thank you, mr. chairman.
mr. chairman, i join my colleague mr. rangel in thanking you for giving the junior members of this committee the glorious opportunity of sharing the pain of this inquiry. mr. chairman, you are a strong man, and it has not been easy but we have tried as best we can to give you as much assistance as possible.
earlier today, we heard the beginning of the preamble to the constitution of the united states: "we, the people." it's a very eloquent beginning. but when that document was completed on the seventeenth of september in 1787, i was not included in that "we, the people." i felt somehow for many years that george washington and alexander hamilton just left me out by mistake. but through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, i have finally been included in "we, the people."
today i am an inquisitor. an hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemnness that i feel right now. my faith in the constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. and i am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the constitution.
"who can so properly be the inquisitors for the nation as the representatives of the nation themselves?" "the subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men."¹ and that's what we're talking about. in other words, [the jurisdiction comes] from the abuse or violation of some public trust.
it is wrong, i suggest, it is a misreading of the constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the president should be removed from office. the constitution doesn't say that. the powers relating to impeachment are an essential check in the hands of the body of the legislature against and upon the encroachments of the executive. the division between the two branches of the legislature, the house and the senate, assigning to the one the right to accuse and to the other the right to judge, the framers of this constitution were very astute. they did not make the accusers and the judgers -- and the judges the same person.
we know the nature of impeachment. we've been talking about it awhile now. it is chiefly designed for the president and his high ministers to somehow be called into account. it is designed to "bridle" the executive if he engages in excesses. "it is designed as a method of national inquest into the conduct of public men."² the framers confided in the congress the power if need be, to remove the president in order to strike a delicate balance between a president swollen with power and grown tyrannical, and preservation of the independence of the executive.
the nature of impeachment: a narrowly channeled exception to the separation-of-powers maxim. the federal convention of 1787 said that. it limited impeachment to high crimes and misdemeanors and discounted and opposed the term "maladministration." "it is to be used only for great misdemeanors," so it was said in the north carolina ratification convention. and in the virginia ratification convention: "we do not trust our liberty to a particular branch. we need one branch to check the other."
"no one need be afraid" -- the north carolina ratification convention -- "no one need be afraid that officers who commit oppression will pass with immunity." "prosecutions of impeachments will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community," said hamilton in the federalist papers, number 65. "we divide into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused."³ i do not mean political parties in that sense.
On New Year's Eve, our class had a party. The atmosphere was good. It was out of the ordinary from the very begining. The boy student from one bedroom gave an unusual performance. We saw a boy named Li Xinmin turn off all the lights in a sudden snap. Then with three resounding crow of a cock echoing in the hall, the hall was again brightly lit in a snap.
Then, the representative of the bedroom Zhu Guozhang asked us to guess a line of a poem related to the above situation. He added that Li Xinmin alone was born in the year of the dog and the other three were all born in the year of the chicken. They left us all in confusion. And it was our monitor who was quickwitted. He shouted our, “The day breaks as the cock crows three times at dawn.” The hall After that, they had another item.
This time Li Xinmin was placed in the middle of the circle. While he was standing there, the other three stood around him, each bowing down to him at an angle of 120 degrees. It was an idiom. This time I got it right:“The dog stands out among a group of chickens.”
Then we all sang and played games until it was eleven o'clock at night. The old man on night watch came to turn off the lights. We had to tear ourselves away from the party.
From this activity, I discovered that many of our classmates are really talented singers.
The fairytale of Aladdin has always been my childhood favorite. I was mesmerized by how Aladdin used his three magic wishes. As a small girl, I dreamed of having the magic wishes to go wherever I wanted to go and see whatever I wanted to see. As you can probably guess, I haven't found my genie in the lamp yet, however, I have found something just as exciting and it has made marvelous changes in not only my life, but the lives of all human-beings. It is called technology.
