Making Choices

Making Choices

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. Today I would like to begin with my personal experience.

Before getting enrolled 1 in college, I had been 1)bombarded with suggestions.
“Take courses of different subjects. Broaden your 2)horizon,” my high school teacher advised.

“Dive into campus activities. Have fun!” a friend said. She was well seasoned in 3)Student Union affairs.

“Work hard. Get as many ‘A’s as possible. Make your 4)transcript 2 look good!” my cousin offered. By the way, she was a senior busy hunting for a job.
As for my mom, she simply said, “Take care. Don't be too hard on yourself.”

Composed but hopeful, I eagerly set out for an exciting life at college. Yet very soon, as I pondered these golden rules, I was overwhelmed and bewildered. Such advice all made perfect sense. Yet I couldn't figure out what should top my priority list.

My first semester at college was 5)stimulating 3 in a somewhat 6)anarchic way. I rushed from library to club, from classroom to tennis court, “enjoying”, as it were, the freshness of being a freshman 4 at the expense of my sleep. Little by little, however, I became overtaxed and eventually fell victim to the “Yu Men” 7)syndrome 5—“Yu Men” being stressful misery 6. Literally 7, I was 8)overwrought from the pressures of work and life at college. I wanted to experience and excel. I wanted everything. Emotionally, I was like an 9)insatiable kid whose hand had got stuck in the candy jar with way too many sweets in it.

Luckily I didn't suffer for too long from my “get-everything” 10)malaise. Recently, Mr. Tom Freston, president of the media company MTV came to my school. His talk inspired me. He proudly told us that the average age of his employees is only 28. What's the secret behind the success of his young team? “11)Sagacity,” he told us, “In other words, being conscious of what one is doing and what one is able to do.”

Exactly! As a freshman about to be a sophomore 8, I realize now that our time and 12)stamina 9 don't allow us to extend ourselves in all directions. So the moral responsibility of college education is to teach students the art of making important choices. No matter how hard the growing pains are, mastering this art is at the heart of every undergraduate’s success, whether in school now or in life later on.

So I am learning to make such choices. Joining this competition, for instance, has been one. I've wanted to fully 10 experience this contest, to make friends, to discover what my age peers believe and to stretch myself in new and unexpected ways. I imagine this is true for most contestants 11 here today. But to do so, we've chosen to set aside pleasures, such as watching TV series “Friends” and karaoke evenings, so we could invest more time in more reading, speaking, and study.

Yet this competition, by forcing us to take charge of our decisions, has surely helped us define our values, find out what we're capable of doing, and learn what best suits our individual development. I believe this knowledge of one's own caliber 12 is the most valuable, 13)integral and longest lasting 13 lesson for students in this increasingly competitive world.

As for the challenges and opportunities for us, they will be determined 14 by how adequately our education trains us to gain a clear perception of ourselves, and thereby 15 to make sensible choices that follow. College education, as British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said, “should be energizing 16 as the poet of our dreams and the architect of our purposes.” Such purpose, self-discipline and vision all 14)hinge on the art of choice-making.

As I look back on the advice received those very first days on campus, I no longer feel 15)perplexed 17, because I now have my own guideline: Make choices that lead to a clearer vision of who I am, what I can do, and how I may best tap my potential. The horizon is now wide but distinct. And the taste already feels sweet.

Thank you very much!

注释：
1) bombard [5bCmbB:d] v. 炮轰；轰击
2) horizon [hE5raizn] n.（知识，思想等的）范围，视野
3) Student Union 学生会
4) transcript [5trAnskript] n. 成绩单
5) stimulating [5stimjuleitiN] a. 刺激的，有刺激性的
6) anarchic [A5nB:kik] a. 无政府主义的，无法无天的
7) syndrome [5sindrEum] n. 综合病症
8) overwrought [5EuvE5rC:t] a. 过度紧张的，过劳的
9) insatiable [in5seiFEbl] a. 不知足的，贪求无厌的
10) malaise [mA5leiz] n. 不舒服
11) sagacity [sE5^Asiti] n. 睿智，聪敏
12) stamina [5stAminE] n. 毅力，持久力，精力
13) integral [5inti^rEl] a. 完整的，整体的
14) hinge on 靠……转动，以……为转移
15) perplexed [pE5plekst] a. 困惑的，不知所措的

