we are a normal member of the big family of nature
by wang yonghui(主永晖 北京对外经济贸易大学)
专家点评:演讲者围绕环境污染的严重性作了一次次的说明。文章的结构严谨，也很有层次感。
honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen. today，we are gathering here to discuss a very hot issue. how to find harmony in a new age between man and nature? where modern science and technology are concerned i am only a layman i have to say. however, living in this "new age" , seeing my dear ones suffering from respiratory diseases from time to time, finding the beautiful colors of green and blue are being replaced by that of gray and pale, and realizing that our mother planet is getting more and more unhealthy; i can't help trying to offer my idea and my trivial efforts to look for the answer of the question.
as the ancient greek oracle goes: know thyself. i think in answering this above-mentioned question, this precondition is also very important.
who are we? this is a question, which should be answered not only by those specialists, but also by every one of human beings.
some people may proudly say: we are the masters of nature. it is true that the idea of "man can conquer nature" has dominated people's mind for years, and it is true, man has kept acting like a master and doing whatever things he wants for thousands of years. however, as the consequence of this kind of "leadership" , now the "master" seems to be confronted with problems that are far beyond his control. facts are really very ample. the
green house effect leaves islands and cities along the coast, such as this oriental pearl-shanghai, in danger of the disaster of being drowned; the holes of the ozone layer make the earth less suitable to live for some creatures including human beings; the phenomena of el nino and la nina leave the land with serious flood and drought, and the diseases, caused by pollution, are increasing at an incredible speed... seeing all these facts, can we still ignore the counterattack of nature? we are not the masters of nature. facing all the disasters made by ourselves, we, mankind as a whole should realize that we are just a normal member of the big family of nature. any mistreatment towards nature will meet only with the revenge from her.
by saying so, i do not mean we should give a sudden stop to any development. because that will result in a threat to the existence of human society. i mean we should treat nature equally, leaving the chance of existence and development to nature as we are obtaining the same thing, and thus we will get the situation of win-win.
i am very pleased to find that now more and more people, from every corner of the planet, have come to realize that harmony with nature is the only way to universal and continuous progress and prosperity. and i think that is why we come here from all over the country to discuss this topic today.
i want to end my speech by quoting from mr. nixon. "our destiny offers, not the cup of despair, but the chalice of opportunity." the future is not ours to see of course. however, by seizing firmly the opportunities, by knowing clearly about ourselves, we, human beings, can doubtlessly achieve the real harmony with nature!
thank you.
译文:我们只是自然大家庭中普通的一员
尊敬的评委，女士们、先生们。今天我们聚在一起讨论一个热门的话题:如何在新时代找到人与自然的和谐?谈到科学技术，我必须承认，我是个门外汉。但是，生活在这个“新时代”，看着自己亲爱的人时刻遭受呼吸疾病的折磨，看着美丽的蓝色和绿色被灰色和苍白所代替，意识到我们的地球母亲正越来越不健康，我忍不住要提出自己的主张，奉献微薄的力量，去寻找这一问题的答案。
古希腊有这样一个神谕:了解自己。我想在回答上述的问题时，这一先决条件是很重要的。
我们是谁?这是一个间题，不仅应由专家来回答，而且应该由每一个人来回答。
也许有人会自豪地说:我们是自然的主人。许多年来，“人定胜天”这一观念已在许多人心中根深蒂固，这是事实。长期以来，人类以主人的姿态随心所欲、为所欲为，这也是事实。不过，这种“主导”的后果是，今天所谓的“主人”面临着自己无法控制的问题。证据是充足的。温室效应使岛屿和沿海城市，比如上海这颗东方明珠等，处于被海水侵吞的灾难危机之中;臭氧层的空洞使得地球不再适宜于居住，对其他动物如此，对人类也一样;厄尔尼诺现象和拉尼那现象使地球早涝成灾;污染所导致的疾病正以惊人的速度传播着……看到这些现象，我们还能无视这自然的反击吗?我们不是自然的主人。面对着自己造成的灾难，我们，整个人类，应该意识到我们只是自然大家族中普通的一员。任何对自然的虐待只能遭到来自自然的报复。
我这样说，并不是指我们应该马上停止发展。因为这会导致对人类社会生存的威胁。我指的是我们应该平等地对待自然，给自然以生存和发展的机会，就像我们自身所寻求的一样。只有这样，我们才会有一个皆大欢喜的境况。
我很高兴地发现来自地球各个地方的越来越多的人，正逐步意识到与自然的和谐是不断繁荣进步的出路。这就是今天我们从全国吝地汇集在此讨论这一话题的原因。
我想引用尼克松先生的话来结束我的发言:“我们的命运给予的不是失望之杯，是机遇之博。”当然，未来不是我们能够预测的。不过，紧紧抓住机遇，清楚地了解自己，我们人类，就一定能达成与自然的和楷，谢谢。
