初中英语演讲比赛演讲稿经典20篇

English is familiar to most people, because nearly every student in school has to learn English. It is a compulsory course in most schools. Why we have to learn English?

First of all, English is a worldwide language.

Nearly every country is using it, including China. If we want to earn a good position in China, we need to learn English.

Besides, learning English can provide us more chances when finding jobs. With the development of China, we have more chances to work with or work for foreigners. What’s more, learning English is helpful to build our confidence. The more knowledge we know the more confidence we will have.

大部分人都很熟悉英语，因为几乎每个学生在学校里都要学习英语。在大部分学校英语都是必修课。我们为什么要学习英语？首先，英语是世界通用的语言。几乎每个国家都在使用英语，包括中国。如果我们想在中国赢得一个好地位，我们就得学习英语。此外，学习英语在找工作的时候可以为我们提供机会。随着中国的发展，我们有的机会去和外国人一起工作或者为他们工作。更重要的是，学习英语有助于我们建立信心。学到的知识越多我们就会越有自信。

[初中英语作文：为什么要学习英语

I went to Xinjiang with my mom and dad in the summer vacation。 Every station of the silk road was full of beauty and magic。

Our first stop is to reach thirteen in the ancient city of Xian， where the world famous Terracotta Army of Qin， is the unity of Qin Shihuang made his China funerary， magnificent， true to life。

The second stop is Dunhuang。 We go by train。 In the silk train I met some new friends， they are three with a tour group is big sister in high school。 The train arrived at the destination at second oclock in the evening at 8 oclock。 Although it took a day and a half， but because we got to know so many new friends， we enjoyed ourselves on the train， so we didnt feel tired at all。

The second day early in the morning， we went to Crescent Spring， Mingsha mountain， enjoy the boundless desert scenery， riding a camel in the desert to explore the inexhaustible wonders of Crescent Spring。 In Dunhuang， we also see the Mogao Grottoes murals， there are flying fairies， Pipa dance， is really worthy of the ancient works of skilled craftsmen! But the aunt said that such precious relics are now facing the threat of being swallowed by the desert。

On the fourth day， we once again took the train to Turpan， the famous vineyard in Xinjiang。 We are enjoying the sweet grapes， enjoy a beautiful song and dance in Xinjiang， experience the Flaming Mountains hot， watch the water - amazing kariz engineering。

Farewell in Turpan vineyards are reluctant to part， we came to the silk road trip end point station Urumqi， tour of the Tianshan Tianchi， as Xinjiang girl， eat mutton string， watching a thriller "Dawaz" high wire program， feel the enthusiasm of Xinjiang。。。。。。

This trip， let me see the beauty of the mountains and rivers of the motherland， experience different ethnic customs， appreciate the wisdom of the ancient people， learn a lot of history and geography knowledge， and have made many new friends。

暑假我和爸爸妈妈一起去新疆旅游，丝绸之路的每一站都充满美景和神奇。

我们到达的第一站是十三朝古都西安，那里的秦兵马俑世界闻名，是统一中国的秦始皇造出来陪葬他的，宏伟壮观，栩栩如生。

第二站是敦煌，我们是坐火车去的。在丝绸火车上我认识了几位新朋友，她们是同一个旅行团里的三位即将读高中的大姐姐。火车第二天晚上８点才到目的地，虽然坐了一天半的时间，但因为结识了这么多新朋友，我们在火车上玩得开心，所以一点儿也不觉得累。

第二天一大早，我们去了鸣沙山、月牙泉，欣赏到无边无际的沙漠风光，骑着骆驼探寻沙漠中的奇观——不会枯竭的月牙泉。在敦煌，我们还看了莫高窟壁画，里面有飞天仙女、反弹琵琶舞，真不愧是古代能工巧匠的作品！可是听讲解员阿姨说，这么珍贵的古迹，现在却面临着被沙漠吞没的威胁。

第四天，我们再一次乘火车到达新疆著名的葡萄园——吐鲁番。我们享受着甜美的葡萄，欣赏了优美的新疆歌舞，体验了火焰山的炎热，观赏了令人惊叹的水利工程——坎儿井。

在依依不舍中告别吐鲁番的葡萄园，我们来到了此次丝绸之路旅行的终点站——乌鲁木齐，游天山天池，扮新疆姑娘，吃羊肉串，看惊险的“达瓦孜”高空走钢丝节目，尽情感受新疆的热情……

