A. High School Spontaneous Speech Event Prompts
Round 1 - 9:00 AM PST
Speaker 1
Speaker 1
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"On every street in every city in this country, there is a nobody who dreams of being a somebody." ― Taxi Driver
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"Every man dies, not every man really lives." — Braveheart
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"Nothing is inconceivable." — Junior
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Speaker 2
Speaker 2
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"If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards." — Tommy Boy
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"Expect the impossible." — Mission Impossible
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"Every journey begins with a single move." — Searching for Bobby Fischer
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Speaker 3
Speaker 3
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"Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it." — Divergent
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"Sooner or later, a man who wears two faces forgets which one is real." — Primal Fear
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"Whoever saves one Life, Saves the World entire." — Schindler's List
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Speaker 4
Speaker 4
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"It can be Hell getting into Heaven." — Dogma
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"Nothing is as simple as black and white." — Pleasantville
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"There is nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light. Except fear." — Cape Fear
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Speaker 5
Speaker 5
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"The truth is not what you know. It's what you believe." — Ondine
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"Be all that someone else can be" — Being John Malkovich
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"Every dream has a price." — Wall Street
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Round 2 - 10:00 AM PST
Speaker 1
Speaker 1
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“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” ― Toni Morrison
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“To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin
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“If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.” ― Katharine Hepburn
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Speaker 2
Speaker 2
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“At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.” ― Toni Morrison
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“You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin
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"The stupid things you do, you regret if you have any sense, and if you don't regret them, maybe you're stupid.” ― Katharine Hepburn
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Speaker 3
Speaker 3
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“Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.” ― Toni Morrison
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“What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?” ― Ursula K. LeGuin
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“I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.” ― Katherine Hepburn
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Speaker 4
Speaker 4
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“The function of freedom is to free someone else.” ― Toni Morrison
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“When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin
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“Enemies are so stimulating.” ― Katharine Hepburn
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Speaker 5
Speaker 5
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“What difference do it make if the thing you scared of is real or not?” ― Toni Morrison
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“We're each of us alone, to be sure. What can you do but hold your hand out in the dark?” ― Ursula K. Le Guin
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“Wouldn't it be great if people could get to live suddenly as often as they die suddenly?” ― Katharine Hepburn
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Round 3 - 11:00 AM PST
Speaker 1
Speaker 1
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“As Scyther fights more and more battles, its scythes become sharper and sharper.” — Pokédex entry for Scyther
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“It has the ability to alter the composition of its body to suit its surrounding environment.” — Pokédex entry for Eevee
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“It has a weakness for shiny things.” — Pokédex entry for Murkrow
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Speaker 2
Speaker 2
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“It is waiting for the moment to evolve.” — Pokédex entry for Metapod
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“It can reconstitute its entire cellular structure to change into what it sees, but it returns to normal when it relaxes.” Pokedex entry for Ditto
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“When it goes on a rampage, it’s impossible to control.” — Pokédex entry for Nidoking
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Speaker 3
Speaker 3
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“If the Pokémon lets its strange power erupt, apparently the pain subsides for a while.” — Pokédex entry for Psyduck
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It has an extremely aggressive nature.” – Pokédex entry for Gyrados
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“While the Pokémon may think it is just playfully nipping, its bite has enough power to cause serious injury.” — Pokédex entry for Totodile
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Speaker 4
Speaker 4
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“It stops being angry only when nobody else is around. To view this moment is very difficult.” — Pokédex entry for Primeape
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“The seed slowly grows larger.” — Pokédex entry for Bulbasaur
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“Although unattractive and unpopular, this Pokémon’s marvelous vitality has made it a subject of research.” — Pokédex entry for Feebas
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Speaker 5
Speaker 5
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“It is thought that so long as Celebi appears, a bright and shining future awaits us.” — Pokédex entry for Celebi
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“It has a barbaric nature.” — Pokédex entry for Charmeleon
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“Its body can’t be harmed by any sort of attack, so it is very eager to make challenges against enemies.” — Pokédex entry for Tyranitar
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Round 4 - 12:00 PM PST
Speaker 1
Speaker 1
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"To err is human; to forgive, divine" — Alexander Pope
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"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" — W. B. Yeats
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"Because I could not stop for death/He kindly stopped for me" — Emily Dickinson
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Speaker 2
Speaker 2
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"I am the master of my fate" — William Ernest Henley
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"Tis better to have loved and lost/Than never to have loved at all" —Tennyson
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"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun" — Shakespeare"
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Speaker 3
Speaker 3
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"The child is father of the man" — Woodsworth
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"Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair" — Shelley
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"Candy/Is dandy/But liquor/Is quicker" — Ogden Nash
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Speaker 4
Speaker 4
- "I wandered lonely as a cloud" — Woodsworth
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"But at my back I always hear" — Marvell
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"Beauty is truth, truth beauty; that is all"— Keats
Speaker 5
Speaker 5
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"And miles to go before I sleep" — Robert Frost
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"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" — Tennyson
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" A little learning is a dangerous thing" — Alexander Pope
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Elimination Round 1 - 2:00 PM PST
Speaker 1
“You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” — The Social Network
“On every street in every city in this country, there is a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.” — Taxi Driver
“The future is history.” — 12 Monkeys
Speaker 2
“Nothing spreads like fear.” — Contagion
“All the power on earth can’t change destiny." — The Godfather Part III
“Everyone wants to be found." — Lost in Translation
Speaker 3
“Family isn’t a word. It’s a sentence.” — The Royal Tenenbaums
“Just because they serve you doesn’t mean they like you.” — Clerks
“Life is one long insane trip. Some people just have better directions." — Donnie Darko
Speaker 4
“Whoever wins, we lose.” — Alien vs. Predator
“Great trilogies come in threes.” — Scary Movie 3
“There is no gene for the human spirit.” — Gattaca