短篇的英语演讲稿范文（精选19篇）
Hello, everyone! Good afternoon! I am very glad to have the chance to make this speech. My topic is: how to achieve success. First of all, let us see a story.
“Long long ago, there was a king who had a daughter as beautiful as a blooming rose. To all the men who came to the king's palace to ask for the hand of the princess, the old king gave them three tasks to be accomplished, each next to impossible. One day, there came up a handsome young prince in the king's palace." Well, you know the rest. The three tasks may be different in different versions, but the main plot is always the same, Prince successfully passed all the challenge and got the heart of the princess in time. And the ending is always the same, finishing with the line "And they live happily ever after."
Why aren't we tired of this story so beautiful, so uealistic (, I would say, so unimaginative ? How can a story like that can enduregenerations of repetition? The reason, I think, is that a typical success story like this is so close to our daily life. Moreover we can understand so deeply, it is not just a story, but a good will from people’s inner heart. By implication, we see a 4-step definitions of success: 1 ) a goal to be set. as represented by the beautiful princess. So you’d better find your princess as soon as possible; 2 ) challenges to be meet, as represented by the three tasks. Only if you directly meet the challenge, can you besuccessful; 3 ) the process of overcoming difficulties, as represented by the ordeals the youth goes through; 4 ) the reward of success, as represented by the happy marriage. That’s all! Find your princess, meet challenges, overcome difficulties, and have a good life.
Thank you!
译文:成功之我见
“很久以前,有个国王,他的女儿貌美如花。老国王向所有来求婚的男士提出了三个任务作为挑战,而每一项任务都异常艰巨,
几乎不可能完成。一天,来了一位年轻英俊的王子”好了,下面的故事你们都知道了。三项任务在不同的版本中各不相同,但关键部分的情节都如出一辙:王子成功地过关,得到了公主的芳心。而故事的结局也都一样,最后一句都写道:“从此他们幸福地生活在一起。
为什么我们对如此美妙、如此不切实际,而我要说,如此缺乏想象力的东西这么乐此不疲呢?这样的故事又如何能够经历几代人的重复?我想,因为它是典型的成功的例子。故事的思想性很强,具有代表性。通过故事带给我们的启示,我们认识到了成功定义中的四个步骤;第一,目标的设定,有如故事里美丽的公主;第二,所遇到的困难和挑战,就像三大任务;第三,克服困难的过程,故事中青年经历重重难关可以作为象征;第四,就是成功的果实,如同幸福的婚姻。
Good morning teachers and fellow students. Today we would like to introduce a few favorite books to you.
My favorite book is (Italian: Cuore). This is a diary written by an Italian boy Enrico. The diary is about his life and study. It included various touching stories that happened around Enrico, the mottos taught by his parents, as well as the wonderful ten "monthly" stories told by his teacher during the class. Every word in the chapter describes the word "love". From patriotism to friendship, and to the love between parents and child -- really touching.
This novel taught me how to love, and how to learn from love. I really like this book very much. How about you? What is your favorite book?
My favorite book is . Have you read it before?
Oh, I haven’t read this book before. What is it about?
Well, it is a story of a rich girl who maintained her noble character after the bankruptcy of her father. The story is happy ending.
Can you tell us why you love this book so much?
Sure. It is because the story taught us to be brave and to face the challenges and difficulties with courage. I am deeply impressed by the strength and perseverance of the little princess in the story. I have decided to learn from her from now on.
Oh I see, the story sounds very good. I cannot wait to read this book as well.
Honorable judges, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
It is a great honor and pleasure to be here on this beautiful Saturday morning to share with you my sentiments about life and passion for the English language.
About a year and a half ago, I took part in my very first English Speech Contest. When I stood before the microphone with all eyes starring directly at me, I could hardly speak. I stood there, embarrassed and helpless, struggling in vain for the right thing to say. My fears had paralyzed me.
While my passion for English has never changed, I lost my courage to speak in public. When my professor again encouraged me to take part in this Competition, I said “no.” I couldn’t endure yet another painful experience. He looked me straight in the eye and said something that pierced my heart. I will never forget his words. “Look,” he said, “We all have our fears, and you have yours. You could twist your ankle in a basketball game, but then be afraid to ever play again. Running away can never dispel your fears, but action will. A winner is not one who never fails，but one who never quits.”