这次旅行，让我看到了祖国山河的美丽，体验了不同民族的风情，欣赏了古代人民的智慧成果，学到了很多历史和地理知识，还结识了很多新朋友。

Today, I go to school with a headache. At the beginning, it is just a

slightly pain. Nevertheless, it is not until the English lesson that my head

pains heavily. So it is difficult for me to take notes. Luckily, my English

teacher notices it so she takes me to the office. With a big smile on her face

and caring words, she gives me a glass of water. To my surprise, she offers to

help me notes. It is her love that warms me up. At that moment, I whisper myself

that I will do my utmost to help others as kind as my English teacher.

My mother, thirty years old, medium tall, slim figure, melon face, long with a bright long hair, every day wearing a ponytail, put in the back of the head to go. A pair of thin long eyebrows with a pair of water Lingling big eyes, high nose bridge with a pair of black box glasses, it is very gentle. I like to see my mother laugh, my mother laughed and exposed a white teeth, looks very good. You do not be confused by the appearance of my mother, but at home, but a "king" it.

I remember once, my mother told me to practice calligraphy words, I reluctantly, absent-minded, bent on watching TV, three times under the two write a few words written, then my mother came over and saw my word , Without any explanation, "snapped ... ... snapped ... ...", gave me two slap, pulled me just wrote the word, kneaded into a ball, torn to pieces, thrown into the trash, pointing to me, reprimanded: " With this attitude, but also want to write a good brush.

I clutching my mother had just hit the red face, silent, two drops of tears from the eyes of the flow out, I re-pick up the pen, seriously began to write. I know my mother is good for me, she often educated me: young and strong do not work, the boss was sad. My mom is a bit impatient, but she is very capable and hardworking. Morning, the day is not bright, my mother to get up early to do breakfast, laundry, and so on when we have a sumptuous breakfast to show in my eyes, fragrant.

How, i have a best mother in the world, envy it!

1. Today is very hot; I just have to stay at home all day. I watched TV after finishing my homework. The program was called animal planet. It was wonderful. It was about the beautiful nature and animals on the earth.

I enjoyed very much and learned a lot from it. I also ate water melon, which was great.

2. Today is hotter. I wanted to stay at home, but my father told me to do some exercises. He asked me to go shopping. I bought some food and drinks, and some vegetables. My mother praised me. I was hot and sweaty, but I was happy then.

3. Today is rainy. I went out with my friends. We went to the shopping mall, restaurant, and cinema. It was an exciting and amazing day. I bought many things I like, had a good meal and nice talk with my friends, and enjoyed a very interesting movie.

4. Today is hot again. My father is free. I asked him if we could go swimming, and he agreed. We went to the swimming pool. There were many people. I like swimming, though I am not very good at it. My father taught me a lot. He is very kind and patient. We enjoyed there very much. It is really a fruitful day.

5.Today is cloudy, but still very hot. I stayed at home, finished my home work and watched a movie, which is called illusionist. It is difficult to understand at the beginning, but I got to know it and enjoyed later then. It is a story happened in the 19th century in Europe, which is about love, trick and ambition among a magician, his lover in his childhood and the lover’s husband. You could only know it at the very end of the story.

6. Today is sunny and hot. I do nothing but surf on the internet, chatting with my friends, playing computer games and listening to the music. It is boring somehow. However, I found some nice music. I like pop music, folk song, rock music and light music. I downloaded them to my MP3 and enjoyed it when I resting on the bed.

7. Today I went out with my friends because it is not so hot. We went shopping, chat together, and had nice drinks and creams. Summer holiday is long, but the happy time is always short and memorable.

8. Today I went to see my grandparents with my mother. They are healthy and kind. We had a wonderful meal there. They usually do exercise in the early morning and have a walk after dinner. I should do more exercises, which is good to my health. Maybe I should lose some weight.

9. Today I only played cards and chess on the internet. I won a lot, which made me very happy. Internet is very useful and enjoyable. People could connect to each other by it, though I thought people communicate to each other less than before in reality. A coin has two sides.

10. Today I started to read a book called “The pride and the prejudice”, which is a famous novel. It is very interesting. It is delightful that the two couples get married as their wishes at last. However, it is difficult for me to describe the details to you. I think you should read it by yourself.

