5月28日，杭州外国语学校一年一度的“校友杯”英语演讲比赛如期在2号楼一楼报告厅拉开帷幕，8名来自初三年级的优秀选手在这里上演了一场精彩的角逐。比赛有幸邀请到了校友董佳尉、席宁忆以及初二年级外文组的英语老师来担任评委。

本次“校友杯”演讲主题为“The Future Is Now”，八名演讲者把自己的个人经历与对演讲主题的理解结合起来，发表了一篇篇能够引起在场同学共鸣的演说。最终，凭借优秀的笔试成绩、精彩的演讲以及对评委老师的提问的快速反应，初三（1）班的林可（女），初三（4）班的周祺洋（男）荣获2021“校友杯”冠军。

比赛的最后，我校2012届毕业生，也是2009年“校友杯”的入围选手席宁忆对本次比赛作了精彩点评。

参赛选手照片

1号选手 初三（6）班 王畅

2号选手 初三（3）班 钟晴

3号选手 初三（3）班 陈宇杰

4号选手 初三（1）班 林可

5号选手 初三（6）班 刘雅珞

6号选手 初三（4）班 项劭怡

7号选手 初三（4）班 周祺洋

8号选手 初三（4）班 刘宸聿

参赛选手感言

The future is now. 简单的标题中，蕴藏着思维的无限发散与衍生，就像未来包含的无限可能。在初中最后的时光中，我们都站在未来的节点上，向过去回望，更向未来徜徉。这次演讲，给每一位选手畅所欲言的机会，用自己年轻的心做出展望。未来充满了不确定性，但不论是历史还是当下都向我们证明，未来在我们自己手中。这次比赛是初中的尾声，也是一个新的起点，当我们直面当下，我们会看见自己希望中的未来。          

初三（1）班 林可

在春夏交际、阳光明媚的季节，我有幸参加了2021届外文节校友杯比赛并取得了较好的成绩。这是我的一大荣幸。

首先我想感谢所有支持我的人：我的同学，我的家长，我的老师。感谢同学们的三年帮助与陪伴，感谢家长的激励与鼓舞，感谢我的老师对于我3年的教导——谢谢Ms. Ma对我英语学习的用心培养。

其次我想跟同学们说：学习英语并不是一挥而就的，它需要长期的训练才能慢慢提高，晨读，上课，自习，逐日必备三要素。课堂的每一分钟我们都必需去珍惜。英语学习需要持之以恒，不能三分钟热度，天天坚持训练，长此以往，才会有明显效果。所以我希望同学们可以从现在开始，重视日常积累在英语学习的决定性作用，每天多说、活用，这样就能学好英语。

初三（4）班 周祺洋

很高兴也很意外自己能进入这次校友杯的大名单，故实在不能对成绩或是奖项要求太多。在准备演讲，和其他参赛选手交流的过程中，我逐渐找到了未来英语学习的努力方向，也在这些优秀的同学身上学到了很多，总的来讲，参加校友杯于我已是绝对的荣誉，让我找到了前进的动力和方向。

初三（6）班 王畅

初二坐在观众席看学长学姐在台上畅所欲言时，我暗暗感到敬佩与憧憬。一年后，站在台上的竟是我自己。能入围比赛对我来讲已经是一个相当大的肯定，能和同龄的英文大佬竞争更是紧张刺激，倍感荣幸，受益匪浅。

真正站在台上，站在众师生评委前演讲时不免紧张，回头看，不过是又一次锻炼英语能力的良机。感谢学校为我们创造这样的机会和平台，使得我们在外语学习途中碰撞出火花。

初三（3）班 钟晴

能够有机会参加这场比赛，就已经是非常幸运了。无论是笔试还是演讲，我都非常享受其中不断超越自我的过程，结果于我而言倒是次要。确实，像我这样的佛系选手，在演讲前也稍微有些小紧张，但我真正开口时，却比准备演讲的任何一个阶段都要放松，就好像我不是在比赛，而是将其作为人生一大乐趣体验。总之，参加这次比赛的经历是我非常珍贵的一次回忆，我希望在将来，我依旧能保持这份朝气和自信，勇敢地拥抱梦想与热爱。

The future is now!

