2017-08-03

【Aiden in English】

        There has yet to be a relaxing day at this Capitol Debate Camp. And it is true, the debate takes up most of your attention. Yes, we’ve had certain days where the camp has given hours of free time, but today was a field trip to Colonial Bowling. It was a time to kick back and relax for a short bit of time, unwind and bowl and play laser tag. However, I don’t really care whether the camp gives us these fun days or more studying: I just want to debate and win.

        The morning debate was more valuable to me than the afternoon bowling. Our instructor explained refuting arguments, which I think is the best part of the debates. The introduction is going to be essential to the same for all our debates as the topic is the same. The variations occur from the attack speech and on. Each debate will feature nearly identical contentions; the better attacker will win the debate. I really hope to be the second speaker: I’m much better at improving than anything else.

        Sooner or later, we’ll receive our partners. I’m hoping for an American kid from Brooklyn named Lyle Lucas to be my partner, as I enjoyed his competitive spirit. I say that certain people don’t exactly want to win the tournament, and I understand that. But I believe that people should give one-hundred percent to receive the full experience of this camp. Regardless, I love to win, and I love to compete, and fun usually comes last in this order.

        That night was the talent show, which I performed in. As usual, I played Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor, possibly my favorite contemporary piece ever, not that there is much that I like. I was skeptical of playing, as I had recently jammed my finger, but it didn’t hinder my playing nearly as much as I thought it would. Minus a small blemish in the start, I had a near-perfect run through.

        Although I had a finger issue, the main reason I didn’t want to go was that I believed the other talents would overshadow mine. In hindsight, that was a stupid thought because I was one of the older age groups. Therefore, I could be considered one of the stars of the show. The other star, my hopeful partner, Lyle, was also spectacular, although he lost his voice midway through his show. He played the piano as well as sang at the same time. This talent is something I think that I’ll never develop. And yet he knocked it out of the park (he’s actually low-key a celebrity. Google him).

       I have a complete hope that his voice returns to debate, but the essential matter is beyond the debate. As of the next few days, I’ll probably need to carry him through exercises in class, which is fine. That’s why we have friends, right?

【紅霞譯文】

        國會辯論夏令營竟還沒放過一天假。說得沒錯，辯論占據營員大量精力；正因如此，我們有幾天專門拿出幾個鐘頭時間安排自由活動，但今天大家要去殖民地保齡球館進行營外娛樂，是該到了休息放鬆的時候，哪怕只有短暫片刻甩開膀子打保齡玩激光槍戰，不過我真的對夏令營娛樂日或補課加班感覺無大所謂，倒是更想參加辯論而且一心想贏。

        對我而言，上午辯論要比下午保齡更有價值，授課老師講解辯駁技巧，我認為這是辯論的精華所在。因為論題不變，引子部分基本上與所有辯論相同，只是在開始攻擊發問後才產生變化，每場辯論差不多包含相同的爭議，出色的進攻手終將贏得勝利，但願我來做第二發言人：自己更擅長幹些添磚加瓦的事情。

        每人遲早要找一搭檔，我希望自己能跟來自布魯克林的小伙子萊爾·盧卡斯聯手，他的競爭意識令我大加讚賞，而有些營員根本不想贏，我理解他們，不過還是堅信人應該拿出100%的幹勁充分利用如此難得的鍛煉機會，反正我既愛贏也愛競爭，而且越拼到後面越覺得好玩。

        當天晚上還有一場才藝表演，我也踴躍參加。如同往常一樣，我演奏了一曲拉赫曼尼諾夫《升C小調前奏曲》，它大概是為數不多被我追捧的當代作品。我對現場表現沒有太大把握，畢竟最近剛踤了手指頭，但並未像我想象的那樣影響到彈琴，開場時有點小紕漏，後來總算完美收場。

        雖然手指出現問題，可我不想登台的主要原因是覺得其他能人技高一籌，事後看來太過幼稚，畢竟我屬於年齡比較大的一組，況且被當成明星。另外一位即我希望成為自己搭檔的明星萊爾也是身手不凡，儘管半途唱破了嗓子，但他一邊彈一邊唱，我這輩子沒法練就出這種能耐。甭說，他決非等閒之輩（他實際上是位低調的名人，谷歌網站一搜就全知道了）。

        我滿懷期待辯論時他能恢復嗓音，但關鍵問題遠不限於辯論。今後幾天裡，我可能要帶他在課堂上多做練習，這倒小事一樁，誰叫我們是朋友，對不？

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2015 GHCS Camp(2015年光華夏令營)

2014: Scavenger Hunt at Sea(海上尋寶遊戲)

2013: Lavner Video Game Design Camp(拉夫納電游設計營)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2017: Capitol Debate Camp Day-4(國會辯論夏令營第四天)

2017: Capitol Debate Camp Day-3(國會辯論夏令營第三天)

2017: Capitol Debate Camp Day-2(國會辯論夏令營第二天)

2017: Capitol Debate Camp Day-1(國會辯論夏令營第一天)