A good debating contest is more than a feast for the ear. The contestants' brilliant delivery and repartee can be a tonic for one's intellect as well.
One good instance was the recent International Debate Contest in Chinese for University Students 99 sponsored by the Beijing-based CCTV in collaboration with TCS. The best performances came with the concluding bout between the two finalist teams, one from Xi'an Jiaotong University from China and the other from the University of Malaya.
The Malaysian debaters did a good job, but their rivals performed even more admirably. All being skilful orators, the Chinese team were so eloquent and quick-witted that, without aid from card notes, their words flowed forth liberally to become polished impromptu speeches.
More amazingly, none of the four Chinese debaters is an arts major, and yet they are all well versed in belles-lettres. Their speeches enthralled the audience with the charm of language and literature, and brought home to them the great wealth of Chinese words and phrases.
Their speeches, richly embellished with allusions and quotations, captivated the audience. The best debater of the night, Mr Lu Yiming, was particularly impressive. He was witty and sharp, always giving his rivals a hard time holding their own.
One drawback of the Chinese team, however, is that they were too serious and lacked humour. Besides, their facial expressions could have been more animated.
As to the University of Malaya team, the contestants' command of Chinese turned out better than I had expected. Not only were they free of a Malaysian accent, they were fluent and neat in their speech. I am sure many Singaporean students were put to shame by that.
In fact, our ethnic-Chinese university students ought to ask themselves： if their counterparts in Malaysia —— who take Chinese likewise as a second-language course —— can speak the language so well, why can't they in Singapore do the same？
Besides, it is embarrassing that all the members of the Singapore team were students from China. Where are our bilingual elite that Singapore has brought up？ Is our city-state so kiasu or defeat-fearing that, to ensure championship, it must depend on a foreign legion in almost each and every competition？
To win is not the ultimate aim in a contest. More importantly, contestants learn from one another and gain experience and maturity through matches. To help Singaporeans grow healthy and defeat-resistant, it would be best to let them fall in defeats and then pick themselves up again. Translated by Allen Zhuang
我國的雙語精英去了哪兒？
欣賞一場精彩的辯論會,不單是一種聽覺上的享受,而且也有助于提高本身的知識水平和分析能力。
由中國北京中央電視臺和新視主辦的“99國際大專華語辯論會”
,就是一個很好的例子。其中以大決賽的兩支隊伍,西安交通大學和馬來亞大學的辯論為精彩。
雖然馬來亞大學的辯手表現(xiàn)不俗,不過,西安交通大學的辯手實力平均,個個能言善辯、口齒伶俐、反應(yīng)靈敏、即使無卡在手,也能滔滔不絕,而且出口成章。
令人驚訝的是,這四個辯手當中竟無一人是文學院的學生,但是文學根底卻如此深厚。聽他們的辯論猶如上一堂語言課、文學課,同時也讓人深深地感覺到華文詞句之優(yōu)美。
他們妙文雋語、引經(jīng)據(jù)典、令聽者屏氣斂息,拍案叫絕。尤其是當晚的佳辯論員,陸一明的表現(xiàn)尤其突出,不但機智過人、而且詞鋒銳利,令對手難以招架。
不過,這支隊伍美中不足的地方是,辯手們嚴肅有加,幽默不足,臉部也缺乏表情。
談到馬來亞大學的辯手,他們駕馭華語的能力比筆者想象中的還要好,不但沒有“馬來西亞腔”,而且非常流利、干凈、相信很多新加坡學生都自嘆不如。其實新加坡學生也該反省反省,為何同樣以華文作為第二語文的鄰國華族朋友,能說得一口漂亮的華語,為什么我國華族大學生就不能呢？
此外,令人感到慚愧的是,這次代表新加坡參賽的辯手都是來自中國的留學生。新加坡所培養(yǎng)的雙語精英去了哪里？新加坡真的為了樣樣爭取第一,而“怕輸”到幾乎樣樣比賽都得借助外籍兵團嗎？
比賽的輸贏不是終目的,互相切磋,求取進步,從失敗的經(jīng)驗中成長,才是重要的。要讓新加坡人健康地成長,勇于面對失敗,好讓他自己跌倒,自己爬起來。
One good instance was the recent International Debate Contest in Chinese for University Students 99 sponsored by the Beijing-based CCTV in collaboration with TCS. The best performances came with the concluding bout between the two finalist teams, one from Xi'an Jiaotong University from China and the other from the University of Malaya.