初三（3）班 陈宇杰

首先，这次校友杯比赛给我最大的影响，就是让我看到了同学们的优秀，以及我自己的一些有待提高之处，我还是没有克服紧张的老毛病，一些演讲的技巧也没有到位。这将是我以后努力提升自己的方向。

另外，初中三年“艰苦”的学习后，我在英语方面的进步已是十分令人满意。我想感谢我的父母、老师和同学们。如果没有你们的支持和鼓励，我也不会有现在的成果。“校友杯”算是对我成长的一次见证，它也是一个小小的里程碑。未来的路还很长，我们都要奥利给！

初三（6）班 刘雅珞

非常幸运能获得参加此次“校友杯”的机会，我从中收获了很多经验以及感动。

首先感谢我的老师在之前的英语学习中对我的指导以及鼓励，感谢父母对我的“精神”和“物质”支持，感谢在参赛过程中同学们对我的帮助和“夸奖”，特别感谢临时借我衣服的同学。

笔试和演讲准备都进行得十分匆忙，虽然本人比较菜，但是仍惊喜地收到了价值挺高的奖品！希望未来仍能拥有这样的机会锻炼和展示自己。

感言很简短，但是我的收获和感悟是文字难以表达的。

初三（4）班 项劭怡

参加“校友杯”于我是一次不可多得的经历（虽然一开始出乎我意料），它对我的英语学习和综合素质都帮助极大，尤其是打磨讲稿的过程。它同样使我认清自身的不足，包括写作上的问题、演讲技巧上的问题与发展空间较大的词汇量。在我自身之外，我特别赞赏初三（4）班的参赛者们在准备过程中体现的团结互助的无私精神。

我将在接下来的英语学习中吸取经验、继续努力，以求更大的进步。

初三（4）班 刘宸聿

初三5班胡舒妤、初三3班王逸忱撰稿

初三5班吴双小丫、凤俞子墨摄影

初三英语备课组报道

附：演讲稿

The Future is Now

1号选手 初三（6）班 王畅

Honourable Judges and dear audiences,

A few years ago, entrepreneur Jack Ma published a collection of his speeches, named exactly “The Future is Now”. Mentioning the keyword of the new century, which are “imagination” “creativity” and “revolutionary” according to him.

 His speech mentioned that “the future is now”, and we have to “embrace the future and to find the solution positively, or be eliminated by the new era”. And he did actually put his own words into action.

These words make me think of my own specialized field—classical music, has the future of this historical industry already arrived? Or there’s still a gap between its glorious past and confusing future?

Classical music, an traditional industry which has kept its prosperity for the last 500 years, is facing the crossroad of the past and the future. Today’s fast-paced world has changed people thoroughly and permanently, Wagner’s 16-hour-long opera, or Mahler’s 3-hour-long symphony seems too long and tiring to today’s audiences.

Much higher ticket price comparing with movies, much longer pieces than popular music, even much stricter rules in the concert hall, will classical music’s empire end in 21st century?

My answer to these is, definitely, NO. Classical music’s future is NOW!

High-technology make musical groups able to rehearsal even during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic; it lets everybody, even living in a city without a theatre or an orchestra, be able to enjoy the performance by best musicians in Vienna, Berlin, or New York; it also makes new method of performance possible.

The industry is on its another new climax, new maestros are appearing in Asia and America, the middle generation and old masters are still active on the stage. Hundreds of thousands of new compositions are appearing all around the world, combining with composer’s own culture. Orchestras are also trying to crossover, attracting potential audience in the new generation.

After Beethoven’s 250 years old birthday, we discovered that future needs music more than ever before, people also need music more than ever before.

The future is giving us so much, it is calling for us to embrace it, to combine the traditions with opportunities. Future has already stepped to us.

The Future, is now.

The future is now

2号选手 初三（3）班 钟晴

Good afternoon, everyone. It’s a great honor to stand here and deliver my speech.

What do you want to be in the future? At the age of 7, I would say: I’m going to be a superstar! At the age of 12, I would say: I want to be a doctor. However, now at the age of 15, my answer is: I’m not sure. And I suppose this is what many of you would say.

As we grow up, we seem to be more and more unsure of ourselves and the future. Why? One reason is that we give more consideration to realistic matters instead of what we indeed long for. It is those extrinsic factors that conceal our inner voice and hold back our dreams of grandeur. Moreover, the future is full of uncertainty. The only constant is change.

Many of us, including me, seem to have got lost. In the face of the unknown future, what can we do now, when we aren’t even sure about our dreams?

I used to think that it is urgent to make my dream clear and definite, but it turned out to be tough. For a long time, I was plagued by it, trying to figure out what on earth I’m striving for. Then suddenly I realized, I don’t necessarily need to bother with that.

