By Wang Xin
Yu ying Middle School，Jinan ，Shandong
Final Score：9.04
Prize：1st
Hello everybody，I'm Tiger．So happy to see you all here．My topic today is“Facing Culture Shock”．
First，I have some questions to ask you．Have you ever been to KFC or MacDonald's？I'm sure you have．Did you enjoy the ham burgers，potato chips or coke there？Or have you ever been to an Italian restaurant to enjoy spaghetti or pizza？Personally，I do enjoy Italian food such as seafood，pizza，spaghetti as well as coffee，one of my favorite drinks．Now，many countries are facing culture shock．So is China．
Actually，in China，western food has already become ordinary and popular in recent years．Also，more and more Chinese have started to enjoy imported fruit，cars and other things after the country became a member of the World Trade Organization．At the same time，more and more challenges and opportunities have come as well as culture shock．
So what is culture shock？The generation gap is a good example．Sometimes Chinese parents don't understand their children．They enjoy rock and pop songs instead of Beijing Opera， they eat ham burgers instead of steamed bread，they act without inhibition and they wear strange and light music clothes．
Think about computers and the net．Many of us have computers of our own．This GREat invention has sped up the development of the whole world．Communication has become a much easier thing．E-mail and net-business have been a great help to all of us．Many young people start to learn computer skills at a very early age．We live in the age of information．We are realistic，modern and international，of course this is not a bad thing，but have you noticed that our traditional culture is facing a great challenge？
Take cartoons for example．I'm a super cartoon fan，but those that I usually enjoy are from Japan or produced by the Disney company．Few of them are Chinese．Think about the popular movies we usually talk about and think about Titanic，Lord of the Ring，Harry Potter and so on．But what about our old stories？They are being forgotten．This situation seems to be more common among the teens and young people．But what I want to say is“Traditional culture does play an important role in every Chinese's life．”Why do I say so？Because every country and district has its own culture．The world has become more colorful because of the differences．If one day people all over the world speak the same language，eat the same thing and wear the same clothes，it's hard to imagine how awful the world would be．
Have you seen the World Cup？I'm sure you have．Besides the exciting games，do you remember the embrace of the Irish team and the wonderful dance from Senegal，the samba of the Brazilian heroes？I am sure you do．I'm sure the Korean team's team work im pressed you a lot．The different cultures have made our World Cup more attractive，the GREat teams and their own cultures had impressed the whole world．Am I right？
Now I want to say that although we are facing culture shock，we can't lose sight of our own culture．One is poor without his personality．A nation is poor without its culture．I know China is a GREat nation with a long history and specail culture．Don't think that it is out of date，because we can see its great potential for study through the old surface．
There is still a lot for us to discover and create．As a member of WTO，China and its traditional sectors are facing GREat challenges．But if we make the most use of them，they are still competitive，aren't they？
Anyone is so happy to see that Chinese knots have become popular among teens，more and more people have become more aware of the potential and attraction．It's our old culture．I'm proud of the culture．And facing a culture shock，we can find a balance between the Chinese culture and the western culture．Believe me，our traditional culture will never be forgotten or abandoned by us，by my generation．Let our nation stand tall in the world．Thank you．
Q＆A
Q：What do you mean by generation gap？
A：Generation gap means a misunderstanding between the children and their parents．Because as we all know as a result of the culture shock，things are changing very quickly．Sometimes the old people have the old opinion，and young prefer absorbing the new things very quickly．
Q：Are you saying like MacDonald's and KFC are examples of culture shock？
A：I think the culture means a lot，I can take example with， the books you read and your life style，and something like that．
Q：Are these examples culture shocks，can you say yes or no？
A：Yes，I think they are．And I think there are also many other parts of culture shock．
Q：Thank you．
