the University of Melbourne hosts the 12th annual Chinese Bridge competition

The language abilities of top performing Victorian tertiary students will be on display this weekend as the Confucius Institute at the University of Melbourne hosts the 12th annual Chinese Bridge competition.

墨尔本大学孔子学院 将于本周末主办第十二届汉语桥墨尔本赛区的比赛，届时维多利亚州的优秀大学生将展示他们的汉语水平。

This language proficiency competition for non-Chinese students is organised by the Office of the Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), a public institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education.

该汉语比赛是由中国教育部直属国家汉语国际推广领导小组办公室（汉办）组织，面向所有非中国籍学生。

Hanban is committed to enhancing mutual understanding between China and the world through access to Chinese language and cultural resources.

汉办致力于利用中国语言文化资源来加强中国和世界之间的相互了解。

Competitors are required to do a written test, a short speech in Mandarin and a Chinese cultural performance, which are judged by a panel.

参赛者需参加笔试，中文演讲和中国文化表演，并由大会评委会进行评判。

Students that reach the finals have the opportunity to win language scholarships and will be offered travel opportunities to China. The winners of the Australian final will travel to Beijing later this year to compete in the finals with other international students, which will be broadcast by Hunan TV.

澳大利亚决赛的优胜者将于今年下半年前往北京与其他国家的优胜者进行总决赛。该赛事将由中国湖南卫视进行直播。进入北京总决赛的学生将有机会赢得汉语学习奖学金以及在中国旅行的机会。

Ms Julia Gong, Director of the Confucius Institute said the competitions are held globally and have become a foundation of Chinese language programs.

孔子学院院长宫正女士介绍说汉语桥是一个全球范围的比赛，并且已经成为中文语言项目的重要基础。

“Interest in learning Chinese is at an all time high, and I am always impressed by the calibre of young Australians entering the University Chinese Bridge Competition,” she said.

宫院长说： “维多利亚州的大学生学习中文的兴趣一直很高，参加大学生汉语桥比赛的澳洲年轻人们表现出来的出色才能总会给我留下深刻印象”。

“We are looking forward to welcoming the next generation of communicators in the Australia-China relationship to the University of Melbourne, and seeing the outcomes of Australia’s increased investment in Asian languages.”

“我们欢迎澳中关系交流中的新一代们到墨尔本大学来，并见证澳洲对亚洲语言增加投资后所取得的巨大成就。”

The Chinese Consul General, Shi Weiqiang will join Dr Gao Jia, Acting Director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies and Professor Simon Evans, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) to present the prizes.

中国驻墨尔本总领馆的施伟强总领事，墨尔本大学当代中国研究中心的执行主任高佳博士以及墨尔本大学协理校长西蒙·埃文斯 教授将为获胜者颁发奖品。

“Developing our students' Chinese language skills and cultural knowledge is a key priority for the University of Melbourne and the education sector as a whole in the new Asian Century,” said Professor Simon Evans.

西蒙 ·埃文斯教授说：“发展学生的汉语技能及文化知识是墨尔本大学乃至整个教育界在新亚洲世纪的优先工作。”

Jessica Wagstaff and Claudia Martin will be representing the University of Melbourne at the Chinese Bridge in competition with students from other Victorian universities.

杰西卡·瓦格斯塔夫和罗蝶（克劳迪娅·马丁）将代表墨尔本大学参加本次汉语桥比赛，与来自维多利亚州其他大学的选手们进行竞争。