这几天心情挺郁闷的，好多事情都不顺利，并非没有努力，而是有些时候机缘不够。整个五个月特别忙碌，精神一直是紧绷着的，日常教学、学生论文及答辩、SIFE全国赛、速录师培训班准备工作，这些事无不要求大量时间和精力的投入。除了前两项是本职工作外，其他的事情都不是份内的，有时候挺恨自己为什么揽这些事在身上。知道的人晓得你挺辛苦的，还同情你，不知道的人还以为可以捞到多少好处。SIFE比赛我已经做了好几年了，应付比赛照理没有太大难度，但要知道，每年项目不同、参赛学生不同、甚至评委也不同，所以每次都是像新手一样要摸索。好成绩谁都想要，但如果都能要得到就不叫比赛了。好在我们底子比较好，又有传统，要打翻身仗也不是没有可能。不过，什么事情都不能万全，好成绩有时不代表项目质量和实力，甚至只是很表面很虚伪的东西。今年，学生的团结以及项目的参与度是前所未见的，但我们却没能晋级半决赛。为什么？机缘不够。再说说速录师培训班，本来想促成一件好事，却被弄得骑虎难下，继续做得罪人，不做也得罪人。现在我慢慢理解为什么很多人都只顾自己的事情了，因为插手份外之事，有时就会将自己置于难以收拾的境地，所以，何必多管闲事呢？也许我不是这等“聪明”之人，即使一时明白了，也总是容易忘事。不懂得拒绝是我注定辛劳的症结。

I read this sentence from my friend's MSN message, and felt it so exact. Pain definitely makes one mature and advance. No one likes pain, because pain, either physical or mental, hurts. But everyone, however lucky he is, comes across some form of pain in his life. More often than not, physical pain heals more quickly than mental pain, but one learns more from experiences that have brought impact to his heart. For those who are so cautious that they avoid as many painful experiences as possible, they make life easier but less enjoyable. One friend of mine told me that he wouldn't try to find short-cuts to success; instead he'd like to venture different routes in his career although that meant he'd be very likely to meet with mistakes and setbacks. He surely can afford all these since he's still young. Don't be afraid of pain when you are at an age of learning life experience and absorbing world knowledge. Perhaps as you get older and look back at the pains you've gone through, you'll feel relieved and grateful.

 

2009年4月21日，上海理工大学赛扶团队凭借“非物质文化遗产项目”在2009赛扶中国华东地区赛中以小组第一出线，并获得两项个人奖：英语专业教师瞿莉莉获得“09赛扶中国上海赛区最佳指导老师”称号,外语学院06级英语（金融与投资）专业曾旭东同学获得“09赛扶中国上海赛区最佳团队领袖”称号。我校赛扶团队将参加今年5月22日在上海世博会议大酒店举行的09赛扶中国区全国冠军选拔赛。

此次的赛扶中国华东地区赛共有26支队伍参赛，所有队伍被分为6组，小组第一第二名晋级全国赛，我校与上海海事大学，上海外国语大学，宁波诺丁汉大学分在一组，并凭借突出的实力以小组第一顺利晋级。

我校今年参赛的项目是“非物质文化遗产项目”。在当今中国有一大批非物质文化遗产，随着城市的发展，他们离我们越来越远。这一现状引起了上海理工大学赛扶团队的关注。中国千百年的传统文化不该任其湮灭，我们决定给这些非物质文化遗产注入新的活力。我们将独特的理念和知识传授给需要帮助的非物质文化遗产传人，以此来提高他们的经济收入，改善生活质量，将中国传统文化发扬光大。我们选取上海的老字号“钱万隆官酱园”作为主要受助对象。在项目运行期间，上理赛扶团队前往生产基地深入考察，结合实际运营情况做出详细的市场分析并制定出市场运营策略。我校赛扶团队还与纪实频道《往事》栏目合作，播出一期关于钱万隆的专题，请到王汝刚老师为其做详细介绍。上理赛扶团队还在广大社区举行烹饪大赛，以组织社区居民用钱万隆特晒酱油做菜评奖的形式，提高消费者对钱万隆产品的认知度。之后我们还为其制作宣传片，作为上海市浦东新区两会议案上报，从而引起更多关注。与此同时，上理赛扶还联系上海其他老子号企业，最大限度扩大影响力，真正使中国传统文化再次百花齐放。

SIFE（赛扶）是students in free enterprise的简称，它是一个全球性的大学生非盈利组织，成立于1975年，总部设在美国，在全球45个国家共2000所大学拥有独立运行的学生团队，旨在鼓励学生主导策划并实施社会实践项目活动，通过帮助大众而改变人们固有的思维模式，改善人们的生活质量。我校赛扶团队是全国最早成立的赛扶团队之一，在校领导和外语学院领导的大力支持下，屡创佳绩，多次晋级全国总决赛和全球总决赛，我校赛扶团队还曾在2003年德国举行的SIFE世界杯中荣获“优秀团队奖”，在2008年新加坡举行的SIFE世界杯入世界八强。

