TED英语演讲稿：二十几岁不可挥霍的光阴（附翻译）

　　good morning ladies and gentlemen. today i’m very glad to be here with you to share my stories and opinions about reading. i love reading from the bottom of my heart. and i do learn a lot from books. i know the wonderful stories of great heroes in history, secrets of nature, mysteries of ufo and our universe. to me , books are like a faithful friend, always around me , giving me enjoyment and wisdom.

　　i remember when i was in primary school, ten or eleven years old, my father borrowed some books from the library in his school. those were among the greatest works of the world, including abrabian nights、the legend of deification, journey to the west, and the romance of the three kingdoms. these books were all written in ancient chinese characters but i tried to read the heavy books and were deeply attracted. from then on, i spared every minute to read whatever i could get. whenever i got a new book, i kept reading until i finished it despite time and place. i read books even in class or just a few minutes before the exams. in my mind, there is always an unforgettable scene: lying in bed, nervous but excited, my friend and i read a book together in the weak light of a flashlight , with a quilt on us, in order not to be blamed by parents. all my classmates thought i was crazy and gave me a nickname “bookworm”. so you can understand why i got my eyes shortsighted.

　　till now, i still like reading as i used to. and i’m very pleased to see that my ten-year-old son loves reading just like me. i have bought him many books. whenever you come into my home, you can find books in every corner. but the place where my son and i enjoy reading most is in the toilet. so it often happens in the morning: one is in the toilet reading something comfortably, while another walking outside , shouting. for my age, i like to read magazines or short stories to get relaxation as well as inspiration.

　　today we live in a world of prosperity. never before have we faced so many temptation from the outside world. never before have we had so many chances to enjoy our lives. we drive rather than walking; we go online to chat with people we’ve never met before instead of talking to friends around us. but there’s always something that cannot be replaced and forgotten., such as books. so i will allow myself to continue the journey in the ocean of books until the very end of my life.

　　finally, i’d like to end my speech with a great philosopher, writer and thinker, francis bacon’s famous saying: reading makes a full man. studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.

　　thank you very much.