编者按:
动感地带杯双语征文大赛开赛以来, 无数热心读者或邮寄或发E-mail至common-talk@fj172.com投稿. 本期是我们最后一次选登优秀作品,并且忠于原稿,不再进行修改.
Stories printed as part of the competition have not been altered.

 

Mobile and life
By Zheng Yan

In 1815, when the news that Napoleon was defeated in Waterloo arrived in England, the London Stock Exchange skyrocketed. Nathan Rothschild, who had speculated all his money on British government securities within an hour, became the wealthiest man on the face of the planet. He was so rich then that his sons continued to control the wealth of Europe for a century thereafter.

The Rothschild fortune was made from superior knowledge. Rothschild had an employee at Waterloo with a cage full of homing pigeons. Battlefield reports were being sent to Rothschild who received these reports while stationed at the London Stock Market. When Wellington defeated Napoleon the employee tied the message onto the leg of a carrier pigeon and sent it directly to Rothschild. The carrier pigeon beat the horse that would carry the good news.

Success is not always a windfall from the heaven! But poor information channels will always be an opportunity cost!

For me, Mobile is a necessity rather than a fashion. On the first day when I arrived at Xiamen University in 1998, I informed my parents of my safe arrival via a fixed line telephone in my dormitory. But soon I converted to Mobile even when it was still very costly at the time. In any case, it was too inconvenient to make personal calls in the dorms.

While I was on campus, Mobile gave me extra opportunities and freedom. Sometimes, I got access to job opportunities or extracurricular activities simply because they felt easier to find me via mobile. Mobile even helped me skip class - when the teacher took attendance, I always received a warning from those in class.

While Mobile is now a commonplace on campus, it is even more indispensable in my life. Today, as a graduate student at Xiamen University, participating in a Chinese American study program in Nanjing, I am always busy traveling between the two cities. Wherever I am, my family and friends can contact me via mobile and my colleagues and I have learned to use Mobile and other channels of communication to deal with problems. For example, my adviser sometimes remote controls me while I am in Nanjing by sending short messages to me, and in a day or two, I will email him my research report before sending him a short message reminding him to check his email.

The greatest advantage of mobile, however, is its convenience and efficiency. I liberated myself from waiting beside a fixed line telephone for important calls. I don't have to find a fixed telephone to make urgent calls. I have all the information I need at my fingertips. Of course, unpleasant voices sometimes pop up and I have to live with all sorts of spam messages. Sometimes I wonder if I am carrying a Pandora's Box rather than a cell phone.

Every day, CNN finishes its programs with the slogan "Be the first to know" every day; I thus conclude with the slogan "Be the first to mobile". Why not?

 

 

我扇动了自己的翅膀
周磊

3月27日厦门的国际马拉松赛如期举行,我也是这支浩浩荡荡的队伍中的一员,不同的是,我身披黄色号码布.

出于对自己极限的挑战,也由于女友全力的支持,我决定在生命中留下跑马拉松全程的汗水记忆.
披着1387号码布,我兴奋而紧张地开始了首次环岛历程,可才过了2万米,我的右腿便抽筋了,更糟糕的是,只要一跑就会痛,尽管途中喷了好几次理通喷雾剂,却仍跑不起来.无奈,只好一步一步向前挪,而此时,才刚返程.好恨这条不争气的腿,看到周围的选手都渐渐远去,我心急如焚."难道会以失败告终?不会的,马拉松拼的不仅是体力,更是意志力,我才22岁,怎能如此轻言失败,就算走也要走到会展中心."
带着一份执著的信念,更带着青春无限的毅力,我的脑中只有一个词:终点.

可能连老天都被我感动了,当我还剩2千米离关门却只有10分钟的时候,我的腿又奇迹般地跑了起来.当时的我已经没有什么知觉,只知道会展中心就在前方,手腿机械地前后摆动,但我知道,坚持已让疼痛投降.我昏天黑地地向前移动着,惟一记得的只有终点电子钟5小时59分下秒表位上的跳动,及观众的加油声,还有我跪倒在终点... ...

虽然赛后我休养了一个多星期,走路才恢复正常.但至今仍对那刻记忆犹新,真庆幸自己没有上那辆收容车,不然就彻底失败了,而现在我非但拿到了比赛证书,还意外地获得了麦当劳的"坚持到底"奖,还真是感谢自己有坚持到底的精神!

5小时59分的确很慢,但是我跑下来了,我坚持到底了,我觉得,从这次跑马拉松中,我得到一个重要的启示:做任何事,首先就是要有个目标,然后便朝着目标的方向去努力,不管有多大困难,都要咬紧牙关,也许你要比别人多花一倍的时间,可是比起那些不敢去想,不敢去做,以及半途而废的人来说,只要你达到目标,那就是英雄.

曾经看过这样一句话:其实人人都是鹰,只不过按鸡的方式或在鸡的环境下生活得久了,便不再相信有潜力,天上人间,区别不过是扇动一下翅膀而已.在马拉松上,我扇动了自己的翅膀.

 

 

第二届双语征文大赛颁奖典礼暨青年文艺晚会本周日隆重举行

主办方:共青团厦门市委 厦门日报社 福建移动通信有限责任公司厦门分公司
承办方:厦门日报双语周刊
The awards ceremony of the second "M-zone"Cup Bilingual Writing Competition will be held at 7:00 p.m. on May 16 (Sunday), on the 19th floor of the Xiamen Daily Building. Everybody is warmly welcomed.

时间:5月16日(周日)晚 7:00
地点:厦门日报报业大厦19楼多功能会议厅

现场将为动感地带杯"我的青春宣言"双语征文大赛获奖者颁发奖品及获奖证书.
中文组与英文组,每组各设:
一等奖一名:泰国酒店联盟提供的厦门至曼谷双程机票及四晚三星级酒店住宿
二等奖两名:动感地带提供的动感地带卡+时尚手机一部
三等奖三名:动感地带提供的动感地带手机卡+新东方网络学习套餐
团体组织奖共三名:移动手机话费1500元
读者入围奖5名:动感地带手机卡 +<Common Talk>精华合订本一本
优秀奖十名:全年免费赠阅<双语周刊>
入围奖二十名:<Common Talk>精华合订本一本5

征文大赛网上投票方法:
登陆www.common-talk.com 或海峡网www.csnn.com.cn首页, 点击双语有奖征文大赛网上评选广告, 即可进入征文投票页面.
点击简介可查看文章详细内容,投票时点击投票按钮即可.注:每个IP投票仅限1次.
敬请所有参赛选手及英语爱好者莅临颁奖现场,惊喜大奖和现场抽奖等您拿!