I still remember how my father told me about his childhood back in those days when China was not as open and developed as it is now. Children would run for kilometers to school, make toys with wood by themselves, and the biggest dream of a child was holding two jars of sugar, one white, the other brown in each arm and having the choice of eating whichever he wanted. Just look at what we have now. Magnificent technological advancement has opened up a whole new world to us.
However, just as our lives become more convenient, problems arise from this new life style. We seem to be caged in the modern technology; we are thinking alike as a result of using the same search engine, we are getting lazy as most of our work can be done by machines, and we are alienating people around us for we are more comfortable talking on phones and typing in front of a computer.
If I was given the chance to make my magic wishes now, I would wish we could go back in time and live for three days without advanced technology. I wonder what we would do in those three days. Here is what I imagine:
On the first day, people would be feeling so uncomfortable with the new situation that they would probably be confused and just not know what to do. The world would be in a mess for the whole day.
On the second day, as life goes on, people would have to find alternative ways to deal with their daily rituals: students would have to go to libraries for information they wanted instead of searching on Google; boys would have to express their affection to girls in person instead of sending an annoying txt message; and the young people of today would have the chance to experience the childhood of their parents. On this particular day, we could recover all we had lost in the modern world.
Then comes the third day. After the previous two days, we would gradually come to realize that we should have paid more attention to our studies and work as we actually have so much creativity and potential within ourselves. We would also realize that we should have spent more time with a friend, a parent or a child as we do love them, but we don't really understand them due to the lack of personal communication. We shouldn't have been so dependent on modern technology as it wasn't invented to confine us, but to inspire us. This last day would be spent in sparks of new ideas and sweet moments with our loved ones.
Maybe some would argue that it is just my imagination, and that magic would never work in our world. True, but magic can always work in our hearts, helping us understand that we, instead of the machine, are the masters of the world. The key is to treasure our human initiative and connections, to see the world with our own eyes, explore the unknown with our minds and treat others with our hearts. Just like Aladdin didn't choose to use magic to gain a happy life, we can make our choice, too. And when we do, we will live, as in the fairy tales, happily ever after. Thank you.
dear teacher, dear students:
hello everybody!
my topic today is "making the self-confidence."
thomas edison once said: "confidence is the first secret of success." yes, in life, we can not do without self-confidence everywhere. a person without faith, is bound to be abandoned by the society of a person, a person has been abandoned by successful, one was abandoned by the people themselves! therefore, we can say without hesitation: self-confidence is a person's soul!
self-confidence does not equal arrogance. it is a determination, has the power over life and death. never blindly self-confidence, it is hard honing the ability of the condensed. ability is like the crown, it is only mounted on a self-confident fengyun sparkling diamonds, will become eye-catching and gorgeous. similarly, there is no ability to foil, and let confidence no matter how brilliant, but also like the loss of green flowers, value greatly reduced.
i believe we all heard of "with confidence" the idiom story! good at the northern song painter painting paper with bamboo, when pen to paper without thinking each time they claimed a life-like bamboo map. how did he do it? it turned out that his daily observation of the bamboo hut, seasons, his unshakeable. over time, the length of bamboo thickness, leaf shape color, he is familiar with the heart, naturally, put the bamboo painted superb.
this is the power of self-confidence!
how, if there is no confidence to support him, to encourage him, even though the text was the same with earth-shattering, then do not believe in their own strength and what is the use? he would be buried in the chinese long history of five thousand years in the dust.
self-confidence can pass through time and space, it come and go like the wind, but in everyone around to stay. but if you can not catch it, it will as the yellow river water gone.
in life, we need to seize confidence. hold self-confidence, we can turn in the highest satisfaction of life; in growth, we need to seize confidence. hold self-confidence is the most perfect pass into the society; in the struggle, we need to seize confidence. hold self-confidence, success is not far away in front of you!
I remember once my high school teacher invited the whole class to share our dreams with each other. I said, “I want to become an architect in future.” My desk mate said, “I want to be a public speaker.” Interestingly, a year later, he flew abroad to go for architecture, and I went to college majoring in English. And Look who is giving a speech right now.
