On October 9th, CUEB held the final of English Speech Contest for College Students in Boyuan building. The final themed as “The Hero in My Heart” encouraged students to speak in English to advocate the countless heroes and heroines who have made silent dedication and hard work during the fight against epidemic.

The judges for this competition are Zhang Chunling, Suo Xuxiang, Zhao Jing, and Foreign Teachers Cormac, Enrico, Doug, etc. On the basis of the students’ voluntary registration and the instructor’s recommendation, after the preliminary selection, 25 contestants entered the final round. The final is divided into three-minute speeches and a question & answer session from the judges. The judges scored based on their overall performances in the two sessions.

In different forms and from different perspectives, competitors showed their respect to the frontline workers who were dedicated to fighting against COVID-19. In some competitors’ opinion, Zhong Nanshan is their hero because he told everyone not to go to Wuhan, but he went there alone. At the age of 84, he worked day and night without complaining even he was tired. It is this kind of devotion that made him the most influential public figure who gave hope and light to more people.

The hero of some competitors is their family members. They are mothers, the ordinary employees who safeguarded the city during the epidemic, teachers who taught online at home and retired fathers who actively cooperated with epidemic prevention and control work. Among them, the mother of classmate Ma Tianqi is one of the medical workers who rescued Wuhan. After receiving the mission to aid Hubei, she did not hesitate to leave home to help more people. Hailed as heroes in harm's way, they inspired young students with practical actions to become a responsible person capable of serving the society.

Some students think that the hero is not a single person, but a group of people. It was these ordinary heroes who supported the whole cities and the whole China. Hao Yingge, an ordinary nurse who returned her ticket home in the Lunar New Year and went to Wuhan resolutely. Wang Yong, who gave up the opportunity to reunite with his family and went to Wuhan regardless of his security. Lu Yong, who went abroad to purchase a large amount of supplies to support the medical staff in the fight against COVID-19. Yuan Chuanwei, who worked alone on the entire production line and rushed to make 200 replacement parts for sterilization equipment. Gao Zhixiao is a food delivery rider who stood up in danger and stuck to his post. Still, there were many medical workers, who cannot be remembered by name but resolutely stood at the front line to fight against COVID-19. It was such responsibility, dedication and love that keep more people away from pain. Some students thought that the real heroes are those who possess the spirit of sacrifice.

In the scoring session, competitors Wang Dingzhe and Ma Tianqi performed the ultimate PK due to the same score. Both of the competitors gave the wonderful answers to the judges’ question. In the end, Ma Tianqi won the special prize of this competition because her score is slightly higher than Wang Dingzhe. Part of the winners will represent CUEB to participate in the 2020 “FLTRP· ETIC Cup” English Public Speaking Contest and the Twelfth (2020) English Speech Contest for Beijing College Students. 

The English Speech Contest aims to invigorate the English learning atmosphere on campus and stimulate students’ enthusiasm for learning English. The students who participated in the contest said that the contest not only gave us the opportunity to show oral expression skills and self-confidence, but also gave us a deep understanding of the country and its people’s determination and efforts to fight against the COVID-19 with a united will. They were moved by the outstanding contribution of anti-epidemic heroes who demonstrate with their actions that greatness comes out of the ordinary. Some students also said that the epidemic is a “war without smoke”, and everyone can contribute great efforts like a myriad of small streams converging into a mighty sea. May we unite together to overcome the current difficulties.