Word champions

The final of the Young Interpreters' Competition took place in Beijing last month, with contestants as young as 12 showing how articulate and coolheaded they can be under pressure, Shen Wendi reports.

Interpreting can be a lucrative career, but it's also a skill that can bring out the purest of competitive instincts, as was illustrated by the finals of the fourth annual "CTPH Cup" All-China Young Interpreters' Competition in Beijing in December, sponsored by China Translation & Publishing House.

Some 20,000 teenagers from all across China had battled for glory for months. Twenty entered the finals, the youngest of whom was just 12 years old.