第四章成功演讲的技巧

第四章　成功演讲的技巧Tips for effective speaking

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great understandings.

——by Samuel Johnson

All public speaking of real merit was characterized by nervousness.

——by Cicero

单元目标（Objectives of the unit）

In this unit, you will get to know about

○Overcoming stage fright

○Vocal effects

○Non-verbal communication

○Wording your speech

第一部分　理论学习（Theory Introduction）

一、克服怯场(Overcoming stage fright)

面对听众演讲时产生紧张、害怕乃至恐惧心理是正常现象，也是每个演讲者都经历过的。这种紧张现象具体表现为演讲前的坐卧不安、甚至是失眠、演讲时声音发颤、心跳加快、记忆空白、语无伦次等。即使是经常发表演说的人、甚至是著名演说家，面对台下的听众，也会有一定的紧张心理。因此，正确认识演讲的怯场心理是非常必要的。要完全保持镇定，杜绝害怕和紧张的心理并不现实，也根本做不到。过度冷静、放松的演讲者也很难做出充满热情和有趣的演讲；相反，要做一次成功的演讲，适度的紧张是不可或缺的。适度紧张会使演讲者更充分地准备，带着热情去陈述。

（一）怯场的原因（Reasons of stage fright） 。怯场的原因大致有以下几个方面:

1.对演讲题目所涉及的内容和领域不了解，导致自己缺乏信心。

2.对听众的人员结构不了解，导致自己与听众的距离感。

3.缺乏在强烈的舞台灯光下和讲坛前使用话筒、音响以及电脑设备的经验，导致自己紧张慌乱。

4.对演讲效果追求完美的强迫心理，如强迫自己不出任何差错并做到发音绝对准确、连贯、流畅等，导致自己临场拘谨。

5.与主持人和其他嘉宾不熟悉，爱面子思想使得自己过于担心可能出现任何失误。

（二）克服怯场的措施（Measures of overcoming） 。为保证演讲顺利进行，演讲者应针对上述状况采取以下措施克服怯场心理:

1.选择自己熟悉的领域和感兴趣的主题，并认真做好一切必要的案头准备工作，收集必要的材料，充分准备好演讲稿，只有这样才有助于自己树立充分的自信心。所以，全面、充分的准备是克服怯场的良策。

2.如果可能且有必要，演讲者应该提前到达演讲现场，尽可能地利用有限的时间与听众交朋友。在整个演讲过程中应尽力把注意力集中在演讲主题以及和听众的交流上，勇敢地面对听众的目光，他们当中可能有一些你已熟悉的面孔，他们会大力支持你的。

3.提前到达演讲现场并尽快熟悉环境，如舞台灯光以及相关的音响设备，也有助于演讲者消除紧张心理。

4.积极、正确地对待演讲过程中可能出现的任何失误。听众更注重的是演讲内容，而不是演讲者的紧张心理，他们也非常希望你获得成功。即使发生口误，也不要说“sorry”之类的抱歉话，因为听众不一定察觉。这个时候如果有什么诀窍的话，那就是要牢记控制语速，速度不可太快。

因此，只要正确对待怯场，就可以将其控制在适当的范围内并取得很好的演讲效果。

（三）台上表现（Stage appearance） 。在台上演讲时，应该注意以下几点:

1.要明确自己演讲的目的是和观众沟通、交流你的想法，而不是在表演。

2.在开始演讲时，不要太匆忙，给自己和听众几秒钟准备时间，使自己能够平静下来，准备进入演讲状态；也可以集中听众的注意力。

3.不要向听众提及你的紧张情绪，或为此而道歉。

4.不要让听众的表现影响你的演讲情绪。在演讲时，听众的反应会不一样，可能他们当中有些人对你的演讲内容很感兴趣，也有些不感兴趣，甚至感到厌烦。千万不要让观众反馈的信号来影响你的演讲。应该知道，这些都是很正常的，尤其是对于一些比较有争议的题目。目标不要定得过高，想要所有听众都认同你的观点是不太可能的。

5.和听众保持眼神交流,真诚地与他们沟通。

6.允许自己犯错误。不要对自己要求过高——一定要做一个完美的演讲,不能犯错误。其实在演讲中你偶尔犯个错误,听众最多笑笑而已，没关系,要允许自己犯错误，在这种情况下可以自嘲一下，反而会建立起良好的气氛，获得听众的谅解和欣赏。

二、发音因素（Vocal effects）

演讲需要具有一定的表演特征，因此它的效果也就显得比较重要。演讲者的语音特质之所以在演讲中起着重要作用，是因为它是向听众表达自己的思想的最重要也是最直接的工具。演讲者的声音也是他个人形象的一部分，应该表达出他的自信心和真诚。由于人的声音特质千差万别，可以说是一人一声，事实上要找出声音特质完全相同的两个人是不可能的。更为重要的是绝大多数人的声音特质是与生俱来的，也就是说是天生的，因此要想人为地改变这种特质也是不可能的。但是，只要演讲者恰当地掌握运用音量、音高和语速的技巧，完全可以弥补先天的不足，取得满意的演讲效果。例如，英国前首相丘吉尔是先天的咬舌和口吃，美国前总统林肯和克林顿的声音都些沙哑，但他们的演讲可以说是吐字清晰，魅力四射。这与他们掌握和运用音量、发音、音高、语速和停顿等方面的高超技巧有直接关系。

（一）音量大小（Volume）

音量是指演讲者音量的大小。音量的大小应根据演讲场所的大小而定，会议厅面积越大音量就越大，反之越小。再精彩的演讲稿，如果呈现时音量过小，听起来很费力，演讲就不会成功。如果演讲现场需要使用麦克风，要确保话筒的音量适度，不能靠话筒太近，以致发出刺耳的声音。适中的音量是演讲成功的必备条件。当然，音量的大小不是一成不变的，而是应该根据演讲的内容和现场的气氛进行适当的变化。演讲者如果从头至尾一直使用不变的音量，听众也会感到单调乏味。演讲者在进行到结尾时一般会提高音量，尤其在一些劝说性演讲中，演讲者可以通过提高音量来鼓励听众、呼吁他们采取行动。另外，音量在句子中也有变化，演讲者强调不同的词，传达的意义就不同。如林肯总统的著名演说“…of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

（二）发音吐字（Pronunciation and articulation）

首先，演讲者的发音必须准确，听众才不至于误解，这对于英语为外语或者是第二语言的中国学生来说，显得尤为重要。因此，演讲前的准备很重要。对演讲稿中不太熟悉的单词要查字典，弄清楚它们的正确读音；即使是有些熟悉的词，也有可能发音不标准，所以演讲者必须事前演练，请别人做听众，纠正不正确的读音。或者把演讲录下来，反复揣摩发音是否正确。其次，吐字要清晰。心理紧张和语速过快也会使得演讲者的咬字含糊、发音失准；有些演讲者受地方口音的影响，不能清晰地发出“N”和“L”等音，这些都是应该避免的。要使自己的吐字清晰，经常练绕口令可以有效地改善发音吐字。例如:

The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Sally sells seashells on the seashore.

