my dear friends：
do you know what is the most precious and everlasting thing in the world?
money? you may lose everything you have if you do not use money carefully enough. youth? in one?'s long life youth is like a flash in the pan and no one in the world has the secret to keep his youth forever. beautiful look? many people pray that they can get hold of beauty, but it disappears far more quickly than they can imagine. and when they are in real trouble beauty itself feels helpless. a good job? as you grow older and your brain and hands cannot work as fast as before, it will become other people?'s wealth.
then what is the most precious and ev－erlasting thing in the world?
when you are far away from your fam－ily and feel especially lonely, who will you think of? when you stand on the crossroad in your life and do not know which way to choose, who will you think of? when you encounter greater difficulties than ever and need other?'s encouragement, who will you think of? when you decide to make the greatest decision in your favorite course, who will you think of? who gave birth to you? who brought you up? who shed cheer－ful tears when seeing you make achieve－ments? whose wholehearted blessing will be always with you no matter how far you will go?
yes, it's mother that you will always think of and it's mother's love that will be always together with you.
i once heard a moving story about a mother. two children were drawn into the flood and the situation was very dangerous. their mother jumped into the water without the least hesitation. but you know the moth－er could not swim at all. jumping into the water means she might lose her life. but at that time she had no time to think about herself. she just wanted to try all means to save her children.
maybe her courage moved the god. the miracle happened. she finally succeeded in saving her children one by one. and she, of course, felt extremely ex－hausted.
my friends, mother's love is the greatest love. mother's love is the safest love. no matter you are happy or sorrowful, rich or poor, mother's love will always stay with you.
thank you all!
母 爱
灵 筠（译）
亲爱的朋友：
你知道什么是世界上最珍贵、最永恒的事物吗？金钱？不！不是！因为即使你腰缠万贯，但如果挥霍无度的话，你也会有不名一文的时候。青春？也不是！在人漫长的一生中，青春如昙花一现，稍纵即逝，世界上谁也没有永葆青春的秘诀。也许你会说美貌，我觉得也不是。尽管很多人都希望美丽常在，可是往往不如人意，况且我们一旦陷入困境时，即使拥有美貌，那也无能为力。那么，一个好的工作应该是了吧？但是，朋友，你应意识到，随着年龄的逐渐增大，我们一天天在衰老，思维呢，不如以前敏捷；手脚呢，也不如人家灵活。这时，你不能胜任那个工作了，即使它再好，也不得不拱手相让。
那么，到底什么才是世界上最珍贵、最永恒的事物呢？
当你远离家乡漂泊异地，倍感孤单寂寞的时候，你会想到谁？当你站在人生的十字路口，迷惘彷徨，不知何去何从时，你会想到谁？当你在挫折和痛苦面前悲观、叹息、失望，急需别人的安慰和鼓励时，你会想到谁？人生道路，需要你做出重大抉择时，你会想起谁？是谁给了你最初的生命，把你带到这个世界，享受多姿多彩的生活？是谁教你说话，教你走路，含辛茹苦把你抚养成人？当你取得成绩时，谁会激动得泪流满面？谁的祝福，无论你走得多远，都会围绕在你身边，直到永远？
是的，种种情况下，你想得最多的就是母亲，因为，你知道也相信，母亲的爱是永远和你在一起的。
我曾听到过这样一个关于母亲的感人故事：两个小孩不幸被卷入洪水中，也许一瞬间他们幼小的生命就将被无情的大水所吞噬。可就在这危急时刻，他们的母亲毫不犹豫地跳进了那正在怒吼着的洪水之中……同学们，洪水是无情的！可更让我们担心的是，这位母亲根本不会游泳！跳入水中也就意味着她可能失去她自己宝贵的生命！但是，那个救孩子心切的母亲根本没有时间去考虑她自己，她心里装的只是那两个孩子，那两个将被洪水夺去生命的孩子，她必须想方设法去抢救他们。也许她的勇气和她那无私的伟大的母爱感动了上帝，奇迹发生了：她竟然成功地把两个小孩的生命从无情的洪水中抢了回来！毫无疑问，与洪水一番搏斗之后，这位母亲也筋疲力尽了。
朋友们，母爱是伟大的，母爱也是最安全的，不管你是快乐还是悲伤，富裕还是贫穷，母亲的爱都将永远和你在一起。
谢谢大家！
简评：向听众提问是演讲者惯用的开始讲演的手段，以期一开场便能吸引听众的注意力。本篇演讲的作者便是利用这一方式提出了“什么是世界上最珍贵、最永恒的事物”这一问题，并对可能的回答逐一进行了分析、辨别和否定，当听众心中疑团顿生之时，八个有序而有力的问题的引导使人心中豁然开朗，如有拨云见日之感：是啊，世界上有什么东西能超越母亲的爱呢？作者还用典型事例更加有力地说明了这一点。