蔡正轩：华东理工大学选手，第16届21世纪杯全国英语演讲比赛二等奖获奖者。

个人简介：我是一个凡事都比较乐观的人，总是把事物往好的方面思考，待人热情，真诚，有团队协作精神。

演讲稿：

When talking about faith and belief, two words will immediately appear in our mind: ‘piety’&’loyalty’. Unfortunately, in our daily life, they can hardly be found,because now in the rapid development of China, most of us show our piety and loyalty only to one word ‘rapidity’.We’ve witness splendid buildings and skyscrapers springing up, aircrafts and spaceships rising into sky, taking away our patience and perseverance. Thus ‘rapidity” has turned into ‘impatience’. Yet, my experience has told me that not everything can be carried out in such a fantastic speed, and it’s time for us to come down to earth.

When I was a high school student, my math teacher often described us as those who wanted to reap without sowing. We are, in his words, “an impetuous generation’. At that time, I didn’t take this warning seriously, because despite the fact that I didn’t study hard enough, my performance in the examinations were quite satisfactory. But after the first semester in the university, I began to admire the insightfulness of my math teacher. I had to admit that I was impetuous.

In the first semester, there was no improvement in the way I studied. What made it even worse is that the fundamental theory of many subjects which sounds quite simple built an illusion in my mind: the study in the university demands no pains. And in the following several months, I found my mind constantly wondering in class, holding that a few exercises alone were enough for me to pass the exam. So as you may have expected, I got what I deserved: Being flunked in the midterm examination. It was really a terrible blow and it never occurred to me that I would fail in the exam. Thanks to this lesson, I finally realized the importance of the down-to-earth spirit. There is no short cut because more haste, less speed. I used to have instant noodles for lunch in order to save time, but it harmed my health and will shorten my life span if I continue doing so. I used to drink instant coffee to stay up late, but the consequence was that I got up late. I used to attend cramming school and intensive classes, yet I learnt nothing but how to pass the exam, and as a result, the ability to solve real problems was lagged behind.

To compensate for my failure in the first half semester, I exerted much more efforts in my courses, trying to understand every single principle or theory of them. And finally the down-to-earth spirit enabled me to reap the scholarship that year.

 So ladies and gentlemen, in the rapid development of China, the down-to-earth spirit shall never be forgotten. Even high-rises and skyscrapers need a solid foundation, and aircrafts need a long runway to take off. The same would be true to our own future. The faith in down-to-earth spirit will never fail us, and I believe the end will justify the means.

Thank you.