我成功了，也许我成功地完成了任务;也许我终于学会了滑冰;也许我学会了做饭炒菜;也许我成功地完成了短跑。可是这次我成功了，是因为我终于打完了篮球比赛!

星期六的下午，我和我的队友一起站上了篮球场上，这是我们今年最后一场比赛，如果赢了，第三名。输了，十几名。我们背水一战，因为已经打了四场比赛，两胜两负，这场必须全力以赴，而且还是对战南小，实力不可小视!

第一节比赛还是我带领一队上场，南小的每一个人都比我们高，可是我们灵活，虽然跳球时她们把球打到了我们的防区。但是被眼疾手快的小杨抢到了。一下子抛给在篮下的我，我转身投篮，进了!就因为我们小巧，把比分拉到了10：2。第二节是小丁带领二队上场，二队全是6年级的，个子高些，而南小的二队却是5年级的，虽然我们在身高上占优势，但是南小的却利用我们一队的战术，把比分拉到了12：10。接下来是该三队上场了，是由我、小丁、小杨、小唐、小李上场。这次打得太激烈了，大家都在争分，小丁因为中暑了，所以下场，缺少了她，我们的势气大大减弱。副校长走过来对我说：“你们队长中暑了，你是副队长，必须坚持到最后!加油!”队长又走过来对我说：“我看好你，别让我失望，别丢脸。”听了这些，虽然我的手受伤了，还流血了，但我没给他们说，我想争光!我又重新分配战略，让她们努力奋斗，最后我们把比分拉到了30：20。“耶!我们赢了!”我和队长紧紧地抱在一起，共享着胜利的喜悦!

我们终于赢了!

我想，如果你想要成功，那就必须付出十倍的努力。而我想要获得篮球比赛的成功，除了付出十倍的努力，还要讲究团队精神。

还记得我印象最深的一次篮球比赛，是在一个风和日丽的早上，老师要求我们男生对女生的篮球比赛。我们男生摆出一副得意洋洋的样子说：“你们这些女流之辈就像被人摆在桌子的鸡，任人吃，只好惟命是从。没有还手之力。女生并没有理会我们。

激烈的篮球比赛开始了。女生真得像我们说的一样真是没有还手之力。一转眼，我们投进十分。过了20分钟，女生好像知道我们的战术，把我们的战术全部封锁。我们这时就像一匹千里马活生生的给人用几米高墙壁困住，不能在辽阔的草原飞奔着。我们的传球被女生截住了来个大快攻我们连续犯了这个错误。使女生有机可乘，这时女生可乐但我们因此大家平时互相合作的精神就这样变成了好像仇人的心理。突然间，我们中了女生的计划”笑里藏刀“中摔倒了，腿直流起血来。我立刻召集大家回来跟他们说：”你们看，我们正处在一个水深火热当中，有一个人又不能进入比赛。4对5肯定吃大亏，现在又同室操戈，我看不用比赛了，只好投降。“有一个人说”不行，我们不要给命运打倒，命运是自己的手中，要自己创造出来。命运要我们败在女生手下，我就把命运打倒了。正所谓‘男儿当自强’。我们要同仇敌忾，不管对方是铜墙还是铁壁。正所谓‘兵来将挡，水来土淹’万事都有缺点，没有东西是十全十美，我们一定要同心协力。“听了这番话以后，大家像是自己的亲人一样没有同室操戈反而同舟共济共度难关。我们经过十分钟地寻根问底终于找到他们的缺点，再运用”四虎连环阵“终于把分数追平。离完场还剩下10秒。我不管三七二十一立刻把球运过去。当剩下5秒时，我心想：不能在篮底投。我只能在3分线投。我被逼在3分线投。球在篮匡里转，可能会被转出去。我们祈求上天一定要投进。果然如此，成功了。我们以压倒性的优势赢了这比赛。

这一次的篮球比赛我们能取得最后的胜利，我觉得主要是因为我们团队十分的团结。而在一个团体中，合作是十分重要的。打篮球也是一样，如果大家都不合作的话，那么将是一团散沙，人性都有弱点，大家只有取长补短，才能取得进步，才能向成功迈进。

COOD HEALTH良好的健康

We all wish (hope) to be happy, so we should take good care of our health.