Take Luxun, the famous Chinese writer, for instance. He initially majored in medicine, but he found himself determined to save the Chinese in time of a national crisis. He decided that the ignorance of the Chinese people was a chronic disease that could only be cured by literature. It wasn’t until he was 26 that he switched his career to literature and made a significant achievement.

Numerous people don’t discover their future path early. And it’s never too late. The decision on a dream is not essential now, but self-improvement is. Every day can be a starting point of a journey to make progress, go beyond your limits, and prepare for the challenges in the future.

Chance favours the prepared mind.

The day will come when all the mist will clear away with your inner voice uncovered. At that moment, you will be thankful for all the efforts now that enable you to choose your future before the future chooses you. Every step you take now carries you forward toward success.

In the end, I wish you all a promising future. Thanks

The future is now

3号选手 初三（3）班 陈宇杰

Good afternoon everyone, I am Robert. It’s my great honor to stand here and deliver a speech to express my views on the future.

Thinking of future, what first springs to your mind ?As far as our society is concerned, the future may represent a better system, more advanced technology, and a more open and inclusive social thinking. For a single person, the future might be a bright prospect and the possibility to achieve an ambitious dream. Our constant consideration and creation of the future have brought an extraordinary meaning to our lives. But, have you ever thought about the bond between the future and the present?

The future is literally a concept of time relative to the past and the present. Logically speaking, the present is the cause of the future, and the future is the outcome of the present. It is apparent to see the Casual relationship between the future and now, and our present determines our future in a sense.

How do we define a person? From my point of view, it is not by where he comes from or where he is, but where he is going and how much efforts he has made or will make to reach his destination. A glorious future is often inseparable from the firm ideals and persistent diligence of the present. Your current dreams and actions will be a great foreshadowing of your future life.

It’s easiest to see the link between the future and the present in young generation, whose current dreams and actions are highly likely to lay the foundation and the tone of a lifetime. Throughout the history, many great people already had lofty ambitions at our age and were willing to take action to achieve it. Premier Zhou Enlai showed his grand ambition of studying for the rise of China in his youth, Karl Marx was also determined to fight for the liberation of mankind in the middle school age.

They were young, full of passion, full of energy.They seized every moment and made every effort to turn the future of dream into reality instead of just ending up in fantasy. .For them, the future was not far away. Through dreams and actions, the shadow of the future existed in every moment , every corner of their lives.

So do we. Now not only means every moment of the present, but also means the youth for us. Where is the future? It exists in the hands of each of us, in every step we take, in every word we say, and in every dream we firm up. The future of a country lies in the youth and the hope of a nation lies in the youth. Whether for a person or a country, the future is now, it’s what we are like and where we are going.

There is no denying that the future is closely connected with the present, and the bright future in our imagination means our orientations. Our expectations for the future puts us in motion to march forward for our dreams, like my dream of becoming a scientist is a big motivation for my progress. And every moment of our present will have a profound effect on our future. Now is the time for us to make the most of our youth, grasp the current moment, and create a better future. Remember, the future is now!

Thank you.

The future is now

4号选手 初三（1）班 林可

“Future” and “now”, these two words sound familiar to us, but what truly accounts for their difference? Let me first raise some examples: Now I am delivering a speech. In one month, I am going to graduate from middle school. After this summer vacation I will go to the U.S. Probably ten years later I will start working. I might become an archaeologist.

Has anyone noticed the difference?

The words I used to describe the likelihood shifted from “will” to “probably” then to “might” as the time gap expands. Why? Because the language itself indicates that the future is full of uncertainty, buried with traps and pitfalls and covered with obscurity and failure. Too often do people give up their dreams because they feel so unsecured. And that is the case for the majority of us. To make the situation easier to understand, everyone, please imagine you receive a bag of potatoes. You can immediately enjoy a feast, and remain starved from now on. You can also cultivate the potatoes and few months later you might get 10 bags in return or, traumatically, because of a bad storm, your effort was ruined and you get nothing. Though we all desire the return in the future, we are unlikely to take action because we are afraid of lost. However, as long as we have a clear goal, we can turn the uncertainty into a desirable reality.

