英語勵志小故事演講稿素材

　　我們有時候會需要用到一些英語勵志小故事作為演講稿素材，那麼都有哪些呢?一起來看看吧。

　　：一言為重

　　What is Said Carries Weight

　　In ancient times, there was a prime minister named Shang Yang in the State of Qin. He was held in high regard by the King. In the year 359 BC, he prepared for a political reform to promote the economic development. But he was afraid that the people would not believe local authorities. He thought an idea.

　　One day, he had a 10-meter long pole erected at the south gate outside the capital. Then he told the crowd whoever took the pole to the north gate would be awarded 10 ounces of silver. Everyone was astonished, but nobody dared to have a try. After seeing that, Shang Yang raised his voice and said:" Anyone who carries the pole to the north gate will get 50 ounces of silver." A brave man did it and was be given 50 ounces of silver. Others felt very reGREtful.

　　In this way, Shang Yang achieved his aim successfully. Soon the state of Qin became the strongest country.

　　Later, people use it to praise the man who keeps his promise.

　　一言為重

　　古時候秦國有個相國叫商鞅，秦王非常器重他。公元前359年，他打算在秦國實行變法，但他怕百姓們不相信官府，就決定做件事以取得他們的信任。

　　有一天。他把一根10米長的竿子豎在都城南門外，然後告訴百姓如果誰把這根竹竿拿到城邊北門，就賞給他10兩銀子。開始，大家聽到這個訊息都很吃驚，但沒人敢試。於是商鞅又提高聲音說："誰把這根竹竿拿到北門，賞50兩銀子。"這時，有一個膽子挺大的人願意去試一試。當他把竹竿拿到北門時，商鞅立刻賞給他50兩銀子。其他人看見了，都非常後悔自己沒去試。

　　經過這件事，大家都相信了官府。後來商鞅的變法進行地很成功，秦國因此成為了當時最強大的國家。

　　後來，人們就用"一言為重"來比喻一個人信守諾言。

　　：大義滅親

　　Uphold justice at the cost of one's blood relation

　　During the Spring and Autumn Period ***770-476BC***, there was many dukedoms under the king of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. These dukedoms often fought one another to expand their territories. And within a dukedom, the struggle for power frequently occurred. A typical case was the murder of the Duke of Wei by his younger brother Zhou Xu.

　　Zhou Xu committed the crime with the help of an important official called Shi Hou. Eventually, Zhou Xu became duke himself. Then he launched wars against other dukedoms and the people suffered. There were complaints and resentments all around.

　　When he learned about this, Zhou Xu was worried. He talked with Shi Hou about how to stabilize the situation and win back people's confidence. Shi Hou said:"That's easy. I'll ask my father to speak for us. He is highly esteemed by all the officials and the people. I'm sure he'll help us out."

　　Shi Hou's father, Shi Que, had been a high-ranking official serving under the former duke. He resigned when Zhu Xu seized power. He hated Zhou Xu for his murder of the former duke. He also hated his own son, Shi Hou, for his part in the murder.

　　Now, Shi Hou came and asked him for help. the father said, "A duke' ascendance to power should be granted by the king. If the king approved it, all the problems will be solved."

　　"But how can we bet the king's approval?" Shi Hou asked his father. The old man said, "The Duke of Chen is trusted by the king and his dukedom has good relationship with ours. If you and Zhou Xu go to the Duke of Chen and ask him for help, I'm sure he is willing to say a good word for you before the king."

　　Shi Hou passed his father's word to Zhu Xu and they went to the Dukedom of Chen. But before they arrived, the old man sent an express letter in secret to the Duke of Chen asking him to kill the two murderers.

　　As soon as Zhou Xu and Shi Hou arrived in the Dukedom of Chen, they were arrested. Some officials from Wei made a special trip to Chen to kill the two men. They put Zhou Xu to death but hesitated to kill Shi Hou because of his father. When the old man learnt about this, he said firmly :'My son has also committed the murder of the duke. What's the good to have him in the world!" he sent his own man to Chen and beheaded Shi Hou. Later historians commented: "To safeguard the interest of the country, Shi Que did not bend the law for the benefit of his relative. It's really a case of cutting off consanguinity for the sake of righteousness!" Hence comes the idiom "Uphold justice at the cost of one's blood relation".