Health is the best treasure (which) a man can possess. Money can do many things, but it cannot buy happiness. However, so long as man has good health, he can enjoy the pleasures of human life.

In order to insure good health we must pay attention to three things. They are-nourishing food, fresh air and proper exercise.

我们大家都希望快乐，所以我们应该好好保重健康。一个病人因为失去健康而很少快乐。

健康是一个人所能拥有最好的财富。钱能做许多事情，但是它却不能购买。然而，只要一个人有良好的健康，他就能享受人生的乐趣。

为了保证良好的健康，我们必须注意三件事情。它们是营养食物，新鲜空气和正当运动。

[初中英语日记.良好的健康

People always say that we are lacking of the eyes of realizing the beauty in life. I can’t agree with it anymore. Last week, I woke up very early in the morning, so I decided to take a walk. The street was very quiet and there were many old people dancing in the square. Without many cars, I realized the city looked so clean and beautiful. Some coffee shops decorates so well, which attrated my eyes. The city was coverd by the green trees, which made it a green city. I liked this feeling so much. At this moment, I found the city was so lovely, I just ingored its beauty usually.

人们总是说我们缺乏发现实现生活中的美丽的眼睛。我十分同意。上周,我早上很早就醒了,所以我决定出去散步。街上很安静,有很多老人在广场上跳舞。街上没有了很多小车,我意识到这个城市看起来那么干净和漂亮。一些咖啡店装修很好,吸引了我的眼球。这座城市被绿色的树木覆盖着,这是一个绿化放的城市。我很喜欢这种感觉。这时,我发现这个城市是如此的可爱,平常我忽略了它的美。

child will be the national future host, therefore, how to provide the child a good family, the society perhaps the learning environment, is goal which various countries will devote. in August, 1925 convened in the Swiss Geneva about in child welfares international conference, proposed “the International Childrens Day” for the first time concept. this congress has 54 national loving care child representatives, gathers holds “the child happy international congress” in the Swiss Geneva, "Safeguards Child Manifesto through Geneva". In the manifesto, proper enjoys, deprived childs relief, the child danger work regarding the child spirit to avoid, the child making a living opportunity acquisition, as well as how to rescue raises questions and so on child, has the warm discussion.after will be inferior from now on the congress, so as to the one hand the inspiration child, lets the child feel happiness, joyful, on the other hand also to cause the society to take seriously with to cherish, various countries government successively schedules “the childrens day”.

When it comes to success, different people have different opinions about what makes it come true. Some people regard hard-working as an essential quality to success while others believe being clever would lead to success. From my point of view, I think perseverance and hard-working are indispensable for those who want to make an achieveme

谈到成功时，对于实现成功的原因不同的人有不同的看法。有些人认为勤奋是成功必备的素质，而另一些人则相信聪明人会实现成功。从我的角度来看，我认为毅力和勤奋对于那些想要成功的人是必不可少的。

Firstly, perseverance let people step closely towards success. Most people want to make a big difference to prove their value. People who set their goal and keep moving would make their dream come true. However, there are some people who set their goal but they stop at the difficulty would fail in the end. I think the difference between success and failure is perseverance. If we have perseverance, even if we are not clever, we will make a great difference, but if we not, we are doomed to lose. As we all know, Edison is a great inventor in the world. However, before he invented the bulb, he kept trying for tens of thousands of times to find a suitable wire. Let us imagine, if he gave up at the 999th, then how he couldn’t become so successful. So, I strongly believe that perseverance produces success.

首先，毅力让人离成功越来越近。大多数人都想用不同的方式证明自己的价值。设定自己的目标，向着目标走，就可以使梦想成真了。然而，有些人设立了目标，却在困难面前妥协了将以失败告终。我认为成功与失败之间的差别是毅力。如果我们有毅力，即使我们不聪明，我们也会有很大的不同，但是如果我们没有毅力，我们注定是要失败的。我们都知道，爱迪生是一位伟大的发明家。但是，在他发明电灯泡前，他试了为数千次去找一个合适的线。让我们想象一下，如果他在第九百九十九次放弃了，那么他就不可能变得如此成功。因此，我强烈认为，坚持就会成功。

Secondly, there is also a kind of people who are born with cleverness, I think they are lucky. Nevertheless, if they don’t make a hard work on their way to their goal, they, absolutely, will become loser. Whether we are gifted for intelligent, we must be hard-working so as to success. I regard hard-working as an efficient approach to be successful because I believe ‘pains and gains’. As for those who do not make great efforts on work, failure follows. In old times, there is a clever boy who can make excellent poem when he can talk. When his father found the little child’s cleverness, he just let the child make poems to show around while never let the boy learned anything. When the boy grew up, people forgot him because he lost the ability Secondly, there is also a kind of people who are born with cleverness, I think they are lucky.