I spent a whole day with his words twisting and turning in my mind. Then I made the bravest and wisest decision of my life: I would face my fears – and take part in the competition!
As it turned out, my dear old professor was right. Now, here I am, once again standing before a microphone. My heart is beating fast, and my mouth is dry, but most importantly, I have faced my fears -- and that makes all the difference!
Thank you.
Dear friends! Do you still remember your first English teacher? You may say:” Yes.” Everyone has his teachers, in my mind, I’ll never forget her---my first English teacher Ms. Li. Without her, I wouldn’t be standing here. She is a young and lovely lady with beautiful eyes. Her voice sounds sweet and she speaks English very well. That was the first impression she left on us when she first gave us an English lesson.
In her class, she taught us carefully and patiently. she has a strange way of making her class lively and interesting. She always made opportunities for us to speak English. She gave us many beautiful pictures to talk on them, played games with us and told us many interesting stories. She made us learn from games. We learned English with great fun. After class she helped the students who had trouble in learning English.
Little by little, I had interest in English, but English was a new subject to me, I had many difficulties in learning it well. I often felt very confused. Even though I wanted to give up learning English. It was Ms. Li who helped me to find ways to overcome my difficulties. She helped me to practice speaking English everyday. She always encouraged me whenever I lost heart. She helped me to have confidence in myself. She gave me what I needed, courage, confidence, good ways to learn
English and opportunities to speak English in class. So I was grateful for her. Maybe I can’t meet her again. The only thing I can give her is my best wishes. I wish my dear teacher happiness, good health and good luck. And I also want to say to her: Thank you, Ms. Li. I love you!
The fourth season is winter.December,January and February are the threemonths of that season.
The weather is very cold,and most of the plants die at that time.Sometimesit snows.
People can enjoy skating and skiing.But winter doesn' t stay with us for along time,for spring comes again soon.
Learn How to Say No
We've all been taught that we should help people. It is the right thing to do and will make us popular with others. It may even win us favors in return. However, we must be realistic. We can't say yes to every request. If we did, we would fail or go crazy for sure. Sometimes we simply don't have the time to help. In this case, we must know how to say no politely.
When we need to say no, here is one method we can try. First, we should tell the truth. If we really can't do something, we should just say so. Second, we should remember to refuse requests politely. We must communicate clearly, but must also be sincere and sympathetic. A true friend will understand. Finally, we must not feel guilty about saying no. Sometimes refusing others is the right thing to do. It can save ourselves, and them, a lot of trouble. In short, we cannot please everyone all the time. Refusing favors is a part of life.
Good afternoon, everyone，
The topic of my speech today is “Being a Good Listener”.
Good listening can always show respect, promote understanding, and improve interpersonal relationship.
Many people suggest that parents should listen more to their children, so they will understand them better, and find it easy to narrow the generation gap; teachers should listen more to their students, then they can meet their needs better, and place themselves in a good relationship with their students; students should listen more to their classmates, thus they will help and learn from each other, and a friends hip is likely to be formed.
What I want to stress is that each of us should listen to others. Show your respect and n ever stop others till they finish their talk; show you are interested by a supportive silence or a knowing smile; be open-minded to different opinio ns even though you don't like them. In a word, good listening can really enable us to get closer to each other.
Thank you for your listening!
Hello,everyone!
My name is steven . I'm 10 years old, Today my topic is my family .
I have a happy family . There are three members:My father , My mother and me . My parents love mevery much .
My mother is Chinese teacher . She is very tall and thin . Her face looks small and her eres are very beautiful . My mother is very warm and friendly to others , but she is very strict with me .
My father is a professional accountant . He works hard every day . He likes playing football . I usually play with him . We enjoy ourselves every time .
My dream is to be a police officer when I grow up . Everyboy , please cheer me on !
Thanks ! Thanks you very much !
我的家人
嗨,大家好!