学会选择

女士们，先生们，下午好！谢谢你们的耐心。今天我想先从自己的个人经历谈起。
在我读大学之前，我曾被各种各样的建议轮番轰炸。
“要多学习不同学科的课程。开阔你的视野。”我的高中老师建议道。
“要多参与校园活动。玩得开心点！”一个朋友说道。她在学生会的事务中相当活跃。
“要努力学习。尽可能多地拿“A”。让你的成绩单看起来漂亮！”我表姐建议道。顺便提一句，她当时在读大四，正在忙着找工作。
而我母亲只是简单地说了一句：“注意身体。别对自己太苛刻了。”
带着平静却又充满希望的心情，我热切地投入到令人兴奋的大学生活中去了。但是当我考虑这些黄金法则的时候，很快就感到迷惘、不知所措了。这些建议都非常有道理，然而我却不知道该把哪条放在首位。
我大学的第一个学期过得近乎慌乱。我从图书馆冲到俱乐部，从教室冲到网球场，以一个新生的身份在“享受”着大学的新鲜感，却牺牲了睡眠的时间。但是渐渐地我开始觉得负担过重，最后成为“郁闷”综合症的受害者——“郁闷”就是因压力而感到苦闷。严格意义上说，是大学里学习和生活的压力让我过度劳累了。我既想要经验，又想要超过其他人。我什么都想要。感情上来说，我就像个不知足的孩子，因为手里拿的糖果太多，结果手被卡在糖果罐里了。
幸运的是，这种“什么都想要”毛病并没有让我痛苦多久。最近，MTV音乐电视台的总裁汤姆·弗雷斯顿来到我校做演讲。他的演讲给了我极大的启发。他很骄傲地告诉我们说，在他的公司里，员工的平均年龄只有28岁。那么他那支年轻队伍获得成功背后的秘密是什么呢？“洞察力，”他告诉我们，“换句话说，就是能够意识到人正在做什么，以及人能够做什么。”
完全正确！作为一个将要升入大二的学生，我现在认识到我们的时间和精力是不允许我们样样精通的。所以大学教育的道德责任就是教导学生做重要选择的艺术。无论成长的痛苦有多大，无论是对于他们现在的校园生活还是在未来的生活来说，掌握这种技巧才是每个大学生成功的关键。
所以我正在学习做出这样的选择。例如，参加这次的演讲比赛就是其中之一。我想要全面地体验这次比赛，想要认识新朋友，探讨同龄人的信念，并且用一种全新的意想不到的方式来充实自己。我想这也是今天这里大多数参赛选手所希望的。但要做到这些，我们要把娱乐暂放一边，如看电视剧《老友记》和唱卡拉OK，这样我们才能有更多的时间读书、演讲和学习。
然而这场演讲比赛迫使我们为自己的选择负责，从而确实帮助我们明确了自身的价值，找出了我们能够做什么，并且知道了什么对我们的个人发展是最合适的。我相信在这个竞争越来越激烈的社会，这种对个人能力的认知是最必备的、最有价值和最长久的课程。
至于我们将要面对的挑战和机会，它们将取决于我们所受的教育有多充分，能够让我们对自己的认识有多清晰——然后跟着做出明智的选择。就像英国哲学家艾尔弗雷德·诺斯·怀特海所说的那样，大学教育应是富有生机的，就如同谱写我们梦想的诗人和构筑我们未来的工程师。这些理想、自律和远见都取决于选择的艺术。
当我回头看那些在刚入学时得到的建议时，我再也不会觉得困惑了。因为我现在有了自己的指导方针：做出能让我清楚自己的选择——我是谁，我能做些什么，我怎样才能发挥自己的潜力。现在我的视野开阔但是清晰。这种滋味已经变得很甜美了。
十分感谢！