本次我院2023级中英国际课程合作班级开学典礼有幸邀请到了我校常驻英语外教Natan先生。他来天华任教已经三年，目前兼任天华雅思考试中心口语考官。

Natan先生真诚地为在场的师生与家长，讲述了自己如何从高中时期的学渣逆袭成为一名优秀的英语教师。他以自身的学习成长经历，激励同学们珍惜时光，热爱学习，享受教育，知识素养将引领同学们打开通向世界的大门！下面是Natan先生演讲原文与译文。

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. To the new freshmen students, welcome to Tianhua College. I will be teaching some of you from next week.

To start off, I’m going to be honest about something. In high school, I was a very bad student. I was one of the boys sitting at the back of the class, not paying attention, talking and making jokes during the lesson. I often wouldn’t do my homework, and just copied my friend’s homework before class. I went to an all-boys high school that was very strict. Actually, Elon Musk went to the same school as me, though he was there about 10 years earlier. Though I’m guessing that he was probably a better student than me at that time. Back then, the teachers still used to hit students, and my teachers used to hit me very often. But it didn’t help, I didn’t care about school, mostly I just wanted to play football.

I’m from South Africa, and in my country our final exams in high school are called the Matric Exams. This determines whether someone can attend university, similar to the Gaokao in China. Well, unsurprisingly, my family were concerned that I’d fail my matric exams and miss the opportunity to go to university. But as a teenager, I thought I knew everything and believed a university degree was just a piece of paper, and that I could succeed in life without it. Which is true for some people.

Then one afternoon, I was having coffee with my grandmother, discussing this topic and she said, “In life you can lose everything, but you always have your education”. That night I went home and really thought about what she’d said, and it made sense. We cannot predict what might happen in the future, what hardships we’ll face, but your education is something you always take with you.

 “In life you can lose everything, but you always have your education”. To this day I have remembered that sentence, because that one sentence changed my life. That conversation with my grandmother was a turning point for me. When I went back to school the next day, I moved to the front of the class. I started listening to my teachers, started doing my homework, started working hard. A few months later I took the university entrance exams and passed. When I went to university, I was fully committed to my studies and worked extremely hard, going on to earn a master’s degree in English Language Teaching from London Metropolitan University.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that a university degree gives you two things: A key and a passport. The degree opens doors that were previously locked, and in our global world it also enables you to work in other countries where your skills are needed. Look at me, working at a university in China. Living here I’ve seen the Great Wall, climbed Huangshan and run a marathon in Inner Mongolia.

Before coming to China, I worked in South Korea for five years. My cousin is also a teacher, he works in Saudi Arabia. With a degree in Engineering, what doors will you open in the future, what countries will you see. Most of you probably know that China and South Africa are both members of BRICS. Perhaps one day you’ll be working as engineers on development projects in my country.

Like me, perhaps some of you weren’t the best students in high school either. It doesn’t matter anymore, that’s in your past. You have a fresh start now, the chance to reinvent yourself. Who do you want to be in the future? Here at Tianhua College, that’s what we’re interested in. We’re in the business of building your future, of providing you with the skills to succeed. We are connected to universities in the UK, America and numerous other countries, and provide opportunities for you to study abroad and become a player on the world stage.

That’s where I come in! Some of you will see me next week in your English Composition class. I’ll be teaching you how to write at the college level, to think critically, conduct research, use credible sources and form a logical argument. My colleagues in the Office of International Programs will teach you classes that develop your spoken communication skills, broaden your cultural awareness and provide you with a greater understanding of other countries. Together we’ll give you the tools to succeed in this globalized world.

This is the first step on the path to your future. Where will you go? What doors will you open? 

下午好，女士们先生们。新生们，欢迎来到天华学院。从下周开始，我会教你们中的一些人。首先，我要诚实地说一件事。高中的时候，我是一个很差的学生。我是其中一个坐在教室后面的男生，上课时注意力不集中，说话，开玩笑。我经常不做作业，只是在课前抄我朋友的作业。我上的是一所非常严格的男校。事实上，埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）和我上的是同一所学校，尽管他早在10年前就在那里了。虽然我猜他当时可能是个比我好的学生。那时候，老师们还经常打学生，我的老师也经常打我。但这并没有什么帮助，我并不关心学校，主要是我只想踢足球。我来自南非，在我的国家，我们高中的期末考试被称为入学考试。这就决定了一个人能不能上大学，类似于中国的高考。当然，我的家人担心我会挂科，失去上大学的机会。但作为一个青少年，我认为我什么都知道，相信大学学位只是一张纸，没有它我也可以在生活中取得成功。这对某些人来说是真的。后来有一天下午，我和奶奶一起喝咖啡，讨论这个话题她说：“在生活中，你可以失去一切，但你永远有你的教育。”那天晚上我回家，认真地思考了一下她说的话，觉得很有道理。我们无法预测未来会发生什么，我们将面临什么困难，但你的教育是你永远带在身边的东西。“在生活中，你可以失去一切，但你永远有你的教育”。

直到今天，我还记得那句话，因为这句话改变了我的生活。与祖母的那次谈话对我来说是一个转折点。第二天回到学校时，我搬到了班级前面。我开始听老师的话，开始做作业，开始努力工作。几个月后，我参加了大学入学考试并通过了考试。当我上大学时，我全身心地投入到我的学习中，并且非常努力地工作，继续获得伦敦城市大学的英语教学硕士学位。随着时间的推移，我开始意识到大学学位给你两样东西：钥匙和护照。该学位打开了以前锁定的大门，在我们的全球世界中，它还使您能够在需要您技能的其他国家工作。看看我，在中国的一所大学工作。住在这里，我看过长城，爬过黄山，在内蒙古跑过马拉松。在来中国之前，我在韩国工作了五年。我的表弟也是一名教师，他在沙特阿拉伯工作。拥有工程学位，您将来会打开哪些大门，会看到哪些国家。你们大多数人可能都知道，中国和南非都是金砖国家的成员。也许有一天你会在我的国家担任开发项目的工程师。像我一样，也许你们中的一些人也不是高中时最好的学生。没关系了，那是你的过去。你现在有一个新的开始，有机会重塑自己。你未来想成为谁？在天华学院，这就是我们感兴趣的。我们的业务是建立您的未来，为您提供成功的技能。我们与英国，美国和许多其他国家的大学相连，并为您提供出国留学并成为世界舞台上球员的机会。这就是我进来的地方！你们中的一些人下周会在英语作文课上见到我。我将教你如何在大学阶段写作，批判性思考，进行研究，使用可靠的来源并形成逻辑论点。我在国际项目办公室的同事将教你课程，以发展你的口语沟通技巧，拓宽你的文化意识，让你更好地了解其他国家。我们将共同为您提供在这个全球化世界中取得成功的工具。这是您通往未来之路的第一步。你会去哪里？你会打开什么门？