Can you can a can as a canner can can a can？

Ten tiny trumpeters tunefully toot their ten tiny trumpets.

The big black bug bit the big black bear, but the big black bear bit the big black bug back!

The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

（三）音高与语调（Pitch and inflection） 。

音高是指演讲者根据演讲内容需要调整发音位置的高低后取得的不同音高，它分为高、中、低三种。以演讲开始时的招呼语“Ladies and gentleman”为例，如果音高比较高，听起来就比较振奋激昂，更适合于已经比较活跃的现场氛围，而音高比较低沉则显得稳重平和，更适合于比较凝重平静的现场氛围。由于性别不同，男女之间的音高也在所区别，女性的音高一般比男性高。但音调过高，就会给人留下不自信的感觉。

语调是指由于音高的不断调节造成的升调或降调。英语中比较典型的语调有升调、降调、平调等，当然这些语调用在不同的位置有着不同的含义，也会产生不同的效果。如“Have a nice day”这一句可以是陈述句或疑问句，这取决于“day”这个词的语调是降还是升。语调的改变也叫曲折变化，不同的语调会产生不同的曲折变化，因而意义也发生变化。

Ten Yuan（↗） ？（Is that all？）

Ten Yuan（↘） .（That’ s what it costs.）

Ten（↓）Yuan.（Not five Yuan.）

Ladies and gentleman, Chicago is a windy city, isn’ t it？（↗）

（表示说话人对于这个事实的不肯定态度或者是怀疑态度。）

Ladies and gentleman, Chicago is a windy city, isn’ t it？（↘）

（表示说话人对于这个事实的肯定态度，并且希望听者赞同这一说法。）

（四）语速（Rate）

演讲者的最佳语速取决于两个因素:演讲风格和演讲内容。语速快传递着生气、激动或不安的信息，而语速慢则传递悲伤、庄重或沮丧等感情因素。演讲比赛中，演讲者的语速起着至关重要的作用，因为演讲比赛一般有时间规定，语速过慢会因超时而扣分，语速过快，听众难以领会演讲内容。在日常的商务交流如面试、产品推介、交换信息等活动中，也应该以对方能够听懂、听清为标准确定语速。总之，根据演讲内容和听众掌握适度的语速很重要，中国学生正常的语速为每分钟110个词左右。许多中国学生往往会有这样一种误解，即语速越快越能体现演讲者语言的流利程度。其实不然，必须依照演讲的内容和演讲风格把握自己的语速，当快则快，当慢则慢。其次是一旦确定了自己的语速也不是一成不变的，必须根据演讲内容的发展恰当地运用不同的语速。另外，在不同句式和修辞手段中，陈述句一般采用中等语速，疑问句和设问句的语速较快。反语、反问和排比句等修辞手法需要语速快来表达其程度，以引起听众的注意或呼吁听众采取行动；而在运用比喻、双关、对偶和引言时语速要慢。

（五）停顿（Pause）

要使演讲的段落结构清晰明了，就要借助于停顿。停顿是指句子之间和段落之间的无声间隔。停顿主要出现在以下几种情况:意群之间；句子之间；段落之间；设问句后的停顿；演讲者为强调某个重要观点也会运用停顿等。适当的停顿可以更有效地表达演讲者的观点，但在意群之间如果过多地出现“uh” , “er” 、“ah” 、“you know” 、“ok” 、“well”之类的有声停顿，只会转移听众的注意力，突出演讲者的紧张心理，或者是误导听众，给听众造成一种演讲者没有充分准备的错觉。听众会认为演讲者缺乏足够的专业水平和文化素养，这些都会极大地影响演讲的成功。同样，演讲者刻意地在每句话或者每个意群之间做过于频繁的停顿是不可取的，表面上看起来是为了照顾听众，实际上极有可能造成演讲者过于低估听众的理解力或者自身语言水平不高的印象。总之，演讲者在具体的演讲实践中必须遵循当停则停、不停则不停，停则当长则长、当短则短的原则，否则会影响演讲效果。

由于英语是中国学生的外语，在练习运用英语进行演讲时还必须特别注意以下几个方面:

1.演讲的会话特征。一个缺乏经验的演讲者只求在最短的时间内背诵或者朗读完演讲稿的内容。可想而知，这种所谓的演讲只是白开水一杯。因此必须牢记演讲的会话特征，要把前来参加演讲活动的听众看做是你所有朋友的大聚会，这样就可以通过演讲在一种自然放松但又不失认真的状态下与听众进行真诚的思想交流和对话，而不是一种任务式的背书和朗诵。

2.美式英语还是英式英语。许多中国学生在练习演讲时往往非常想表明自己是美式英语或者英式英语，因此在语音、语调、连续等方面特别夸张。须知，这些只是演讲的一个方面，不足以代表演讲效果的全部，更重要的还是演讲的内容。由于中国学生在学习英语时会同时接触到许多不同的英语种类，因此很难说自己所讲的英语就是标准的美式英语还是英式英语，实际上可能是一种混合式英语，这对演讲效果并无太大影响。因此，如果能以其中一种作为自己模仿标准固然可行，即便是混合式英语也并无大碍，无需刻意夸张地模仿某一种口音。

三、非言语交际（Non-verbal communication）

交流过程包括了言语信号与非言语因素，而演讲作为一种重要的交流形式当然也包括非言语因素。换言之，演讲者在运用言语传递信息的同时，他的肢体语言，包括体态、手势、目光、面部表情和个人仪表等各个方面都向听众传递着不同的信息。演讲者的扬眉、耸肩、充满热情的目光、挥舞的打手势等与演讲者的语言在交流过程中起着同等重要的作用。如果你在演讲时说“Good afternoon ”的时候眼睛却不时地看着窗外，就会使听众产生——你缺乏热情的感觉。因为一个人的热情不是靠言语来表达的，主要是靠眼神、面部表情、姿势和语气等向听众传递信息的。

