希望之星英语大赛大学组半决赛：9号选手

　　Host: Thank you. Ok, the next contestant is contestant No.9, Zheng chenguang from Beijing. Now let’s warmly welcome contestant No.9 from Beijing. What’s your topic today?

　　Zheng chenguang : My topic today is My Slogan for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

　　Ladies and gentleman, Today I would like to share with you my self-created slogan for the coming Beijing Olympic Games, that is “Beijing Olympics, everyone’s invited”. Literally this slogan tells us that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China and at the same time it can be seen as an invitation to everyone in this world as a whole. Besides all that, there is something much more profound in this slogan. Firstly, Olympic Game is, in a way, a grand festival that brings people worldwide together. In this festival, everyone is invited to appreciate the art of sports, no matter what language you speak, what country you come from or what color of skin you have. So I think my slogan has been created in accordance with this fundamental theme of Olympic Games. As the Olympic motto goes: It’s more important to participate than to win. Beijing, as the capital of this nation with the greatest hospitality, will embrace with its open arms all the friends coming from afar. Secondly, my slogan is also a call to mobilize its entire Chinese nation. Beijing Olympics, everyone’s invited, will you accept this invitation? And my slogan “Beijing Olympics, everyone’s invited” can stir our nation’s blood and encourage everyone to do his part so that this Olympic Games can run smoothly. All in all, my slogan “Beijing Olympics, everyone’s invited” is a perfect example that embodies the Chinese people’s hospitality and the nation’s coherence. Let’s look forward to the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games! Thank you!

　　Host: Mr. Gregg, as the first nine contestants have finished their speeches, I know you give the first full mark to contestant No.6, Mr. Cheng. What made you give him a full mark?

　　Mr. Gregg: I think that contestant shows something very important to me in speaking this language, that is passion. He has passion to English, and show to me, his pronunciation, his story was all wonderful. Ok, thank you very much. You are welcome.

　　Host: Next one I’d like to interview is Professor Wang Yan. As Zhao Yinqi has mentioned, professor Wang is one of the presenters for the 2008 Olympic Bidding. Contestant No.9 has just finished his speech about his slogan about 2008 Olympics. What do you think about his idea about the bidding? Thank you very much.

　　Wang Yan : I think his slogan “everyone is invited” is very well created. He is able to express himself clearly, confidently and convincingly for why he has this slogan. And his skill of using language I think is very good. So I actually gave him the highest score among all the contestant I have scored.

　　Host: From your experience, can you give us some advice for English learning? Especially for the young ones.

　　Wang Yan :It seems to me that everyone is learning English. It is the campaign launched by the Beijing Olympic Organized committee. Now we have all kinds of way and methods of learning English. The most important thing is to be very active. Whenever or wherever you go, you speak English. You expose yourself to the sort of English language learning environment. I think these young people have very good chance and opportunity to learn. They have better learning environment than we have before.

　　Host: Thank you very much. Ok, ladies and gentlemen, let’s continue the competition. Welcome to the stage. Let’s go on with the competition. Now ladies and gentlemen, let’s warmly welcome contestant No.10 from Sichuan. Nice to meet you. What have you prepared for tonight speech?

　　Zhang Hanbing: About communications. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. The title of my speech is Staying Connected Or Losing Connection? Recently, I was walking in a park with a friend, and his mobile phone rang, interrupting our talk. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and oops, I become invisible, absent from the conversation. I’m wondering how strange it is that the telephone used to connect you to the absent, but now, it makes people who sitting next to you feel absent. That’s the funny thing happened on the way to the communications revolution, we stopped talking to one another. It is that all the communications technology tools make me feel lonely. Every advance in communications technology is a setback to the intimacy of human interaction. If a mother has a question now, what should I do? Exactly, I will leave the answer on her machine. I’m not a Luddite. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail system, and E-mail account. Giving them up is an option. But as a matter of fact, they are great for what they are intended to do, it’s their unintended consequences that make me cringe. So, I’m starting my own technology revolution: no more instant messaging with people who live near me; no more talking on the mobile in the presents of friends; no more letting the voice-mail pick up a call when I’m free. Can you imagine that: if there is no one in the room to hear you exclaim: that’s miraculous! So, tell me what good is all this miraculous technology?

