○  优秀英语演讲稿：理性选择，敢于放弃  ○

to choose, to give up

a poet leads me to a branch road: on one side, there are lots of sweet apples, lovely and charming; on the other, there is a patch of thorn, what hides behind the success of struggling against the thorn is a splendid palace. i deeply know that if i choose the apples, i will give up a precious opportunity of becoming a queen; while if i choose to challenge, i have to say farewell to the apples. which one should i choose?

just like the branch road, we have to make a lot of choices during our lifetime. it is usually considered that we are choosing what to gain, to own, but in my opinion, we are just choosing to give up.

choosing to be a teacher means giving up the life as rich as a business man;

choosing to be a top student means giving up much leisure time in front of the tv.

sure, it’s a torture, but we must judge carefully what is more important, then give up the others. don’t think of them any more, just focus all your spirit on what you are doing.

i myself, who is standing here, have already chosen to challenge in such a great competition, so i have to give up ten days of normal classes in school and relaxation without pressure. but i am still pleased, because giving up properly makes me stick to my choice.

let’s return to our branch road, which one will your choose? i choose to challenge here!

理性选择，敢于放弃

一位诗人把我引到一个岔路口：一边是甘甜的苹果，鲜艳而诱人;另一边是一条荆棘之路，但隐藏在与荆棘搏斗的成功之后是一座富丽的宫殿。我深深地明白：如果我选择那些苹果，我将失去一个可能成为女王的良机，与此同时，如果我选择挑战那些荆棘，那会很艰辛，而且我又必须与可爱的苹果告别，我该选择哪一个呢?

正如这个岔路口一般，生活中的我们面临多种选择。人们通常认为，我们在选择去获得什么，拥有什么，但在我看来，我们在选择放弃什么。

选择作一名老师意味着放弃了像商人一样奢华富有的生活。

选择作一名顶尖学生意味着放弃了许多在电视机前的闲暇时间。

当然，放弃的选择是一种苦难，但我们必须用心审度，什么对自己来说更为重要，做出选择，然后放弃其他，不要再回首想那些已放弃的东西，把精力集中于你正在做的事。

站在这里的我，已选择了在这样大规模的比赛中挑战自我，所以我必须放弃十天的正常功课和没有压力的轻松感。但我依然高兴，因为适宜的放弃之后，我更加专注于自己的选择。

让我们回到那个岔路口吧，你会选择哪一个呢?我，选择挑战此地!

seeking pleasure

not long ago, i read this story in a magazine: there was once a group of young people searching everywhere for pleasure but what they got was only annoyance , melancholy and torture.

so they turned to socrates for advice on where pleasure lay. but instead of giving any answers, socrates asked them to help with building a boat first. the group of guys had to set about the task, laying aside their own business of seeking pleasure. it took them a long time to cut down a tall tree, gouging out the center. through painstaking effort, they made a canoe out of the tree. they launched the canoe into a river, and then rowed together in it, singing with joy.

socrates asked: “my children, do you have pleasure now?” they answered in chorus: “we couldn’t be happier!” socrates added, “that’s it! whenever you are too busy pursuing something definite to notice anything bitter, pleasure will occur.”

from the story i got to know that pleasure always hides behind every tiny thing that you are engaged in, and that you may only get pleasure through hard work and creativity.

it also tells us that we might have no alternative but to experience some pain in our daily life and in the process of seeking pleasure, or sometimes tend to look for pleasure in material things, like a new car, clothes, etc, but true long term pleasure comes from within our soul and spirit. so why not turn suffering into praising life, and turn tears into the light in your heart, only in this way can we make it through and hold the magical spark to light the fire of life.

so my dear friends, just remember pleasure is a state of mind and a matter of choice, and i wish you all a life of pleasure.

寻找快乐

前几天，我在一份杂志上看到一则这样的故事：一群年轻人到处寻找快乐，却遇到许多烦恼，忧愁和痛苦。

他们向苏格拉底请教，快乐到底在哪里?苏格拉底没有立即给他们答案，而是让他们先帮助造一艘船。这帮年轻人暂时把寻找快乐的事儿放到一边，开始这项工作。他们花了很长时间锯倒了一棵又高又大的树，挖空树心，造出了一条独木船。独木船下水了，他们一边合力荡浆，一边齐声快乐的唱起歌来。

苏格拉底问：“孩子们，你们快乐吗?”他们齐声回答：“快乐极了!”苏格拉底道：“快乐就是这样，它往往在你为着一个明确的目的忙的无暇顾及其他的时候突然来访。”

从这个故事当中我知道了，快乐隐藏在你用心做的每一件小事当中，通过我们的努力和创造，才能得到快乐。

它还告诉我们，在生活中和追求快乐的过程中，可能无法避免会遇到一些痛苦，人们往往把快乐建立在对物质的追求上，像一辆新车，新衣服，等等。但真正意义上的快乐应该是从精神上得到的。为什么不把痛苦锤炼成对生命的赞扬，把眼泪作为心灵的灯盏呢?只有这样才会真正寻找到快乐，一展生命中灿烂的光泽!

朋友们，请记住：快乐是一种心态，也是一种选择，我祝愿大家一生快乐!