This principle is proven by human ourselves. Ever since the first glance at the glorious sky, people have long been dreaming of visiting those glamorous celestial objects. They imagined a future with no boundary of space, no limitation of human exploration. Though at that time this dream was nothing but a ridiculous fantasy, our ancestors started their journey. The first thing was to learn how to fly. The first man tried to do so by tying himself to a chair and powering this by a large firecracker. Though he failed the experiment, he marked a milestone in the development of space traveling. Countless pioneers followed him. Wright brothers, Gagarin, Armstrong……When the first astronaut laid his footprint on the moon, our unrealistic dream was turned into a reality within reach. The future is now.

Successful people share a similarity. They use their eyes to observe, their minds to innovate, their hands to practice and more importantly, their heart to devote. These people see through obscurity and realize we make the future out of our perseverance. It might take years, decades, even centuries to accomplish our goals, but we have already arrived at the starting point of our future, that is, now.   

The Future Is Now

5号选手 初三（6）班 刘雅珞

Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Ariel.

There has been a theory that goes like this: It takes about 7 years for every single one of our old body cells to be replaced by the new. That means I am a completely different Ariel from when I was 8. Similarly, I will be “another person” 7 years later, when I graduate from whatever college. However, standing here as a 15-year-old teenager, with numerous cells that have died, I dare to say that, something fundamental in me, such as my value system, as well as this optimistic personality, haven’t changed, and they will most likely never change throughout my life.

Now, the world is like a human being, with billions of cells. When a generation of “cells” reaches its longevity, which is about 70 years, the world will be completely taken over by another bunch of human beings. With the wheel of history moving forward, the world changes itself.

But will the future earth really be a different one from today’s? Not really. Countless elements of culture exist throughout the long river of time. Looking back, ever since the Huangdi Period, people have been fascinated by the elegance of silk. Today, it is still the obsession with lots of people, like my mom. The arrival of new year has been celebrated by all over the world, for literally thousands of years.

Furthermore, the spirit of humanity is, and will be, unchangeable. Honesty, kindness, generosity, dedication. These can be considered as the nerve center of the world. 74-year-old Wu Yulan passed on the preciousness of honesty through paying the debts of her late husband and son by gleaning and collecting scraps. Huang Jiguang set up a vivid example of patriotism with his chest in front of the enemy’s gun muzzle. In the future, the world situation will shift, but its moral core, as I predict, will continuously revolve around these fine qualities, as young blood will always emerge and carry the virtues to the future.

Therefore, in terms of the soul and spirit of the world, the past was the present, today will be the future.

My dear fellow students, we are part of the new generation. We should pass on the blood vein of our nation, and the entire human race, as we are the hope of today, and we will be the future.

Thank you very much!

The future is now

6号选手 初三（4）班 项劭怡

Before I start my speech, I would like to play a game with you first. Do you see the dice inside the box? And please guess the number facing upwards after I shake it.

I believe none of you have got the correct answer. Well, just like this game, the future is certainly unpredictable. The future lies before us, inevitable but invisible, and this is something we need to realize and admit.

However, the future can be changed by what we do in the present, and our actions should be adjusted to all the possible situations in the future. The future and now is closely related.

When in elementary school, I took part in the Sports Meet in our district for the first time and came in fourth eventually. However, later I was informed that I was disqualified for breaking the rule because I ran into the lines while running.

I had been trained for a year and being disqualified was something that I’ve never thought about.

Being depressed couldn’t make up for the regrets. But future was something I could change through my actions in the present. After this incident, I paid close attention to the lines when training and in races and worked hard to avoid being in a passive position. In addition, I listened carefully to the teachers and reminded myself of all the rules from time to time. And I believe this kind of situation will never occur again.

And an accident also happened in the Sports Meet last semester. One of the participants jumped the gun and we were asked to run again while I had already completed a quarter of the distance. Thanks to my previous knowledge about how to loosen up and my good physical strength, I did a great job in the race.

Of course, those were something in the past. However, at that time, it was my effort in the ‘present’, keeping the rules in mind and training hard, that prevented accidents in the ‘future’ from leading to an adverse consequence and even from happening.

Quite accidentally and for various reasons, I got a bad grade in English in the past Mid-term Exam, lower than many of you present. And it was because of my hard work in every semester that I can stand here now.

Although the future is full of uncertainties, we can embrace it confidently as long as we’re fully prepared now. And that’s why for us, future is just now.

Being fully present is the best guarantee for a bright future. Tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. And future belongs to those who prepare for it now.

The future is now

7号选手 初三（4）班 周祺洋

Today, our country is almost free of covid-19 in the pandemic world. But we are accelerating vaccination procedure for the future. As we all know, the pandemic future depends on present vaccination. Let’s get vaccinated now for the safe future!