The Malaysian debaters did a good job, but their rivals performed even more admirably. All being skilful orators, the Chinese team were so eloquent and quick-witted that, without aid from card notes, their words flowed forth liberally to become polished impromptu speeches.
More amazingly, none of the four Chinese debaters is an arts major, and yet they are all well versed in belles-lettres. Their speeches enthralled the audience with the charm of language and literature, and brought home to them the great wealth of Chinese words and phrases.
Their speeches, richly embellished with allusions and quotations, captivated the audience. The best debater of the night, Mr Lu Yiming, was particularly impressive. He was witty and sharp, always giving his rivals a hard time holding their own.
One drawback of the Chinese team, however, is that they were too serious and lacked humour. Besides, their facial expressions could have been more animated.
As to the University of Malaya team, the contestants' command of Chinese turned out better than I had expected. Not only were they free of a Malaysian accent, they were fluent and neat in their speech. I am sure many Singaporean students were put to shame by that.
In fact, our ethnic-Chinese university students ought to ask themselves： if their counterparts in Malaysia —— who take Chinese likewise as a second-language course —— can speak the language so well, why can't they in Singapore do the same？
Besides, it is embarrassing that all the members of the Singapore team were students from China. Where are our bilingual elite that Singapore has brought up？ Is our city-state so kiasu or defeat-fearing that, to ensure championship, it must depend on a foreign legion in almost each and every competition？
To win is not the ultimate aim in a contest. More importantly, contestants learn from one another and gain experience and maturity through matches. To help Singaporeans grow healthy and defeat-resistant, it would be best to let them fall in defeats and then pick themselves up again. Translated by Allen Zhuang
我國的雙語精英去了哪兒？
欣賞一場精彩的辯論會,不單是一種聽覺上的享受,而且也有助于提高本身的知識水平和分析能力。
由中國北京中央電視臺和新視主辦的“99國際大專華語辯論會”
,就是一個很好的例子。其中以大決賽的兩支隊伍,西安交通大學和馬來亞大學的辯論為精彩。
雖然馬來亞大學的辯手表現(xiàn)不俗,不過,西安交通大學的辯手實力平均,個個能言善辯、口齒伶俐、反應(yīng)靈敏、即使無卡在手,也能滔滔不絕,而且出口成章。
令人驚訝的是,這四個辯手當中竟無一人是文學院的學生,但是文學根底卻如此深厚。聽他們的辯論猶如上一堂語言課、文學課,同時也讓人深深地感覺到華文詞句之優(yōu)美。
他們妙文雋語、引經(jīng)據(jù)典、令聽者屏氣斂息,拍案叫絕。尤其是當晚的佳辯論員,陸一明的表現(xiàn)尤其突出,不但機智過人、而且詞鋒銳利,令對手難以招架。
不過,這支隊伍美中不足的地方是,辯手們嚴肅有加,幽默不足,臉部也缺乏表情。
談到馬來亞大學的辯手,他們駕馭華語的能力比筆者想象中的還要好,不但沒有“馬來西亞腔”,而且非常流利、干凈、相信很多新加坡學生都自嘆不如。其實新加坡學生也該反省反省,為何同樣以華文作為第二語文的鄰國華族朋友,能說得一口漂亮的華語,為什么我國華族大學生就不能呢？
此外,令人感到慚愧的是,這次代表新加坡參賽的辯手都是來自中國的留學生。新加坡所培養(yǎng)的雙語精英去了哪里？新加坡真的為了樣樣爭取第一,而“怕輸”到幾乎樣樣比賽都得借助外籍兵團嗎？
比賽的輸贏不是終目的,互相切磋,求取進步,從失敗的經(jīng)驗中成長,才是重要的。要讓新加坡人健康地成長,勇于面對失敗,好讓他自己跌倒,自己爬起來。