最近几天每天熬夜看中央9台的英语演讲比赛，之所以能坚持看，那是因为比赛确实十分精彩，感觉现在的英语学习者水平不可估量。以前的演讲比赛往往形式简单：prepared speech+Q&A，而这两年增加了即兴演讲（impromptu speech）和辩论部分（个人辩论和团队辩论），因此参赛者的水平可以展露无疑，而这样的形式也能最大程度地挖掘他们的潜质。CCTV杯比赛首先进行地区选拔，各地区的佼佼者再会聚北京参加决赛。本次决赛的23名选手来自不同地区、不同学校，并非完全名校，也并非全部英语专业，但他们的总体水平另人惊叹。有准备演讲还难分伯仲，然而即兴演讲和辩论突显出高水平者精练的语言、敏捷的反应以及宽广的视野。当然，能够挺进决赛的选手都是英语高手，从他们的语言熟练程度看，必定常用英语，而且有使用英语进行思考的习惯，否则不可能有如此快速的反应。虽然选手们也难免有语法错误，但却一点也不影响信息的传达。更另人称赞的是他们的知识面，比赛所选取的话题包括各类社会热点话题：政治、教育、科技、体育等方方面面，大多数选手能够应对自如，看得出他们不光了解这些话题，而且有过思考，因此他们的语言很有逻辑性, 对于评委的challenge也不会哑口无言。我觉得真正喜欢英语的人会觉得学习英语很快乐，会为取得的任何小小进步而自豪，如果你想学好语言，先让自己爱上它。语言只是工具，然而要让它成为得心应手的工具，还是需要不断地更新和维护。

前几天，两位以色列朋友来访，同他们一起吃饭时，聊了些有趣的事情。席间，巴以冲突这个本来应该尽量避免的话题被一位朋友提起，以色列朋友虽然竭力维护自己国家的形象，但有些话也不无道理。他们不愿意与人过多讨论巴以问题，因为很多人对此只是片面了解。他们认为世界人民如此关注巴以问题，与媒体过度报道有关。他们幽默地表示，这是因为记者们都喜欢去特拉维夫市（Tel Aviv，以色列首都),因为那里风光秀丽，也相对安全。在以色列，男女都要参军，而最近的冲突使以军进一步征兵，其中一位以色列朋友就被要求入伍，还好他目前在中国，才得以幸免。另一位在以色列攻读硕士，专业是Chinese Studies，另外，他还在学印地语。事实上他是位青年企业家，工作非常忙，我就好奇地问他，怎么会想到读硕士，并且选择这种专业。他说这是他的兴趣，不为工作，也不为名利。他把学习作为一种兴趣，这是多么难得啊。他说读完硕士不表示学习生涯的结束，他的学习将是终生的乐趣。活到老学到老，其实我们都听说过，但很多时候都希望是学以致用的，不过多学些看来不那么实用的humanities（人文学），将令人受益匪浅。有人提出学校教育应该更具实用性，如多教计算机、金融等能通往美好“钱”途的课程，这本身没错，但如果以砍掉liberal arts（在大陆被译为“素质教育”，台湾为“通识教育”，香港则译为“博雅教育”，参阅http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4efcd3150100c2ai.html,了解liberal arts）为代价，那就不应该了。

It's been over a year since I wrote last time. I was pregnant and was still working at the university, so I didn't find much time to write something. Year 2008 was a special year not only because I had a new-born baby, but also because the USST SIFE team reached the highest level ever-SIFE national champion, competing against over 80 universities in China. The accomplishments the team has made surely bring positive changes to the team, the college and the university as a whole. 2009 is a new start for me as a lecturer, an advisor and a mother. I feel refreshed after an 8-month break, and get ready to meet challenges in these roles.

A week and half ago, a group of USST debators, headed by Lisa and I left Shanghai for the 2nd IDEA British Parliamentary Debating Tournament held at Beijing Foreign Studies University. They were put into three teams -- two debators on each team.
It was much colder in Beijing, but we were prepared for the coldest possible weather. Many among us were there for the first time, and took a while to get over all the awe and excitement. This debating tournament attracted 125 teams from home and abroad, and the debating system was British Parliamentary Debate, which was widely adopted internationally. Lisa and I were invited to serve as adjudicators in some of the debating rounds. Personally, I enjoyed judging the rounds, because I encountered some of the most brilliant debators and appreciated  their knowledge and insights on international issues, as well as their debating techniques. When we were not judging, we got to observe our students' debating rounds. I was equally amazed by their performance; considering some of them were just freshmen or sophomores, they were stunning. They demonstrated not only convincing arguments but also great debating spirits. None of them dropped out in any rounds, and fought till the end. Two of the teams narrowly missed the Octo-final by 1 or 2 points. The teams were a little disappointed, and thought they should've done better. However, they all know one thing for sure: they didn't lose; they got much more than the result.   

