沈雪悦：澳门理工学院选手，第17届21世纪杯全国英语演讲比赛三等奖获得者。

演讲稿：

Ladies and Gentlemen:

When I first saw this speech topic, I felt extremely confused about the word “humanism”, and I’m sure I was not alone! On “Wikipedia”, I found too much information! Then I looked on “Dictionary.com” which was much more helpful. Humanism is defined as thoughts or actions in which human interests, values, and dignity predominate. Now we’re clear about that, what role exactly does humanism have in today’s technologically advanced world?

Let me begin by asking you a question: how many people here have logged onto their Renren or Weibo accounts in the past 24 hours? Raise your hand. Me too! And have you looked at photographs posted by friends and family? Same here! There is no denying the impact of the Internet on the human race. Combined with digital photography and popular websites like Renren and Weibo, we are sharing interests with each other more than ever. Take me, for example, as a freshman studying in Macau. Although only living in Macau for just a few months, I have already absorbed so many new and interesting things into my life. Moreover, I have developed strong relationships with my fellow classmates. How was this all possible? Thanks to the photos my new friends posted on their social networking pages, I quickly became familiar with my new life and found we share the same interests. Likewise, my newfound friends found out more about me due to this amazing technology.

We all know about the story of the black bears, don’t we? Millions of people are enraged because of the terrible things done to the bears for the sake of what some people call medicine. And how did we, learn of these cruel acts? Well, for many of us it was through pictures we saw online. After seeing these shocking images our sense of justice was reawakened, as strong as ever. That is to say our values about right and wrong have been reaffirmed, even though we did not witness this cruelty with our own eyes. I believe we should be proud of the universal values we share in preventing such cruel behavior.

Picture this: there is an old lady, sitting on the ground, and before her, are some simple goods such as cigarette lighters and string. In another picture, we can see an elderly man playing a flute while he sells sweet potatoes on the side of the street. These are images of the elderly who struggle to make a modest living relying on basic transactions. After seeing these pictures, I really admired the dignity shown by these seniors in the face of adversity. People around the world are confronted by challenges, some insignificant and others immense. From the elderly surviving day-to-day challenges, to those having to rebuild their lives after natural disasters such as the recent ones right here in Yunnan, dignity enables people to cope as they face life's challenges.

There is no doubt that advanced technology is an essential part of our lives now. And thanks to it, we have the chance to share freely. Specifically, the power of technology enables us to share our humanism across boundaries and borders. It helps us to share our interests, express shared values, and, most importantly, appreciate what dignity is. Thank you!