Chapter 229

Wednesday, the weather was beautiful.

Xiao Qi got up early to go for a run while continuing to listen to speeches.

Yesterday, she compiled a list of the top ten famous speeches in history. Some of them had videos, although they were in black and white. Some videos couldn't be found, but there were audio recordings available.

The speeches that have been preserved until now must have deeply moved countless people. It's not just because they aligned with the prevailing ideologies at the time, but also because of the art of oratory within them. Xiao Qi believed that even if she didn't participate in a speech competition, memorizing the contents of these ten speeches would allow her to learn more English expression styles and accumulate new vocabulary.

An outstanding speech is not merely a speech; it can even change the course of a nation's history. Speeches can be weapons, as well as a healing balm for people.

Ranked first is Winston Churchill's speech "We Shall Fight on the Beaches," delivered in June 1940 during World War II. At that time, Churchill had just become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and learned that France was about to surrender. He delivered an important address, affirming that even if France was on the brink of defeat, Britain would continue to fight.

It was an incredibly inspiring speech: "We shall never surrender, we shall never retreat, we shall fight on until the end... We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be."

Listening to it, Xiao Qi felt a surge of passion and wished she could immediately join the battlefield. Even though she was currently in a time of peace, she couldn't help but have her emotions stirred, as if she was witnessing a crisis on the battlefield. Young soldiers should always be ready to fight to the end, never to retreat.

That feeling persisted even after listening to it several times, as if it possessed a magical power. Xiao Qi listened to it multiple times and even recited it, but she couldn't quite recreate that same feeling. Perhaps her emotional resonance was lacking. Nevertheless, the sentences within the speech were truly remarkable. The use of parallelism during the speech was highly effective in arousing emotions.

Ranked second is Abraham Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg in 1863. President Lincoln had been actively working towards the emancipation of black people. When he delivered this speech, it was during the American Civil War. Although Xiao Qi didn't strongly resonate with it due to different political backgrounds, she could sense the sincerity and heartfelt nature of Lincoln's speech. Some of the phrases she memorized were still unfamiliar, possibly due to the linguistic differences of that time. However, the entire speech flowed smoothly and was very easy to remember.

The third speech is one that Xiao Qi is quite familiar with from her school days—Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Because she had memorized it before, listening to it now still evoked strong emotions. The passion was still present, and even today, it resonated deeply.

"I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, up on the hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood... We will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day..."

Freedom and equality—an aspiration that still holds true today. Throughout different periods of human history, the pursuit of varying degrees of freedom and equality has remained constant.

This speech is quite long, but it's the one that resonates with Xiao Qi the most.

Xiao Qi used to recite selected excerpts during class, but now she was listening to the complete version, which had a lot of content from beginning to end.

Starting from the greetings at the beginning of the speech to its conclusion.

The content was a bit lengthy. In the school speeches, Xiao Qi checked and found a time limit of three to ten minutes.

The three-minute basic limit was probably in place to prevent students from randomly choosing a short passage to recite and finishing it in less than three minutes, without knowing what to say.

As she listened to these speeches, Xiao Qi pondered while jogging. Speaking was different from reading; it required profound emotions to move others. Those foreign politicians were passionate and inspiring when campaigning, making people want to vote immediately.

There were also those young boys and girls in talent shows who, after singing a song, would passionately talk about their own experiences. Some of their speeches were so touching that they would shed tears, driving their fans crazy and prompting them to vote.

For Xiao Qi, winning the speech competition was challenging. She wasn't an outgoing person, nor was she someone who cried easily or could evoke strong emotions. In terms of personality, she was actually more introverted and reserved. She was a Capricorn, and she always felt like a straightforward and hardworking person, not good at promoting herself. She had deep grievances, and she had no relation to being lively and adorable. With this kind of personality, it was indeed difficult to move people through a speech.

The content of the speech couldn't be copied from the internet because the articles copied wouldn't truly belong to her, and the emotions wouldn't be her own.

Xiao Qi ran circle after circle, thinking about how famous speeches in history could help her. However, the topics were too broad. Her current identity was only that of a student. She considered whether she could talk about her experience in learning English during this period.

Starting from the end of the college entrance examination, she opened the first volume of the New Concept English textbooks. She started with the easy lessons and went on to the difficult ones. During one vacation, she thoroughly studied all four volumes of the New Concept English textbooks. Every day, she memorized at least 30 English words. She utilized fragmented time to study, read the original texts while comparing them to the books, listened to audio lessons, and sang English songs. In college, she could make use of the English corner and the foreign teachers in her class to actively engage in communication.

Learning English wasn't as simple as she had imagined, nor was it as difficult as she had imagined.

Xiao Qi believed that her method of learning English could be emulated. In reality, if she had started putting in this much effort earlier, her English would have been better. Previously, she learned English because she had exams and assignments to do, and she was afraid of criticism from her teachers. She didn't take the initiative to speak. But once she started actively learning, everything changed completely. The feeling of excitement and eagerness during active learning was remarkable. Learning more things made her feel more fulfilled and motivated her to continue learning.

Moreover, even if she started learning now, it wouldn't be too late, and in fact, it was never too late at any time.

She still remembered an article she read during a tutoring interview, which deeply moved her. Every moment of the present could be seen as a return to the youthful past when one is old and gray. As long as one is willing to start making efforts, it would be a new beginning, leading to a completely different future.

With a rough idea of the topic in her mind, Xiao Qi wasn't too anxious. After finishing her run, she stretched and exercised, following the methods taught by her personal trainer every day.

Xiao Qi no longer has the problem of hunching and having a concave chest. Her personality hasn't really changed, but at least her appearance has improved. She now stands tall and even her buttocks are slightly more rounded and lifted than before. However, she doesn't pay much attention to these changes because she doesn't constantly look at herself in the mirror like Mier does. She feels confident and that's what matters to her.

Today's schedule is quite packed. In the morning, there are classes on macroeconomics and calculus, followed by marketing in the afternoon, and a general education class. Previously, they had a session on college student mental health education, and now it's mostly attending various lectures, somewhat resembling the conscription of able-bodied men.

Professor Shao, who teaches macroeconomics, is young and gives average lectures, but he prepares his lessons diligently.

Teacher Lu, who teaches calculus, is someone Xiao Qi really likes. Because of her fondness for the teacher, this class also seems particularly interesting to her, far from being dull.