5月23日周一，早晨8点45左右，常州外国语学校按照惯例举行升国旗仪式并进行国旗下的讲话。本次为2016年学期第14次升国旗仪式，仪式完毕后由国际部外教主管Matt进行国旗下的讲话，他从关键词“全球化”引向演讲主题“心怀梦想，从这里走向世界”，高二A LEVEL(1)班的王智慧同学用甜美响亮的声音为他的演讲进行了翻译。

Matt在演讲中提出，全球化正在进行，在此过程中沟通问题凸显，尽管汉语是目前世界上很流行的语言之一，但是英语依旧非常重要，是世界通用商务语言。随着全球化进程，单纯会说英语已经无法满足社会的需要，除此之外还要懂得英语语言国家的文化，Matt对此举了一个跨国公司招聘员工的例子来说明。他认为想要做到了解英语语言国家的文化，除了学习书本知识外，更大程度上的学习还是需要去到当地生活和观察，通过与生活在本地的拥有该文化的人们进行互动交流来进行深入的了解。这也就是为什么那么多同学想要出国，上国际班为出国做准备，“他们希望在这个竞争激烈的世界拥有一种优势。”

演讲之初，Matt用汉语进行自我介绍，说自己是韩裔美国人，然后临场发挥说自己是“欧巴”，迎来现场同学及老师们的阵阵笑声，之后在演讲中虽然主要是使用英语，但是熟稔的使用目前国内的网络流行文化，比如连着说三遍“Learning English is not enough.”然后再用汉语说上一句“重要的事情说三遍”，其幽默的演讲风格受大家欢迎。

以下为演讲全文（中英文对照）

5月23日国旗下的讲话

演讲：国际部外教主管      Matt

翻译：国际部高二（1）班   王智慧

It’s an honor to be here with you today. I would like to thank the school leaders for inviting me. It is also an honor to speak to some of the brightest minds in Changzhou. From my understanding, this school is one of the best in Changzhou city. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you today. I know my time is short so I would like to briefly speak about a topic that I think is important to you, as well as myself.

非常荣幸今天能站在这里，我想感谢学校领导的邀请。能够跟常州最聪明的一群孩子们交流是我的荣幸，因为我知道常外是常州最好的中学。感谢今天让我来做这次国旗下讲话。因为时间有限，所以我想简单聊一个话题，我想这个话题对于你们，也对于我，都很重要。

Before I get ahead of myself, I would like to introduce myself.

You may have seen me in the halls of the school.

My name is Matt.

I’m Korean-American.

I grew up in California and had a really fun and enjoyable childhood.

When I was your age I was spending my free time hiking in the mountains and surfing in the ocean.

I did my university studies in Hawaii. While studying international business I became attracted to China. It was so big and everyone, especially my professors, told me that China was going to be the next big superpower.

After working for some large businesses, I came to China…and I became even more enraptured with this country and its people.

演讲之前，请允许我先介绍一下自己。你们也许在校园里见到过我。我叫Matt，是个韩裔美国人。我在美国加州长大，有一个非常有趣和快乐的童年。当我像你们这么大的时候，我经常去爬山，去冲浪。我在夏威夷念的大学，在学习国际商务时，我开始对中国感兴趣。中国很大，而且每个人，尤其是我的老师们都告诉我说中国将是下一个超级大国。在几所大型公司工作之后，我来到了中国，渐渐地，我对这个国家以及这里的人们愈发着迷。

I want to briefly talk about a word: globalization.

What does that mean? More importantly, what does it mean for you and your future?

I’ll tell you what it means…

Look at your shoes

Where do your shoes come from?

(Have them look at their shoes)

我想简要地谈一个词：全球化。

它是什么意思呢？更重要的是，对于你们和你们的未来，它有什么样的含义？

我来告诉你们这是什么意思？

请大家看看你们的鞋子。

你们的鞋子都产自哪里？

So why is this word relevant with today’s topic of “Dreams and Entering the World”

It’s obvious. Often times, products are designed in one country and assembled in another. For example, Apple phones are designed in the California and they are made in…Where? China?

Whether you like it or not, globalization is coming to you.

那么，这个词跟今天的主题“心怀梦想，从这里走向世界”有什么关系呢？很明显。现在很多商品都是在一个国家设计，而在另一个国家进行制作或装配。比如苹果手机就在美国加州设计的，但在哪儿生产的呢？就在我们中国。不管是否愿意，全球化正在向你们走来。

In today’s competitive world you need to be able to communicate with various countries. If you want to get something done we need to be able to communicate with others. I recently looked up on Wikipedia the two most popular languages in the world. They are Chinese and English.

That’s great news!!! You already speak one of those languages.

