My name is Li Hua and I’m very honored today to stand here to give my speech “Thank you, my parents”.

Thank you for your listening.

A little girl whose parents had died lived with her grandmother and slept in an upstairs bedroom. One night there was a fire in the house and the grandmother died while trying to rescue the child. The fire spread quickly, and the situation was terrible.

Neighbours called the fire department, then stood helplessly by, unable to enter the house because flames blocked all the entrances. The little girl appeared at an upstairs window, crying for help, just as word spread among the crowd that the fire- fighters would be delayed a few minutes because they were all at another fire.

Suddenly, a man appeared with a ladder, put it up against the side of the house and disappeared inside. When he reappeared, he had the little girl in his arms. He delivered the child to the waiting arms below, then disappeared into the night.

An investigation revealed that the child had no living relatives, and weeks later a meeting was held in the town hall to determine who would take the child into their home and bring her up.

A teacher said she would like to raise the child. She pointed out that she could ensure her a good education. A farmer offered her an upbringing (教养) on his farm. He pointed out that living on a farm was healthy and satisfying. Others spoke, giving their reasons why it was to the child's advantage to live with them.

Finally, the town's richest resident rose and said, “I can give this child all the advantages that you have mentioned here, plus money and everything that money can buy.”

Throughout all this, the child remained silent, her eyes on the floor.

“Does anyone else want to speak?” asked the meeting chairman. A man came forward from the back of the hall. He walked slowly and appeared to be in pain.

When he got to the front of the hall, he stood directly in front of the little girl and held out his arms.

When asked her choice, the girl gave people the reasons firmly.

6 . Satellite, hunger, stars, kerosene lamps(煤油灯), the Milky Way, the Cultural Revolution’s factional civil wars, a light-year, the flood… these seemingly unconnected things combined together and formed the early part of my life, which shaped the science fiction I write today.

As a science fiction writer who began as a fan, I do not use my fiction as a way to criticize the reality of the present. I feel that the greatest appeal of science fiction is the creation of numerous imaginary worlds outside of reality. I’ve always felt that the greatest and most beautiful stories were told by science. They are far more magnificent, grand, involved, profound, thrilling, strange, terrifying, mysterious, and even emotional. Only, these wonderful stories are locked in cold equations(方程式) that most do not know how to read.

There’s a strange contradiction: On Earth, mankind can step onto another continent, and destroy the civilizations through war and disease. But when they look at the stars, they turn emotional and believe that if aliens exist, they must be friendly and kind.

I think it should be the opposite: Let’s turn the kindness we show toward the stars to mankind and build up trust and understanding between different peoples and civilizations. But for the universe outside the solar system, we should be cautious. For a fragile civilization like ours, this is the most responsible path.

As a fan of science fiction, a considerable part of the science fiction I’ve read comes from America. The fact that American readers can now enjoy my book makes me both pleased and excited. Science fiction describes event of interest to all of humanity. It often describes a day when humanity will form a harmonious whole and I believe the arrival of such a day need not wait for the appearance of aliens.

Except from “Author’s Postscript for the American Edition of The Three-Body Problem”

7 . Nowadays people will say that being an artist should be a temporary dream, something only a select few can do.     1     It isn’t just a painting or a song, but an expression of emotion that cannot be felt through just words themselves.

A craft of imagination can be more important than a craft of knowledge, and it is absolutely possible for the two to be combined. A piece of work isn’t just something created without discipline or training.     2    . An artist needs to learn how to complete the basics like a master before they can add in their own emotions and change the painting to be their own.

    3     This is a great quote for all artists in the sense that each piece of art is different, but inspirations are shared. Students are taught the same thing over and over again, which is good. However, by teaching them to accept new ways of finding solutions or solving their issues,     4    .

There are schools who want to take out the different forms of art found in public schools.     5    . Every person needs a way to allow them to release stress in a healthy way, a way that can be shared with others or kept to themselves. If art, music is taken out of the school systems, then how are students supposed to learn about alternative ways to express themselves?

8 . "How do you account for your remarkable accomplishment in Queen Victoria of the UK asked Helen Keller. "How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf you were able to accomplish so much?"

Ms. Keller's answer is a tribute (致敬) to her dedicated teacher. "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown.”

According to speaker Zig Ziglar, "Little Annie" Sullivan, as she was called when she was young, was no stranger to hardship. She was almost sightless herself and was, at one time, diagnosed as hopelessly "insane" by her caregivers. She was locked in the basement of a mental institution outside of Boston. On occasion, Little Annie would violently attack anyone who came near. Most of the time she generally ignored everyone in her presence.

An elderly nurse believed there was hope, however, and she made it her mission to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie. For the most part, the child did not acknowledge the nursed presence, but she still continued to visit. The kind woman left cookies for her and spoke words of love and encouragement. She believed Little Annie could recover, if only she were shown love.

Eventually, doctors noticed the change in the girl. Where they once witnessed anger and hatred, they now noted a gentleness and love. They moved her upstairs where she continued to improve. Then the day finally came when this seemingly "hopeless'' child was released.

Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as she herself was helped by the kind nurse. It was she who saw the great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, disciplined her, played with her, pushed her and worked with her until the flickering candle that was her life became a beacon of light to the world. Anne Sullivan worked wonders in Helen's life; but it was a loving nurse who first believed in Little Annie and lovingly transformed an uncommunicative child into a compassionate teacher.

“If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." But if it had not been for a kind and dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained unknown.

I was so afraid the first time I met you. It was not just that you were really fat and shouted so loudly. Everything about you was scary. All the teachers were afraid of you, too. But you were excellent and very kind. You would shout at us if we’d done something wrong in another teacher’s lesson, and then you would go to apologize (道歉) to that teacher for what we had done. You made us believe we were able to do anything if we put our heart into it. I hated art, and was disappointed at being unable to draw anything well. So, of course, my mind wandered in art lessons. You took me aside and said I could do it. You told me to concentrate on the lines, and if it was not good, I should start again.

Do you remember how you made me draw and paint that photograph of the tennis player Nastase, and that it was a bit too bad at first but in the end I was so unbelievably proud of it? You could even see the veins (静脉) in his legs. “Mind over matter,” you said, or something like that — and you were right. We thought you were an ogre (凶恶的人), but you turned out to be the fairest person on the earth.

There was a time when I did really well in everything but geography, and you said, “Simon has done quite well this year, but I am only let down by his geography where he didn’t work hard enough.” I said I had worked hard but was too weak in it, and asked if you could change my report, and you rewrote it, saying, “Simon has done quite well except for geography, which he’s not very good at.” Thanks, Mrs Beattie. Hope you’re still teaching there.

Lots of love,

Simon Smith