ladies and gentlemen:
i am honored to be standing here to deliver a speech entitled “friendship”.
the hero's mother in the movie forrest gump says, “life is a box of chocolates”. i would say that life, with friendship, true friendship particularly, is sweet as honey. it is moonlight cast on the tranquility of a lake on a mid-fall night, enchanting to the soul. it is morning dew on rose petals, pleasant and pleasing to the sense of sight. it is cosy fire on a bitterly cold winter night, warming the heart.
but as helen foster snow remarks, “friendship is no common weed that grows along the way. it's highly cultivated and watered day by day.” like an infant, it needs constant care; like a young tree, it can not be left to the tender mercies of severe weather. true friendship consists more in “a friend in need” to give to than “a friend in need” to take from. a true friend is a person who can be turned to, who is ready to lend a listening ear, who is willing to share feelings.
friendship should be mutual, otherwise it will be subject to withering like plant in drought. like genuine love, true friendship has to be a two way experience. be it the former or the latter, if one expects to be solely on the receiving end, then s/he will be too optimistic about it: it is hoping against hope that it will last. love or friendship of this kind is dangerous, as it is contaminated by the dark matter in human nature – selfishness.
not infrequently does friendship need to be cared and tended, fostered and nourished, so that it will “stand at every crossroad, so good and strong and true”.
thank you!
女士們，先生們：
在此，我很榮幸地為你們做一次名為“友誼”的演講。
在電影《阿甘正傳》中，這位主人公的母親曾說過：“生活就像一盒朱古力。”我想說，擁有友誼，特別是真摯友誼的生活就像蜜一樣甜。友誼像似水的月光，瀉在中秋之夜寧靜的河水上，令人陶醉。友誼如掛在玫瑰花瓣上那晨曦的露水，賞心悅目。友誼又如寒冷的冬夜中熾熱的火焰，溫暖了你的心靈。
但是，正如helen foster snow所說：“友誼不是那撒在路邊的種子。它需要每天的精心呵護與澆灌。”友誼似一個嬰兒，它需精心照料;友誼似一棵樹，它不能被遺棄在沒有絲毫憐憫與同情的嚴酷的環境中。真摯的友誼更多是在於對摯友的付出而不是索取。一個願意幫助你，一個隨時準備聆聽你述說，一個願意和你分享感受的人才是真正的朋友。
友誼應當是雙向的，否則它就會像遇乾旱而即將毀滅的植株。就像真誠的愛，真摯的友誼必須是一種雙向的經歷。但無論是前者還是後者，如果一個人指望只獲取而不付出，那么她/他對此也未免太樂觀，而希望這樣的友誼會長久也只是空想。這樣的愛情或友誼是危險的，因為它已被人性的陰暗面--自私所玷污。
只有精心的呵護與照料，養育和栽培，才能讓友誼“站在每個十字路口時，都是那么美好、那么堅強、那么真摯。”
謝謝!