Speech at the Graduation Ceremony of 2019 SFL, BNUZ

  Tao Wenhao

  22 June 2019

Dear Graduates of 2019, family members and friends:

It is my pleasure to be with you here today, a day filled with joy for the present, hope for the future. On behalf of all the teachers and students of our faculty, I would like to express my heartiest congratulations to you all. You have arrived at another milestone of your life!

You have completed a journey here, either relaxed or panicked. Whether it is Lize Lake in the morning, or the beautiful sunset over the campus, the hot summer sun, or the storm rain, the small benches you moved, or the insects on the green grass, these moments will become memories and remain in your lifetime. You have spent the best years of your life in the most beautiful university in the valley. Those days were filled with laughter, tears, passion and even dreams, they have become the most beautiful part of your life.

At this time of the year, for the faculty, it is both the harvest season and the day of departure. After the fundamental years of your college education, I will not doubt your talent, wisdom and self-confidence. Upon your graduation, looking at your youthful faces, it seems that I have too many words to say to you. The first thing that comes to my mind is: I hope you can be true to yourself in your whole life. I mean whenever you look back on the past, please always see your smiling face in those beautiful days of the university. How can you be always true to yourself?

First, please keep the bottom line.

Perhaps many of you have read the story that the gun muzzle raised by one centimeter. In February 1992, two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, the guard Inger Henrich was brought to trial. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, at the age of 27, he shot a young man trying to climb over the wall. Henrich's lawyer argued that he had no choice but to execute orders and that his guilt was not his own. However, the judge in court, Fascio Seidel did not think so. He said: "As a police officer, it is guilty not to obey orders from superiors, but not to be innocent. As a sane person, at this moment, you have the right to raise the gun by one centimeter, which is your conscience obligation on your own initiative.”

Conscience is a simple word, but it has got the most complex connotation you can imagine. It is so simple that everyone can understand it, but so profound that no one can define it. It is with people all their lives, but people seldom think about it and ask about it. My dear students, when you step out of this university, I hope you can live with your conscience at any moment possible in your life.

Secondly, please pursue excellence.

Excellence is an abstract concept. Its core meaning is to achieve the utmost, to maximize the potential. Not a standard, but a realm. When the word "excellence" is applied to human beings, it means all the virtues of human beings, including moral, mental, physical and practical aspects.

Everyone has the potential to be an outstanding person. When I look back on the great names in the history of civilization, the name of a Chinese scientist Qian Weichang jumps into my mind. He has many titles: physicist, mathematician, educator and so on. But do you know that the master of science, Mr. Qian Weichang only scored five points in physics in the college entrance examination. With excellent liberal arts results, he was admitted to Tsinghua University. However, because of his deep sense of national mission, he firmly applied to be transferred to the Department of Physics, because he wanted to "learn to build artillery, to transfer to physics in order to revitalize China's military strength". With the unimaginable efforts, Mr. Qian Weichang became Top One student in the Department of Physics. It is precisely Mr. Qian Weichang's spirit of pursuing excellence that he has become a backbone figure in the scientific circles of our country.

My dear graduates, do remember that your “ I can” is much more important than your IQ.

Finally, please choose to believe.

Choosing to believe does not mean denying doubt though there are doubts everywhere around you. We should still choose to believe in the direction of life. Because only by believing can the society function normally, can the human beings survive and develop; because only by believing can we enjoy the beautiful life brought by family, friendship and love; because only by believing can we have awe, can we not make people crazy which will ultimately lead the human beings and the world to ruin. Choosing to believe represents a kind of attitude towards life. It symbolizes the positive, optimistic and enterprising attitude towards life. It is the motivation for us to overcome difficulties, face setbacks, drive out darkness and embrace the light.

My dear graduates, you are like my children with each beautiful name in my mind. If I repeat something, I would like to say to you again: Stick to the bottom line, pursue excellence, choose to believe and live up to this life!

Thank you!

