(PS: In order not to affect everyone's reading, part of the English in this chapter has been translated into Chinese.）
Xun Wen was wearing a well-ironed blue suit. He stood confidently on the podium and glanced at the hundreds of audience members before officially starting his speech.
“Whats.life.without.society,it.would.be.boring.”Xun Wen smiled and said," No. one.is.an.island…"
As soon as Xun Wen spoke in fluent English, the English judge, Pissius, who was sitting below, widened his eyes and opened his mouth into an oval shape.
He looked at the female judge from the United States of America, Ms. Hora, with a shocked expression. Ms. Hora was also surprised.
They were the only ones who understood how clear and accurate Xun Wen's English pronunciation was. If they closed their eyes, they would think that they were listening to a BBC news anchor!
It wasn't that there were very few people who could do this. In fact, some Chinese who had a PhD in English language and literature could do it too. However, Xun Wen was too young, and he was only a freshman.
After a brief shock, Pissius began to listen attentively to Xun Wen's speech.
“Without.the.existence.of.society，man.cannot.live……”
“So，People.are.social.people，is.the.sum.of.all.social.relations,therefore,no.man.is.an.island！”
“thanks！”
Xun Wen bowed slightly.
The audience below the stage instantly erupted into applause that was more enthusiastic than ever before. This was because most of the audience who could come to the lecture hall of Yan University to listen to this speech were foreign language experts and professors from various famous universities. Of course, they could hear that Xun Wen's English was pure.
After the applause died down, a male host signaled Xun Wen to pick a random question on the big screen behind him.
“second。”Xun Wen looked back at the big screen and said.
The male host clicked on the second question, and a long string of English words appeared. The male host quickly read the question and then signaled Xun Wen to start answering.
When the problem appeared on the screen, Xun Wen quickly sorted out his thoughts.
This question was translated as " If you were the only one in the world, would you choose to commit suicide or save yourself?”
Strictly speaking, although this question was related to the theme of this speech competition," No Man is an Island," it was a bit tricky.
It was very easy to be caught off guard by asking college students who had yet to enter society the question of suicide or self-rescue.
However, Xun Wen's reflexes were pretty good. He cleared his throat and said,"
"I will undoubtedly choose to save myself because the value of life is immeasurable. I have no reason or right to give up my own life.”
" I just talked about how no one is an island, which is based on a wide range of social groups. In this question, I am the only one in the world. I may feel lonely, but I am still in a wide range of connections with the world.”
"My relationship with animals may be that of master and pet, my relationship with plants may be that of cultivator and cultivated, and of course, it may even be that of predator and prey.”
" As long as he is alive, he will not be an isolated island. He will always be connected by countless mysterious threads and live because of them.”
“……”
A few minutes later, one of the judges below the stage struck the small bell, indicating that there were only 30 seconds left to answer. Xun Wen slightly accelerated his speech and said,
"Moreover, there is a famous saying in our country that goes,'The heavens are vigorous, and the gentleman is self-reliant. The earth is vast, and the gentleman is virtuous.'”
"As a young student who is deeply influenced by China's outstanding traditional culture, I have always believed that man can conquer nature!”
"So I will choose to save myself and work hard to live a better life. Thank you!”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a wave of applause. The professors all looked at Xun Wen in admiration. Before, they only thought that Xun Wen's oral pronunciation was excellent, but now, they realized that Xun Wen's language organization and logical thinking were not inferior to his oral skills.
Next up was the judges 'questioning session. The vice president of the Xia Country Foreign Language Association, Ms. Liu Qin, picked up the microphone and said," In your speech, you mentioned that people can't be separated from society. Then, do you think that the general trend of society has created talents?”
" The times make heroes," Xun Wen said." But a group of people with the same determination can also promote the development of society.”
" Just as I once said in 'Ode to Young Xia Guo', the future of the country lies in the youth. If hundreds of millions of young people can be firm in their ideals and beliefs and work tirelessly in the same direction, how can we worry that this society will not develop?”
Ms. Liu Qin nodded. Then, Sun Yan, an old professor from Beijing Foreign Studies University beside her, said," I just have a question. How did you manage to speak with such a standard British accent? I didn't see any information about you studying abroad."”
Xun Wen smiled." I usually listen to BBC radio and practice how to pronounce it myself. As time passed, I became like this."”
Professor Sun Yan smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Pisseus and the others.
"I just heard you say that you once wrote an article called…" Pissius picked up the microphone.
"Ode to Young Xia Country." Xun Wen smiled.
"Very good. Then can you please translate it for everyone here in English?”" If you can complete it, then the outcome of this match will be obvious.”
"If you can't complete it, this won't be counted in your score.”
The others immediately frowned when they heard this because everyone knew that instant translation was the most important test of a person's English foundation. If it was any other article, it might be relatively simple.
However, Xun Wen's " On Young Xia Country " was a semi-classical Chinese work. This kind of work required a lot of relevant details to be carefully scrutinized, not to mention a one-time translation.
If it wasn't for the fact that Pissius was a foreigner and had never heard of Xun Wen's article, others might have thought that he was deliberately making things difficult for Xun Wen.
Xun Wen raised his eyebrows and smiled." If I translate it fluently, can I really become the champion?"”
" What?" Pissio hesitated and looked at Madam Liu Qin. Liu Qin picked up the microphone and asked," Are you really confident?"”It meant that if you were not confident, I would help you reject this unreasonable request.
Xun Wen knew that this was Lady Liu Qin's good intentions, but he still nodded and said,"No problem."”
Madam Liu Qin hesitated for a moment before saying,"Sure."”
Xun Wen smiled confidently and began to speak slowly." Today.I.heard.the.news.and.felt.it.very.much…"
“……”
Xun Wen spoke with confidence without pausing, as if he was reading an essay.
“……Beautiful.young.Chinese,and.for.my.youth.day,Strong.Chinese.youth,and.for.my.country.as.one！”
“ok,thats.all.”
Xun Wen said calmly. Looking at the shocked experts and professors below, he felt a little pleased.
"Good!" It was unknown which professor shouted, but the others all stood up and applauded.
As for Pissius, he was still reminiscing about this article that had some charm. When he saw the shocked expressions on the others 'faces, he was a little confused. Wasn't it just a simultaneous interpretation? Was there a need to be so excited?
It was only when Professor Sun Yan, who was next to him, told him that " Xun Wen's essay is a semi-classical Chinese essay " that Pissius 'eyes widened. He had studied Chinese language and literature before, and had tried to translate classical Chinese and semi-classical Chinese. However, he had no choice but to give up because he could not master ancient Chinese. In the end, he was forced to turn to modern Chinese literature translation.
" This, this..." Pissius was speechless. He couldn't imagine how a freshman could translate a semi-classical Chinese text so quickly. As for whether it was accurate or not, it was obvious from the professors present. If it wasn't for the commendable translation, none of them would have stood up and applauded.
……
In the end, under the despairing gazes of the 29 students and the admiring gazes of the professors, Xun Wen received a trophy from the vice president of the Xia Country Foreign Language Association, Ms. Liu Qin. The trophy was engraved with the words " National College English Competition Special Prize "!
（!! Thank you!
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