事实上，在我们的现实生活中可能会有这样那样的因素导致演讲者睡眠不好、脸色欠佳、情绪低落、精神萎靡，但当演讲者出现在听众面前时必须精神饱满、热情而坚定，这恰恰是对听众的负责和尊重。

（一）仪表（Personal appearance）

演讲者的穿着打扮取决于演讲的场合，场合越正式，服饰就越要正规。国际学术会议、商务谈判、面试等场合要穿西服等套装，而参加宴会或接受颁奖则应穿晚礼服。过于夸张、炫目的打扮或佩饰只会分散听众的注意力。着装整洁、得体、含蓄是总的原则。

（二）目光交流（Eye contact）

演讲过程中演讲者与听众的目光交流可以促使交流顺畅地进行，与听众建立融洽的关系并表现出演讲者的自信心。与听众的目光交流应注意两点:演讲前充分准备，背熟演讲稿，这样在演讲过程中才能和听众保持更多的目光交流；与听众的目光交流要自然、柔和，投向不同方位的听众，眼光不要盯着天花板或不时投向窗外。

（三）体态（Body）

给予听众第一印象和视觉上第一冲击的不仅是服饰还有演讲者的体态和姿势，也就是演讲者的身体处于放松或拘谨时的状态以及演讲者站立时的整体效果。一般说来，体态过于松弛或拘谨都不得体。过于松弛甚至懒散给人的印象是重视程度不够；而过于紧张则给人缺乏信心的感觉。同时，演讲者站立时身体的过分前倾或后仰都影响演讲者的交流。身体趴在讲坛上、肩膀下垂、手放在身后或插在口袋里、双脚不停地移动或改变站姿，以及头颈部不停地晃动都会分散听众的注意力，严重影响演讲效果。就正式场合而言，最为理想的效果应该是演讲者自然挺拔、两脚分开，身体略微前倾，双臂自然交叉垂于胸前。如果是坐着演讲或者是互动形式的会议交流、讨论和面试，也应该注意坐姿，双手自然摆放在桌上，双腿自然分开并适当紧靠，偶尔改变交叉方式。切忌双手托肋，身体懒散地靠在桌上，双脚不停地晃动并有节奏发出各种怪异的声音，更不能将自己的鞋子脱下或者懒散地靠在椅子上。

（四）手势（Gesture）

演讲者手臂、手或手指的动作是演讲中需要考虑的一个重要的肢体语言。

正确的手势应该具有描述、替代和操控的功能:

1.描述。在描述大小、尺寸、方位或数字时，可以用手指来辅助语言表示。

2.替代。手势也可以完全取代语言，如手掌向下以示听众安静，举起食指和中指表示胜利或举起紧握的拳头表示行动的决心。

3.操控。手势同样也可以操控演讲者与听众之间的交流，如果演讲者需要听题，他可以摊开手心欢迎听众的回答。

演讲者的手势必须在与演讲内容完全一致的情况下自然发生，演讲前在需要做手势的地方做好标记并设计好手势及其具体细节，包括力度、幅度、手势的变化和手势的时机等。在处理没有手势的双手时，演讲者必须镇定自己的情绪，很快找到一个适合自己摆放双手的位置。如果台上有演讲桌，演讲者可以双手自然摆放在演讲桌的两侧；如果没有演讲桌，演讲者不妨将双手自然地交叉并垂放在自己的小腹前。

（五）面部表情（Facial expression）

脸部一般传达喜悦、悲伤、愤怒、惊讶、厌恶和恐惧等情感。因此，面部表情在表达演讲者的思想、情感和态度方面起着重要作用。显然，演讲者在整场演讲过程中不能没有面部表情或者表情木然。同样，任何不恰当的或者不自然的面部表情都是不可取的。演讲者的面部表情要和演讲内容、语气相统一，任何夸张、不协调、不自然的表情都会妨碍交流。塑造正确的面部表情首先要认真分析演讲的内容，据此决定喜怒哀乐等各种不同的面部表情，并且与语气、站姿和手势动作等相一致；其次是在不带很多感情色彩的演讲或其他面对面的交流活动中，保持活力总会赢得听众的接受和认同，因为生机和活力永远是最好的化妆品；第三就是自然放松，这也是演讲过程中运用所有非言语因素必须遵循的金科玉律。演讲者只要本着与听众进行交流的真诚愿望，并辅之以恰当的眼神，就一定会释放出自然、生动、极具感染力的面部表情。

四、演讲语言（Wording your speech）

（一）语言风格（Language style）

1.演讲的语言风格是演讲者表达自己思想的方式。演讲作为一种非常特殊的交际方式，首先具有口头交际的特点，因为演讲者和听众必须面对面地交流，而且演讲的内容是通过口头形式传达给听众的；同时，演讲也蕴含书面语交际的元素，因为演讲稿本身是极具书面语特色的，正式场合的演讲更是如此。但出席演讲活动和聆听演讲毕竟不同于书面阅读，因为在一般的阅读过程中，读者可以放慢速度阅读难点、重复阅读重点或以回顾的形式复读前面的要点，而演讲活动中的听众却做不到。因此，演讲语体是介于口语体（oral style）和书面语体（written style）之间的独特文体。

就一般情况而言，口语体和书面语体的区别主要体现在以下几个方面:

2.作为口头交际的方式，演讲语体既具有一般口语体的特征，也兼有书面语的特点，但总体说来更接近口语体，具体表现在以下几个方面:

（1）由于受演讲者的条件和目的所决定，演讲中以主语开始的句子和主动语态的句子较多，这样使得演讲的内容更清楚。同时，状语开始的句子数量也有所增加，而且句子的长度比一般口语的句子长度要长一些，句子结构也相对复杂一些。但与正式的书面语相比较，口语句子长度相对较短，结构相对简单。

（2）与一般的口语体不同，演讲语体的句子结构比较完整，还会有一些倒装句、祈使句和疑问句。

（3）动词词组比较简单，而名词词组则相对复杂一些，这是因为在演讲中，出于对一般名词进行必要修饰的原因，增加了许多前置词和后置词，因而使得名词词组相对复杂起来。

（4）与一般口语体一样，演讲体中也更多地用人称代词，特别是第一人称代词“I”和“We” ，这样使听众感到亲切、易接近。

（5）与书面语相比，演讲语体的语言更加形象、生动、具体。例如“The bird carried the sky on its wings.”就比书面语“The bird flew across the sky.”生动得多。

