李嘉卿：深圳大学选手，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：深圳大学大三学生；主修英语，金融双学位。

演讲稿：

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, let’s play a game. I am going to raise a question for you. If you have the correct answer in your mind before I disclose it, then you win. Listen carefully. What is the strongest belief in the world?

I knew a man who used to tell me stories about his life. He was a poor man who was born during a war, grew up in war time and unfortunately was dragged to another war just after he got married. He originally thought he would die during that war. But as he always told me it was the strongest belief in the world that saved him from early death.

In 1952, the man was 25 years old. Though he had suffered the horrors of wars, he finally made it through those hard times. He had a wonderful family, a beautiful wife and a lovely baby. Suddenly, the Korean War broke out. As a soldier, he and his wife were surely aware what the war could mean to them. When the man set off to the front line, his wife told him this, “I give you the strongest belief in the world and with this I know you will be back”. During a battle, the man was shot in the chest. His mate thought he would be another one added to the death list. The man told me that at the crucial moment he saw the sweet smile of his beloved wife and heard his baby crying “Papa, Papa”. Tenaciously clinging to the belief shared with his wife, he miraculously survived.

This poor but lucky guy was my grandfather. He did come back after the war and would always tell about the strongest belief that kept him alive in those dark times. I was never good at making small talk with him so when he passed away 5 years ago I never had the chance to ask him seriously what that strongest belief was. This time, he wasn’t coming back. So after that, I began searching for what my grandfather’s legacy really meant. What is the strongest belief in the world, ladies and gentlemen?

Last year, I was an interpreter for a Korean businessman for several weeks. I noticed every night he would take a picture of his wife and daughter from his wallet. Carefully, he polished the picture as if he were touching their real faces gently. I asked how long he had been away from home. He sighed it was already a few months. But he emphasized that before he left home, his wife told him about the strongest belief in the world, which meant he would certainly be back. It was this phrase again—the strongest belief in the world. But this time, I realized what it really meant.

The strongest belief is like a round-trip ticket, it may take you away at times, but it will always bring you back to where you started from. It was this ticket that brought my grandfather back to his wife. It was this ticket that sent the Korean businessman back to his family. And, it is on this ticket, where it reads: your destination—home. So, ladies and gentlemen, the strongest belief in the world is simply—home.

Because of this belief, soldiers are willing to pick up guns. Because of this belief, sailors go on the longest voyage. Because of this belief, we have the courage to face any difficulty. Because we are sure tomorrow, whether success or failure, this belief will guide us home.