在当今竞争激烈的世界里，我们需要能够与各国进行沟通。如果想要完成事情，我们需要能够与他人沟通。最近，我在维基百科上查到目前世界上最流行的两种语言是除了英语，就是汉语。这对大家来说可是个好消息！因为你们已经会讲这两种语言中的一种了。

And the other great news is that you are learning the other language. Do you realize how great your opportunity is in the future if you learn both Chinese and English?

English is currently the language of business. If you want to get anything done, English is usually the go-to-language for communication.

而另一个好消息是，你们现在正在学习剩下的另外一种语言——英语。如果你们既精通汉语又掌握了英语，你们会发现你们未来的机遇真的非常多。

目前英语是世界通用商务语言。如果你想做成任何事情，英语通常就是完成这件事情的交际用语。

Now here is even greater news!!! Many international businesses see the potential of the Chinese market. With approximately 1.2 billion people, they are looking for ways to enter this huge market.

The English speakers are coming!!!—Whether you want it or not.

Are you ready?

现在更好的消息是许多跨国企业看到了中国市场的潜力。全世界大概12亿的人正在寻找途径进入这个巨大的市场。

不管你们想不想，一大批说英语的人就要来了。你们准备好了吗？

Don’t sleep in your English class. Don’t think that you are never going to use English. Because I can guarantee that one-day you will need to speak English. Just ask our Chinese staff. Some of them know English and are able to communicate with the foreign staff; the others just smile, say “hi” and walk away. 

But learning English is not enough.

Learning English is not enough.

Learning English is not enough. 重要的事情说三遍

所以不要在英语课上睡觉。不要以为你们永远不会使用英语。因为我可以保证有一天你们需要讲英语。只要问问我们的中国同事。他们中有些人懂英语，并能与外教进行沟通，而其他人就只是微笑，说声“嗨”，然后走开。

但是，光学英语是远远不够的。光学英语是不够的。光学英语是不够的。重要的事情说三遍。

Recently I was talking to my uncle. He owns an international business that does investment immigration and hires many Chinese workers. He confided in me that during the hiring process almost all the potential candidates speak English. But because they all speak English, he only hires those that have lived in America for an extended period of time. Why? Because they understand the American culture. This is the same in almost every international business. They want to employ workers who both speak the language and understand the culture.

最近我跟我的叔叔谈话。他是一个跨国公司的老板，做投资移民，雇用了许多中国员工。他向我透露，在招聘过程中，几乎所有的可能被聘用的员工都要会讲英语。但因为他们都会讲英语，所以他只雇用那些在美国生活过一段时间的人。为什么？因为他们了解美国文化。这几乎在所有跨国企业中都是一样的。他们希望雇佣的员工既能讲他们的语言，又能了解他们的文化。

I think we have all heard of silly situations where the person knew English but didn’t understand the culture. For instance, a Chinese boy went to Britain and told a local girl she had nice pants. The girl slapped him in the face and walked away. Later he learned that “pants” means “underwear”.

我想大家都听过的很多例子，有的人会讲英语，但不理解英语国家的文化。比如，一个中国男孩去了英国，并夸一个当地女孩的“pants”很漂亮。女孩当场扇了他一个耳光，然后走开了。后来他才知道“pants”的意思是“内衣”。

As you know there is an international program here on campus. I, as well as many other foreign teachers work there. The students that come to our program understand the importance of learning English, and more importantly, learning about another countries culture. In all honesty, English can be learned from a book. It may not be completely right, but it is understandable. On the other hand, culture is something that must be lived and observed. The best way to learn another’s culture is by living and interacting amongst them. That’s why our students want to go abroad. They want to have an advantage in this competitive world.

大家都知道常外有一个国际部。许多其他外教包括我都在那里工作。国际部的同学们都知道学习英语的重要性，更重要的是，他们知道了解其他国家文化的重要性。坦白说，学英语可以通过书本。虽然这种说法可能不完全正确，但还是可以理解的。在另一方面，一个国家的文化，一定需要去当地生活和观察来了解。学习另一种文化的最好方法是通过生活和拥有该文化的人们进行互动交流。这就是为什么我们的学生想出国的原因。他们希望在这个竞争激烈的世界拥有一种优势。

The students understand that learning another’s culture will open so many doors of opportunity. It will help them achieve success, especially financial. It will help them achieve their dreams.

If you want to be successful in life, you must “take it”. It will rarely be given to you.

If you want to achieve a dream? Take it

If you want be successful? Take it.

Just like the saying goes: 此刻打盹，你将做梦；而此刻学习，你将圆梦。

学生们明白学习另一种文化可以打开很多机会的大门。也能帮助他们取得成功，尤其是经济方面的成功，还能帮助他们实现自己的梦想。

如果你想获得成功的人生，就必须抓住这个机会去学习文化。机会很少来主动找你。如果你想实现梦想，就抓住这个机会；如果你想成功，就抓住这个机会。正如大家所说，此刻打盹，你将做梦，而此刻学习，你将圆梦。