（6）演讲中经常采用路标词以及内部预告、内部总结和重复主题（restatement）等手段，使得演讲结构更清楚，听众对演讲内容的记忆更深刻。

（7）演讲语体也包括语音效果。与日常口语有所不同的是，演讲中必须考虑音韵、语调、节奏等方面的因素，尽量避免使用缩略词、压缩音等典型的口语用法。

3.演讲活动充满了可变因素，演讲者必须根据演讲的主题、场合、听众以及演讲者的身份决定语言与风格。而且，演讲者必须遵循以下三条重要原则:

（1）清晰（Clarity） 。清晰是演讲体语言风格的第一要点，在口头交流中起着关键作用。而无论是对信息性演讲还是劝说性演讲，抑或是其他性质和形式的演讲来说都是如此。

清晰的原则第一就是用词要简洁（economical） ，避免多余、毫无意义的词。林肯总统在葛底茨堡的演讲堪称简洁的典范，全篇只有271个单词，他的演讲风格就是:“Never use a two or three syllable word where a one syllable word would do and never use two or three words where one word would do.”如下列例证中的黑体字都是多余和无意义的词:

①At 9:00 a. m. in the morning

②We first began the discussion.

③I myself personally.

④About approximately 10 inches or so.

⑤The amount of $10 was paid.

⑥Conduct a study on the increasing divorce rate.

⑦There are three people who want to…

⑧Imagine the thought of walking in…

再看以下两组例证:

清晰的原则第二是用词要具体（concrete） 、准确（precise） ，避免模糊、抽象的词语。例如:

清晰的原则第三是要用音节短（short） 、熟悉（familiar）的词。英国前首相丘吉尔就说过:“Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all.”演讲中最好的语言往往是最简单的。林肯总统的葛底斯堡演讲，271个单词中有251个词是双音节词。通篇的难词、长词只会给听众留下炫耀、华而不实的印象。看以下例证，试作对比:

清晰、简洁的语言风格不仅体现在用词上，同样也体现在句子结构上:

（1）短句、结构单一的句子能帮助听众理解、记忆，故长句、结构复杂的句子不宜使用。

（2）主动句可以使演讲更生动、形象。例如主动句“Management favored the proposal.”就比被动句“The proposal was favored by management.”更直截了当。

（3）肯定句要比否定句容易记住。例如肯定句“The committee rejected the proposal.”就要比否定句“The committee did not accept the proposal.”简练。

（2）生动（Vividness） 。清晰的语言有助于听众了解演讲者的观点，而优美、生动、富有韵律的语言犹如在听众心中描绘出一幅幅栩栩如生的图画，更能激起听众的兴趣并加深记忆。形象地描绘色彩、声音、光、味觉、嗅觉等的感性语言称之为生动的语言。

例如:丘吉尔出任首相后发表了第一次演说，其中“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”一句成了他的名言。他重复了5次“Victory”的演说“You ask, what is our aim？ I can answer in one word: Victory——victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. ”在第二次世界大战中产生了极大影响，他被誉为“近百年世界八大演说家之一。”又如:富兰克林·罗斯福总统于1941年在日本偷袭美国珍珠港后在国会所做的演讲被誉为世界演讲名篇。原先由他人草拟的演讲稿中有一句话是:“December 7, 1941: A date which will live in world history.”罗斯福在演讲前，把“world history”圈掉，改成了“infamy” 。如此的改动造就了美国历史上最经典的名句之一“A date which will live in infamy.” （一个遗臭万年的日子） 。带有强烈感情色彩的词“infamy” ，生动鲜活地表达了美国人们的愤慨和对日本侵略者的强烈谴责。

此外，主动句也可以使语言生动、形象，它使演讲者的思想更加鲜活，语言也更简洁。例如:

Poor:

It was decided by the Student Government Association that the election would be delayed for one week.

Better:

The Student Government Association decided to delay the election for one week.

（3）恰当（Appropriateness） 。

清晰、生动的语言风格是演讲成功的要素，而恰当的语言则更是演讲者成功的关键所在。恰当的语言（appropriate language）是演讲者为使自己的身份与演讲场合、演讲目的和听众相适应而采用的语言。正如亚里士多德所说:“The style of a good speaker should be neither mean nor above the dignity of the subject, but appropriate.” 。因此，所谓恰当的语言是相对的，它取决于不同的演讲场合、演讲目的和听众。而即使是同样的演讲主题，在不同的演讲场合、面对不同的听众，演讲者也要采用不同的语言风格。

在演讲中要做到语言恰当，首先应根据演讲场合的正式程度（How formal the occasion will be？）来决定语言，同时演讲者的年龄、身份、性格和社会地位等因素也决定语言是否正式。如果一位企业总裁以“Hi folks. I’ m glad you could come.”来开始演讲，这与他的身份就不符，语言风格太随意。正式的演讲场合包括:竞选演说、就职演说、法庭辩论和各类礼仪演说等。而在一些小型的或非正式的演讲场合如课堂、宴会上等，语言则可以轻松、幽默。总之，演讲场合越正式，演讲者的语调就越严肃、语言更具体、口语特征更少、修辞手段更多。其次，演讲者要使用标准英语（standard English） ，避免使用俚语（slang）和行业术语（jargon） 。俚语是使用于某一特定年龄群体的语言，一般出现在非正式的口语中。而行业术语的使用范围只限于某一特定领域内的专业人士。因此，这些词语都属于非标准英语，会使听众疑惑不解，甚至使听众对演讲者产生反感，认为演讲者是在炫耀自己的专业知识。如果一位电脑专家面对一群对电脑知之甚少的听众大谈“firewalls” 、“backdoors”和“floppy disk”等专业词汇，那听众就会不知所云。例如:

第三，演讲者要避免使用带有性别歧视（sexist） 、年龄歧视（ageist）和种族歧视（racist）等有偏见的词语。例如:

例1:

One of the most important qualities a company executive must possess is effective communication. In fact, the higher he advances in the company, the more important it is that he be able to speak clearly and convincingly.

例2:

A secretary is no longer only a receptionist and a typist. Today she performs the role of information manager for the office.

