高中英语演讲稿 传统与现代Tradition in modern times

 　　Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!

　　My name is David. I’m very glad to join you with the discussion of “tradition in modern times and my topic is “Why don’t we make modern and tradition friends”.

　　I went to Britain on the school exchange program last summer. Till now I can still remember the feeling I got when we landed back on China. There was something twisting my heart, making me extremely uncomfortable. Later I found out it was the grim and cold modern buildings along the way back to school. Tall as they were, they looked expressionless. Shining as they were, they looked so unreal.

　　However, when I was walking down the streets of London or Liverpool, what I saw was the ancient buildings gracefully¹ stretching themselves out in front of me, yet leaving no sign of conflicting with the roadsters that roared down the street. On recollecting² the marvelous scene, it occurs to me that modern and tradition aren’t born to be enemies. Then I can’t stop wondering why they are so incompatible³ in China. Old buildings are cruelly replaced by skyscrapers⁴; Peking opera’s popularity is never to beat that of the casually⁵ made idol⁶ TV series. In a word, new things can’t wait to displace the old. It’s wired, isn’t it? Modernization⁷ should not be simple replacement⁸ but development after all.

　　I didn’t get the answer that could orientate⁹ me out of my confusion until I went to Australia this winter. As the highlighted part of the tour, we went to see the traditional performance of the aborigines. During the show, one of the aborigines slightly injured his knee due to the exceedingly passionate¹⁰ primitive¹¹ dance, forcing him to totter¹² down from the stage when the show was over. What was shocking was that no one in the audience seemed to have been aware of this. They applauded. They cheered. Yet they still left their seats without even a glance at him. If any, the emotion in their eyes was like watching the monkeys in the zoo. I couldn’t feel more sympathetic to him and when passing him I whispered: ”are your knees ok?” Surprisingly, he seemed too thrilled to speak anything. He only uttered: “wha??ah!......ya……” with bubbling laughter in the end of the series of simple words. “Take care” I said to him. He immediately replied “Yeah!”, clapping me on the back.

　　I felt warmth. Yet I also felt a chill. The answer then jumped out itself: like the pitiless tourists, we labeled ourselves as modern citizens. Meanwhile we took up the mask of arrogance¹³ which prevented us from taking a good look at tradition. That gave no chance of interaction between tradition and modern, thereby¹⁴ making them the seemingly incompatible enemies.

　　Such attitude is horribly dangerous. With the label “modern”, we are always trying to put us in the highest point of the mountain of history. Yet we have forgotten that without the stones of tradition under our foot, we may easily fall down from it. The hazardous¹⁵ consequences have actually been shown by Charlie Chaplin in his famous silent film Modern Times. It vividly¹⁶ describes how the factory workers become(时态？) the salves of the crazy modern machines and how the humanity is lamentably¹⁷ trampled¹⁸ in the process. The ignorance of tradition will just lead us to nihility like the modern buildings that severely¹⁹ twisted my heart.

　　So why don’t we modern citizens take off the unreasonable²⁰ sense of superiority and try to make friends with tradition?

　　Modern and tradition can actually be such a pair of close friends that modern designers can get their cues from the traditional Chinese cheongsam. Modern and tradition can actually be such a pair of close friends that modern musicians are able to use modern technology to give an excellent performance of the classic music of Bach. Modern and tradition can actually be such a pair of close friends that even foreign students in the modern world are eager to discover the practical value of Confucianism. Modern and tradition can actually be such a pair of close friends that the spirit of Tao, or Taoism, is still attracting our dear chemistry teacher Mr. Hu Lieyang and is well combined with his ways of teaching.

　　Don’t hesitate to listen to what tradition is saying. You will find it more agreeable than you ever expected.

1 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

2 recollecting   

v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Once wound could heal slowly, my Bo Hui was recollecting. 曾经的伤口会慢慢地愈合，我卜会甾回忆。 来自互联网
• I am afraid of recollecting the life of past in the school. 我不敢回忆我在校过去的生活。 来自互联网

3 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

4 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

5 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

6 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

7 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

8 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

9 orientate   

v.给…定位；使适应

参考例句：

• The explorer climbed a tree in order to orientate himself.那位勘探者为了确定他所在的地点爬到了一颗树上。
• The mountaineers found it difficult to orientate themselves in the fog.登山的人在浓雾中难以确定自己的方位。

10 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

11 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

12 totter   

v.蹒跚， 摇摇欲坠；n.蹒跚的步子

参考例句：

• He tottered to the fridge,got a beer and slumped at the table.他踉跄地走到冰箱前，拿出一瓶啤酒，一屁股坐在桌边。
• The property market is tottering.房地产市场摇摇欲坠。

13 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

14 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

15 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

16 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

17 lamentably   

adv.哀伤地，拙劣地

参考例句：

• Aviation was lamentably weak and primitive. 航空设施极其薄弱简陋。 来自辞典例句
• Poor Tom lamentably disgraced himself at Sir Charles Mirable's table, by premature inebriation. 可怜的汤姆在查尔斯·米拉贝尔爵士的宴会上，终于入席不久就酩酊大醉，弄得出丑露乖，丢尽了脸皮。 来自辞典例句

18 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

19 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

20 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。