第8届21世纪杯全国英语演讲比赛冠军顾秋蓓A Scene to Remember（prepared speech）

第8届•南京

演讲主题：旅游与生态环保：在旅游中培养环保意识

2003 Session, Nanjing Topic: Tourism and Ecology:Learning Through Travel

冠军：顾秋蓓，上海外国语大学 

Champion: Gu Qiubei, Shanghai International StudiesUniversity

演讲题目：难忘的一幕

Title：A Scene to Remember

第8届21世纪杯全国英语演讲比赛冠军顾秋蓓演讲稿

A Scene to Remember

顾秋蓓：上海外国语大学选手，第8届21世纪杯全国英语演讲比赛冠军。

资料来源：21世纪英文网，并由Victor（微信号：victorbund）编辑、整理、校对 。

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen！

Today I would like to begin with a story. There was once a physicaltherapist who traveled all the way from America to Africa to do a census aboutmountain gorillas. These gorillas are a main attraction to tourists from allover the world; this put them severely under threat of poaching and being putinto the zoo. She went there out of curiosity, but what she saw strengthenedher determination to devote her whole life to fighting for those beautifulcreatures. She witnessed a scene, a scene taking us to a place we never imagedwe've ever been, where in the very depth of the African rainforest, surroundedby trees, flowers and butterflies, the mother gorillas cuddled their babies.

Yes, that's a memorable scene in one of my favorite movies, calledGorillas in the Mist, based on a true story of Mrs. Diana Fossey, who spentmost of her lifetime in Rwanda to protect the ecoenvironment there until thevery end of her life.

To me, the movie not only presents an unforgettable scene but alsoacts as a timeless reminder that we should not develop the tourist industry atthe cost of our eco-environment.

Today, we live in a world of prosperity but still threatened by somany new problems. On the one hand, tourism, as one of the most promisingindustries in the 21st century, provides people with the great opportunity tosee everything there is to see and to go any place there is to go. It hasbecome a lifestyle for some people, and has turned out to be the driving forcein GDP growth. It has the magic to turn a backward town into a wonderland ofprosperity. But on the other hand, many problems can occur - natural scenesaren't natural anymore. Deforestation to heat lodges are devastating Nepal. Oilspills from tourist boats are polluting Antarctica. Tribal people are forsakingtheir native music and dress to listen to U2 on Walkman and wear Nike and Reeboks.

All these appalling facts have brought us to the realization that wecan no longer stand by and do nothing, because the very thought of it has beeneroding our resources. Encouragingly, the explosive growth of global travel hasput tourism again in the spotlight, which is why the United Nations has made2002 the year of ecotourism, for the first time to bring to the world'sattention the benefits of tourism, but also its capacity to destroy ourecoenvironment.

Now every year, many local ecoenvironmental protection organizationsare receiving donations - big notes, small notes or even coins - fromhousewives, plumbers, ambulance drivers, salesmen, teachers, children andinvalids. Some of them cannot afford to send the money but they do. These arethe ones who drive the cabs, who nurse in hospitals, who are suffering fromecological damage in their neighborhood. Why? Because they care. Because theystill want their Mother Nature back. Because they know it still belongs tothem.

This kind of feeling that I have, ladies and gentlemen, is when itfeels like it, smells like it, and looks like it , it's all coming from a sceneto be remembered, a scene to recall and to cherish.

The other night, as I saw the moon linger over the land and beforeit was sent into the invisible, my mind was filled with songs. I found myselfhumming softly, not to the music, but to something else, someplace else, aplace remembered, a place untouched, a field of grass where no one seemed tohave been except the deer.

And all those unforgettable scenes strengthened the feeling thatit's time for us to do something, for our own and our coming generation.

Once again, I have come to think of Mrs. Diana Fossey， because it is with her spirit,passion, courage and strong sense of our ecoenvironment that we are taking ournext step into the world.

And no matter who we are, what we do and where we go, in our minds,there's always a scene to remember, a scene worth our effort to protect it andfight for it.

Thank you very much！