Public Speaking

272 Appendix B^ Sample Speeches

to marry a beautiful girl;” that’s Niulang’s answer. Then the ox takes Niulang to heaven,

and there, Niulang meets Zhinü. And they fall in love. After that, they are married and

have two kids.

But their story is not like any of the romantic Disney stories. They do not end up

living happily together ever since. The marriage between a human and a god is never

permitted, so the Emperor of Heaven takes Zhinü away from Niulang and her kids. But,

he’s touched by their love and agrees that they could meet each other once a year. And

that day becomes the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

As we can see, no matter if it’s the Western or the Chinese cultures, people celebrate

Valentine’s Day all because of love, but they observe that in different ways. In the West,

Valentine’s Day is about sharing love with lovers and family members. People send gifts,

like flowers, chocolates, candy, and love cards to persons they love.

In China, Valentine’s Day is more about the longing for love and in the present.

Chinese girls offer fruit and incense to Zhinü, to pray to have good skills and to find a

satisfactory boyfriend. Lovers pray that they could get blessed and also pray for their

love and happiness.

Now let’s do a review about the Valentine’s Day. Western Valentine’s Day falls on

February 14, and Chinese Valentine’s Day falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar

month. And the Western Valentine’s Day is about a story about St. Valentine, and the

Chinese Valentine’s Day is the story of Niulang and Zhinü. And people celebrated

Western Valentine’s day by sharing flowers, chocolate, candy, and love cards with the

people they love. Chinese people spend the holiday to pray for good skills and love.

In conclusion, Western Valentine’s Day and Chinese Valentine’s Day both

contribute to love, although they celebrate that in different ways. The longing for love

is a strong thing that Chinese and the Western people share. Here are more things we

share, even though we come from different cultures. And there will be lots to discover.

Informative Speech Outline

E-Waste* (for use with Chapter 9)

By Jordan Keagle

Jordan’s assignment is to create an informative speech that illustrates civic engagement by

describing a social issue and an organization founded to help solve it.

Valentine’s Day

Western Culture vs. Chinese Culture

Western Valentine’s Day Chinese Valentine’s Day

When February 14 The seventh day of the seventh lunar

month; falls on August 4 this year

Why The Story of Saint Valentine The Story of Niulang and Zhinü

How Flowers, candy, chocolate, cards Pray for skills and for true love

Fruit and incense for Zhinü

*© Cengage Learning 2015.

[Because Lishan’s first language is Chinese and he speaks with an accent, he displayed this table to help his

listeners better understand his speech.]

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