Writing Tip:
寫演講詞首先要釐定寫作的1. 目的(purpose)和2. 對象(audience)，從而決定文章的3. 結構(structure)和4. 內容(content)的鋪排5. (organisation)。
例子：
這條題目是寫給在冠軍賽落敗的隊友，作為致詞的隊長，演說的目的是肯定隊友一直以來的努力付出，鼓勵和支持隊友以及提升士氣（motivational / inspirational)，這樣範文的結構就會如此鋪排：寫關於隊友自加入籃球隊努力練習，屢敗屢戰不放棄的體育精神和隊友今次作賽的出色表現，以鼓勵沮喪和失望的隊友為重點。
希望以下的範文解題可以幫助大家對寫演講詞有更多點子(idea)^^
4. Learning English through Sports Communication
You are the captain of the school’s basketball team. Your team made it to the inter-school championship final but came second.
Write a speech to be delivered to the team at the end-of-season dinner celebration.
Good evening teammates,
On this special occasion, as a captain of the school basketball team, I am very honoured to be here with you and speak to you. Five years ago, we came together as a team simply because we love playing basketball. After five years, we haven’t slightly changed our heart but have become even more passionate about it despite countless challenges, hardships, frustrations, denials and failures.
Do you remember when we all first played in the basketball court? We were green, inadequate and even deficient. Yet, your passion for basketball did not allow your inexperience and weakness to stop you from undergoing a series of tough and demanding training to hone your skills and build your physical and mental strength. During these five years, you guys have made an enormous improvement in your basketball skills.
In these years, you have fought many battles. Though you have fallen a million times and have cried many tears on the basketball court, you still decide to get up and fight again each time you fall and get hurt. You have never thought of giving up. You guys just hang in there, and continue to persevere and put in a lot of hard work.
This time, though we came second in the inter-school championship final, I am so proud of you because you were not scared of the opposing team who is renowned to be unbeatable and undefeatable. Before the game, we were all looked down upon and said to be destined to lose. However, you didn’t shrink from facing a giant but have demonstrated courage and determination to fight an uphill battle in the face of adversity. After all, it is not the winning that matters most but the life lessons that you have learned from the game. They are self-belief, courage, tenacity, the never-give-up spirit and hope in the impossible moment. These special qualities that you have developed inside will stay with you and keep you for the rest of your life. And that’s what matters.
Once again, losing the game won’t knock us down but will make us stronger and more invincible. That is what failure does to us. I have seen each of you grow into not only skillful but also mature players. I am so proud of you guys to have come so far after all these tough years. You are just incredible. Taking this opportunity, I wish each of you every success in your future endeavours. Thank you.
Eros by Louise Glück
I had drawn my chair to the hotel window, to watch the rain.
I was in a kind of dream, or trance —
in love, and yet
I wanted nothing.
It seemed unnecessary to touch you, to see you again.
I wanted only this:
the room, the chair, the sound of the rain falling,
hour after hour, in the warmth of the spring night.
I needed nothing more; I was utterly sated.
My heart had become very small; it took very little to fill it.
I watched the rain falling in heavy sheets over the darkened city —
You were not concerned. I did the things
one does in daylight, I acquitted myself,
but I moved like a sleepwalker.
It was enough and it no longer involved you.
A few days in a strange city.
A conversation, the touch of a hand.
And afterward, I took off my wedding ring.
That was what I wanted: to be naked.
意譯：我坐在酒店房裏窗邊的椅子看雨。我曾經戀愛，好像一場夢或在半意識的狀態下，但現在我不需要任何東西，看似不需要去觸摸你，再見你了。我只想說：這房間，這張櫈，一小時又一小時的下雨聲，在溫暖的春天晚上，我不再需要甚麼，我完全滿足，我的心變得很小，只需要少少就可以填滿。我看著滂沱大雨在漆黑的城市中落下，你不再在我的生命中了。我在日間做平常的事，我釋放了自己，但我活像一個夢遊的人。一切已經足夠了，你不再牽涉在我的生命；在陌生的城市待了幾天，一個對話，然後我脫下介指。如此赤裸裸、坦蕩蕩，就是我所想的。
讀後感：作者努力地想擺脫一段婚姻/感情，她嘗試感受著周圍空間的物件和環境，體會生命中還有足夠美好的東西。她三番四次地說服自己很滿足於當下，不需要戀人在身旁，可以重新過新生活/做平常的事情，坦蕩蕩地面對一場婚姻/感情的結束。詩以愛神為題，提示作者抱持對生命的熱愛和活著的慾望，看來作者也甚積極。
Anniversary by Louise Glück (April 1966)
Well, November’s hit Paris again.