Two weeks ago, I bought a series of TV soap operas — The Apprentice. I had learned long ago that they were very entertaining and exciting to watch, and it was no exaggerating. American real estate tycoon, Donald Trump produced this reality show to select potential candidates to run his companies. Young entrepreneurs and business people from all over the country flooded in New York City to seize the opportunities of lifetime. They were challenged to complete all kinds of business  projects through team work.  Those who didn't demonstrate leadership quality or performed badly in the team work were eliminated from the program, and as the program progressed, less and less people stayed. Eventually, only one person that survived over 10 rounds of competitions would be the apprentice. By now, I have finished two seasons, and am deeply impressed by enthusiam and exertions of the candidates. The program was also said to be instructive to business students and people entering the business world. I do recommend this program to people who are keen on achieving success in the corporate world.

Yesterday, my SIFE team went to the national competition together with other regional winners from all over the country. The SIFE students were really geared up to a "bloody fight", although they were very confident about their projects and their audio-visual presentation. I didn't go with the team since I had an important exam to sit, and I was quite sure that at that point there was little I could contribute as an advisor. Everything had been done! The students were as competent as I'd thought. Before my exam began, I asked for the information of league slotting, and was informed that we were placed in the league with Fudan and Dalian University of Technology. I didn't think we had a lucky draw; Fudan never failed to advance to finalists in their record, and Dalian was tough because they had never failed to win regional competitions ever since they participated. But I still had faith in our team, hoping this year would be different. As I finished the first session of the exam, I got a call from Elyn, the team leader, who told me that we were the league winner, leading Fudan by just one point. I was so excited about it, and just expected that miracle would happen. However, in the next two hours, shocking news came that Fudan stepped up. I just couldn't believe it, and asked why. One of the students said that what they told me previously was not the official announcement; it was from a USST SIFE student who served as coordintor of the league, who got a chance to peer the result, which turned out to be misunderstood.  The students were so depressed that they couldn't stay for the final competition where they didn't have a part. They were also frustrated by the fact that they were that close to the finalist but actually missed it.  I failed to find words to comfort them, because I'd been there and knew how it hurt. I thought they needed to take some time to heal, and feel proud again of what they'd accomplished. Obiviously, other teams were impressed, and the judges were impressed with their performance. Competition is tricky. You just don't get it sometimes. All the teams that went as far as to the SIFE national competitions proved how amazing they were, and were cheered by other teams that were not as lucky. But as the national-level competitiors that were so close in terms of quality of performance, every edge of advantage mattered, especially school prestige. I wouldn't say we lost it because we didn't represent a more prestigous school, but when you had a group of local judges who might have a special liking of certain schools, things could be aweful.  Considering there was only a margin of one point, the chance of misjudgment might not be slim. Anyway, the competition was over; it would be stupid to linger on the outcome. The significance of being involved in SIFE is far beyond winning a competition, as I constantly receive positive feedback from the alumni and people impacted. To me, this team is one of best teams nationwide; I've never seen this much passion for a student activity, this much impact made on hundreds of students involved. I can forsee the next round of enthusiasm for SIFE among our students because of this particular team, and this cause will definitely keep going on. I'd like to acknowledge the 2007 USST SIFE team — the Shanghai Regional Winner, and National Spirit Award receiver as well as the national final 8 teams.

2007 SIFE Shanghai Regional Competition took place yesterday, attracting 20 universities from Shanghai and Zhejiang Province. This was the fifth time that USST SIFE had participated. We were awarded the national champion and went to Germany SIFE World Cup in 2003, but in the following three years, we were not lucky enough to advance to the national or global competitions, either because of  fierce competition or misjudgment. However, the SIFE students and I never gave up. To many students, SIFE is unbelievable in that SIFE students take initiative to devote thousands of hours to helping others, and go to competitions that require excellent business and community projects as well as English presentation skills. It's really amazing to see USST SIFE continue its endeavors in the cause during all the ups and downs. I was the SIFE president for three years, and was concerned about the following leaders of the team. To my surprise, every year afterwards a good team leader would come along. In 2006, Spirng Wang took the responsibility of leading a brand new team without any exprienced SIFE student from previous years, and did a fantastic job in the regional competition. This year, an ambitious SIFE student, Elyn Wu wanted to challenge the "Everest". She was born a leader with all the traits that can shape up things. Coincidentally, both of them were my students in their freshmen year, probably because I influenced them in some way.
With thousands of hours' input and an impact on hundreds of particidents, USST SIFE impressed all the judges in the league, and claimed the winner. Although we had very competitive teams like Shanghai Univerisity of Finance and Economics, which was last year's winner, and East China Univeristy of Science and Technology, which is very experienced, USST SIFE stood out because of convincing down-to-earth programs and superb English presentations skills that they'd trained for the last few months. The result of 2007 SIFE Shanghai Regional Competition is a surprise, yet a deserve. Now the 6 presenters and all the other supporting members must be busy preparing for their long-cherished national competition in June. Wish us all the best luck!