As an old saying goes, “Words can make a nation prosper, and also lead to its demise.” The power of words is inestimable, especially when they are delivered with passion in public speaking which is a very important skill that Maple Leaf emphasizes. Further more, English speech is a key feature of Maple Leaf education that every Mapleleafer is capable of. A total of 40 outstanding competitors from Grade 10 and Grade 11 who entered the semi-final round of “Maple Leaf Cup” English Speech Competition of Maple Leaf International School-Wuhan presented a wonderful speech show in high school multimedia room. 

俗话说“一言而兴邦，一言而丧邦”。语言的力量是无可估量的，尤其是以演讲的方式呈现。枫叶一直都非常注重学生的演讲能力，而英文演讲更是特色，是学生的必备技能和实力证明。晋级武汉枫叶国际学校“枫叶杯”英语演讲比赛复赛的高一、高二各20名学生在高中阶梯教室分别进行了高一专场和高二专场的精彩博弈。选手们各个才华横溢、慷慨激昂，充分展现了语言驾驭能力和思辨能力，实力诠释“枫”流人物！

In the semi-final, competitors were equally divided into two sessions according to the grades they are in and each session consists of 20 students. Each of them randomly drew one from 20 different topics and the judges for the two sessions were the same, which guaranteed the justice and equity of the competition. Competitors were required to give an impromptu three-to-four-minute speech based on the topic they drew and answer one or two follow-up questions asked by the judges. However, under the huge pressure, they all exhibited great flexibility and strong influence. And the topics are all in the context of the theme, such as “Growing pains”, “My role model”, “On low-carbon lifestyle”, which helped to inspire their concern for the development of China and motivation for striving for educational excellence.

比赛现场，选手需要从20个不同演讲话题中随机抽取一个进行即兴演讲。每位选手的话题都独一无二，且高一和高二专场的比赛都由相同的外教担任评委，从而保证了评分的公平和公正。每一个话题都与比赛主题“融入世界，改变世界——中国梦，枫叶梦”高度契合，如“成长的烦恼”、“我的榜样”、“论低碳生活方式”等，从而引导学生心系民族命运、心系国家发展，将爱国情感转化奋发图强的动力。选手抽取话题后会有五六分钟的台下思考准备时间，然后直接上台演讲；评委们在每一位选手演讲完之后会就演讲内容提1-2个问题，充分考验了选手的各项能力。然而，他们在强烈高压下并没有忐忑不安，反而声音洪亮、字字珠玑，演讲内容和肢体动作都极具吸引力、感染力和召唤力，与评委产生了强烈的情感共鸣！

The exciting semi-final result came out immediately afterwards, let’s have a look who entered the Hubei final round! Wish them a more remarkable performance then!

激动人心的复赛结果已经新鲜出炉，赶快来围观吧！经过一路披荆斩棘，期待他们在大区决赛中有更优异的表现！

喜报

晋级演讲比赛大区赛决赛名单，排名不分先后。