From October 17th to 21st, the finals of the 29th China Daily “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition was held in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. Under the guidance of Yingqiao Jin, a foreign teacher of the English Department, Ye Jiaxi from the Translation Department of SFS of grade 2022, and Liu Yuqi from the English Department of SFS of grade 2023, stood out from more than 200 contestants nationwide and won the first and the second prizes respectively.
In the second round of the semi-final, Ye Jiaxi demonstrated his high-level thinking and expression ability. In the topic-setting speech session, he focused on the theme “The Only Way Out is Through”, revealing the philosophy of life, which is not to be afraid of difficulties and to strive relentlessly. In the impromptu speech, he took the myth of Sisyphus as the breakthrough point and combined it with Camus’ philosophical thought, discussing how people find meaning through repetition and toil. When answering the judges’ questions, he kept calm and clear in logic, showing a deep understanding of the content of his speech.
Ye Jiaxi in the competition
Liu Yuqi also won the recognition of the audience and the judges with his outstanding performance. In his topic-setting speech, he cleverly quoted Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” and deeply discussed how to persevere in difficult situations and the importance of cultivating critical thinking. In the impromptu speech, Liu Yuqi stimulated the audience’s interest by asking a question that analyzed the connection between pets and contemporary young people’s views on marriage. In the face of the judges’ questions, he kept calm and confident, fully demonstrating his unique insights into contemporary society.
Liu Yuqi in the competition
During the preparation, Yingqiao Jin, a foreign teacher of the English Department, conducted several systematic trainings for contestants. They carefully polished the structure and expression of the speech content, which enhanced the ideological depth of the speech. They have also conducted many simulation exercises in impromptu speeches and questions and answers, which greatly improved students’ ability to cope with the situation on the spot.
From left, Ye Jiaxi, Vice Dean of SFS Prof. Ma Hongqi, the judge of the competition, and Liu Yuqi
The “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition was founded by China Daily in 1996, and is the one with the widest coverage, the greatest influence and the longest history in China. More than 600,000 people signed up for this year’s competition. After 10 months of preliminary, second-round and provincial competitions, 247 contestants from the university group and 18 contestants from the youth group entered the finals.
