Stepping onto the podium, my memory flashes back rapidly to six years ago, when, for the first time I entered for an English speech contest. It was made up of two parts; a prepared speech and an improvised talk. Being a novice, I was so nervous that when I was delivering my speech, I got stuck in the middle and had to rush to the end of it.

I was very depressed and couldn't even concentrate on the unfinished contest as though all hope was gone. Then I saw my teacher approaching me with a smile. I blushed and murmured.

“Sorry, Madam. I didn't do very well.”

“It’s all right, it’s not the end yet, you can still do your best.”

“My best?”

“Yes, It's all up to you, say ‘I can do it’. I am sure you will come out the best.”

“I CAN DO MY BEST!”

The five syllables sounded like a delicate hand strum on the harp. All at once, I realized the true meaning of my presence— trust myself, try my best. Instantly I was tilled with confidence and excitement.

I returned to the contest in high spirit. This time I had com-pletely freed myself from the limitations of preparation. I talked fluently and humorously and finally edged my way to champi-onship.

For the first time in my life, I discovered my confidence and savored the power of its beauty.

That was six years ago, and six years later, I am standing here and addressing you, my dear audience, with the fundamental faith in life—confidence—believe ourselves, try our best!

With confidence, we hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope;

With confidence, we leave the wild desert of doubt for the oasis of determination;

With confidence, we salute a bright day to end a miserable night of defeat;

With confidence, we fight the good fight and true, believing we will accomplish our mission one day;

With confidence, we face each and every challenge of today and tomorrow with a smile on our faces.

A bandage for sorrow.

A trigger for creation.

Confidence—the greatest gift of every man!

点评:

Excellent use of tension, building to a climax with “I discovered: my confidence”, then returning to the present and summing up with very poetical and visionary statements about the topic and a concluding phrase.

指导教师: Abraham O’ Farrell

My overall impression of this speech is the enthusiasm and passion it's stirring up. He has a definite purpose when he speaks and keeps it in mind; He catches the audience's attention at the very beginning with a vivid illustration—his own experience six years before. The topic is too large, but he skillfully narrows it to a certain extent. The use of direct conversation is more interesting and lively than an indirect statement. Grasping the last chance to drive home his main idea, in his conclusion, he uses parallel struc-ture to build his speech to its climax. The parallel structure uses action-packed words such as hew, leave, salute, fight, face. Com-parison is also used: despair, hope, desert, oasis, bright day, miser-able night. Parallelism and conscious repetition adds smoothness and power to the speech. In a word, this is a well-organized speech.

指导教师：刘玉恩