At present, 3.4 million people have died due to the outbreak. Meanwhile, from air pollution to catastrophes and to the global warming, humanity has been threatened by a variety of problems for decades. In the future, planet earth is predicted to be uninhabitable by 2170 thanks to the global warming. And oil, which is considered to be the main energy source, will run out in 40 years. It's terrifying, isn't it? We aren't saving anything to our future generations, and it is obvious that humanity is likely to meet its doom in the near future in no action is taken now.

Are you feeling anxious, my listeners? Here, I've got a solution, which coincidentally matches with the topic: The future is now. The way to pursue future happiness is acting now.

Take YLP, for example He invented super hybrid rice in last century, making it possible to double rice harvestand thus ends the hunger for all the following generations. His spirits and uncompleted pursuit carry on. Now, it is our obligation to pursue future and solve problems.

Comrades, pursuing future means having a dream and taking actions now. But having a dream doesn't mean daydreaming things. We can rather do than think. Let’s take actions soon! I have been sorting trash daily, with younger kids. Then they started to sort trash by imitating me. Like that, generation by generation, it can improve the future surroundings. This is a responsible act that we can do now in our lives.

Comrades, pursuing future means studying diligently. Our school motto goes: "Study for the motherland, prepare for the future". It encourages us to study hard now. When I was ten, I invented a device that can detect the distance between the childrens’ eyes and their homework. It has contributed to solving myopia by correcting childens’ postures. This is something we should all try now to solve future problems and make our dreams practical.

Only when we take actions, from this day, will we seek the happiness of humanity. Our future is currently in our hands. And it is our duty, now, to make our present time, a present for future, not a Pandora's Box. The future is now, so don't hesitate to take actions!

To the teacher who sees my script: 1. YLP refers to Yuan Long Ping

2. I hope I didn’t misspell anything.

3. Thanks for raising questions! Good day! J

The Future is Now

8号选手 初三（4）班 刘宸聿

The future always floats in front of us in the mist of unknown, and can never be seen clearly. Promising it may seem, but as one pursues and finally reaches it, it turns out to be something else unexpected. Therefore, some consider that we shall never know the future because of its uncertainty and regard it as chaos. However, I say that it is the present that determines the future; despite it is unpredictable, we can hold the future in our hand: the future is now.

Our school motto says: “Study for the motherland and get prepared for the future.” The motto, coincidentally, suggests two of the concepts I will mention in my speech: road and future. Some say that, according to the motto, for students, our “future” is to continue our studies and find our place in society where we can realize our personal value, and say this requires hard-work as preparation. This is a misunderstanding of the motto. Problem exists in this logic: our future is actually unexpected and uncontrollable, but not something certain that can only be prepared, not created. Therefore, continuing our studies and finding our place in society is not our future. It is just the road of life, a stage on which we perform that we are bound to step onto. And our true future is what we play on those stages. So, the “future” in the motto actually means “road”, and it is “get prepared” that means “create our own future.”

I reckon those preparations, those hard-works we do as our true future, because they create opportunities. Hard-work is mainly divided into two parts: academic achievements and comprehensive qualities. Academic achievements are the basic factor of creating a bright future, because they guide us to bigger stages of life, in other words, they create opportunities for better roads. Comprehensive qualities are important as well. They regard one's overall abilities, for example language skills and social skills, which we present now here. These abilities help us perform better on the stages of life, in other words, they create opportunities for better future. Therefore, opportunities mean future; hard-work, which consists of academic achievements and comprehensive qualities creates and ensures opportunities and the present is the only time when we can hard-work. Therefore, our future is now. My classmate Zihang is now studying in senior 3; he will be attending Gaokao next month. With luck, he will be accepted by a Special Class for Gifted Youths. This is his future created by his hard-work. His academic achievements guide him to the road to the University, and his comprehensive qualities decides whether he can create a promising future. His future is now. Our future is now.

Except for ourselves, this logic also suits the Chinese Nation as well as the world. The Chinese Nation's, and the world's future depends on the people's hard-work today. It is the youth, especially we students, who are the backbone of the Chinese Nation's rejuvenation. In addition, China takes up one-fifth of the population of the world, making itself responsible for the future of the human beings. Therefore, keep your spirit up my friends, for the future of your own, the future of the Chinese Nation and the future of the world is your now.