Nevertheless, if they don’t make a hard work on their way to their goal, they, absolutely, will become loser. Whether we are gifted for intelligent, we must be hard-working so as to success. I regard hard-working as an efficient approach to be successful because I believe ‘pains and gains’. As for those who do not make great efforts on work, failure follows. In old times, there is a clever boy who can make excellent poem when he can talk. When his father found the little child’s cleverness, he just let the child make poems to show around while never let the boy learned anything. When the boy grew up, people forgot him because he lost the ability

其次，还有一种人是天生聪明的，他们是幸运的。然而，如果他们没有在实现目标之前努力工作，他们当然也会成为失败者。无论我们是否有天资，我们都应该努力工作以获得成功。我认为勤奋是成功的一个有效的方法，因为我相信的“付出和收获”。对于那些不努力工作的人最后是失败的了。在古代，有一个聪明的男孩，在他能说话的时候就可以作优秀的诗歌。当他的父亲发现他孩子的聪明时，他只是让孩子到处作诗歌来炫耀，却从不让他儿子学习别的知识。孩子长大后，人们把他遗忘了，因为他失去了创作能力，成为了普通人。从这件事中，我们可以看到，只有通过努力工作才能获得知识，拥有一个好的 Anyway, I think perseverance and hard-working are both important in our way to success for they enhance us and produce success

不管怎么样，我觉得毅力和勤奋在成功路上都是很重要的，因为他们提升我们并获得成功。

July 26th Tuesday Sunny

In the morning, we see a new friend. Although I don’t know his name, I meet him. And I think this boy looks like Edison. He is handsome. Later we make up some short plays and my group also show our play. Our story talks about a magician helping some fishes. And we got No.1.

In the afternoon, we play a game. It is so much fun!

Although the class is still boring, I think, in our life, we still can find some happiness!

Nice mood! Nice weather! Nice day!

I have studied in my middle school for three years.My life in middle school is rich and I have learned a lot. I get knowledge from text books as well as from extra curricular activities. I studied hard in the past three years so that I got perfect scores. But, I also attach importance to other aspects, such as making friends, hobbies, health and sports. I build good relationships with my classmates. They become an important part of my life.I like to chat with them after class that makes me relax and comfortable. My hobby is swimming. Every Sunday morning, I go to swim with my friends or my father. When I have fun, I build a healthy body. Its so great to me. In one word, my life in middle is colorful and unforgettable.

Winter vacation is coming.Were happy to welcome the holidays.Usually,winter vacation is funny because Spring Festival is during the vacation. www.t262.Com

Spring Festival is a excellent day for every Chinese,especially for children.During the festival,relatives go to visit each other and give presents to each other.then its the happy moment for children,children are given some lucky money.

But Im not a child any longer.I want to make the festival a little bit different. I plan to have a different day.Im going to sell some toys in the flower market.I will ask my friends to join me.If i earn some money,Ill buy some presents to my parents.Well,its my turn to give back to my parents for their love.

When i was in high school, I had to study all the time and hardly had spare

time to do what i wanted to.Besides, I had to focus on my textbooks and doing

exercise again and again. Therefore, I had little time to read magazines and

novels and watch TV. what was worse, I couldnt play with my friends a lot, which

I couldnt stand the most. In a word, all i did in high shool should be

considered for the College Entrance Examination.

However, my college life is totally different from the life in high

school.I can arrange my time freely. I spend most of my time reading in the

library, where I can open my eyes and broaden my mind.In my free time, I also

join some clubs,where i can make a lot of friends of different majors. My

teachers in college are so kind and knowledgeable that they not only teach us

knowledge but also how to be a person and how to get on with others. In

addition, there are more opportunities for me to improve myself.

I believe college life is an important stage in my life. In college, i can

learn how to learn by myself, how to get on with others, how to live

independently.College provides me with a stage where i can show myself and be

myself.