我的名字是史蒂文。我10岁了,今天我演讲的题目是《我的家庭》。
我有一个幸福的家庭。有三个成员:爸爸,妈妈和我。我的父母爱mevery太多了。
我的母亲是中国人的老师。她又高又瘦。她的脸看起来很小,她的眼睛很漂亮。我的妈妈非常温暖和对别人友善,但她很严格。
我的父亲是一个专业会计师。他每天都努力工作。他喜欢踢足球。我经常和他玩。我们玩得很开心的。
我的梦想是成为一名警官,当我长大。舞台,请我加油!
谢谢!谢谢,非常感谢你!
Youth
Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind ; it is not rosy cheeks , red lips and supple knees, it is a matter of the emotions : it is the freshness ; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life .Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite , for adventure over the love of ease. This often existsin a man of 60 more than a boy of 20 . Nobody grows old merely by a number of years . We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years wrinkle the skin , but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul .Worry , fear , self –distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust .
Whether 60 of 16 , there is in every human being ‘s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of living . In the center of your heart and my heart there’s a wireless station : so long as it receives messages of beauty , hope ,cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long as you are young .
When the aerials are down , and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old ,even at 20 , but as long as your aerials are up ,to catch waves of optimism , there is hope you may die young at 80.
Thank you!
青春
青春不是指岁月，而是指心态。粉嫩的脸，红润的唇，矫健的膝并不是青春。青春表现在意志的坚强与懦弱。想象的丰富与苍白、情感的充沛与贫乏等方面。青春是生命深处清泉的喷涌。青春是追求。只有当勇气盖过怯弱、进取压倒苟安之时，青春才存在。果如此，则60见之长者比20岁之少年更具青春活力。仅仅岁月的流逝并不能使他们衰老。而一旦抛弃理想和信念，则垂垂老也。
岁月只能使皮肤起皱。而一旦丧失生活的激情，则连灵魂枯老，使人生枯如死水，毫无活力。
60岁长者也好，16岁少年也罢，每个人的内心深处都渴望奇迹，都如孩子一般眨着期待的双眼，期待着下一次，期待着生活的情趣，你我灵魂深处都有一座无线电中转站------只有你我年轻，则总能听到希望的呼唤，总能发出喜悦的欢呼，总能传达勇气的讯号，总能表现出青春的活力………
一旦青春的天线倒下，你的灵魂即为玩世不恭之雪、悲观厌世之冰覆盖;即使你年方20.其实你已垂垂老也。而只要你青春的天线高高耸起，就可以随时接收到乐观的电波-----即使你年过八旬，行将就木，而你却仍然拥有青春，你仍然年轻。
谢谢!
I Regain Confidence
I received a devastating blow to my self-confidence in the first interview of my college years. I applied to be a host in our Student Acting Troupe and felt confident that I would be accepted. But one of the panel members told me: "You seem inadequate and you are a little vertically-challenged." My life has never been the same since. I used bigger heels to complement my height and psychological maneuvers and tricks to hide my lack of confidence. But no matter how hard I tried to look the part, there was still something missing.
As president of English Club, I organized the rehearsal of Snow White for an English party. Unfortunately, we could not find an actor to be the last dwarf. It had to be someone who was humorous by nature and fluent in English. Suddenly, all eyes turned to me, and I knew I would have to be the dwarf. To my great surprise and delight, once on stage, I was totally absorbed in the performance and my humorous nature was put to full use. As the dwarf, I was a big hit.
Yes, each of us is only one among millions of others, but each of us is an individual and each of us is unique. Cultivating our individuality will transform our lives, making of them a kaleidoscope of new colors and textures.
A world deprived of diversity would be a bland and boring place. The real tragedy is not being short or shy or ugly, but having your identity lost in a world in which everyone is a clone of a model cool boy or a flawless charming girl.
Given a choice, I would rather be ugly than live in such a world. I'd rather be a genuine dwarf accompanying a Snow White than be a Snow White among nothing but Snow Whites. I would rather be myself. I would contribute my individual and unique colors to create a more diverse universe. Please, be yourself.
