overthepastspringfestival,igotinvolvedinafamilydispute.rightbeforeigothome,foursatellitechannelsofcctvwereaddedtothe14channelswehadalreadyhad.inprimetimeatnight,theyallhadinterestingshows.therefore,thefiveofus-myparents,mysistersandi-hadtoargueoverwhattowatch.finally,weagreedthatweshouldwatchthe"mostinteresting"programme...ifwe
　　couldagreewhatthatwas.
　　however,allofusthererememberthatforalongtimeafterwehadtv,therewereonlyoneortwochannelsavailable.theincreaseinoptionsrevealsanimportantchangeinourlife:theabundanceofchoice.
　　fifteenyearsagowealldressedinonestyleandinonecolour.today,weselectfromawidevarietyofdesignsandshades.
　　fifteenyearsago,wereadfewnewspapers.today,wereadenglishnewspaperslikethechinadailyandthe21stcentury,aswellasvariouschinesenewspapers.
　　fifteenyearsago,englishmajorstookonlycoursesinlanguageandliterature.today,wealsostudywesternculture,journalism,businesscommunications,internationalrelations,andcomputerscience.
　　theemergenceofchoicesmarksthebeginningofanewerainchina’shistory;aneraofdiversity,ofmaterialandculturalrichness,andaneraoftherebirthofthechinesenation.
　　weenjoytheabundanceofchoice.butthishasnotcomeeasily.
　　about150yearsago,chinawasforcedtoopenupitsdoorbywesterncanonsandgunboats.ithasbeenthroughthestruggleandsacrificeofgenerationsthatwefinallyhavegainedtheopportunitytochooseforourselves.thepolicyofreformandopennessisthechoicethathasmadeallthedifference.
　　likeothersofmyage,i’mtooyoungtohaveexperiencedthetimewhenthechinesepeoplehadnorighttochoose.however,asthenextcenturydrawsnear,itistimetoask:whatdoeschoicereallymeantousyoungpeople?
　　ischoiceagamethatreliesonchanceorluck?ischoiceanemptypromisethatnevermaterializes?orischoiceapuzzlesodifficultthatwehavetoavoidit?
　　first,iwouldliketosay:tochoosemeanstoclaimopportunities.
　　iamathird-yearenglishmajor.animportantchoiceforme,ofcourse,iswhattodoupongraduation.icangotograduateschool,athomeorabroad.icangotoworkasateacher,atranslator,ajournalist,aneditorandadiplomat.actually,thesystemofmutualselectionhasallowedmetoapproachalmosteverycareeropportunityinchina.
　　indeed,thisisnotgoingtobeaneasychoice.iwouldlovetoworkinsuchbigcitiesasbeijingorshanghaiorshenzhen.iwouldalsolovetoreturntomyhometown,whichisintimate,thoughslightlylaggingindevelopment.iwouldlovetostayinthecoastalareawherelifeisexcitingandfast-paced.iwouldalsolovetoputdownrootsincentralandwesternchina,whichisunderdeveloped,butholds
　　greatpotential.
　　allofthesesoundgood.buttheyareonlypossibilities.tothoseofuswhoarebewilderedattheabundanceofopportunities,iwouldliketosay:tochoosemeanstoacceptchallenge.
　　tousyoungpeople,challengeoftenemergesintheformofcompetition.inthenextcentury,competitionwillnotonlycomefromothercollegegraduates,butalsofrompeopleofallagesandofallorigins.
　　withincreasinginternationalexchanges,wehavetofacegrowingcompetitionfromthewholeoutsideworld.thisiscallingforahigherlevelofourpersonaldevelopment.
　　fifteenyearsago,theknowledgeofaforeignlanguageorofcomputeroperationwasconsideredmerelyanadvantage.buttoday,withwidereducationalopportunities,thissameknowledgehasbecomeessentialtoeveryone.
　　giventhissituation,evenoursmallestchoiceswillrequiregreatwisdomandpersonaldetermination.
　　aswegainmoreinitiativeinchoicemaking,theconsequenceofeachchoicealsobecomesmoreimportant.
　　aswegainmoreinitiativeinchoicemaking,theconsequenceofeachchoicealsobecomesmoreimportant.
　　nuclearpower,forinstance,mayimproveourqualityoflife.butitcanalsobeusedtodamagethelivesandpossessionsofmillions.
　　economicdevelopmenthasenrichedourlivesbutbroughtwithitseriousharmtoourair,waterandhealth.
　　tothoseofuswhoareblindtotheconsequencesoftheirchoices,iwouldliketosay,tochoosemeanstotakeresponsibility.whenwearemakingchoicesforourselves,wecannotcasuallysay:"it’sjustmyownbusiness."aspolicymakersofthenextcentury,wecannotfailtoseeourresponsibilitytothosewhosharetheearthwithus.
　　thetraditionalchinesecultureteachesustostudyhardandworkhardsoastohonorourfamily.tome,however,thisfamilyisnotjustthefiveofuswhoquarreledovertelevisionprogrammes.rather,itisthewholeofthehumanfamily.asiammakingmychoices,iwillnotforgetthesmileofmyteacherwhenicorrectlyspelledouttheword"china"forthefirsttime,iwillnotforgetthehappyfacesoftheboysandgirlswehelpedtosendbacktoschoolinthemountainsofjiangxiprovince.iwillnotforgetthetearfuleyesofwomenandchildreninbosnia,chechnyaandsomali,wheremillionsaresufferingfromwar,famineorpoverty. 共2页，当前第1页12