CCTV English Cup

cctv.com 12-13-2004 09:44

On Sunday, six smart, sharp and eloquent finalists battled it out in the grand final of the "CCTV Cup" English Speaking Contest. It was nothing less than a fitting end to China's premier language competition. It wasn't an easy road for these six young students to be able to stand here and now at this stage.

They fought all the way through local and provincial levels to the capital. And they're the final six out of 23 finalists decided during the previous three days of competition.

Jointly sponsored by China Central Television and the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, the "CCTV Cup" has established itself as the premier English Speaking Contest in the country.

This year nearly 100 students nationwide entered semi-finals and the six grand finalists are the best of the best. The winner is Ai Lisha from the Jiangxi Normal University. She emerged triumphant after five rounds of competition, including debate, translation, quotation interpretation, word games and the CCTV Foundation Grant.

It was a fitting present for a young woman who turns 20 next months. She says it was passion and perseverance that brought her this far.

This year also saw some impressive performances from ethnic minority students. Kasim Abdurehim from Xinjiang University won a third prize. This year also marked the first time for students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to compete. Liang Wai Chai from Macao Poly Tech Institute also won third prize.

The 2004 "CCTV Cup" may have ended, but for the winners it's only the beginning. All of them will get a chance to show off their English speaking skill at events around the country, and compete overseas at the English Speaking Union in Britain and English debates in Australia and Malaysia.

Editor:Wang  Source:CCTV.com