What I learned from this experience was that, the road we end up taking can be different from our first plans. If we all realize our initial dreams, this world will be full of supermen and princesses. As I grew up, I often hear people say, life is all about making compromise. Your dream may die. You have to come terms with your life.
Well, my mother doesn’t see it that way. She is a kindergarten teacher, but she has a gift in painting. I often said to her, “if you had applied for an art school, you would definitely have made a great painter.” She said, “Yes, I would. But you were born!” “But it’s ok,” she continued, “I love kids. I can see their cuteness and innocence every day. Besides, they love me as well. Plus, I have a son who is about to see Rui Chenggang face to face. My colleagues are going to be so jealous of me. I am happy with who I am and I love my job.”
Sometimes when we are stuck in a rut, we may stop and wonder if life could be better had we taken the other road, and we may regret having lost so much for our stupid decisions. But on the threshold of adulthood, I would rather view my life in a positive light. I believe there is no absolute losing. Even though we seem to have made a compromise with each choice, even though we seem to have wasted a lot of effort with each failure, we are gaining something every step of the way.
Had I not given up my dream to be an architect, I wouldn’t have found my love for English, and I wouldn’t have met my friends, who, in order to boost my confidence before the speech contest, gathered in my dormitory and held a pep rally. I wouldn’t have met my professors who have always been patient with me, even when I couldn’t come up with a satisfying speech for 2 weeks.
And had I not spent the last 2 weeks painfully preparing for the speech contest, I wouldn’t have had a chance to think about this world, to ponder on life and to form a better understanding of myself.
For all my blessings, I owe my life an attitude of gratitude. From time to time I would picture myself working in my own studio, designing a beautiful villa. But I will not regret it, because I’m happy with who I am, and I love what I have.
So ladies and gentlemen, don’t be so obsessed with the other road in your life. The path you chose may not be ideal, but that’s not the end of the world. Fill your heart with gratitude. Break up with your regrets, and fall in love with your dream. Through all the hardships and difficulties, you’ll find that you’ve garnered more than you’ve sacrificed.
The other day my mother called me and said, “When the contest is over, I will give you a reward for your hard work.” I said, “There is no need for another present. I already have my present. ”
Good morning, everybody!
In this world, there is one thing that is very fair to everybody, whether you are a male or female, young or old, rich or poor. Does anybody know what it is called?
Right. It is time. The topic I am going to present to you today is called “ Treasure Every Minute”.
The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with.
And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
Good luck, everybody!
she kindled a third match. again shot up the flame; and now she was sitting under a most beautiful christmas tree ,far larger, and far more prettily decked out, than the one she had seen last christmas eve through the glass doors of the rich merchant's house. hundreds of wax-tapers lighted up the green branches, and tiny painted figures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked down from the tree upon her. the child stretched out her hands towards them in delight, and in that moment the lights of the match warm quenched; still, however, the christmas candles burned higher and higher， she beheld them beaming like stars in heaven; one of them fell, the lights streaming behind it like a long, fiery tail.
“now some one is dying,” said the little girl, softly, for she had been told by her old grandmother， the only person who had ever been kind to her, and who was now dead that whenever a star falls an immortal spirit returns to the god who gave it.
she struck yet another match against the wall; it flamed up, and surrounded by its light, appeared before her that same dear grandm
“What would you do if you had only one day left to live?”
I asked this question to my young students when teaching English this winter. What were their answers?
“I would watch television!” the first answer. “I would play with the computer!” the second one. “I would play with computer TOO.” The girl finished her sentence perfectly with a serious smile. Indeed how cute and innocent that smile was, but how seriously my heart was hurt. I was too frightened to listen to more answers like that.
Ten years ago, at their age, I had a different answer: I would spend the last day of my life gazing at the face of my dear grandmother until I inscribed every detail of it onto my mind.
When grandmother was getting old and weak, my family bought her a telephone so I could save time and the trouble of traveling to her home by making phone calls instead. Later we bought her a television so she could watch modern dramas by herself. Then grandma must have been, we assumed, very contented and happy.