以上两例的语言都带有明显的性别歧视。例1中的“he”就意味着所有的公司经理都是男性；而例中的“she”则表明所有的秘书都是女性。这种带有性别歧视的语言应该避免出现演讲中。演讲中使用非性别歧视语言（nonsexist language）或无性别之分的词（gender-free words）对所有的听众都是尊重。所以，上例中的“he”和“she”可以都改成“he or she” ，或者使用复数形式“they”则更好，表明无论男性或女性都可以担任公司经理或秘书。英语中还有一定数量的词语带有明显的年龄歧视、种族歧视和肢体歧视等，演讲者在使用时都要注意避免，例如:

（二）修辞手段Rhetorical means

作为交流活动的重要形式和手段，演讲的目的当然是要向听众传达信息或者是说听众服接受演讲者的观点。为了实现交流的总目的，并获得清晰而生动的演讲效果，演讲者还可以运用比喻、对偶、重复、排比、押头韵、拟人和层进等必要的修辞手段。

1.比喻（Imagery） 。比喻主要有明喻和暗喻两种。明喻是对两个不同事物加以直接比较，找出共同之处，一般用“like” 、“as” 、“as if”等词。暗喻是不同事物之间的内在比较，不用“like”和“as”等词。运用比喻的修辞手段可以使得演讲更加生动形象。

（1）明喻（similes）例证:

Mortality weighs heavily upon me like an unwilling sleep.（明喻）

My love is like a red, red rose.（明喻、押头韵）

Marriage is like a cozy, calm harbor where you are protected from the storms of the outside world. （明喻、押头韵）

History consists of a corpus of ascertained facts. The facts are available to the historian in documents, inscriptions, and so on, like fish on the fishmonger’ s slab. The historian collects them, takes them home, and cooks and serves them in whatever style appeals to them.（明喻、排比、重复）

明喻要有生命力，要鲜活，尽量避免陈词滥调，如“as busy as a bee” ，“light as a feather”等，演讲者应发挥自己的创造性，这样才能吸引听众的“眼球” 。例如:

“lies are like landmines buried along the way that you walk on every day, but sooner or later you are going to step on one and get it exploded. Hypocrisy or falsehood is like plastic surgery in Michael Jackson’ s nose: It’ s going to collapse.”

（2）暗喻（Metaphors）例证:

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check——a check which has come back marked“insufficient funds” . （暗喻）

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. （重复、暗喻）

From the great grief of one boy’ s death came a seed. And from that seed has grown a tree of understanding——a tree that now blossoms with the beauty of friendship and cooperation. （暗喻、层进）

The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. （暗喻）

Democracy is not a smooth sauce … Democracy is the lone dish in constant need of seasoning, stirring, tasting. Democracy is never… never done.（暗喻、重复）

It has been said that half of one’ s life is in God’ s hand and half is in one’ s own hand. What we need to do with our life is to win as much of God’ s portion as possible with our portion. So it’ s destined that life is a game with God. We all must learn how to be life’ s trustworthy friend so as to share and trade with God, so as to change that half-half game, so as to be the director of our life’ s play. We score in the game by gradually learning the rules of it.

2.重复（Repetition） 。重复是在一组连续的从句、句子的开头或结尾反复使用同一个词或同一组词。它和排比、对偶以及押头韵等都是增加韵律的修辞手段。马丁·路德·金在自己的演讲“I Have a Dream”中重复了9遍的“I have a dream…” ，已成为20世纪名人演讲运用重复的经典。福兰克林·罗斯福在呼吁国会对日宣战时，并没有说“Last night Japan attacked Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines, and Wake Island…” ，而是运用一组重复的排比句，气势磅礴，震撼人心。运用合理的重复可以使得演讲内容的重点更加突出。

例如:

Let freedom ring. （重复9次） With this faith we will be able to（重复3次） …

Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam,

Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island. （重复、排比）

We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail. （重复、押头韵、排比）

Never give in!Never, never, never, never, never, never. In nothing great or small, large or petty——never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. （重复）

It is the spirit of interdependence, the spirit of mutuality, the spirit of respect for our many heritages, and the spirit of common purpose that we must build and cultivate in our schools. （重复）

3.排比（Parallelism） 。排比结构多用于劝说性演讲中，以渲染、鼓动听众采取行动。排比一般要求词组、短语或句子都采用相同结构。运用排比的修辞手段可以使得演讲内容更加具有韵律感，给听众留下更加深刻的印象。

例如:

Let there be justice for all.

Let there be peace for all.

Let there be work, bread, water, and salt for all.

Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.（重复、排比）

…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. （排比）

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day （排比）

We will walk on our feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds. （重复、押头韵、排比）

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the area, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. （重复、排比）

I want to be the President who educated young children to the wonders of their world.

I want to be the President who helped to feed the hungry and to prepare them to be tax-payers instead of tax-eaters.

I want to be the President who helped the poor to find their own way and who protected the right of every citizen to vote in every election.

I want to be the President who helped to end hatred among his fellow men, and who promoted love among the people of all races and all regions and all parties.

I want to be the President who helped to end war among the brothers of this earth. （重复、排比、对偶等）

I think most of people here have some similar experience like these:

We have tall buildings, but shorter temper. We have bigger houses, but smaller families. We have more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense. We have more medicines, but less well-being…

We plan more, but accomplish less. We have learned to rush, but not to wait. We have more food, but less satisfaction. We have more acquaintances, but fewer friends. We are long on quantity, short on quality. We act smart, instead of being smart. We have added years to life, not life to years; we’ ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. （重复、排比、对偶等）

4.对偶（Antithesis） 。许多演说家尤其是名人都会在结尾时使用对偶的修辞手法，即将结构相同或相似、意义完全相反的语句排列在一起，表示两个对立观点，以强调演讲者的选择。

例如:

Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail.（对偶）

The world will little note nor long remember what we say here; but it can never forget what they did here. （对偶）

Today’ s real borders are not between nations, but between powerful and powerless, free and fettered, privileged and humiliated. （对偶、押头韵、排比）

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.（对偶、押头韵）

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. （对偶、排比）

The system has never failed us. But for a time we failed the system.（对偶）

My loves are many, my enemies are few. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. （对偶、排比）

5.押头韵（Alliteration） 。押头韵是语音的一种修辞格，即在临近的词语组合中使用词首音节相同的词。它一般用于呼吁采取行动的演讲中，尤其是在演讲结束时，押头韵具有强烈的冲击力，可以抓住听众的注意力，对演讲者的观点更易于记忆。

例如:

Don’ t let fate forecast your future. （押头韵）

Rather than military madness, we need to offer the world peace and prosperity. （押头韵）

Good team members have:commitment,communication,and competitiveness. （押头韵、排比）

And from our roots, we have drawn tremendous power from two great forces——faith and freedom. （押头韵）

