Zhang Qiuya, postgraduate student of Simultaneous Interpreting Programme from School of Humanities and Social Sciences ("HSS"), the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen ("The University") won the first prize in the “21st Century Coca-Cola Cup” National English Speaking Competition Finals on April 15, 2018. The three-day national English speaking competition organized by 21st Century English Education Media was held at Hangzhou Normal University. The National Youth English Speaking Competition was introduced for the first time in the contest and attracted a total of thousands of participants to register.

The theme of the National Youth English Speaking Competition Finals is "The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It". The judges of the finals are domestic and foreign experts and scholars, including Joseph C. Murphy, Director and Associate Professor of the Department of English, School of Foreign Languages, Fu Jen Catholic University, David Quartermain, deputy director of the Bell Centre of English at Macau Polytechnic University, Liu Shusen, director of Peking University Australian Studies Centre,etc.

"Before I walked up to the stage, my palms were sweating. When I began to talk, I became calm. As the game progressed in an orderly manner, I was in high spirits and was eager to experience more until the end of the game." Zhang Qiuya took artificial intelligence as the starting point in her speech for the finals. The comment of judges impressed her the most——the biggest charm and the biggest challenge of a speech lies in the sense of humor. “It is very difficult to express deep insights and ideas in a relaxed and humorous manner. It cannot be achieved without extensive knowledge and solid accumulation. Only constant reading and thinking can make every word more exciting, and every argument more unique. This requires the speaker to be able to pay attention to the seemingly insignificant trivialities around him or her." With skills and knowledge acquired in training and daily courses, Zhang Qiuya stood out and won the first prize at the competition.

Zhang said: “The competition seems to be a test of my past learning and knowledge accumulation. Whether it is a prepared speech or an impromptu speech, it is a challenge and exercise for each speaker’s mental quality and logical thinking. It is just like a translator who needs to be curious at all times. My teacher once said that becoming a good interpreter is a process of accumulation. Extensive knowledge and long years of accumulation can lead to sensitive logical thinking and fast response. Only this can ensure high standards of translation. In any case, whether we are delivering a speech or translating, we must act like a craftsman who continuously refine our product. There are still many things left to learn.”

China Daily’s “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition was established in 1996. It is sponsored by China Daily and organized by 21st Century English Education Media. The competition is the only regional competition in China for the annual International PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION held in London, UK. The competition has attracted more than a thousand contestants from all walks of life across the country. Some previous contestants of the 21st Century Cup National English Speaking Competition also signed up. As a high-level English academic competition in China, the competition provides opportunities for national institutions of higher learning and English fans to compete and communicate on the same stage and has made positive contributions to the development of English education in China.