感恩之心Heart of thanksgiving

 　　Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, honorable judges and distinguished¹ guest! This is Alex time! Ha-ha…My topic today is to show our gratitude² to people around you.

　　Then what is gratitude? At the moment a well-known song comes into my mind. Yes, that is called Heart of feel grateful. My heart is filled up with gratitude because I’m with you/Your make me courageous³ to be myself from cradle to the grave/So now I wanna thank for destiny/I’ll cherish the flower when it blooms until falls. The poetic⁴ lyric⁵ tells us that gratitude is actually a state of mind.

　　Once upon a time, the Pilgrims took the May Flower Ship to North America. They started a new life there although a lot of difficulties and hardships they encountered. After a long-time work, they got a big harvest. The Pilgrims had a feast in 1621 near Plymouth, Massachusetts, which is often referred to as the first Thanksgiving. People show their sincere gratitude towards the God, the nature, the earth, the river, the Indians and themselves. Moreover the 1621 feast has become a model for the Thanksgiving celebration in the United States. So we can see gratitude is an action to take.

　　How can we express our gratitude? It’s never a simple question to answer. Gratitude is a rare jewel, not a piece of cake, I know. But how can we expect such big events happening now and then? How can we be ready to say thank you ahead of time? How can we always hope to be grateful to everything and everyone for their dignity and generosity⁶? Sometimes I may ask to myself. Is it moral? Is it honest? Is it beneficial? Is it necessary? Or the most interesting one, is it ridiculous? Ha-ha…So in my opinion, we’d better concentrate on our life’s details. Keep your eyes open to your daily life. Yes! A shining smile is supposed to be gratitude. A thank-you note is supposed to be gratitude. A soulful watch is supposed to be gratitude. As far as a baby’s crying on his arrival is supposed to be gratitude. And even fallen leaves in autumn are supposed to be gratitude. So the person, who stands here giving you a speech, is also showing HIS gratitude.

　　At last, what’s the significance of showing our gratitude? A proverb says that Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. Wow! Until now I am not that kind of giant, but I dare to say that everyone, you and me, has the right and the duty to show our gratitude to the world, no matter rich or poor, happy or sad, young or old. Only by doing so can we achieve our human ultimate concern. Meanwhile it obviously helps to build up a harmonious⁷ society. Under the same sky we enjoy the same sunshine and appreciate the same love due to thanking and caring each other. Well, does it Plato’s paradise?

　　All in all, a world full of gratitude is preciously expected for thousands of years. Why not show our gratitude to people around you?

　　Thank you very much!

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

3 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

4 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

5 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

6 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

7 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。