在十二月九日下午，我们五年级四班与五年级一班进行了一场激烈的女子篮球冠亚军争夺赛。

嘟……，随着裁判员的一声哨响，比赛开始了，各班的啦啦队都在为各自班的运动健儿加油助威。

比赛开始后不久，我班就进了一个两分球。但是一班的队员也紧盯着，找准机会下手。瞧，我班的中锋陈柏宇刚把篮球接住，一班的队员就紧追上来了，当她准备把球传给另一位中锋刘萱时，不料传球失误，传到了对方的队员手中，对手正在投球时，正好后位张灵蕊站在那里，只见她飞身一跃，一下子就将球抢了过来，传给了我方队长李力。这时，李力也不甘示弱，接住球就往要投篮的方向飞快地运球，到了投篮区，她双手举球，纵身一跃，篮球就飞快地往篮框里跑去，就在这要进球的紧急时刻，篮球却在篮圈上打转，就是不掉进篮框里，我们大家的心也跟着篮球悬了起来，都捏住了一把汗，最后，篮球终于进了。同学们使劲地鼓掌，有的欢呼了起来，有的跳跃起来。我们悬着的心也总算放下来了。

嘟……，又一声哨响，上半场的比赛结束了，队员们休息了一会儿，又开始了下半场的比赛。大家吸取了上半场的教训，个个死死的盯住目标，越战越勇，不一会儿，下半场的比赛也结束了，比分是四比四，双方打成了平局。最后裁判员决定发点球来分胜负，看哪个队进的球越多，哪个队就赢了。我们班的刘萱投进了一个球，而一班的队员没投进，最后，我们班夺得了冠军。大家高兴的抱在一起，跳跃着、欢呼着。

一场激烈的篮球赛就在这欢声笑语中结束了。

My Plan for Winter Holiday

How time flies. This term ends quickly and the winter holiday is coming. I make a general plan for it. Firstly, my teachers leave us some homework, so I must earnestly finish them on time. I plan to finish them before the Spring Festival, and then I can enjoy the festival with all my heart. Secondly, I will spend some time with my friends. Generally, we study together but have little time to play. During the holiday, we want to have fun together. Finally, I will visit my grandparents with my parents, and then we will spend the Spring Festival with them. I haven’t seen them for a long time. I miss them very much. This is my winter holiday plan. What is yours?

China is a developing country. Many years ago, I remembered seeing a lot of

news about criticizing how Chinese people copied the advanced technology of

developed countries. Nowadays, things have changed. There are some technologies

that are created by Chinese people, which leads the new trend. Online payment is

the most famous change. Alipay and Wechat are the most popular ways to pay bills

and they can be used almost everywhere. When foreigners come to China, they are

surprised by the new trend and cant believe this country could take the lead in

online payment. We are so proud of this big country. Though it is still on the

process of developing, we believe it will become stronger.

Since I was small, I like to play basketball, because I was effected by my father, he likes to watch basketball game so much, I will watch the basketball game with him. So when I went to school, I joined the basketball team in my class, we made up of a basketball team. Last week, we had our first match.

I was asked to play in the first time, I felt so nervous, I am so afraid that I could not cooperate with my team well. When the match started, I watched the basketball and moved as the ball flied, I forgot my job, I was asked to cover the team leader. I recognized my mistake, I changed my move, at last, I covered our captain successfully, our team won the game.

I learned so much from this match, team work comes first.

It was Mother’s Day. Sun Zheng thought he should do something for his

mother. He decided to help his mother do some housework. After school he went to

a shop to buy some food on his way home.

When he got home, he did his best to cook some nice food,though he couldn’t

do the cooking well. Thenhe cleaned the room. He felt very tired, but he was

very happy.

When his father and his mother came back and saw the clean rooms and dishes

which weren’t so nice, they were very happy.They had their supper together. His

mother said, "Thank you,my child!"

When I was in middle school, I heard the English song Baby One More Time. Then I saw the music record, the girl was so sweet and pretty. She danced so well in the record, she was full of energy. Since then, I fell in love with Britney Spears, every girl wanted to be her. She was not only beautiful, but also could sing and dance so well. Britney Spears was my early idol, her energetic image attracted me so much. I was so crazy about her at that time. I believe that in every teenager’s dream, they will have an idol.