尊敬的各位家长，各位老师，亲爱的同学们：
大家上午好！
Respectable parents, colleagues, and dear students,
Good morning!
在这美丽的金秋时节，我们在这里隆重举行吉林华桥外国语学院2016-2017学年开学典礼暨表彰大会。首先，我谨代表学校，热烈欢迎2016级2426名本科生和107名中外研究生加入华外这个温暖的大家庭！向多年来辛勤哺育孩子们成长的各位家长表示崇高的敬意！同时，向获得表彰的先进集体和个人表示热烈的祝贺！
On this beautiful golden autumn day, we are gathered here for the 2016-2017 school opening and award ceremony. First, allow me to extend our welcome to all 2,426 new undergraduates and 107 Chinese and foreign graduates; our respect to all parents for their hard work, and our congratulations to those who have been awarded for their work in the past year!
同学们，经过10多年的寒窗苦读，你们终于进入了大学这一神圣的殿堂，迎来了人生的又一次重大跨越。对你们当中的绝大多数而言，升入大学，也就意味着离开家乡、离开父母，将在一个更大的集体中独立生活，将独自去面对新的环境，独自去开拓新的人生之路。
Congratulations to you for achieving a success in your study and stepping into a new journey of life. For most of you, university life means leaving your home, your parents, and starting a new life on your own.
我知道，在拿到录取通知书的短暂欣喜之后，同学们一定早已开始期待和憧憬大学生活，开始深刻地思考大学之真谛：大学提升人生价值，渴求真知，启迪智慧；大学强调责任，培养科学精神，使你们底蕴深厚、视野开阔、目光远大；大学让你们去发现自己、认识自己，选择未来将成为怎样的人。对同学们而言，尽管你们的家庭背景、个性特征、成长起点、理想抱负、生活旨趣存在很大差异，但你们都有着共同的目标，那就是要在华外度过有意义的大学生活，要让青春在这美丽的校园绽放，要让年轻的生命在大学四年增值，要让人生的理想从这里启航！
After the joy of getting enrolled, you must have been looking forward to starting university life and pondering upon the essence of it.University life enhances your knowledge as well as values; it reinforces the sense of responsibility, vision and insight; it helps you to discover more of yourself and decide what you will be. Despite differences in your personal traits, you share a goal of leading a meaningful life in Huawai and stepping onto the path towards your ideal!
同学们，在未来的人生旅途中，如果你们选择拼搏、选择奋斗，如果你们怀揣梦想、不甘平庸、不让生命虚度，那么，华外就是你们最正确的选择。两天前，在阅兵式上，看到同学们精神饱满、步伐整齐的队列，以及你们英姿飒爽、斗志昂扬的分列式表演，你们在短短的十五天内就取得了这样优异的军训成果，此时此刻，我要告诉同学们，你们已经圆满完成了大学阶段的第一课，用实际行动证明了你们是最优秀的！我为你们感到骄傲和自豪！
Dear students, Huawai is your best choice if you uphold your ideals and aspire to devote to them. At the military training parade two days ago, your extraordinary performance was quite impressive given that you had only two weeks of training.You have successfully completed your first lesson in university life and proven your excellence! I’m so proud of you!
同学们，你们来到了华外，相信已经被华外“桥”、“外”、“精”的风格，中西合璧的文化，“一切为了学生成人、成才、成功”的办学理念、“以学生为中心，办最负责任的教育”的教育理念所深深感染，一定有所思、有所悟：这是一所特色鲜明、与众不同的大学！
Dear students, you must have been inspired by Huawai’s architectural concept and cultural values, and deeply impressed by its student-centered educational concept. You must have learned that Huawai is a unique university with its own characteristics.
华外是伴随上个世纪90年代改革开放春风诞生的民办大学，去年刚刚度过20岁的生日。21年来，华外克服千难万险，在荆棘丛中脱颖而出，已成为吉林省重点建设的大学；成为东北地区语种最全的外国语大学；成为我国第一所举办者放弃校产所有权的非营利性民办大学；成为我国首批获得硕士学位授权的民办大学。
Established in 1995, Huawai just celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Huawai has now become a key university in Jilin province and the only private university in China with public welfare in its constitution. Huawai has also placed itself among the top five private universities in China offering master degree programs.