2019届毕业典礼致辞

北京师范大学珠海分校外国语学院

陶文好

2019年6月22日

亲爱的毕业生同学们、我院全体同仁、各位家长以及各位来宾：

大家好！

今天，我们欢聚一堂，是为了庆祝2019届同学们顺利毕业！我谨代表全院师生，向毕业生们表示最衷心的祝贺！

青春的你们，在这里完成了或从容或慌张的一段旅程。不论是清晨的丽泽湖、还是学校上空美丽的晚霞、不论夏日里的骄阳、还是你们趟过的暴风雨，不论是你们搬过的小板凳、还是绿草地上的小虫子，都将成为记忆，留存在你们心底。你们，把青春中最美好的年华留在了这座山谷中最美的大学，那些有欢笑、有泪水、饱含激情又满怀梦想的日子，也成为你们生命中最美好的记忆。

每年此时，对于外院而言，既是收获的季节，又是离别的日子。即将远行的孩子们，在经历了大学教育的洗礼和自我蜕变后，从这里走出去，我丝毫不会怀疑你们的才华、聪慧与自信。然而在你们们即将毕业之际，看着你们青春的面庞，我的内心，只有殷殷期盼，惟愿你们都能过上“不负此生”的生活：每当你回首往昔，都能看到自己曾经年轻如夏花般的笑脸。怎么才能不负此生呢？

首先，请坚守底线。

可能你们中的很多人，都读过“枪口抬高一厘米”的故事：1992年2月，德国的柏林墙倒塌两年后，守墙卫兵因格.亨里奇受到了审判。在柏林墙倒塌前，二十七岁的他射杀了一位企图翻墙而过的青年。亨里奇的律师辩称他仅仅是执行命令，别无选择，罪不在己。然而庭审法官法西奥多.赛德尔却不这么认为：“作为警察，不执行上级命令是有罪的，但是打不准是无罪的。作为一个心智健全的人，此时此刻，你有把枪口抬高一厘米的主权，这是你应主动承担的良心义务”。

良知，这是一个简单的词汇，却有最复杂的内涵。它浅显到人人都能领会，又深奥到无人能够定义。它与人终生相伴，但人们却很少琢磨它、追问它。同学们，我希望你们步出校门后，能时时在心底琢磨它、追问它，与良知相伴一生。

其次，请追求卓越。

卓越是一个抽象概念，它的核心含义就是把事情做到极致，把潜能发挥到最大。不是一个标准，而是一种境界。当卓越一词被运用到人的身上，它意味着人所能有的所有方面的优点，包括道德、心智、肉体、实践各方面。

每一个人，都有可能成为卓越的人。当我回顾历史上一个个推动人类社会进步的伟大人物时，一位中国科学家钱伟长先生的名字跃入我的脑海。他有许多头衔：物理学家、数学家、教育家等等。然而你们知道吗？这位科学界的大师，曾经是一个严重的偏科生，高考时，物理仅考了五分。凭着优异的文科成绩，考进清华大学。然而因着内心深深地民族使命感，他坚定地申请要转入物理系，因为他想“学造大炮，要转学物理以振兴中国的军力”经过旁人无法想象的努力，这位高考时物理仅仅考了5分的学生，后来成为了物理系一哥。正是因为钱伟长先生这股追求卓越的精神，使他成为了我国科学界的脊梁人物！

同学们，这种“我能做到”的劲头，往往比智商更起决定性作用。

最后，我希望你们选择相信。

选择相信并不意味着否认质疑。尽管这个世界充满着值得怀疑的一切！因为只有相信，才能让社会得以正常运转，才能让人类得以生存和发展；因为只有相信，才能享受亲情、友情、爱情带给我们的美好人生；因为只有相信，才会心存敬畏，才不会让人变得疯狂，因为疯狂最终让人类和世界走向覆灭。相信，代表一种人生态度，它象征着积极、乐观与进取，是我们战胜困难、直面挫折、驱赶黑暗、迎接光明的原动力。

亲爱的同学们：在我心目中，你们如同我的儿女，当我诵念你们的名字时，我默默祈盼，愿你们都能坚守底线、追求卓越、选择相信，不负此生！

谢谢！