你可能会认为英语演讲比赛是英语专业学生的天下，其他专业的学生没什么胜算。不过，今年第21届中国日报社“21世纪•可口可乐杯”全国英语演讲比赛可以证明，你想错了。
The competition drew to an end on March 20 at Beijing Foreign Studies University. None of the top three contestants were English majors. The grand champion, Zhu Xue, is a medical student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. And the first and second runners-up – Cai Yao from Beijing Foreign Studies University and Li Zehan from The Chinese University of Hong Kong – are both law students.
本届比赛于3月20日在北京外国语大学圆满落幕。获得前三名的选手均非英语专业。冠军朱雪是上海交通大学医学院的学生，而亚军北京外国语大学的蔡瑶和季军香港中文大学的李泽翰则均为法学专业的学生。
Chen Mengzhu from New York University Shanghai won the fourth place and will be heading to London in May to compete in the International Public Speaking Competition on behalf of China. And guess what? Chen is not an English major either. She is a science student, majoring in interactive media art.
来自上海纽约大学的陈梦竹同学获得第四名，她将于今年5月代表中国赴英国伦敦参加国际公众英语演讲比赛。你能猜到吗？陈梦竹也不是英语专业的学生。她是一名理科生，所学专业为互动媒体艺术。
Their advantages may lie in the unique qualities and experiences that come with their majors. For example, Zhu managed to keep a cool head throughout the competition, a skill probably honed in her training as a medical student. She was even calm after she won the championship.
这些获奖选手的优势或许正是来自各自专业赋予他们的独特个性和经验。以朱雪为例，她比赛全程都十分淡定，这也许得益于医学的专业训练。即便是在获得冠军之后，她依旧表现得云淡风轻。
“I see this stage more as a sharing platform like TED, instead of a competition,” Zhu said. “Just like sharing medical knowledge can save people’s lives, if what I said today on the stage has provoked even a little thinking among the audience, I would consider my speech meaningful.”
朱雪说：“我更愿意把这次比赛当成一个分享的平台，就像TED一样。正如分享医学知识能拯救生命，如果我今天在台上说的话能引起观众的一点点思考，我觉得我的演讲就是有意义的。”
Qu Weiguo, a Fudan University professor and one of the competition’s judges, believes it’s no surprise that students like Zhu surged ahead. “English majors may be superior at their language skills, but they may lack the knowledge from other fields to support their speech and enrich their arguments,” he said.
比赛评委之一，复旦大学教授曲卫国认为，朱雪这样的学生能脱颖而出一点也不意外。他说：“英语专业的学生可能在语言技能上更优秀，但是他们缺少其他领域的知识支撑演讲内容和充实论据。”
Hosted by China Daily since 1996, the “21st Century” English speaking competition has become a leading brand for students and English teaching experts in China.
中国日报社主办的“21世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛创办于1996年，现已成为全国英语学习与教育的领军品牌。
This year marks the 21st competition, a particularly special year for a newspaper named “21st Century”. The final round of speeches attracted a lot of authorities and experts to the audience, including Zhu Ling, publisher and editor in-chief of China Daily; Wang Guoqing, spokesman for the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Wu Jianmin, China’s former ambassador to France; Tang Wensheng, executive vice-president of the Translators Association of China and interpreter to the late Mao Zedong; Zhang Daliang, head of the higher education department under the Ministry of Education; and Qu Yingpu, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily.
今年的比赛是第21届，对同为数字21的“21世纪英文报”来说更是特别的一届比赛。中国日报社社长朱灵、全国政协外事委员会副主任、政协新闻发言人王国庆、中国前驻法国大使吴建民、中国翻译协会常务副会长、毛泽东主席外事翻译唐闻生、教育部高教司司长张大良、中国日报社副总编辑曲莹璞等领导和专家亲临总决赛现场。
Throughout the past 20 years, contestants at the competition have transitioned from focusing solely on language skills to placing more emphasis on the content of the speeches.
在过去二十年间，参赛选手们经历了从只注重语言技能到强调演讲内容的转变。
As Tang said in her speech after the competition, language is a means of communication. “Whether or not that communication is successful depends largely on how you present your case –what you say, how you say it, whether you are convincing and whether you make a mark in the listener’s mind,” she said.
正如唐闻生在赛后的讲话中提到，语言是交流的工具。她说：“沟通成功与否很大程度上取决于你如何阐述你的观点——你说了什么，你怎么说的，你是否能说服别人，你能不能给听众留下印象。”
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