全球化：文化發現的時機到了

今年是奧運年，面對即將開鑼的世界性體育盛會，第13屆“21世紀·聯想杯”全國英語演講比賽適時推出了“全球化的競爭發展之道”這個主題，并于4月中旬在北京圓滿結束。本期我們選登了本屆比賽亞軍——清華大學魏莉薇同學的已備演講。她的發言極有條理，思路清晰，是一篇很標準的議論范文哦！

Honorble judges， ladies and gentlemen， good morning.

As I stand here speaking English to you， I am already globalized. While shopping， I see the fair Chinese ladies carrying Prada handbags， I find they are globalized. Watching Harry Potter or [The] Lord of the Rings with friends – yes， you can 1)anticipate the 2)refrain – we are all globalized!

In this era of globalization， we are one way or

another all globalized. But realize this: when people’s

heads turn to the fresh things that globalization

3)literally delivers to our doors， the traditional things which we 4)take for granted are forgotten. So

consider Lao Qiang， an ancient form of opera. It has almost vanished from the stage and only fewer than twenty people know how to sing it. So， how can we discover and explore our traditional culture? How can we 5)rejuvenate and share them with the whole world? Well， there are three factors we need to keep in mind.

To begin with， the mass media plays a vital role in discovering our traditional culture and connecting it with the widest possible audience. One evening in 2005， for example， when my father and I were watching the final round of the popular TV show Star Road， we both became fans for a 6)contestant named A Bao. We were attracted by his 7)high pitched 8)tenor voice， his Shaanxi folk tunes and Shaanxi costumes. 9)Apparently we were not his only fans. Star Road has aroused great popular interest in Shaanxi folk music. Such media can help popular audiences to discover lost arts and introduce people to them for the first time.

The mass media raise the people’s interest in traditional culture， but it is the performing artists who really develop people’s understanding of traditional culture. Yang Liping’s dance show Yunnan Image， based on the 10)primitive Yunnan dance style， has had an enormous influence in and out of China. Yang has recovered for us the primitive life in Yunnan. It is the 11)raw and 12)unadorned beauty of nature in her dancing that moves her audience most. We 13)desperately need professional artists’ 14)endeavor to discover traditional culture， to train 15)apprentices， and to project our culture on the global stage.

The third 16)strategic factor in promoting our culture in global competition is an audience who knows how to appreciate our culture. But today’s youth – tomorrow’s explorers – are ill-equipped to appreciate our culture. Take myself as an example: I’ve had no painting or music classes since senior high school; no 17)extracurricular activities like Chinese painting or 18)calligraphy since primary school. What 19)paltry little we learn about Chinese traditional culture is 20)relegated to a few lines and pictures in history books. We need our government and school system to give us a better opportunity to 21)embrace our traditional culture and discover its rich legacy for ourselves.

Ladies and gentlemen， the age of globalization is a time for cultural discovery， not cultural 22)extinction. Our traditional culture needs our concern and support to survive. With our combined efforts， we can save our valuable traditional culture from extinction and showcase it， so it can shine brightly on the global stage， shared and enjoyed by people all around the world!

Thank you very much!

尊敬的評委，女士們，先生們，早上好。

當我站在這里用英語為大家進行演講時，我已經“全球化”了。逛街的時候，我看到窈窕的中國淑女挎著“普拉達”手提包，覺得她們也很“全球化”。和朋友們一起看《哈利·波特》或《指環王》——沒錯，你也能猜到我要說什么了吧——我們都“全球化”了！

在這個全球化時代，我們多多少少都被鍍上了“全球化”的色彩。不過，請意識到這一點：正當人們把視線轉向全球化——正如字面所說的——送到家門口的新鮮玩意時，我們視若不見的傳統事物卻被拋諸腦后。想想“老腔”這一古老的戲劇形式吧。它幾乎在戲臺上銷聲匿跡，懂得這種唱腔的人如今不足二十人。那么，怎樣才能發現和挖掘我們自身的傳統文化？怎樣才能使傳統文化重新煥發青春，與世界分享這些瑰寶？我們需要牢記三個要素。

首先，在發掘傳統文化并將其傳達給盡可能廣的受眾這一方面，大眾媒體起著重大作用。比如，2005年的一個晚上，我和爸爸一起看熱門電視節目《星光大道》的決賽，我倆都成了“阿寶”這名選手的粉絲。他那高亢的嗓門、陜西民歌的韻味，還有一身陜西民間服飾都把我們深深吸引。……