【国旗下讲话】勤俭节约,从我做起

亲爱的同学老师们早上好。我们今天国旗下演讲的主题是:节约的生活。
Good morning dear students and teachers. The theme of our speech today is: A frugal life.

什么是节约呢?即为有节制地使用;节省不必要的开支。节约是我们国家的传统美德,是一种传承在历史长河中的美好品质。
What is frugality? That is, spend sparingly; get rid of unnecessary expenses. Conservation is a traditional virtue and a fine quality of our country.

在春秋时期的鲁国季文子作为一个贵族,却一生俭朴,以节约为生活准则,也同样要求自己的家里人如此。他穿衣要求只有干净整洁,而不是追求华丽与奢侈。每次外出时,乘坐的马车也十分简朴。
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Ji Wenzi of Lu State was a nobleman, but he was frugal throughout his whole life. Being clean and tidy was the only need he has for clothing, not glamour and luxury. The carriage he rode was also a very modest one. 

便是“俭”。《左传》曰“俭者,国之宝也”,古语云“节俭之行,君子攸先”。我们从小就被教育要节约,像从小就背的古诗那样“谁知盘中餐,粒粒皆辛苦”。
Many sages have advocated frugality. One of the “Three Treasures” mentioned by Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching is “thrift”. “Zuo Zhuan” says “thrifty people are the treasures of the country”. We have been taught to save money since we were young, as the ancient poem we have recited since childhood says, ” Who knows the rice that feeds is the fruit of hard toil! “. 

那么为什么要培养一个人的节约精神呢?对于小家而言,不铺张浪费的生活习惯可以节省下很多钱。这部分节约下来的钱可以自己花也可以去帮助需要帮助的人。同时在生活中对电水等日用资源的节约可以大幅改善生态环境,也是对我们人类自己本身的保护。
So why should we cultivate frugality? Individual families can save a lot of money by spending less on extravagance, and we can use this money not only for the betterment of ourselves but also for those in need. Meanwhile, the saving of daily resources such as electricity and water in life can greatly improve the ecological environment for our own wellbeing. 

即使我们从小就被教导要“节俭”,可在我们的校园生活中,依旧有不节俭的情况发生,比如在食堂洗完手后没有关紧水龙头。
Even though we have been taught to be “thrifty” since childhood, we still witness wasteful behaviors every day, like not turning off the tap after washing our hands in the cafeteria. 

我们高中部有一个学生,每次上完厕所洗完手擦干时,都用纸把自己的双手裹起来然后转圈,浪费了很多的纸。同样的浪费资源行为还有很多。也许是因为我们没有经历过父母那一代的生活,或者还没进入社会,不了解努力工作赚钱的辛苦,再或许我们可能有时只是为了一时面子,彰显自己的身份地位而点了满满一桌子根本吃不完的菜。
A student in our high school wraps his hands in layers of tissues to dry his hands, which wastes a lot of tissues. We see behaviors like this every day. Perhaps it’s because we haven’t experienced the hardship of our parent’s generation or don’t know how difficult it is to make a living. Sometimes we are tempted to show our status by ordering more food than we can eat. 

虽然我们一个人的浪费不足挂齿,看似只不过倒了一些食物,多开了一会儿灯,可实际上把每个人累积起来后数量就很惊人了我国每年浪费的粮食约3500万吨,这个数字接近我国粮食总产量的6%。城市餐饮业仅餐桌上食物浪费量就高达1700万至1800万吨,相当于3000万至5000万人一年的食物量。然而我们国家还有很多吃不饱,穿不暖的人,所以说浪费是可耻的。
One’s person’s wasteful behavior may not seem that much if we only look at individual’s consumption of food and energy, but the total amount of the whole population is tremendous. It can go up to 35 million tons of food every year, close to 6% of my country’s total grain output. The urban catering industry wastes 17 to 18 million tons of food on the table alone, which is enough to feed 30 million to 50 million people. In the eyes of those suffering from cold and hunger, such waste is appalling.

我们作为学生,无论是在家还是在校园都应该有节约粮食,水电等资源的好习惯。比如在食堂,能吃多少食物,就请阿姨添多少;和阿姨说一声不加自己不喜欢吃的菜,避免倒掉浪费。要坚持光盘,努力地吃完自己的食物。当离开教室时,顺手把灯关上;若非必要,不随意开空调,因为空调的每次启动都会消耗很多电。
As students, we should develop a good habit of saving food, water, electricity and other resources whether at home or on campus. For example, in the cafeteria, ask the ayi in the cafeteria to serve only a proper amount; tell them what you don’t like to eat so as to avoid waste. Try your best to finish everything on your plate. When leaving the classroom, turn off the lights; don’t turn on the air conditioner if you don’t need it, because starting the air conditioner consumes a lot of electricity.   

有些同学会问到:我们现在的生活质量越来越好,为什么还要如此节俭,而不是去享受当下呢?
Some students may ask: “Why should we be so frugal when we have more than enough resources to enjoy a better quality of life?”

实际上,当我们把铺张浪费当成习惯时,我们失去了对知足与感恩的敏感度,只会一味的索取,而不是珍惜,为着以后考虑,比如利用节约下来的资源去投资有意义的事。
In fact, when we make extravagance and waste a habit, we will also forget how to be content and why we should be grateful. We will become obsessed with more, and would not know how to spend our resources on things that are truly meaningful.

如果我们不懂得为什么要节俭,我们内心的欲望也永远得不到满足,即使身边的人将最好的资源分享给我们时。
If we don’t understand the reason to be frugal, our desire will never be satisfied, even after you get everything you want.

希望所有同学都能够养成勤俭节约,知足感恩的好习惯。谢谢大家!
All in all, I hope everyone can be more frugal, and always be grateful, thank you!

撰稿:罗李Joy
翻译:黄彼得Peter
朗读:罗李、黄彼得