　　Host: Ok, let’s welcome contestant No.11. Nice to meet you. You are from Foreign Affairs College. It is possible you become a diplomat in the future.

　　Sun Jian: Yes. Is that also your dream? Yes, it is one of my dreams.

　　Host: What’s your topic today?

　　Sun Jian: My topic today is Fish and Fishing. Good evening ladies and gentlemen, When I was in high school, I once failed in an exam. My father didn’t punish me, but told me one simple sentence “fishing is more important than the fish.” I know that my father loves fishing. I often saw him release the fish after catching them. And he had told me more than once that you go fishing just because you wanted to feel the rod in his hands as the fish plays with the hook, and to feel the thrill of lifting the fish out of the water. But I could not find out what his words have to do with me. I repeated his sentence once and once again. Then I began to understand what he really meant. To his way of thinking, the process of doing something is much more important than the result. And I realized a truth that I could cherish: those who are optimistic and self-confident, and who enjoy doing something new, worry less about failure. They see in every activity a process of self-discovery and self-fulfillment that can not be measured by an exam or the number of fish in one’s basket. Unfortunately, too many people think differently. They insist that it is only the result that matters. A bad result makes them dissatisfied with themselves. I now said to myself, fishing itself is much more important than the fish. We need to appreciate the value in living, despite its many setbacks. Roads are for the journey, not the destination. Sunshine awaits those who keep the path！Thank you very much. About fish and fishing. So please score for contestant No.11.

　　Host: They really did a good work so far. Let’s expect more in the competition. They will give much pressure on the rest of the fourteen contestant. But just take it easy. I believe they can do their best. Next is contestant No.12. Let’s welcome contestant No.12 from Hebei.

　　Liu Buyu: Hello everyone, I’m Terry from Hebei. Nice to meet you.

　　Host: Nice to meet you too. What’s your topic?

　　Liu Buyu: My topic is about happiness. Let’s go directly to your speech. Many friends of mine who plan to go abroad are facing 2 perplexities: dreams of seemingly bright future and uncertainty of a totally new life and happiness. Going abroad to America, for example, is just like living in paradise to most dreamers. Well. Come to think about it. Is it really an ideal life to live in a foreign country? How much does it relate to happiness? I remember Oscar Schindler, a German war profiteer. He was happy when the world was filled with his pots and pans, and he was even much happier when he saved more than 1100 Jewish lives and left penniless. He found his happiness. I thought a lot and wondered: what determines my everyday life and where is my happiness? Finally, I got a clue. That is a person’s happiness is not only decided by his external possession of property, but also by his internal beauty of spirit. So I ask myself To be independent, free, happy and honest. To be confident, determined, self-respective and creative. To have the sense of protecting the nature, the willingness to help others and the great passion for life. My friends please remember: Life is a gift and shouldn’t be wasted, be true to yourself and be happy! Thanks for your attention!

　　Host: Ok, now let’s go on with contestant No.13. Welcome her. What’s your topic?

　　Pan yu: My topic is very interesting: “if you become a very famous person, what will you do”?

　　Host: We’d like to hear about that.

　　Pan yu: Thank you. Well, what a wonderful topic! How I wish it could become true now! Oh, a famous person, but if it did become true, I would fly to the war-torn Iraq right away. Why? I would go to meet the people there who have been afflicted by famine and devastation. I would work as a goodwill ambassador and try my best to raise the public awareness of the plight faced by Iraq people. Everybody dreams of doing great things, but everyday we are called to do small things with great love. That’s why I am always ready to give my hands to those who need them. And if I became the famous person, my hands would reach further. I do hope Iraq and the whole world will not be enveloped in smoke again, and the splendid sunshine could warm the frozen land. No sirens, no fears and smiles will shine over through these tearful faces and all of these would never be taken away. Thank you.

