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| 2002 "CCTV Cup" English Speaking Contest concludes |
| CCTV.COM 2002-12-13 12:12:51 |
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A student from the Beijing Broadcasting Institute has taken the top prize in the second "CCTV Cup" English Speaking Contest. Over the past three months, some six million Chinese students have participated in the competition, making it one of the nation's biggest and most celebrated English－language events.
The grand champion is Bu Yang from the Beijing Broadcasting Institute. The third－year university student charmed the audience with her impeccable English, quick wit and graceful manners. She spoke of her hard－won victory with passion and gratitude.
She said, "It is a very tough time. For two months I have been attending various contests. So first of all I feel very relieved. It is now all over, and of course, I feel very very excited. But I must also give credit to my tutors. They have done a great job."
Bu Yang was joined by 19 finalists, all outstanding in their own ways. These 20 students had distinguished themselves from a huge pool of six million candidates. The two－day final race proved to be the most intense part of all. The finalists competed with words and wit in a variety of trials, prepared and impromptu speeches, tough questions from the floor, and on－the－spot interviews. Finally, the ranking of the top six candidates was not decided until after a heated debate between them was staged.
The judges marveled at the standard of the contestants' performance.
Joseqh Graves, judge and director of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, said, "I think they are absolutely splendid. I am overwhelmed by not only how well they speak English, but also how well thought out their speeches are and how poised and articulate they are in face of the difficult questions. It's an absolute joy to watch them."
The event is cosponsored by CCTV's English Channel and the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. For the organizers of the competition, this is an event that fully lives up to their expectations.
Director of the Overseas Service Center, CCTV, Sheng Yilai said, "Our intention is to try to encourage more Chinese young people to learn English as English is very useful after China joined the WTO. We feel it's a very successful event. We believe that after CCTV 9 broadcasts the program, more young people will be interested in English study."
The award ceremony reached a climax when a choir composed of CCTV 9 presenters and reporters, and the 20 contestants joined in the song of Auld Lang Syne. This group of people were gathered from all around China, yet they had one thing in common: they were envoys bridging China to the rest of the world with English.
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Editor: Yang Feiyang CCTV.com
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