GRACE Fung Ping-shan struck gold with her eloquence in a first attempt at the Solo Verse Speaking competition of the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival.
Grace, a Form Four student at Sacred Heart Canossian College, was praised by adjudicator Mia Ball for her 'sensitive and intelligent' rendering of She Is Leaving Home , by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
'Her vocal technique was secure, although more facial expression could have helped her further,' Ms Ball said.
'Her good use of modulation brought out the different emotions of the girl and her parents.' The student said she was 'surprised and thrilled' to win in her first attempt in the contest.
'I suppose self-confidence and being calm helped in my success,' Grace said.
Taking care about her pronunciation and trying to be natural were important, she said.
'I was working on my pronunciation for three to four weeks. My instructor, Mrs Jill Simms, helped a lot.' Grace said she felt the passion in the poem. 'I like the Beatles very much, I have a strong feeling for their work.' Rowena Tan of Shau Kei Wan Technical Government Secondary School came second with a compelling reading of the same poem.