　　Host: Next is contestant No.14.

　　Wang Qian: “If I had one million yuan, I would buy you a palace! Do I have one million yuan? No, I don’t! So I only can spend ten fen on this short message, sending you my best wishes!” Five years ago, the most popular electronic device was still a pager. Three years ago, e-mail took its place; Today, SMS—Short Message Service is in fashion, and it is now considered as the 5th media ! China Mobile says that per second, there are 410 messages being sent. Look around you! People are attentively watching their mobiles. Smiling or sighing, their facial expressions are worth observing. Thumbs are flashing over buttons, bringing happiness to recipients. The humor hidden within limited characters shows how charming language is! When a phenomenon is modified by the word“culture”, the tendency is for it to become fashionable. According to statistics, 67% of young people like to “Short” to greet each other. Even the host and hostess today mention that sending TV to 2911 several times. SMS is now linked to internet, to provide more convenience to people. I am very grateful for the progress in telecom because SMS saves much money on my phone bill. Just on the tip of thumb, so much joy can be found!

　　Host: We’ll have the last contestant on to the stage. Contestant No.15. meet him,

　　Cheng Yue: Good evening honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen.

　　Host: You are a PLA man.

　　Cheng Yue: Yes, I’m a soldier, army man.

　　Host: What’s your topic?

　　Cheng Yue: My topic is very easy and personal. It’s This Is Me. Please close your eyes for just a moment and picture yourself strolling along the beach of a vast sea. Pressing against your feet are countless pebbles of countless shapes. Some are large, some small, some are round, some uneven, still some are triangles, and some may even resemble the shape of a cute rabbit. If we individuals are these pebbles along the beach, which shape would you like to have? Well, as for me, I would choose to be a fat round pebble. Why? Well, as you see I am rather thin and weak, I always dream to be a stronger and fatter boy with a round face and bubbling muscle. But this is part of the reason, I have more to tell you. Firstly, by nature I am a definite perfectionist. I always strive to do everything perfectly, just like drawing a circle—a good beginning, a beautiful curve and then a happy and complete ending. Secondly, being a round pebble, I can move along the beach easily, which means in real life I can go traveling rapidly and frequently than others. I am crazy about traveling. I spent most of my holiday going out. Now I can proudly say that all these years of traveling experience have equipped me with a sense of perseverance and an open mind.

　　In addition, this ideal fat and round body of mine helps me to present myself as a warm-hearted and considerate young man and this is indeed what I am like in my dealing with others. This is me. Please do remember that I will say hello to you every time you go to the beach—best wishes from a fat round pebble!

　　Host: We have moved into the second part, question and answer. Tonight’s question master would be two of the judges, Miz. Lou Yun and Mr.Gordon Coffman. Now let’s welcome contestant No.1 to come to the stage. Welcome back.

　　Judge: What rewards do you think a good command of English will bring you?

　　Chao Yijun: I think there will three reasons for me to answer the question. First the 2008 Olympic Games are going to be held in Beijing. Maybe at that time I will be a volunteer to participate in this competition. Second, with China merging with the rest of the world, many big enterprises, such as banks and some business companies are going to set up in China, we must use English for our second language. It is essential for us to communicate with westerners. As a student in campus, a lot of essays or books are primarily writing in English. We must use these books.

　　Host: Thank you. All the judges will make some comments on this part.

　　Judge: I’d like to give you two suggestions. No.1. You have to have some notion to the time limit for your answer. It’s only sixty seconds. So I guess you haven’t exhorted what you have here. No.2 suggestion is that you have to be more concise, rather than elaborating on one of the point you meant to say. That’s it.