The Times records a mean temperature
Of thirty-eight. Bunched about the Madeleine,
Flower sellers ostrich the future
With their noses rigorously immersed
In stale roses. Or so I remember.
Incredibly, it was the twenty-first
Last week. And my affections turned out limber
After all: oh Stephen, we’d have been
Married now. I’ve still got our
China, some broken, and some linen
But the first I’ve really thought of you for
Months was just tonight when with my fork
Suspended I was saying how I loved New York.
意譯：
作者現在11月份的巴黎。報章報導攝氏38度，好像不大友善的天氣。聚集在巴黎的馬德琳一帶的賣花者，嚴謹地嗅著陳舊的玫瑰花，假裝這些玫瑰花沒有多大問題，不會影響日後的銷售。作者見到這一幕，想起了上星期應該是她和Stephen已在一起21周年。她的情感也變得柔軟。其實他們現在應該已經結婚了。作者仍然有一些屬於他們的瓷器，不過有些已經破爛了。但是，在這數月裏，第一次想起Stephen是今晚拿起叉子說著她有多喜愛紐約的時候。
讀後感：
作者與Stephen的戀人關係好像那陳舊的玫瑰花，他們假裝看不見關係中的問題，好像那破爛的瓷器一樣，都不知道怎樣補救。作者懷念著他們在紐約那些一起的日子。
2020諾貝爾文學獎得主Louise Glück的文字簡潔，意象新穎，用字精準，這是一首很美的詩歌。
3. Learning English through Workplace Communication
You write an advice column for Jobs Online magazine. A reader submitted the following question:
My dream is to open a cafe with a few friends, but I’ve just been offered a promotion at my company. The pay is good, but I’m not that interested in the work. Should I leave now or wait a few years?
–Kam Chai, 25 years old
Write a reply to Kam Chai offering your advice.
Dear Kam Chai,
I am writing in response to your question about whether you should develop your career at your current company or pursue your dream of opening a café with your friends. I would suggest you accept the promotion and stay at your company for a few more years instead of giving it up and investing in a business that you have not had any experience before.
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your promotion at your company. As you may know, the job market has never been more competitive and only competent candidates can have the golden opportunity of getting a promotion. Therefore, the offer of promotion is a good sign that affirms your talent, value and contribution to the company. Your hard work and positive work attitude must have impressed your boss a lot such that you have got a promotion. As the chance of being promoted is rare, why don’t you just stay on at your company and give it some time to try and see if you would become more interested in the job?
Moreover, as promotion comes with more job responsibilities and requires more sophisticated skills, you might find the job more challenging and exciting. You can take this opportunity to test your ability as well as explore your potential. Meanwhile, you might also find the job more rewarding in terms of salary and work experience. If you have stayed on your job for several more years, you will have a much better resume, in short, an achievement record, which means you will have a bigger bargaining power to negotiate a higher salary. Besides, working with a bigger title at your current company can help you broaden your horizons and build up your professional connection network as you can get to know more closely different kinds of colleagues and clients worldwide. Even if you come away thinking that you do not like the job at all, at least you have tried and gained some valuable work experience such as communication skill and international sense which you would not have learnt from opening a café with friends.
Opening a café requires a large sum of money. As your pay is good, working in your company can help you earn enough money to pursue your dream of opening a café. What’s more, you can always have the chance of opening a café as long as you have enough money. However, if you have given up the job right now, not only will you have a bad resume, but also you will lose the opportunity of developing yourself professionally. It will be very unlikely for you to be able to enter the industry again, not to mention a promotion. Last but not least, opening a café is a kind of business. When the economy is bad, you will have to run the risk of losing money and even closing the cafe. Have you ever thought about any other options that you would have in case your business fails?
