第十四屆“２１世紀·聯想杯”全國英語演講比賽

由中國日報社與聯想集團共同主辦、21世紀英文報系承辦的第十四屆“21世紀·聯想杯”全國英語演講比賽經過連月來的激烈競爭，終于在今年4月份落下帷幕。60名來自中國大陸和港澳臺地區的總決賽選手于上海一決雌雄。來自清華大學的金璐，遼寧大學的蘇寧馨和來自北京語言大學的陳藝分獲冠、亞、季軍。

大賽由已備演講、即席演講及問答等部分組成。賽程自每年的5-6月至次年4月，分為全國預選賽、地區決賽、全國總決賽等階段，冠軍于次年5月代表中國赴英國倫敦參加國際英語演講比賽爭奪“最佳非英語國家選手獎”。我們選出的片段為本次比賽的季軍北京語言大學陳藝的已備演講，選手的發音準確清晰，演講內容貼近生活、感情真摯(本文為演講完整版)。

送奶工與郵遞員——今昔大不同

By Chen Yi陳藝

Good afternoon， ladies and gentlemen，

The topic of my speech is Milkman v.s. Mailman.

With the development of society， change has 1)penetrated (into) every aspect(s) of our daily life. To illustrate that， I’d like to make a comparison of the milkman and mailman， whose differences indicate our changing way of living with the times.

Home milk delivery has almost gone 2)extinct in China now， also gone with it are the milkmen， who once delivered bottled fresh milk door-to-door. On the other hand， [the] mailman’s business or the 3)courier service has 4)thrived as online shopping gains popularity. Yet， 5)in retrospect， I realize something has been lost in this 6)transition， something Shakespeare would call (as) “7)the milk of human kindness” .

Like when I was a kid， milk wasn’t for sale everywhere. For the families who need it， they depended on the milkmen to take it from the local dairy farms to their houses. In our neighborhood， there was also such a milkman， whose arrival was much[greatly] anticipated by the children and always brought us laughter and joy. How did he do that? He knew the name of every kid and could easily see through all tricks. If we didn’t behave， he would side with our parents and threaten to rob us of the nutritious drink. And it worked every time. The entire neighborhood was acquainted with him; saw him as a member of the community， just like the many residents or street 8)vendors. Actually， there was a bond between all of us for what’s being transacted， with not only the commodities， but also a sense of caring and 9)dependability. And that small box fixed onto our door， other than being the drop-off point for milk， (it) served as a kind of communication 10)junction between the people as we took the initiative to reach out to others.

Fast forward to today， milk is 11)ubiquitous with no dedicated delivery system. However， the convenience level of our life[lives] has gone up a 12)notch. Almost everything is for sale online， which spares us all the travelling and talking. With a few ready clicks， the shopping is done. The rest is left for those speed delivery[courier] companies. Usually there will be a 13)grumpy mailman， who reaches us through cell phone， urging everyone to pick up their 14)parcels as soon as possible. And the minute the receipt is signed， we dash back to unpack， while the courier rushes to his next destination. There is barely a conversation carried out， nor do we feel the need to talk to such a stranger， who changes (from time to time) frequently. It seems that people are always in a hurry now， though we do have more convenience. Still， we run short of time to stand and stare， to speak and share.

Call me an old-timer， but I think the personal touch represented by the milkman is what’s been missing in the modern society. William Wordsworth once wrote that “Getting and spending， we 15)lay waste our power.” Modern technology may have multiplied our possessions or gave[given] us more convenience， but we run the risk of reducing our values if we lay waste our power of interpersonal relationships. Thank you.

女士們，先生們，下午好!

我演講的題目是《送奶工與郵遞員——今昔大不同》。

隨著社會的發展，我們日常生活的方方面面都發生了變化。為了充分地說明這一點，我打算將送奶工和郵遞員加以對比，他們的不同命運表明了隨著時代的發展，我們的生活方式所發生的變化。

如今，送奶到戶的服務在中國已經基本上銷聲匿跡了，同樣隨之消失的還有送奶工，他們曾經挨家挨戶地遞送瓶裝的新鮮牛奶。而在另一方面，郵遞員的行當或者說是快遞服務卻由于網上購物的普及而興盛起來。然而在回顧往事時，我發現某些東西也在這種變遷中流失了——某些會被莎士比亞稱之為“人情味”的東西。……