"Devil Judge" sorts wheat from chaff

Last month CCTV9 International screened the final of its annual English-speaking Cup.

I had an interest in this academic version of Super Girl, co-staged by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), having co-judged the penultimate round.

Nine of us had pared 92 semifinalists down to just 23 in three days of 5.30am calls, butt-numbing judging sessions, sickly instant coffee and the pressure of knowing that our vote could make a difference to 93 careers.