Given the above reasons, I would recommend you stay on your current job to gain more professional work experience instead of opening a café with your friends at this stage.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Wong
8: Learning English through Short Stories
You entered the “Stories of Survival” short story competition. The theme of this year’s competition is “Nature: friend or enemy?” Write a story about a hiker who gets caught in a storm while hiking in the mountains.
Nature: Both a friend and an enemy
It is springtime in early March. The sun is shining through the cracks in the clouds and a mild breeze is blowing in the air on a Sunday morning. Zoe wakes up to the radio broadcast in the sitting room which is forecasting some sunny days with a few passing clouds throughout the week. “The weather feels so pleasant!” Zoe thinks to herself. She then calls her best friend Suzy and asks her to go for hiking together. Zoe and Suzy are just average hikers. They usually do the easy hikes for recreational purpose at weekends.
Today, they decide to hike up to the Peak from the University of Hong Kong and then continue the climb up to Mount High West because the scenic views up there is superb. Along the way, the sunshine is creeping in through the shaking leaves on the trees and a stream with clear water is flowing gently down the mountain. The air is crispy fresh. When they are halfway up the Peak, to their amazement, there emerges the spectacular view of the Victoria Harbour between Central and West Kowloon. Zoe and Suzy love the cozy feeling that nature brings.
When they reach the Peak, the weather seems to be changing suddenly. The sky is filled with dark clouds and the wind becomes stronger. Suzy decides to stay under the shelter in the park to have a rest. Zoe insists on going on with her hike to Mount High West and leaves behind Suzy. The path to Mount High West consists mainly of steep, narrow and rocky stairs . When Zoe is in the midway, it suddenly rains heavily and becomes stormy. The stairs are too slippery for her to climb downhill. Zoe cannot move but gets stuck there. She is very scared and trembles severely without any help.
Noticing that the weather is getting worse, Suzy thinks that Zoe might be in danger and calls for the rescue immediately. The search and rescue team flying in the helicopter comes in five minutes and saves Zoe successfully. Luckily, Zoe still survives and only suffers from a little panic attack.
Nature is always changing. It can be both a friend and an enemy to human beings. It can give us a pleasant breezy warm day which is good for our well-being as well as a bad stormy day which is dangerous to our lives. Like a friend, we can enjoy the friendly company of nature; as an enemy, we need to protect ourselves against its threats and attacks. By adapting ourselves to the precarious nature, we can live with nature in harmony and peace.
如果大家對了解範文有困難，可以參考以下的範文解題，希望幫到大家^^
Saturdays my mother got up early
and cooked breakfast in the chilly cold kitchen
then with coarse wrinkled hands that ached
from labor as a cleaning lady woke me up.
I never thanked her.
I would crawl out of bed
and hear the cold wind howling
After I washed myself and had my breakfast
She would dress me in my school uniform
and help me put on a pair of white stockings.
Listening indifferently to her
Who escorted me to take the school bus at dawn
and ironed my uniform as well
What did I know, what did I know
Of love that’s so tender inside.
7: Learning English through Drama
As part of your drama class, you played the role of the hero and the villain in different plays.
Write an entry in your drama journal. Reflect on which role you preferred playing and why.
From Villain to Hero
Last year, I started taking English literature as my elective course and studying drama was part of the course requirement. My drama teacher said that the best way to study drama was to act out the plays. So I was required to play the role of hero and villain in different plays we were studying as our assignment. I played the role of Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice and the role of Joker in The Dark Knight. Though I enjoyed playing the character Darcy as he was a fine noble man, I found playing the character Joker very demanding and stimulating.
I preferred playing a villain character because I believe that in order to make my dream of becoming an all-rounded actor come true, I have to put my acting skill to test and stretch it to the limit. Personally speaking, it does not take me much effort to play a hero character as I embrace the universal values of courage, goodness, kindness and love in real life. However, since I am not used to being a villain in real life, I would like to dare myself to play a villain character in order to enhance my acting skill to a professional level and to get closer to become a successful actor.