我重树信心
大学生活的几年里，当我参加第一次面试时，我的自信心受到了沉重的打击。我向“学生剧团”申请出演一个主角，而且我十分自信地认为我会被录用。但是,其中有个剧团成员告诉我:“你似乎不太合适出演这个角色，因为你的身高有点问题。”我从未遇到过这种情况。我穿着高跟鞋来弥补我的身高，采用心理策略和技巧来掩盖自己信心的缺乏。但是，不论我怎样努力进入角色，感觉还是缺少些什么。
作为英语俱乐部的主席，我为英语晚会组织排演了《白雪公主》短剧。不幸的是，我们找不到合适的人选出演最后一个小矮人。这个角色必须生性幽默，英语流利。突然，所有人的目光都转向了我，我知道那个小矮人就是我了。让我极度奇怪而又高兴的是，一上台，我完全投入到演出中，而且我那幽默的天性被发挥得淋漓尽致。作为一个‘’小矮人”，我取得了巨大的成功。
的确，我们中的任何一个人都是千百万中的一员，但我们中的每个人都是一个与众不同的个体。发挥我们自己的个性会改变我们的生活，使它们成为美丽的万花筒。
失去了多样性的世界是个冷漠、乏味的地方。真正的悲剧不是个矮、害羞或丑陋，而是将自己的个性迷失在一个克隆的世界里，那里到处都是典型的酷男孩或无瑕、迷人的好姑娘。
如果让我选择，我宁可面貌五陋，也不愿生活在这样一个世界里。我宁可做一个伴随“白雪公主”的真实的小矮人，也不愿做“白雪公主”世界里的一个白雪公主，而随波逐流。我宁可作为一个真实的自我而出现。我愿将自己独特的、与众不同的色彩奉献给多姿多彩的世界。“走自己的路，让别人去说吧!”
but now here's where the bias comes in. our most important institutions, our schools and our workplaces, they are designed mostly for extroverts and for extroverts' need for lots of stimulation. and also we have this belief system right now that i call the new groupthink, which holds that all creativity and all productivity comes from a very oddly gregarious place.
so if you picture the typical classroom nowadays: when i was going to school, we sat in rows. we sat in rows of desks like this, and we did most of our work pretty autonomously. but nowadays, your typical classroom has pods of desks -- four or five or six or seven kids all facing each other. and kids are working in countless group assignments. even in subjects like math and creative writing, which you think would depend on solo flights of thought, kids are now expected to act as committee members. and for the kids who prefer to go off by themselves or just to work alone, those kids are seen as outliers often or, worse, as problem cases. and the vast majority of teachers reports believing that the ideal student is an extrovert as opposed to an introvert, even though introverts actually get better grades and are more knowledgeable, according to research. (laughter)
okay, same thing is true in our workplaces. now, most of us work in open plan offices, without walls, where we are subject to the constant noise and gaze of our coworkers. and when it comes to leadership, introverts are routinely passed over for leadership positions, even though introverts tend to be very careful, much less likely to take outsize risks -- which is something we might all favor nowadays. and interesting research by adam grant at the wharton school has found that introverted leaders often deliver better outcomes than extroverts do, because when they are managing proactive employees, they're much more likely to let those employees run with their ideas, whereas an extrovert can, quite unwittingly, get so excited about things that they're putting their own stamp on things, and other people's ideas might not as easily then bubble up to the surface.
now in fact, some of our transformative leaders in history have been introverts. i'll give you some examples. eleanor roosevelt, rosa parks, gandhi -- all these peopled described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy. and they all took the spotlight, even though every bone in their bodies was telling them not to. and this turns out to have a special power all its own, because people could feel that these leaders were at the helm, not because they enjoyed directing others and not out of the pleasure of being looked at; they were there because they had no choice, because they were driven to do what they thought was right.
Good evening, everyone. My name is WangHaili. I am an outgoing girl who likes reading and traveling. It’s really my great honor to stand here and give everyone a short speech.
People say, youth is fire which is ignited by passion. People say, youth is a chapter of the poem which is written by stories. The color of youth is bright and we make most use of our ardor to draw the scenes to the canvas of painting. But we may be confused and lose our direction in the youth time. Under this, youth slips away. Roman Roland says, life doesn’t issue return ticket and can never come back once sets out. So we should seize the short youth time and try our best to pursue our ideal. Do what should we do and let our youth without regret.
