Samuel Ting (丁肇中) is an eminent Chinese-American physicist. He won the Nobel prize in physics in 1976. When he was going to give his Nobel prize winner speech, he insisted on speaking Chinese even though not many people in the audience knew Chinese. The US ambassador in Sweden told him that he shouldn’t give his speech in Chinese because America and China were cross, but Samuel Ting said: “If I want to use Chinese, I can use Chinese. You can’t tell me what to do.”
I think Samuel Ting decided to speak Chinese because he is proud of being Chinese and his Chinese cultural background. The Chinese culture has helped him learn many things for example Chinese language and probably the way he thinks when doing physics research. He also wants people to know that Chinese culture is important. China has a long history and has made a significant contribution to the world. Another reason he wanted to speak Chinese is that he doesn’t care about what other people think as long as he is doing the right thing. He is very confident and nobody will do anything to make him stop.
We can learn a lot from Samuel Ting. It would be great if we were so confident and famous like him. But to do that, we have to work hard. Samuel Ting works very hard. He is already 85 years old and he still works throughout the day. We should want to be very proud of our culture just like Samuel Ting. Chinese culture provides a unique perspective and wisdom to solve complicated problems. The Chinese culture has taught us that harmony, kindness, manners, wisdom, honesty, loyalty, respect, and care are very important. We should want to be like him and tell everyone that our heritage is as important as anyone else’s.
The Chinese culture has strengthened me and all of us. We could all do better like Samuel Ting to be proud of our culture and heritage. Everyone should be proud of their culture because that defines who they are. Former President of China Hu Jintao once said: “The Chinese culture belongs to not only the Chinese but also to the whole world.” I also think that the Chinese culture is something the whole world can benefit from.
2 thoughts on “Samuel Ting gave his speech in Chinese”
Good writing! I like the way you structured the short article. You should be proud of yourself gor this piece..
Mary, be brave and do what is right! Keep up your superb work!