforce the message. You could give a few specifics to illustrate just what we're talking about when we say the person is beautiful. You could reassure the person that I'm not saying it to flatter or to try to win the person over or get something out of the person, but just trying to express in words the beauty I see when I look into that person's eyes and see the human being there, the person who gets happy and hurt and who laughs and who cries.

You can help me by reminding the person that beauty isn't about comparing ourselves with others, but about the part of us that shines when we love others and love life. It's not all physical and it's not all spiritual, but a tender combination of all that we are.

And when that person says, "No, not me," you could argue the point and ask him or her not to talk down about him or herself, to admit to the beauty that's there, to accept it, to thrive in it. Because you know just as well as I do that this person can hurt his or her own self-image and feelings by denying the beauty.

So I ask you: Please help me to convince people of their own beauty. Will you do that? Thank you. And we'll start right here, with you: You're a beautiful person.

Answer 3

In spite of this, humans cannot live without earth. They live on the earth, drink the sweet water, and enjoy the sunshine, the air, the sky, the fruit; the grains utilize the energy and so on. In a word, the human being cannot live without nature, and Mother Nature makes us grow stronger.
I do not like the word "Pet", but preferring the word "Animal" instead. I have been loving animal since I was just a little boy. When thinking of the "Pet Fashion", I always feel much annoyed. For the animals will be given a shackle and lose their liberty if they become someone's pets. Their natural attribution can be deprived, too.
Up to now, relying on their scientific power, the human have opened up too much and over developed nature, in order to fill up their growing appetites of wealth. They destroy the balance of nature, however, they don't realize, their own development and existence will be threatened. Therefore, our sights should be focused on nature and we should try to develop the concept of "keeping human and nature in unity".
We should lay emphasis on our education with consider cultural and natural emotion. To use the vivid example to wake up the conscience in people's hearts.
To love nature is to love our mankind. As the new generation who enter the new century, we should make efforts to love and respect nature, to treat it well and protect it. At last, we have the night to enjoy it .

Answer 4

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