When we refer to ideal, we will realize the importance of ideal. Ideal is the beacon,. Without ideal, we will lose the firm direction. Without direction, we will lose our life. According to this, every one of us should establish our own ideal .so that we have the direction of straggle to the future. Tolstoy tells us, we should have the life objective from the whole life to the second. So we should cherish every moment and form our systematic objective. Youth is the prime time. We have strong body and energy and can sense the meaning of life under the guide of ideal.
Last year, Mothers Day spending on brunches, jewelry, salon appointments, flowers and greeting cards topped $20 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. And no doubt retailers hope to meet that amount this year too. Brands like American Greetings and Kay Jewelers, a Mothers Day advertising regular, portray the holiday, and therefore motherhood, as an event for young women doted on by attentive husbands and young children[took out the video ref since that wasnt an example of mothers being doted on]. But for many, both the holiday and the reality are as much about being a mother as they are about having, and caring for, their own mothers. And mothers taking care of mothers need more than mimosas and manicures to cope with life in the sandwich generation.
国家零售联合会的数据显示，去年母亲节，在美食、珠宝、聚会展会、鲜花和贺卡上的花费突破200亿美元。毫无疑问，零售商今年还想达到这个数。美国问候 与母亲节广告的常客凯伊珠宝等品牌使这一节日充满气氛。因此，母亲节是年轻妇女们受到细心的丈夫和小孩宠爱的一个节日(不要受视频影响，因为那不是一个母亲们受宠爱的例子)。然而对于很多人来说，无论在假日还是在现实中，她们既是母亲，也是女儿，也在照顾自己的母亲。而作为上有老下有小的一代人，母亲对母亲的照顾需要的不仅仅是鲜花与美甲。
Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon!
I’m very glad to stand here andgive you a short speech. today my topic is “Life”. I hope you will like it , Man’s life is a process of growing up, actually I’m standing here is a growth. If a person’s life must constituted by various choices, then I grow up along with these choices.
Once I hope I can study in a college in future, however that’s passed, as you know I come here, now I wonder what the future holds for me. When I come to this school, I told to myself: this my near future, all starts here. Following I will learn to become a man, a integrated man, who has a fine body, can take on important task, has independent thought, an open mind, intensive thought, has the ability to judge right and wrong, has a perfect job.
If I can achieve this “future”, I think that I really grow up. And I deeply believe kindred, good-fellowship and love will perfection and happy in the future. How to say future? Maybe it’s a nice wish. Lets make up our minds, stick to it and surely well enjoy our life.
An old man fishing in the river, a child came to see him fishing, skilled people, so not long to catch a full basket of fish, the old man is a lovely child, take the whole basket of fish to him, the child shook his head, the man asked in surprise: "why don't you?" the little boy answer: "I want your fishing rod." the old man asked: "what are you doing fishing?" he said: "this fish did not take long to finish, if I have a fishing rod, I can catch on, life could not finish eating."
I think you will say: what a clever kid. If he was wrong, as long as the fishing rod, that he can not eat a fish. Because he did not understand the skills of fishing, fishing rod is light there is no use, because the fishing was not important "fishing rod" and "fishing technology."
There are too many people think they have a life of the rod, and no fear in the rain, this will inevitably fall on the muddy ground. As the kids see the elderly, think that as long as the poles will not eat fish, the staff look like the boss, as long as they sit in the Office, there are rolled into the financing.
有个老人在河边钓鱼，一个小孩走过去看他钓鱼，老人技巧纯熟，所以没多久就钓上了满篓的鱼，老人见小孩很可爱，要把整篓的鱼送给他，小孩摇摇头，老人惊异的问道：「你为何不要?」小孩回答：「我想要你手中的钓竿。」老人问：「你要钓竿做什么?」小孩说：「这篓鱼没多久就吃完了，要是我有钓竿，我就可以自己钓，一辈子也吃不完。」
我想你一定会说：好聪明的小孩。错了，他如果只要钓竿，那他一条鱼也吃不到。因为，他不懂钓鱼的技巧，光有鱼竿是没用的，因为钓鱼重要的不在“钓竿”，而在“钓技”。
有太多人认为自己拥有了人生道上的钓竿，再也无惧于路上的风雨，如此，难免会跌倒于泥泞地上。就如小孩看老人，以为只要有钓竿就有吃不完的鱼，像职员看老板，以为只要坐在办公室，就有滚进的财源。
Good afternoon! my dear teachers and friends.