In a nation founded on the promise of human dignity, our colleges, our communities, our country should challenge hatred wherever we find it.（押头韵、排比）

6.拟人（Personification） 。拟人是把事、物、概念等拟作人，赋予它们以人的思想与行为方式的修辞格，如“Mother Earth”和“Mother Nature”等。与明喻和暗喻一样，拟人化的修辞手法可以使演讲者的语言更生动，听众的形象思维空间更广阔。

例如:

Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our door step. （拟人）

Books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory… In this war, we know, books are weapons. （拟人、暗喻）

Ours is a nation that has shed the blood of war and cried the tears of depression. （拟人、排比）

An association’ s muscle is its unity, its brains are the knowledge it generates, it’ s lifeblood is its ability to renew its membership, and its heart is its people. （拟人、排比）

A lie can travel round the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots. （拟人、对偶）

7.层进（Climax） 。层进是指一组词或句子按语义由弱至强的顺序平行并置，最终达到高潮或顶点的修辞格。例如英国哲学家Francis Bacon 《论读书》中的名言“Some books are to be tasted，others to be swallowed，and some few to be chewed and digested.”层进常用来加强语气，制造鼓动和激励听众的效果，因此常用于劝说性演说中。层进常和排比结构一起使用。

例如:

For myself I believe that all we have done upon this continent is but a prelude to a future in which we shall become not only a bigger people, but also a wiser people, a better people and even greater people. I believe that we shall achieve not only a higher standard of living, but also a higher standard of life. Never forget this, there is little we Americans cannot do if only we can imagine ourselves wanting to do it.（层进）

But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate ——we can not consecrate——we cannot hallow this ground. （层进、排比）

It is a test of our courage ——of our resolve——of our wisdom——of our essential democracy. （层进、排比）

But no president, no Congress, no government can undertake this mission alone. （层进、排比）

As a child he lied, as a youth he stole, as a man he killed. （层进、排比）

第二部分　案例阅读（Case Study）

No.1 My Philosophy of Life

It has been said that half of one’ s life is in God’ s hand and half is in one’ s own hand. What we need to do with our life is to win as much of God’ s portion as possible with our portion. So it’ s destined that life is a game with God. We all must learn how to be life’ s trustworthy friend so as to share and trade with god. So as to change that half-half game, so as to be the director of our life’ s play. We score in the game by gradually learning the rules of it.

I would like to review the very first time I had a social job some ten years ago. I was supposed to organize a group of kids to sell newspapers for Project Hope in the street. On the very first day, someone gave three more Yuan back to a customer and two kids got into a fierce fight arguing who sold more papers. It seemed that everything was a mess. I was so scared that I suddenly burst into tears in front of everyone. All the kids went silent. A girl patted me softly with a handkerchief and asked a very important question that I have remembered very clearly even up till now,“Why do you cry？”Yes, why？ It was not my fault to give the wrong change. It was not that I wanted to see a fight. Funny but true enough, my tears didn’ t make any sense. Thanks to this girl, I get a point in my life. I have kept asking myself “why do you cry” . It was not my idea to get a bad score in exam, to lose my favorite ring, to see my football team lose the game. I simply had no reason to cry. But I cried so hard when I waved a friend goodbye, when I see Grandpa pass away, when I watch Schindler’ s List, when I made my first breakup. I cried for good reasons. And I do things with this why-do-you-do-it question. I get to know myself better and get a clearer picture of certain circumstances. Every time I ask myself why this and that, I feel empowered as if the girl pats me softly again with that amazing“why”question.

As I was getting used to this reasoning game, something dramatic happened. One day when I talked with a friend who had decided to give up university studies for rock band career, he asked me, “Why do you have so many whys？ Life sometimes can’ t be too rational！ ” There I got stunned. I had to admit that somehow he scored in life. If we close our eyes, draw a picture of the certain position where we are out of Chaoyang District, then out of Beijing, out of China, out of Asia, out of the Earth, out of the solar system, out of galaxy and out of the infinite universe, we’ll find how tiny we are and how little we can decide with even the most advanced and accurate methods of reasoning!Life is a mysteriously beautiful thing. And everyone has his own world. Make it worthy of exploring with questions why and also why not!

Another score I have made was also because of a friend. When I once turned to her for help about how little more I could tolerate a girl bossing me around in my part-timing place, she didn’ t seem to be listening. Instead, she asked me a weird question, “Would you choose to be alone when you are very old？ ”“Of course I wouldn’ t.”I felt confused.“So you would like to company with just anyone？” “I could try to make friends with them, I guess.”I answered and I scored. Yes, why not trying to make friends with her？ What if she would be the only person by my side when I get old？ She might not be as harsh as she seems. And I was right. She told me in a very nice chat mat she knew she was a little bossy because she was so used to making sure everything was under control as the oldest kid with six other younger siblings in a fatherless family from a poor little village. She said she never dared to let anyone else at work know this. I felt so happy for her and for myself. After all, to be free to speak and share was a great progress for her and to be able to tolerate and understand was a big progress for me. We both scored!And from then on, I realized everyone needed some company no matter they are alone or not.

Such are some of the scores I have made in the game with God. I am not sure if all that accounts for the philosophy of my life. But somehow I believe everyone is a philosopher of his life, He makes a world to fit himself, a net to let others in and a system to organize his own thoughts and creation. Don’ t wait and hope God will give some of his portion to you. You can earn your portion by letting God know that you are a brilliant student in life’ s lessons and wonderful player in the game of life.

本文的中心思想是“生活是你和上帝之间的一个游戏，你必须做自己的主人，学习游戏的规则，掌握自己的命运。”开头很有效，用一句别人的言语做引子，吸引了听众的注意力:揭示了主题“Life is a game with God.” 。接下来的画线一句不仅是文章的主题句，而且还肩负承上启下的作用。但此处需要具体—些，点明在下面的演讲中将谈到哪些规则，预示给听众，使他们更清楚你的生哲学是什么。另外，开头中—直使用第一人称“we” ，但在接下来的一段中，却直接谈论自己的经历，之间缺少了一些衔接。从语言上看，由于叙述的是发生在自己身上的事，语言轻松自然、清晰易懂，更可贵的是能够用暗喻来贯穿全文。即So it’ s destined that life is a game with God…We score in the game by gradually learning the rules of it.