　　大義滅親

　　春秋時期，在東周周天子的統治下有許多小公國。這些國家常常為了擴大自己的領土而互相爭鬥。而且，在一個公國內部，權力之爭也時常發生。衛國的州籲殺害自己的哥哥――衛國的公爵就是一個典型的例子。

　　在一個重要的大臣石厚的幫助下，州籲殺害了他的哥哥。最後，他作了衛國的公爵。接著，他發動了同其他公國的戰爭，使衛國人民經受了很多痛苦。人們怨聲載道。

　　州籲對此也很擔憂。他與石厚商量如何鞏固政局，贏得百姓的信任。石厚說："這個容易。大臣和百姓們都十分尊敬我的父親，我去請他出來為我們說話。這樣我肯定他能幫我們解決這個問題。"

　　石厚的父親石碏曾是前任公爵的上卿。州籲奪權後，他辭去了官職。他痛恨州籲殺害了前任公爵。 同時，他也恨自己的兒子石厚，因為他參與了這場謀殺。 現在，石厚來向他求助。石碏說："諸侯接位，應該得到周天子的許可。只要他同意了，所有的問題都好解決。

　　"可是怎麼讓周天子會同意嗎?" 石厚問。老人說："陳國公爵受到周天子的信任，而且陳國和我國關係很好。如果你和州籲先去陳國,向他求助，我肯定他會樂意在周天子面前為你們說好話的。"

　　石厚把他父親的主意告訴了州籲，然後他們來到了陳國。但在他們到達前，石碏已經祕密快信送至陳國公爵，要求他殺死這兩名凶手。

　　州籲和石厚一到陳國，就被抓了起來。衛國的大臣特地到陳國去執法處死這兩個人。他們斬了州籲，但對石厚是否要被斬首很遲疑，因為他畢竟是石碏的親兒子。 當老人得知這個情況後，他堅定的說："我兒子殺衛公有罪，留他在這世上何用?" 他派家臣去陳國斬了石厚。

　　後來，史學家們評論道："為了維護國家的利益，石碏不因親人而違法。實在是大義滅親呀!"成語"大義滅親"由此而來。

　　：大公無私

　　Perfectly impartial

　　During the Spring and Autumn Period ***770-476 BC***, a very noble official caled Qi Huangyang lived in the State of Jin. One day, the king summoned him to court and asked, "Now that the magistrate position of Nanyang county is vacant, who do you think is suitable for the post?"

　　"Xie Hu is the right man for the job," Qi replied without hesitation.

　　Surprised, the king asked, "Did you say Xie Hu? I thought he's your enemy. Why did you recommend him to take such an important position?"

　　Smiling, Qi Huangyang said, "Your Majesty didn't ask me my personal opinions o Xie Hu. You simply asked me who I thought would be competent for the position. Therefore I recommended Xie Hu.

　　the king followed Qi's advice and made Xie Hu magistrate of Nanyang county. And sure enough, Xie Hu administered the county very well and won respect from local people and his colleagues.

　　Some days later, the king again asked Qi Huangyang for his opinions. This time, the king was trying to find a suitable candidate for a court judge position. Qi Huangyiang recommended Qi Wu for the job. Once again, the king was surprised again by the recommendation because Qi Wu was the son of Qi Huangyang. The king asked: "Who do you recommend your son? Aren't you afraid people will gossip?"

　　Qi Huangyang replied, "Your Majesty, you asked me who was the most capable person for the position of a judge, and I think Qi Wu is."

　　Although the king was a bit hesitant about making Qi Wu the judge, he nevertheless gave him the position. As it turned out, Qi Wu was an upright and talented judge, who people GREatly respected.

　　Qi Huangyang's actions were praised by Confucius who said, "Qi Huangyang was right. He recommended people according to their abilities and talents, not because of personal sentiments， not because of fearing others' gossip. Therefore, people like Qi Huangyang are referred to as people "without selfish motives".

　　From Confucious' comment came the idiom "Unselfish". Anyone who handles affairs fairly and impartially can be described as "Unselfish; Perfectly impartial".

　　大公無私

　　春秋時，晉國有位品格非常高尚的大臣祁黃羊。有一次，晉王召祁黃羊入宮問他："南陽縣缺個縣令，你看，應該派誰去當比較合適呢?」祁黃羊毫不遲疑地回答說："解狐去，最合適了。"平公驚奇的問他："你是說解狐? 他不是你的仇人嗎?你為什麼還要推薦他擔任這麼重要的職位?"

　　祁黃羊笑著說："陛下只問我什麼人能夠勝任這個職位，並沒有問我對解狐的個人看法呀!因此我推薦解狐。"於是，晉王採納了他的建議，派解狐到南陽縣去上任了。當然，解狐到任後，治理有方，他的同僚和當地百姓都尊敬他。

　　過了一些日子，平公又向祁黃羊徵求意見。這回，晉王想找個合適的人選擔任朝廷法官。"祁黃羊推薦了祁午。平公又奇怪起來了，因為祁午是祁黃羊的兒子。他問道："你怎麼推薦你的兒子，不怕別人講閒話嗎?"祁黃羊說："陛下只問我誰最是合適的，我認為祁午是。"

　　儘管晉王還有些猶豫，他還是派了祁午去做法官。事實證明，祁午是個正直，有才能的法官，很受人們的愛戴。孔子聽說這兩件事，十分稱讚祁黃羊。孔子說: "祁黃羊是對的。他推薦人，完全是以才能做標準，不因為個人偏見，便不推薦他;也不因為怕人議論，便不推薦。像黃祁羊這樣的人，才夠得上說"大公無私"啦!"

　　"大公無私"這個成語就是由孔子的評論而來的，用來形容那些公正無私處理事物的人。