But I never really knew how grandma felt. She silently passed away without a word one night. When I heard about her death, a chilling pain pierced my empty heart. The pain grew even sharper as I tried to remember in detail exactly how grandma looked and I failed completely! How could I remember? I had not visited her for ages—it seemed like a century! My memories of her dissolved into thin air and leaked away like water.
Even though I have a telephone, can she hear me now?
Even though I might be on television, can she see me now?
Even though I have modern telecommunications, can she still communicate with me now?
With all these “tele”s, I was powerless.
Don't people just love the word of “tele”, which means far away. Indeed this is how modern technology has changed our world. But please don't forget this other word with “tele”: telepathy: which refers to human beings' inborn ability to connect to our loved ones. Our minds are supposed to read each other's minds; our hearts are supposed to feel each other's hearts — and fulfill these without any forms of tool!
But the moment I desperately struggled to remember grandmother's face, the telepathy between her and me had shut down forever. With the help of modern technology, I killed our telepathy.
This shall never happen again! The “tele”s are great inventions. But “telepathy” gives them the warmth of a human face. Let's harness the power of television to excite our kids to develop their telepathy with nature… so that they can read the secret language of flowers. Let's make the telephone lines provoke us to preserve our telepathy with each other, so we can connect in a warm and feeling way. Let technology keep our “telepathy” ALIVE! We need to wake up and make this happen.
I told my grandma's story to those young kids that day. They got very quiet. They asked me for a second chance to answer the question. They had come to a new understanding – that very moment they had made to me and to our future together, a dear promise.
Thank you very much!
Good morning everyone，may I have your attention，please? I am glad to be able to give a lecture on this classroom. This once , I want to talk about English. My topic of conversation is that I love English.
As everyone knows,English is very important today.It has been used everywhere in the world.It has become the most common language on Internet and for international trade. If we can speak English.well,we will have more chance to succeed.Because more and more people have taken notice of it,the number of the people who go to learn English has increased at a high speed.
But for myself,I learn English not only because of its importance and its usefulness,but also because of my love for it.When I learn English, I can feel a different way of thinking which gives me more room to touch the world.When I read English novels,I can feel the pleasure from the book which is different from reading the translation.When I speak English, I can feel the confident from my words.When I write English,I can see the beauty which is not the same as our Chines.
I love English,it gives me a colorful dream.I hope I can travel around the world one day. With my good English, I can make friends with many people from different contries.I can see many places of great intrests.I dream that I can go to London,because it is the birth place of English.
I also want to use my good English to introduce our great places to the English spoken people,I hope that they can love our country like us.
I know, Rome was not built in a day. I believe that after continuous hard study, one day I can speak English very well.
If you want to be loved, you should learn to love and be lovable. So I believe as I love English everyday , it will love me too.
I am sure that I will realize my dream one day!
Thank you!
Firstly, I am glad to be here, let me introduce myself. My name is Li Wei, my English name is Aleevon. I am 22 years old. I come from the northwest of China, the most ancient city in China——Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province. I am studying in the Foreign Language department of Minjiang University situated in Fu Zhou of Fujian Province.
I cross the whole of China to Study because I want to redefine myself; I want to stand on my own two feet. So I left my beloved home town, and started a new life in the southeast of China.
In the past 3 years, I learnt a lot about myself. I never knew that I could have a charming voice, but later I became a Broadcaster on the Campus Broadcasting Station; I never thought that I could have the courage to go on stage, but later I became the First place winner in Campus Host Competition and still do the host every now and then; I never thought that I could be an Inspiring person, but later I became the Head of College Students’ Art Ensemble; and I love to dance ever since I was a kid, I never thought I could dance professionally, but on campus, I became a cheerleader in our cheerleading squad, and we competed throughout the country, from provincial to regional, to the nationals.
I have found a new me in the past 3 years, a new me that I never knew before, and I am still surprising myself. So that’s me, an inspired young man, a cheerleader who will always smile even in the days of despair.