正文包括第2、第3和第4段。该部分结构比较完整，用三个故事来引出自己领悟到的生活真谛，合情合理，也比较自然。演讲者列举的每个实例都来源于自己生活中的重要瞬间，每个事件都令其掌握一条生活的原则，有说服力，层次也很分明。

No.2 My Philosophy of Life

Have you ever noticed that our daily life is filled with instant staff: instant coffee, instant soup, instant milk and even instant English？ You name it!It seems that we are living in an instant era, driven by an invisible force to do everything fast. This reminds me of the brilliantly light express train in the book The Little Prince. Most travelers in the train are in great hurry, not knowing what they are looking for. No one is ever satisfied with where he is. They are asleep in the train, or if they are not asleep they are yawning. Only the children are flatting their noses against windowpanes. Are you one of those travelers who are in the express train？ As the train is thundering by, do you often fail to appreciate the sight outside the window？ So why not slow down a little bit？ Sometimes, life really goes too fast.

Did you ever say “I love you”to your mom or dad, two dearest people in your life, who have been staying with you since you came to the world. No？ !You might say it is not the Chinese way of doing things, or you are too busy to do it, or you think you still have plenty of time and you will do it later, later and later… I used to think that way for I didn’ t feel comfortable with those sentimental staff. However, my view changed during the SARS break.

After returning home from Beijing, I was confined to home and dared not hang out quite often. I felt that life suddenly slowed down in a relatively small space. I spent most time with mom. Actually, the SARS break was the longest time I have ever spent with mom since junior school. My junior school was a boarding school, and the only time I spent with my family. Were weekends, which were often occupied by some additional classes？ When I was in my senior school, I followed a 6 to 9 routine. I got up at 6, rushed to breakfast and then spent the next 15 hours at school and came back home at 9, often too tired to say anything to mom or even look at her, either going to bed directly or struggling with large quantity of homework. When I am in university, my mom is l, 600 miles away from me. In the summer vacation and winter vacation, every day is preoccupied by seeing friends. One day, I happened to see a picture of a pretty young lady in an old album. “Is that you, mom？” “Yes.”“How old were you then？”“16.”I raised my eyes and met mom’ s. I could read that expression in her eyes, calm and loving. In front of me was no longer a young lady, but a woman in her 50s. Her face withered with fine wrinkles, her hair whitened a lot. Mom was getting old day by day, but I didn’ t notice it, and for so many years I hadn’ t noticed the changes of my mom, the dearest person in my life, who brought me to this world and brought me up and have been with me for almost 21 years. I remember what Thornton Wilder wrote in his play Our Town: that’ s what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance and blindness. To spend and waste time as though you had a million years.

I like the sentence “Journey is purpose” . Do not hurry to and fro, with our eyes fixed one the ground, too preoccupied with daily routines to respond to the wonder and awe of life. Slow down a little bit, leave yourself time to say to your mom or dad that how much you love them.

演讲者借亲情来说明我们应该放缓脚步，学会欣赏和珍惜生活。这是她在SARS放假期间的亲身感受，虽然不是很新颖的角度，但也是真情实感，符合其身份。演讲的中心即是该段中画线部分，但中心似乎并不具体、明确。在生活节奏如此之快的社会里，我们应该欣赏和珍惜生活一些美好的事物；但这些事物体是什么？仅仅指的是亲情吗？另外，从结构上看，如果直接用《小王子》中的故事开头会有吸引力，然后点出现代人生活节奏过快、以至丧失审美力的一些原因，这样会引起听众强的共鸣。在结尾处，作者重新强主题，呼吁人们放慢生活脚步，珍惜生活中的美好事物，由于文章并没有提到这些值得珍惜的事物，所以呼吁显得有些空泛而平淡，还只限于口号式的号召。另外画线一句“I like the sentence‘Journey is purpose’ .”这句话和文章的中心并不相关，从语言上讲，，这篇文章是演讲者所感所想，文字平和朴素，文笔流畅，用词比较准确。

No.3 The Greatest Invention in My Eyes

In the past few days, I was troubled by a really controversial question: What is the greatest invention？ I did a little survey, and was dazzled by the many brilliant ideas such as wheel, paper, clock, language, agriculture, penicillin and so on. All of them are so great that I can’ t stop admiring the power of men’innovation. However, I’ m still quite uncertain about what is the greatest invention in my eyes.

Then, this happened. I woke up late this Friday morning and what was wrong？ I couldn’ t find my glasses!How could I live without them？ Eyeglasses are always a part of me:

They are the first thing I put on when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I take off before I go to sleep. I was so terrified at the thought of walking outside my dorm, bare eyed. And suddenly, flick!The sparkles came out and I found my answer: The greatest invention in my eyes is the eyeglasses.

Just imagine what your life would be like, not being able to see images clearly or sharply. Fortunately, our great ancestors used their wisdom and invented the amazing visual aids.“Simple pairs of eyeglasses.”says psychologist Nicholas Humphrey of the New School for Social Research in New York, “have effectively doubled the active life of everyone who reads or does fine work——and prevented the world being ruled by people under 40.”He’ s certainly right, but nowadays, eyeglasses are badly needed by all age groups. Some small children need hyperopic glasses to correct their farsightedness; young students like me need myopic glasses’help to study since most of us are nearsighted; old citizens need reading glasses. Indeed, eyeglasses foster the mind-set that people need not accept the body nature gave them, and that physical limitations can be overcome with ingenuity.

What’ s more,people of special fields wear special kinds of eyeglasses. Actors and actresses wear contact lenses; athletes wear sports spectacles, steel workers wear protective glasses. And everybody needs sunglasses to protect their eyes from the harmful UV light. Nowadays, eyeglasses are not just visual aids or protective instruments, they also stand for fashion, experience and even social status.

It is said that eyes are the windows of one’ s spirit. But without eyeglasses, these windows would be too dim or misty to look through. We used to take them for granted and now it’ s time to embrace the profound impact that eyeglasses have had on us and give our sincere respect to this little thing on our noses.

