中国孩子说英语，让我看到世界的未来 I saw the future

Anybody who questions the power of the rising generation of Chinese children should have been with me at the judging table last weekend in Beijing’s Haidian district. All doubts would flee.

任何质疑中国新生代儿童能力的人，如果能跟我一起参加上周末在北京市海淀区举办的评审会，那么他们所有的疑虑都会烟消云散。

I had been asked to serve as a judge of the 17th China Daily “21st Century-VIPKID Cup” national high school and primary school English speaking competition and was assigned to judge more than 50 contestants in Grades 1 to 6.

我应邀担任了中国日报社第十七届“21世纪-VIPKID杯”全国中小学英语演讲比赛的评委，并担任50余名一至六年级参赛选手的考官。

The younger half of the group were to give one-minute speeches; the older half could take two minutes. All were required to answer an impromptu question or two from Question Master Christopher Hart, a Fulbright Scholar from the United States and a veteran of past competitions.

参赛小组中较年幼的一半选手要做一分钟的演讲，较年长的一半则要演讲两分钟。所有选手都被要求即兴回答一两个问题，负责提问的主考官克里斯托弗.哈特（Christopher Hart）是一位来自美国的富布莱特学者，也是过去几届大赛的资深考官。

As parents in the audience held their breath, pulling mightily for their children, one by one, the kids did not disappoint. Not even one. They were all bright and well-prepared, and their presentations were nothing short of spectacular.

观众席上的家长们屏住呼吸，一个接一个地为他们的孩子鼓劲加油，孩子们没有让他们失望。一个都没有。他们都很聪明，准备充分，他们的演讲近乎完美。

Let me tell you, it’s awfully hard on a judge when every speech is delightfully creative, fluently spoken, heartfelt, captivating and honest — and delivered with poise in properly inflected English and accompanied by all the right body language.

不得不说，当每一个演讲极富创意，叙述流畅、真挚、感人、坦诚—英语不同语调的表达十分准确并伴以恰当的肢体语言，作为一个考官，挑战极大。

All the contestants were quick to respond to questions.

所以参赛选手都能快速地回答提问。

There was a boy with dreams of playing in the NBA, even though he’s little more than 1 meter tall. He told of his struggle, and ultimate success, in learning basketball.

曾经有一个男孩，尽管只有一米多高，却梦想着能去NBA打球。他讲述了自己刻苦训练并最终成功的经历。

 “Who is your favorite basketball player?” the  question master asked. (It had to be Michael Jordan, right? Wrong.) The youngster answered, “Wilt Chamberlain”.

主考官问：“你最喜欢哪个篮球运动员？”（你猜他会说迈克尔.乔丹Michael Jordan？但他没有！ ）孩子问答：“威尔特.张伯伦Wilt Chamberlain。”

Wilt Chamberlain?! He stood 2.16 meters tall, which is a goal to shoot for, but if Wilt were alive today, kid, he’d be old enough to be your great-grandfather.

威尔特.张伯伦？他有2.16米高，这是一个目标，但是，孩子，假如威尔特今天还活着，他足够当你的曾祖父了。

But he gave cogent reasons, including that Chamberlain was the only NBA player to score 100 points in a game. And, by the  way, he played with Jerry West (Jerry West?!) in the glory days of the ancient Los Angeles Lakers. This kid knew his NBA history, that’s for sure.

但是他给出了令人信服的理由，包括张伯伦是唯一一位在单场比赛中拿下100分的NBA球员，顺便说一下，他和杰里.韦斯特Jerry West（他居然知道杰里.韦斯特？！）一起在辉煌时期的洛杉矶湖人队打过球。这个孩子毫无疑问熟知张伯伦的NBA历程。 

Never mind that Wilt the Stilt retired from active play in 1973 — the year I graduated from high school, which must have been long before this kid’sparents were even a twinkle in hisgrandparents’ eyes.

别忘了威尔特是在1973年退役——那一年我刚高中毕业。这肯定是很久以前的事了，那时这个孩子的父母甚至还是他爷爷奶奶眼里的小不点儿吧。

Another boy gave a first-rate presentation on his love of robots and his desire to make a better world. And a girl recalled her earliest memory of learning to cook with her mother.

另一个男孩做了一场一流水平的演讲，讲述了他对机器人的喜爱和对创造更美好世界的渴望。还有一个女孩回顾了最早印象中与她妈妈一起学习烹饪的经历。

“What was the best part about cooking with your mother?” the question master asked. She answered without hesitation: “Eating, of course!” That drew a titter of appreciation from the audience.

主考官问：“跟你妈妈一起做饭时，最喜欢什么？”她毫不犹豫地回答：“当然是吃了！”观众发出了一片赞赏的笑声。

Another girl delivered a speech about imagination. At the end, the question master asked, “Who is your favorite superhero?” There was a long pause as she thoughtfully sorted out her answer.

另一个女孩发表了关于想象力的演讲。主考官最后问道：“你最喜欢的超级英雄是谁？”女孩若有所思，停顿了很长时间。

At last, she broke the silence. “I don’t have a favorite superhero,” she said boldly (and with faint disdain for the question). “Superheroes are for boys. I like princesses.”

最后，她打破了沉默：“我没有最喜欢的超级英雄，”她大方地说（对这个问题有点不以为然）：“超级英雄属于男孩。我喜欢公主。”

These are just a few examples. I walked away with the strong impression that the United States better watch out. These Chinese kids are confident, brilliant and bilingual. They’re a force to be reckoned with.

以上只是一些事例。离开比赛现场时，我有一种强烈的感受，就是美国得注意了。这些中国孩子自信、阳光，会说两种语言。他们是一股不可忽视的力量。

I’ve been a judge in spelling competitions for US kids, and that’s a high-pressure exercise of its own. Winning words at the national level have included “koinonia”, “marocain”, “gesellschaft” and “stichomythia”.

我曾经担任过美国孩子拼写比赛的评委，这种比赛对他们自身也是有很大压力的。按照国家级的水准，获胜者拼写出的单词包括“联合作用”（koinonia）、“马罗坎平纹绉布料”（marocain）、“社会”（gesellschaft）以及“轮流对白”（stichomythia）。

But something more sophisticated was on display last weekend. I watched dozens of remarkable Chinese kids put English words together to communicate ideas directly, clearly and utterly without guile.

但是上周末比赛中的部分内容却更为复杂。我看到数十个中国孩子竟然能在一起直接、清晰且毫无障碍地用英语交流思想。

I walked away feeling that I had just witnessed something of extraordinary significance for the world’s future. Congratulations to these kids, their parents and their teachers. Well done!

我离开比赛现场的时候，感觉自己刚刚见证了一些对世界的未来具有非凡意义的事情。祝贺孩子们，祝贺他们的父母和老师。好样的！