记2022年度上海星河湾双语学校G7-9英语演讲比赛，2022年12月9日下午的PG课上，星校初中部的同学们怀着激动的心情，迎来了英文演讲比赛。
本次活动有九位同学进入决赛，每个人都将会有3分钟的时间发表一篇备稿演讲，倒计时30秒、倒计时15秒时分别会有一次举牌提醒。之后，由五位来自英文组的老师将从内容、结构、演讲风格、演讲效果等方面进行打分并取平均值选出获奖者。
On December 9th, the final round of SSBS English Speech Contest 2022 was held at the school auditorium. Nine contestants from Grade 7 to Grade 9 reached the final round. They are Harry Zhu (G7-1), Doris Zhu (G7-3), Helen Shen (G7-6), Jet Lan (G9-5), Marc Sun (G7-2), Susie Wang (G8-5), Leo Liu (G7-6), Isabella Chi (G8-4), and Avery Guo (G7-4).
在比赛即将开始之际，7、8年级的同学们来到大礼堂陆续落座，而9年级的同学们则在班级里观赛。此刻，选手们或神定气闲，或紧张忐忑，或抓紧最后的时间回顾着准备好的演讲。
比赛开始，8-2班的顾庭帆和9-4班的赵梓旭作为主持人正式宣布活动拉开序幕。9位选手的讲演各有特色、精彩非凡、主题丰富，涵盖了经验分享、观点阐述、生活发现等诸多方面。
Each contestant had three minutes to give a prepared speech. The given speech would be rated by five judges on purpose, organization, use of language, verbal and non-verbal delivery, and overall effect. The hosts for the contest are Terry Gu (G8-2) and Claire Zhao (G9-4). After Terry and Claire introduced the judges, procedure, and the rating criteria, the final round officially began.
来自7-1班的朱嘉昊同学分享了如何应对公共演讲带来的紧张。人们之所以会惧怕公共演讲，是因为高估失败风险、神经系统自然生成负面情绪、以及将听众视为裁判而不是平等的沟通对象。他建议将观众想象成土豆、深呼吸保持镇定、或是在家人面前练习演讲。
Harry Zhu was the first speaker on the stage. He talked about how to cope with the fear of public speaking using psychological knowledge about the nerve system in the brain. He furthered suggested that the speaker may imagine the audience as “potatoes” in order to keep calm and steady while giving a speech.
来自7-3的朱翌萱同学从两个方面讲述了不当追随者的益处。一方面，作为个人，不盲从可以帮助我们跳出固化的思维模式，发现更多机会；另一方面，作为领导者，则可以得到支持与力量，而这份力量可以用来推动世界的进步。她引用了迈克尔·杰克逊的歌词，呼吁大家 “治愈这世界，让它变得更好。为你、为我，为了全人类。”
Doris Zhu’s topic is the benefits of not being a follower. She elaborated this topic from two aspects—stepping out of the fixed mindset and obtaining support from a broader audience. Doris also quoted a few lines of lyrics from “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson. “Heal the world, make it a better place, for you and me, and the entire human race” Doris said.
来自7-6班的沈柔汐同学向大家介绍了互联网出现以来的变化。同时，她也抒发了对于人们因缺乏自制力、过度使用互联网而带来身心损伤的担忧，呼吁大家放下电子产品，做更多实事。
Helen Shen gave a speech about how social media has changed since it first appeared. Helen talked about the issue of people lacking self-control as regards social media. She also called for reducing screen time and returning to the physical world.
来自9-5班的兰云杰同学探讨了做职业运动员是否值得。职业运动员们需要付出很多时间与精力。精神与身体面对重重考验的同时只有最厉害的百分之一的人才能“成功”。然而，这份职业却也让出生不那么幸运的孩子们通过个人努力成为冠军，让人们看到永不言弃的体育精神。因此他认为职业运动员是值得的，建议大家跟随心之所向，不被生活打倒。
Jet Lan discussed on whether it is worth being a professional athlete. Jet built up his argument by using real stories of sportsmen, including world-renowned soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, Pedro Pele, and Lionel Messi. He said that the real sportsmanship, or never giving up, supports those dream pursuers forever.
来自7-2班的孙敬涵同学讲述了如何与Z世代沟通。Z世代指1995年-2012年出生的人，包括在场的一些老师与学生。他认为最重要的是平等的对待、直接有效的沟通、和对个体差异的尊重。
Marc Sun’s topic is how to communicate with Gen Z. Gem Z, or Generation Z, refers to people who were born between 1995 to 2012, which consists of a part of SSBS population. Marc pointed out that the key to communication with Gen Z is equality, effectiveness, and appreciation of individual differences and diversity.
来自8-5班的王姝涵同学对于Mardy Grothe的一句话表达了她对文字的力量的看法。话语可以拯救、帮助他人进步，也可以带来厌恶与憎恨。她呼吁大家更加重视文字的表达。
Susie Wang shared her thoughts on quotes from Dr. Mardy Grothe, “Words have incredible power. They can make people’s heart soar, or they can make people’s heart sore.” She appealed to more attention to the use of language in daily expressions.
来自7-6班的刘舟宸同学分享了日常生活中每个人能为减少碳排放量做出贡献。例如，随手关灯、使用新能源汽车、缩短洗澡时间等都有助于减少碳排放量。
Leo Liu suggested daily practices to decrease our carbon footprints, such as turning off the lights when leaving, reducing the shower/bath time, and riding or taking electric vehicles. All of the above daily routines help us protect the environment bit by bit.
来自8-4班的池羽洁同学讲到了科技如何使沟通更具挑战性。在这个时代，科技高速发展，约30秒就可以获得世界各地的最新新闻。而过度依赖线上沟通使得人们很难回归传统的交流方式。他们在线下沟通时越来越没有耐心，线上沟通时又缺乏正式的语言与交谈礼仪。
Isabella Chi’s topic is how technology makes conversations more challenging. Isabella said that although technology enables us to acquire news all around the world in a short amount of time, people become increasingly impatient in face-to-face communication while lacking social etiquette in virtual environment.
来自7-4班的郭怡朵同学分享了社会需要演员、音乐家等偶像的原因。互联网的发展使得偶像行业蓬勃发展，被偶像化的人们往往拥有更优越的长相与才能，让大众看到了生活拥有更好的可能性。
Avery Guo gave her opinion on the reason why society always needs idols like actors, musicians, and other. She thought that idols can show different variations of life to the audience, so that people believe in the possibility of a better life in the real world.
比赛结束，各位裁判现场打分。终于，激动人心的颁奖仪式开始了。本场比赛中，池羽洁同学拔得头筹，兰云杰同学与朱翌萱同学分别获得第二和第三名。
每一位参赛选手都在舞台上闪闪发光，获得了满堂喝彩。正如席勒所说，“思考是我无限的国度,言语是我有翅的道具”。演讲可以让思想的星光传播地更高、更远。祝愿大家继续向前，更上一层楼，也希望更多的同学们可以参与进来！
All contestants gave extraordinary speeches on diverse topics across different fields. After careful consideration, the champion of the speech contest went to Isabella Chi. The first runner-up went to Jet Lan. Doris Zhu won the second runner-up. Congratulations to all the contestants and many thanks to our judges and volunteers who supported the speech contest this year!