文章选题的切入点新颖，最伟大的发明——眼镜，让人感到意外，视角独特，具有创造性。很多听众会觉得新奇，因此能在一开头吸引住听众的注意力。接下来她介绍了为何选定这个题目的过程，很有趣，也有说服力。演讲者描述自己苦思冥想，却在无意中发现心目中最伟大的发明——眼镜。开头吸引人，但篇幅有长，应更精炼。这篇演讲的语言具体明了，很平实。而且特别之处在于融入了一丝幽默感，营造出轻松诙谐的气氛。例如，这段中的画线部分，非常风趣，给人很深的印象，也给文章添加了幽默气氛。正文部分包括第3和第4段，层次清晰，描写了日常生活中的眼镜和特殊用途眼镜，很具体。可以看出作者做了一定的调研，分类也很清楚，层次感强。但有些论断仍需进一步支持和阐述，如该段画线部分“Nowadays, eyeglasses are not just visual aids or protective instruments, they also stand for fashion, experience and even social status.”另外，有些地方应更谨慎仔细些，应小心地限定范围。如“Actors and actresses wear contact lenses; athletes wear sports spectacles, steel workers wear protective glasses.”并不是所有的演员都戴隐形眼镜，也不是戴隐形眼镜的都是演员，所以在这里需要缩小和限定对象，更具体一些。结尾比较简洁明了，切中主题。结尾处最后一句语言很诙谐，营造了一丝幽默的氛围。

No.4 On Girls Playing Soccer

Speaking about soccer, I think everybody in this room is getting more and more excited, ah？ OK, first of all, I’ d like to call you attention that, let’ s pay attention to the sports area. What had really happened in this sports area？ First of all, I do agree that women can play soccer, because we can see in China, there are more and more women that play soccer. And there is a typical example that the women soccer team has done a better job than the men soccer team, right？ Because they are the number one in the whole world, but what about the men soccer team？ OK, there is another, some other examples in the Olympic Games. We keep saying a lot of women, the more women win the golden medals in the Olympic games, such as Fu Mingxia and Guo Jingjing. I think all of us are familiar with these guys. And the second point I’ d like to pay, call your attention to is that actually women can not only be physically strong and powerful, can also be mentally powerful. I think some women they should correct their idea about the traditional role that women play in society. They should realize that they can be teachers, because we have so many excellent judges, women judges here. And they can also be the government officials. They can also be business women if they want. And they try their best they can do a lot of good job and they can be successful in these areas. But, you know, in nowadays, the situation is not ideal, so we must pay attention to that some situation that women didn’ t completely realize their role. For example, in some company, when we are having a meeting, it seems like a routine work. It’ s always men speakers they start talking. But how about the women speakers？ They always wait for the men to start talking. May be in their mind, they do have their own idea, but they will think, “Oh my God, maybe it’ s stupid for me to say that？”So they just refuse to talk. I think this is the time for us to change the way that women see this women position. I mean first we can resort to education, t educate women. And then we can resort to these social activities to encourage women to go outside to engage in more activities, because we should know women are mother and wife. So if we educate them better, and then they will have a better education to the younger generation. But I’ d like to warn you that don’ t go so far, especially to our women, because if you go too far, you can see there are some cases of the family violence committed by the women. So please be kind to your husbands.

Thank you very much.

第三部分　课后练习（Practice）

思考与讨论（Thinking and discussion）

1. State out how to overcome stage fright.

Key Points:

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2. What is the function of vocal effects and what are they included ？

Key Points:

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3. Does rhetorical mean in English the same with Chinese？ Try to compare them with each other.

Key Points:

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4. How do we understand non-verbal Communication？

Key Points:

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应用演练（Application exercises）

Design topics: 1. The Advantages of Temporary Jobs for Students.

　　　　　　　 2. Painful Experiences will Create a Better Life.

Example 1:

he Advantages of Temporary Jobs for Students

Nowadays, a lot of college students are working as tutors, tour guides or doing whatever job they can find during their vacations. Those who have such temporary work often says, “By doing part-time jobs, we have broadened our vision and gained some experience.”Since most students enter college as soon as he finishes high school, they lack real world social experience. When they graduate from college, they often find that the outside world is not as simple as they thought and have difficulty in adjusting themselves to reality. Many students find that doing a temporary job is a good way to solve this problem. While working, they learn how to deal with different people and situations. Gradually, they increase their knowledge and deepen their understanding of society.

Temporary jobs can also help students improve their academic studies. My own experience is an example. When I was a college student, a friend asked me to help him with his spoken English. When I saw the teaching material, I felt a little apprehensive. It was something like TOEFL, and I had not had any practical experience with it. However, I accepted the job. Every time before teaching him, I would listen to the tape again and again in order to get everything clear. It was time-consuming and troublesome, however, I later found my own listening comprehension improved too.

If one works as a tutor, he ought to understand everything in the texts he is doing, or he may not be able to answer students’questions. If one serves as a tour guide, he should know something about places of historic interest and scenic beauty. Whatever job is may be, one has to learn in order to be qualified.

Temporary jobs can also provide students with pocket money. Nowadays, the living expenses of college students are high. Girls like to have fashionable clothes, while boys want good sneakers and T-shirts. The pay from a temporary job can cover these expenses.

Also, temporary jobs can make students feel self-reliant. “I feel rather ashamed every time I receive money from home. I am no longer a child, yet I still have to be supported by my parents.”Such words are often heard on campus. Young people talk a lot about independence. They are aware that if one is not economically independent, one cannot enjoy true independence.

As economic reform is being carried out, the number of students taking temporary jobs is increasing.

Example 2:

Painful Experiences will Create a Better Life

Everything in the world has its positive and negative sides. It is a fact of life. Some may be very lucky and successful during their life while others may not. For those who are not fortunate, they may suffer painful experiences. However, these painful experiences may create an inner strength that enables them to bring about a better life. Overcoming painful experiences can give people the power to change negativity into positivity.

Painful experiences make people face reality and acknowledge their shortcomings. In the end, they will find where the problems lie in and figure out how to solve them. Thomas Alva Edison, the great American inventor, had failed more than one thousand times in his experiments before the light bulb was invented. He was successful after tasting the bitterness of failure. He persevered through hardships, and eventually brought brightness into people’ s lives.

A painful experience can give people a high moral standard and inner strength. They will be more tenacious than before. The more difficult a problem is, the more they must grow to overcome it. Why do most of the students in mountain areas study so hard, and why are they able to go to good universities having lived through hardship？ They can achieve these things because they have suffered painful experiences, and know the bitterness of hard life. So, they make every effort, and do their best to create a better life for themselves.

Life is full of changes and has its bitterness and happiness. It should be stressed that painful experiences are not terrible, but a source of strength. Just hold the correct attitude towards it and tackle it bravely with persistence. Don’ t give up. Don’ t escape. Work hard and go all out to achieve success. Treasure everyday, appreciate the sun, and the love around you. Going through a painful experience is like being in the winter of your life. Try to remember that spring is not far away.