my name is li wenwen.i’m fourteen years old.in class 8,grade 1.different people has different dreams. someone wants to be a doctor. someone wants to be a basketball player，because he is good at sports. someone wants to be a writer， because he likes writing. someone wants to be a teacher because he likes teaching children.
what do i want to do when i’m older?
you see,i like playing the piano and i am good at it. so i want to become a piano player.(pianist). playing the piano is very interesting. and you can learn something of music. piano can make your life beautiful and happy. your life is full of music. a lot of musicians and singers love playing the pianos.
i could play the piano when i was ten years old. all of my teachers and my classmates say i can play the piano very well. i have got grand five . i hope when i’m sixteen years old , i can get grand eight.
now i’m a middle school student. there are many things at school. sometimes ,i have no time to play the piano. but,i’ll still be harder and harder to practise.the youngest pianoist, langlang is my idol. he is such a great pianoist.i hope i can be a pianoist like him.
i know becoming a piano is a hard job. but i believe i can do it. there is a will, there is a way. my dream will come ture one day. believe me! thank you!
When we go to school, we are taught that life is not always going well, we will meet all kinds of difficulties. Everyone hears the words, but when they meet difficulties, it is hard for them to be OK with it, they feel the life is hopeless, just as hearing is easy, while taking action is another thing. Once a famous business person said that the one who faced the failure and stood up, he or she will be successful. I absolutely believe it, we are in front of so many accidents, we need to face the setback and learn from it, every setback is a test for us, only the one who passes the test can succeed. Such as when we feel it hard to study, then give up, how can we make progress. Life teaches us lesson every minute, the adverse situation is a good chance to upgrade ourselves.
当我们上学的时候，我们就被教育生活并不总是一帆风顺，我们会遇见各种各样的困难。每个人都听过这些话，但是当遇到困难时，对于他们来说是很难接受的，觉得生活无望，就如说起来是一回事，做起来是另一回事。曾经一位出名的生意人浆果，谁面对困难，振作起来，他或她就能成功。我深信此话，我们面对很多的意外，需要面对挫折，从中学会东西，每一次的挫折就是一次考验，只有通过考验的人能成功。比如我们感到学习困难时，就放弃，怎么能进步呢。生活时时刻刻都在教会我们东西，困境是升级自身的好机会。
dream flying our ordinary life is a dream, from the very moment of landing, we are a dream to come! Similarly, we left this world at the time, it will also be left with their own dreams. Call in the dream, we gradually grew up thinking of gradually mature, and have learned more and more, understand more and more.
Our dream is also more and more content, more and more rich. One can not forget that book title mountain crossing the sea during the day and night; not forget that the coexistence of a bitter years of joy; not forget that a bit more earnest remainding respectable mentor taught ... ...
The face of the past, we open their minds and hearts of the door, bathed in sunlight to accept and listen to exhort the time, we dream of flying. Is to achieve the dream of the cornerstones of long-term vision; the dream is the beginning of the power savings; dream world is a necessary condition for rational; dream Qijia country is the premise of the world is flat.
To this end, the respect of ethics, education can be clearly responsible for, love. We will be ready at all times ... ...
Singing rooster dawn broke through the silence, awakened the dream of youth, the old lamp that lit the lamp immortal, with the aid of a weak good care of the light heavy luggage, embark on a new journey began. Eastern rising sun, leaving a string attached to their native land is the footprints of the feelings and give up.Goodbye dear land, we have our dreams, we all need to face new.
The rudder has been the fate into their own hands, taking their own route. Believe in yourself and you work hard, must be clear after dark. To do the masters of time, for every seconds, when the ship set sail hard, you are ready? Show your style and create brilliant tomorrow. said that the sky did not leave traces of the birds, but I have been over. Is an eagle, it is necessary to fly across the sky, is a tree, it is necessary to cast a time, the courage to go flying, the courage to go into, you dream of flying, I believe you will be more brilliant tomorrow, tomorrow you will be more exciting.
Cherish the present, should grasp the opportunity.
Friends, the dream of flying now, let us gather in the glory of that day.
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spring back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.