2017-08-04

【Aiden in English】

        I got Lyle as my partner, which already made my day. But more than that, today was a great day of learning. From now on, it would be a fast, downhill ride, and every lesson had to be worth spending energy and time on. I also suddenly realized how little time I had to prepare this case.

        As time continued to click toward the final debate, every second seemed to weigh a bit heavier. We needed practice, which was true, but our instructor also emphasized other values, such as presentation before content.

        I understand that Lyle and I still need to gather some information before the debate. After an ordinary breakfast, I attempted a quick argument with a friend, resulting in my case being destroyed. However, I did have some great points against their argument, poking holes that I would use again later.

        After all this time, I finally began to understand the debate concepts, but even understanding them was not enough to know how to participate in the competition. So, today was simply a day to prepare for public speaking. We practiced calmness and variety within scripted presentations. It sounds boring and useless, yet we all put in the effort, making the most of what would otherwise be an unnecessary exercise.

        Today was a grind for me. The realization of the final debate suddenly spurred my teenage procrastination spirit into overdrive. Fueled by Mountain Dew and coffee, I powered through the night and into the morning. I hadn’t fallen asleep in class because of the adrenaline the debates gave me.

        To further research, I devoted much of my time to writing this blog into the early morning hours. Most of the roommates had already been researching late into the night, meaning the entire camp was filled with cranky teens running on four hours of sleep. I can’t believe we continue doing this. I want to win, but others don’t care. So why are they also “studying” until midnight?

        Competition is approaching, so I can’t do much else but study and prepare. I will practice the debates tomorrow, and the day after that, I will also practice. Then, after that, it is the real deal, a tournament within divisions.

【紅霞譯】

        我如願拉萊爾入伙，讓我高興壞了。除此而外，今天還是學習大好日子，要知道從現在起日程進度猶如順勢而下的過山車飛速疾馳，每節課從眼下開始都必須投注精力抓緊時間，我猛然意識到沒剩下多少功夫準備手頭論題。

        隨着時間朝辯論決賽推移，每一秒鐘似乎都顯得有點沉甸甸的，我覺得咱哥兒倆尚需練習，情況確實如此，但授課老師則強調其它方面，把演講看得比內容還重要。

        我和萊爾在辯論到來之前仍要搜集點資料，這倒好說。如同往常吃過早飯，我試圖採用快速夾擊發問辨駁朋友，導致全盤失利，不過我有優勢推翻對方論據，巧用撕隙抓漏的手段好跟他們秋後算賬。

        有過這番經歷之後，我終於茅塞頓開，但實際比賽未必得益於理論認知，因此今天不如乾脆準備演講，我倆按照腳本提綱強化“張弛有度疾徐有致”，聽起來似乎乏味多餘，但彼此全力以赴，儘可能多做練習。

        今天對我來說是一次很大磨練，既然意識到辯論在即，我夜以繼日加班加點，靠喝山露和咖啡提神助興，並一改過去身上慣有的青少年拖拉習氣，而保證上課不打瞌睡的唯一原因肯定歸咎於辯論刺激產生的腎上腺素。

        為了多做研究，我只能擠出早上時間來寫這篇博客。大多數同住宿舍樓的夥伴忙到深更半夜，也就意味着整個夏令營有不少每天僅睡四個鐘頭愛發脾氣的青少年，我搞不明白大家為啥自討苦吃。我想贏得辯論，而別人毫無在意，那麼他們幹嗎也“學習”到午夜時分？

        無論如何，比賽日趨逼近，我來不及再做其它研究準備，明天有幾輪辯論練習，後天也要走台，再往後看就到了正式區域比賽。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2014: Chankanaab NP in Cozumel, Mexico(墨西哥科蘇梅爾島昌卡納國家公園)

2012: Tennis Camp(網球夏令營)

Dining Hall (就餐)

Debate Prep (辯論前準備 08-04-2017)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2017: Capitol Debate Camp Day-5(國會辯論夏令營第五天)

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)

8th Grade(初中三年級)