The phone rang.docx

1、The phone rangThe phone rang, and I grabbed it as fast as I could. Thank you for calling the Psychic Network, I said as I started my presentation. I read Tarot cards. Im mixing the cards now; tell me when it feels right to stop. As usual, I made noises with the cards without bothering to mix them, m

2、uch less read them. The first time I saw a psychic television commercials, I wasnt as interested in the famous people advertising the service as I was in ordinary people talking about the life-transforming psychic help they had received. As I recall, an office manager said her psychic told her that

3、the first man she talked to at a Christmas party would become her husband - now theyre married and expecting a child. A housewife who lost her cat found it in the exact place predicted. But the satisfied customers - mostly women - didnt look like they could afford $3.99 a minute to talk to a psychic

4、 on the phone. At the time, I was a struggling writer. I decided to get a job as a psychic and then write about it. To start my career, I took a nine-hour class with a fast-talking woman who made a living Reading tarot cards at psychic fairs and for private customers. At the end of the course, I sti

5、ll felt like a beginner, so I studied the scientific reasons why tarot cards work. Israeli researchers suggest that there is a similarity between tarot readings and the plots of popular folk tales. By laying out a few cards, you create a story as appealing as a fairy tale, with your client as the he

6、ro. People are amazed at your insight because most are so vain they cant imagine how much they have in common with the rest of the population. To further prepare myself, I offered readings to friends, including a scientist who makes a career of proving popular beliefs to be false. My friend laughed

7、as I laid out his cards and gave my introduction. But soon his laughter faded, and later he told me he was astonished that my reading was so accurate. I figured I was ready. I called the Psychic Readers Network, which immediately mailed me an application. Soon someone from their personnel department

8、 called, and I gave a reading. Great, she said. You can start immediately. Changed by the Earthquake So many things have been changed by the Earthquake, and among all of them, I find it most inspiring that peoples perception of the post-80 generation has been greatly changed. Once labeled as indiffe

9、rent and self-centered, we grow under immense concerns and criticism. What we did during the Earthquake has made the worries eliminated and the disapprovals discarded. We were the nurses fighting 48 consecutive hours to save lives. We were the young teachers ensuring all students safety but failing

10、to get themselves out of the ruins. We were the most energetic volunteers, walking 10 miles a day to distribute supplies and to provide psychological comfort. We were the largest component of the waiting line, donating money, clothes, and blood. We defied the odds with determination. We shattered th

11、e stereotypes with actions. However, that is far from enough. We were also the young girl with beautiful eyes, shouting assuring under the rubbles, “I am fine. I am alive.” We were also the young man who kept talking with his girlfriend about their wedding ceremony until he lost his voice, and, fina

12、lly, his life. To those voices of doubt, we respond with the courage to live on and the resolve to earn the dignity of living under the horrendous attacks of the earthquake. Changed by the Earthquake is the perception of my generation, but what remains unchanged is the caring heart, the sense of res

13、ponsibility and the undying compassion towards life. Thank you. 即兴演讲Do we care too much about what the rest of the world thinks about our country?I think we do not care too much. And actually, we have a lot more to care about, because we have certain image problems in some parts of the world. And th

14、at involves putting a large effort into enhancing communication between us in different cultures. My American friend Sandy wrote to me an e-mail, “The Olympic Games was so fantastic.” But they failed to understand what we demonstrated was only a fraction, a tiny fraction, of the rich cultures weve b

15、een holding for thousands of years. And that simply means we have not promoted enough.And more than that, some people only connect China with the rich cultures. But they fail to understand what more than China is, what we have achieved nobly in terms of the quality education, the continue expansion

16、of the rule of law.And all in all, we believe, simply, we have a lot more to care about: to provide a positive image of China to the world.Olympian and Paralympian, Man and Superman Four billion people all over the world watched the Olympics this summer but only about two billion people watched the

17、Paralympics. Does this mean that the Paralympics is a second-class event? Of course not. 48 world records were broken in the Olympics, but 279 at the Paralympics. 132 Olympics records were set, while 339 Paralympic records. Of course, the “lightening Bolt” of Jamaica was the fastest man in the world

18、. But what about “Black Blade”Pistorius of South Africawho runs only 1 second slower, but whose legs are both amputated? Whos the real Superman? We were the nurses fighting 48 consecutive hours to save lives. We were the young teachers ensuring all students safety but failing to get themselves out o

19、f the ruins. It really bothers me to know there is a big difference between peoples attitude towards the Olympic and Paralympic athletes. To me, all athletes, both Olympians and Paralympians, are the same, and are supermen and superwomen, because they have come this far to the Olympic Games, and hav

20、e presented their best, not only for themselves, but also for their countries and their people. So, what is the Olympic spirit? As a volunteer, I have learned that striving against the odds, to do your bestfor yourself, for others and for your countryis the true essence of the Olympic spirit. So lon

21、g as you are doing your best, then you are a superman. And you deserve and will earn the respect of everyone else. I firmly believe this spirit acts upon everyone of us, even you and me. Everyone right there right now, even the people watching the TV show right now, there is a superman hidden somewh

22、ere in your heart. Why dont we let them out and grasp it?即兴演讲Should Olympic champions enjoy preferential treatment when applying to universities?Like whats said in the video, universities are a higher education. If these people have preferential treatments, then their starting point would be lower t

23、han the other students in the same university. It may seem nice; it may seem cool; it may seem fair when they step into these doors. But after, when once they step in, they may find it may not be the same as running on the track, or working in some gymnasium. And another thing, there are some people

24、 who cant come into these doors, because these guys have taken their place.The second point is, these men are champions. They have a lot of other stress too, like competitions, or even jobs, like commercials. How can they put all their efforts on educational studies?And the last point, our world is

25、a world of diversity. We need people who are good at something they love and they can do, not a lot of people can do anything, but nothing good. Just like clockwork, everything works in a specific way, so they can work togetherThe Importance of Being Different Be Different from Yourself! Nowadays, p

26、eople all over the world, at least in this house, seem to be emphasizing the importance of being different from others. They say that difference from others makes you stand out, wins you an edge, brings you more chances and so on. I believe this is totally true. But we might have overlooked another

27、kind of being different, that is, to be different from yourself. I suppose to be different from inside is even more important than to be different from the outside. It is because trying to be different from yourself directly results in essential improvement inside you whereas the efforts to be disti

28、nct from others might stay in the superficial level.I would like to give a story to illustrate. I guess lots of you are using Nokia mobile phones, a famous brand from Finnland. But I dare say not many of you know how these phones came into being. Actually, when I was visiting Helsinki University in

29、Finnland, a Finnish friend told me that Nokia was once a company engaged in making boots. And one day, when the highest leaders were discussing how to strengthen their company, one of them said “Lets make something different!” And then, they began to make phones.Today, Nokia is well known throughout

30、 the world for its phones but not for its boots. I think without making such a difference from itself, Nokia would never be so successful. To sum up, I would say that to be different from yourself is more important than to be different from others. As long as we concentrate on improving ourselves an

31、d transcend ourselves, we would not be the same and cannot be the same as others. Excellence will make you stand out saliently.即兴演讲Should marriage be a lifelong commitment?In todays world, people, especially the younger generation like me, are not taking a serious attitude towards the marriage. To t

32、hem, marriage has almost become a synonym of co-habitation. But in my opinion, marriage should be a lifelong commitment for three levels of reasons. The first level deals with the two persons that is directly involved in the marriage. That is they are supposed to receive support and encouragement from each other through their lifelong struggle against troubles and frustrations. The second level deals with the children that has been produced by the marriage. The children