华外以其对公益性的坚守、对培养应用型人才的准确定位、对人才培养质量的严格要求、对学校管理的精益求精，在国内乃至国际上积累了良好办学声誉，成为我国民办高等教育快速发展的见证和缩影。在过去的五年里，华外生源质量和毕业生就业质量在全国民办高校中名列前茅。2014年，华外成功入选 “全国高校毕业生就业工作50强”，2016年1月发布的“中国最好大学排名”和“2016生源质量排名”中，华外位列全国民办高校之首。如今，华外作为我国非营利性民办大学联盟的发起校，成为了我国非营利性办学的一面旗帜，引领着我国民办高等教育改革发展的方向。我们坚信，华外一定可以为青年人的成长创造良好的平台、提供广阔的发展空间。
With its persistence on a public welfare spirit and pursuit of perfection in education and management, Huawai has established its reputation at home and abroad. In the past five years, the quality of students enrolled and graduated were among the top in China’s private universities. As the initiator of China’s Association of Non-profitable Private Universities, Huawai has been leading reforms and development of private higher education. We will ensure you a favourable platform for your personal growth here.
同学们，青年人的成长成才需要付出辛劳和汗水，你们要主动顺应历史大势，从时代精神中吸取养分。成功是个人努力的结果，同时也是时代所造就。历史地看，你们生活在一个物质生活极其丰富的时代，生活在一个科技日新月异的时代。但同时，也要清醒地认识到，你们成长在一个社会急剧变革的时代，新一轮科技革命和产业革命已初现端倪，“互联网+”已成为一种新的思维，科学技术的进步已经或正在深刻地改变人类的生产生活方式和交往模式，对传统的价值观念、家庭结构、行为模式产生了前所未有的冲击。国家的对抗、民族的纷争、文明的冲突，丝毫没有因为物质的丰富和科技的进步有所缓和，挑战前所未有。从这个角度看，你们肩负着更大的使命。这一使命，不仅是个人成功的诉求，更是国家繁荣和民族振兴的使命，同时还是促进人类进步和文明演进的使命。在这样的时代大背景下，正确规划个人发展，就具有更加宏大的视野，同时也赋予了生命更为深远的意义。
Dear students, from a historic view, you are living in an era of a rich material life, but you also need to realize the acute transformations of the era. Advancement in science and technology has been transforming the mode of production and ways of communication, nonetheless, confrontation and disputes among countries and cultures have not been alleviated, not even a bit. Unprecedented challenges give you a grander mission, which is about national prosperity and human progress. In this context, plans for personal development are endowed a greater vision and significance in life.
同学们，华外为你们提供了良好的学习环境，同时，要成就梦想，你们自身必须付出不懈努力。在你们即将掀开人生崭新一页的时候，我向你们提出三点希望：
Dear students, you will enjoy a favourable learning environment at Huawai but you need to work hard to achieve your goals. Today, I have three proposals for you.
一是希望同学们志存高远，肩负使命。列夫·托尔斯泰说，“理想是指路明灯，没有理想，就没有坚定的方向；而没有方向，就没有真正的人生。”理想，它引领我们科学认识社会发展规律、明确自身历史责任，拥有正确的人生坐标，提升精神境界，增强学习动力。一个人追求的目标越高,他的能力就发展得越快,对社会的贡献就更加突出。当今时代，实现中华民族伟大复兴是我们整个民族共同的理想。作为华外学子，要注重培养家国情怀，将个人发展有机融入中华民族伟大复兴的历史进程，实现个人价值和社会价值的有机统一。做一个有理想、有抱负、有志向的新一代大学生！
First, I invite you to hold high ambitions and shoulder your mission. Tolstoy once said, “Ideal is like a beacon. Without ideal, there is no direction, which leads to no real life.” Ideals lead us to understand the society and our mission, and provide us with orientation and a stronger drive in learning. Rejuvenating the Chinese nation is a shared ideal of all Chinese people. Huawai students are expected to be patriotic through integrating personal value and growth into the grand historic path of Chinese rejuvenation. I hope you to be university students of the new era with high ideals and ambitions!
