The Doors That Are Open To Us

The Doors That Are Open To Us

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, the title of my speech today is “The Doors That Are Open to Us.” The other day my aunt paid me a visit. She was 1)overjoyed. “I got the highest mark on the mid-term examination!” she said. Don’t be surprised! My aunt is indeed a student, to be exact, a college student at the age of 45.

Last year, she put aside her private business and 2)signed up for a one-year full-time 1 management course in a college. “This was the wisest decision I have ever made!” she said proudly like a teenage girl. To her, college is always a right place to pick up new ideas, and new ideas always make her feel young.

“Compared with the late’70s,” she says, “now college students have many doors.” My aunt cannot help but recall her first college experience in 1978 when college doors began to be re-opened after 3)the Cultural Revolution.     She was 4)assigned to study engineering despite her desire to study Chinese literature, and a few years later, the government sent her to work in a TV factory.

I was shocked when she first told me how she had had no choice in her major and job. Look at us today! So many doors are open to us! I believe there have never been such abundant opportunities for self-development as we have today. And my aunt told me that we should reach our goals by grasping all these opportunities.

The first door I see is the opportunity to study different kinds of subjects that interest us. My aunt said she was happy to study management, but she was also happy that she could attend lectures on ancient Chinese poetry and on Shakespearean drama. As for myself, I am an English major, but I may also go to lectures on history. To me, if college education in the past emphasized 5)specialization, now, it emphasizes free and well-rounded development of each individual. So all the fine achievements of human civilization are open to us.

The second door is the door to the outside world. Learning goes beyond classrooms and national boundaries. My aunt remembers her previous college days as 6)monotonous 2 and even calls her generation “frogs in a well.” But today, as the world becomes a global village, it is important that our neighbours and we be open-minded to learn with and from each other. I have many fellow international classmates, and I am applying to an exchange program with a university abroad. As for my aunt, she is planning to get an MBA degree in the U.K. where her daughter, my cousin, is now doing her Master’s degree in 7)biochemistry. We are now taking the opportunity to study overseas, and when we come back, we’ll put to use what we have learnt abroad.

The third door is the door to life-long learning. As new ideas appear all the time, we always need to acquire new knowledge, 8)regardless of our age. Naturally, my aunt herself is the best example. Many of my aunt’s 9)contemporaries say that she is amazingly up-to-date for a middle-aged 3 woman. She simply responds, “Age doesn’t matter. What matters is your attitude. You may think it’s strange that I am still going to college, but I don’t think I’m too old to learn.” Yes, she is right. Since the government removed the age limit for college admissions in 2001, there are already some untraditional students, sitting with us in the same classrooms. Like these people, my aunt is old but she is very young in spirit. With incredible energy and determination, she embodies 4 both tradition and 10)modernity.

The doors open to us also pose challenges. For instance, we are faced with the challenge of a balanced learning, the challenge of preserving our fine tradition while learning from the West, and the challenge of learning continuously while carrying heavy responsibilities to our work and family. So, each door is a test of our courage, ability and judgment 5, but with the support of my teachers, parents, friends and my aunt, I believe I can meet the challenge 11)head on. When I reach my aunt’s age, I can be proud to say that I have walked through dozens of doors and will, in the remainder of my life, walk through many more. Possibly I will go back to college, too.

Thank you very much Ladies and Gentlemen.

注释：
1) overjoyed [EuvE5dVCid] a. 狂喜的，极度高兴的
2) sign up 经报名（或签约）从事
3) the Cultural Revolution 文化大革命
4) assign [E5sain] v. 分配，指派
5) specialization [7speFElai5zeiFEn] n. 专业性，专门性
6) monotonous [mE5nCtEnEs] a. 单调的，无变化的
7) biochemistry [5baiEu5kemistri] n. 生物化学
8) regardless of 不管，不顾
9) contemporary [kEn5tempErEri] n. 同时代的人
10) modernity [mC5dE:niti] n. 现代性
11) head on 迎面地，正面地

机会之门就在前方

女士们、先生们，早上好！今天我演讲的题目是：机会之门就在前方。
前几天，我的舅妈来看望我。她高兴得不得了，“期中考试我得了第一名！”舅妈告诉我。没什么好惊讶的，我的舅妈真的是一位在读学生，确切地说，是一名45岁的大学生。
去年，她抛开自己的生意，在一家大学注册入读一年制脱产管理课程。“这是我有生以来做出的最明智的决定！”她那样自豪地说着，像极了一个十几岁的女孩子。对她来说，大学永远都是学习新观念的好地方，而这些新的观念总是会让她感到年轻。
舅妈说: “与七十年代末相比，现在的大学生面前敞开的机会之门太多了。”舅妈情不自禁回忆起1978年她第一次上大学的经历，那时文化大革命刚刚结束，大学校门又重新敞开。她被分派去攻读工程学，其实舅妈真正想学的是中国文学。几年后，她被分到一家电视机厂上班。
第一次听到舅妈说她当年根本无法选择自己的专业和职业时，我非常吃惊！看看今天的我们！有如此之多的机会之门在我们面前敞开。我相信，我们今天所拥有的自我发展机会是前所未有的。舅妈说，我们应该把握住所有这些机会来实现自己的目标。
我看到的第一扇门就是学习自己喜欢的各种不同学科的机会。舅妈说她很高兴能学习管理学，但能修读中国古诗和莎士比亚戏剧学方面的课程她也同样高兴。而我自己呢，主修英语，但也可同时听历史课。在我看来，如果说过去的大学教育重在专业化，那么今天，大学教育则强调个人的自由和全面发展。因而，人类文明的精髓都能为我们所接触。
第二扇门就是通往外面世界的大门。学无止境，突破教室，跨越国界。舅妈仍记得她以前的大学生活单调乏味，甚至将她那个时代的人描述成“井底之蛙”。但是今天，整个世界变成了一个地球村，所以对我们和我们身边邻近的人来说，共同学习、相互学习是非常重要的。我有许多来自不同国家的同学，而且我正在申请成为交换生，去国外学校就读。而我的舅妈也打算到英国攻读MBA学位——她的女儿，也就是我的表姐，现在正在那里攻读生物化学的硕士学位。我们都在争取到国外留学的机会，等到我们学成归来，我们会将在国外学到的知识学以致用。
第三扇门就是活到老、学到老的机会。新观念层出不穷，所以不管年纪多大，我们时时都要汲取知识。自然地，我的舅妈就是一个最好的例子。许多我舅妈的同辈人都认为，作为一个中年妇女，她还在追赶时代，真是不可思议。而舅妈只是简单地回应：“年龄不是问题，重要的是态度。你们可能觉得奇怪，在我这样的年纪还要读大学，可我却从不认为我老到不能学习了。”是啊，她说得对。自从2001年政府撤消入读大学的年龄限制以来，已经有一些反传统的学生，与我们一起坐在大学教室里学习了。就像这些人一样，我的舅妈年龄大了，但她的心却非常年轻。本着惊人的精力和决心，舅妈很好地将传统与现代结合了起来。
机会之门在我们面前敞开，挑战也随之而来。例如，平衡学科学习的挑战;学习西方文化的同时，保留自己传统文化的精髓的挑战;承担工作与家庭重任时，坚持不断学习的挑战。因此，经过每一扇门，我们的勇气、能力和判断力都会受到考验，但是只要有了老师、父母、朋友以及舅妈的支持，我相信我能够直面挑战。当我到了舅妈那样的年龄，我可以自豪地说我走过了许多扇机会之门，而且还将在接下来的日子里走过更多。可能，我也会重返大学校园。
感谢各位。