ladies and gentlemen:

　　i am honored to be standing here to deliver a speech entitled “friendship”.

　　the hero's mother in the movie forrest gump says, “life is a box of chocolates”. i would say that life, with friendship, true friendship particularly, is sweet as honey. it is moonlight cast on the tranquility of a lake on a mid-fall night, enchanting to the soul. it is morning dew on rose petals, pleasant and pleasing to the sense of sight. it is cosy fire on a bitterly cold winter night, warming the heart.

　　but as helen foster snow remarks, “friendship is no common weed that grows along the way. it's highly cultivated and watered day by day.” like an infant, it needs constant care; like a young tree, it can not be left to the tender mercies of severe weather. true friendship consists more in “a friend in need” to give to than “a friend in need” to take from. a true friend is a person who can be turned to, who is ready to lend a listening ear, who is willing to share feelings.

　　friendship should be mutual, otherwise it will be subject to withering like plant in drought. like genuine love, true friendship has to be a two way experience. be it the former or the latter, if one expects to be solely on the receiving end, then s/he will be too optimistic about it: it is hoping against hope that it will last. love or friendship of this kind is dangerous, as it is contaminated by the dark matter in human nature – selfishness.

　　not infrequently does friendship need to be cared and tended, fostered and nourished, so that it will “stand at every crossroad, so good and strong and true”.

　　thank you!

　　女士们，先生们：

　　在此，我很荣幸地为你们做一次名为“友谊”的演讲。

　　在电影《阿甘正传》中，这位主人公的母亲曾说过：“生活就像一盒巧克力。”我想说，拥有友谊，特别是真挚友谊的生活就像蜜一样甜。友谊像似水的月光，泻在中秋之夜宁静的河水上，令人陶醉。友谊如挂在玫瑰花瓣上那晨曦的露水，赏心悦目。友谊又如寒冷的冬夜中炽热的火焰，温暖了你的心灵。

　　但是，正如helen foster snow所说：“友谊不是那撒在路边的种子。它需要每天的精心呵护与浇灌。”友谊似一个婴儿，它需精心照料;友谊似一棵树，它不能被遗弃在没有丝毫怜悯与同情的严酷的环境中。真挚的友谊更多是在于对挚友的付出而不是索取。一个愿意帮助你，一个随时准备聆听你述说，一个愿意和你分享感受的人才是真正的朋友。

　　友谊应当是双向的，否则它就会像遇干旱而即将毁灭的植株。就像真诚的爱，真挚的友谊必须是一种双向的经历。但无论是前者还是后者，如果一个人指望只获取而不付出，那么她/他对此也未免太乐观，而希望这样的友谊会长久也只是空想。这样的爱情或友谊是危险的，因为它已被人性的阴暗面--自私所玷污。

　　只有精心的呵护与照料，养育和栽培，才能让友谊“站在每个十字路口时，都是那么美好、那么坚强、那么真挚。”

　　谢谢!