Moreover, I want to know more about human nature, especially evil. Despite the fact that I am well aware of good, I seldom have knowledge about darkness and evil. By tapping into the mind and heart of a villain character, I am able to gain a better understanding of what evil exactly is and how evil takes shape which enables me to prevent myself from falling into the trap of being a villain in real life.
Another thing is that in real life, we have many chances to be a hero but we rarely risk our life being a villain. Things as small as giving a helping hand to an old lady crossing the road, opening a door for a wheelchair-bound person or doing volunteer services for the sick, the poor or the disadvantaged are already deemed as an act of a hero. However, most of us generally won’t choose to be a villain in our daily life because being a villain will very likely lead to serious consequences under the rule of law in the modern society. No one will dare to run the risk of being convicted or sentenced to imprisonment in the court and spending the rest of life in prison. Therefore, since, in reality, most of us won’t behave like a villain, only under a pretend setting, that is drama, will I be able to have a chance of experiencing the complex mind and psychology of a villain character as well as the evil and the darkness inside.
What’s more, playing the villain character appeals to me personally because I want to be a hero in real life. As Chinese saying goes “If you know yourself and your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without defeat”, by putting myself into the shoes of a villain, I can better understand them and thus will more likely to fight against them, save the world from destruction and bring faith and hope to the humanity in real life.
5. Learning English through Social Issues
The following comment appeared in the editorial of Hong Kong post.
Young people today lack interest in traditional art forms such as lion dance, calligraphy or the art of tea drinking.
You are the chairperson of your school’s Heritage Club. Express your views by writing a letter to the editor of Hong Kong Post.
Dear Editor,
Recovery of Traditional Chinese Cultural Heritage
I am writing in response to the editorial of Hong Kong post on 1 April 2022 commenting on young people’s lack of interest in traditional art forms such as lion dance, calligraphy or the art of tea drinking. As a chairperson of my school’s Heritage Club, I think that the phenomenon is owing to three major factors: the many other substitute activities that young people find more appealing, the preference of parents for study in the spare time and the Government’s lack of respect and support for traditional Chinese cultural heritage. In my opinion, should the Government promote these traditional art forms to the public and encourage the young people to participate in these activities, they will definitely be attracted to the treasure of our traditional Chinese cultural heritage.
A recent survey revealed that nowadays, young people prefer extracurricular activities such as sports and music to traditional Chinese art activities. Young people find that playing sports like swimming and football and playing musical instruments for an orchestra are more exciting and rewarding as they can take part in local, regional and even world events and competitions if they are talented and competent. It is easier for them to become famous if they have won awards or medals. On the contrary, traditional Chinese art activities lack the interactive, collaborative and competitive dimension. For example, calligraphy and the art of tea drinking are more of personal cultivation and social function. Young people may find it too quiet and boring.
Moreover, parents prefer their children to study or extracurricular activities that benefit their further study and future career development. Despite academic results, sports and music are widely recognised by schools as favourable to students’ admission. However, traditional Chinese art forms lack general recognition which is unfavourable to students’ admission. As a result, without practical incentive, young people thus lose interest in these activities.
To raise the general status and recognition of traditional art forms among young people, the Government should take the lead to promote these traditional art forms by organising exhibitions, live shows or workshops at schools or museums to educate young people about the many advantages of practising these arts forms and the rich history, meaning and spirit behind. For example, lion dance is a kind of martial arts that requires body and mind coordination and is very important politically and culturally as it helps bring good luck, fortune and blessings to people in Chinese New Year. As for tea drinking, it is a kind of Chinese culture that plays an important role in enhancing communication and socialization among people. In addition, the Government should encourage schools to accept these traditional art forms as a good consideration of student admission. It will surely provide incentive for young people to practise these art forms.
Last but not least, the Government can provide funds and subsidies to small businesses or social organizations that engage these traditional art activities to support their initiatives so that they can really become part of our daily life and hence, our culture. As explained above, with the wholesome support of the Government, as the society as a whole are more aware of the great importance and the rich history of traditional Chinese cultural heritage, young people will no doubt change their mind and become more interested in these art forms.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Wong
English language & literature 