VOA慢速英语：全美拼字比赛落幕 14岁男孩夺冠

燕山大学 刘立军 编写

u TRANSCRIPT

Fourteen-year-old Karthik Nemmani of Texas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night. His victory was a surprise - even to him.

I didn't really think I'd be able to do it, he said softly. I had confidence that I could, but I honestly didn't realistically think it could happen.

The competition took place in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Many people had expected another student, Naysa Modi, to win. She had competed and done well in four other national spelling bees. In fact, she had beaten Nemmani earlier this year at a spelling event in Texas. But at the national championship, Modi misspelled "Bewusstseinslage," a word from the German language.

So Nemmani had the final chance to win. He did - by correctly spelling the word koinonia.

The two competitors did not appear to have any hard feelings, however. We weren't against each other. We were against the dictionary, Nemmani said.

By winning, he will take home more than $42,000 worth of prizes.

And Modi, who is only 12, will have one more chance to win the national championship next year. After she finishes the 8th grade, she will be too old to compete.

In addition to the surprise winner, the 2018 National Spelling Bee was unusual in other ways, too. It was the biggest in the 93-year history of the spelling bee. More than 500 children, ages 8 to 15, participated. That is over 200 more than in any other year.

Nemmani's victory also shows the power of a new industry of spelling coaches. Nemmani thanked his, a former competitor who is only 16 years old herself.

But there is at least one way in which Nemmani is not unusual. He is the 14th spelling bee champion from an Indian family in each of the past 14 years.

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201806/554979.shtml

u VOCABULARY

1. realistically adv. if you think about something realistically, you think about it in a practical way and according to what is actually possible现实地，实际地。例如：You can’t realistically expect to win the whole competition. 你指望场场比赛都赢是不现实的。

2. champion n. someone or something that has won a competition, especially in sport 冠军，第一名。例如：the world heavyweight boxing champion 世界重量级拳击冠军

u QUESTIONS

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (ü) or false (û) statements.

r 1. Fourteen-year-old Karthik Nemmani of Texas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night. Her victory wasn’t a surprise.

r 2. I didn't really think I'd be able to do it, he said softly. I had no confidence that I could, but I honestly didn't realistically think it could happen.

r 3. Many people had expected Naysa Modi to win.

r 4. But at the national championship, Modi misspelled "Bewusstseinslage," a word from the Greek language.

r 5. The two competitors appeared to have some hard feelings.

r 6. By winning, he will take home more than $42,000 worth of prizes.

r 7. Modi will have one more chance to win the national championship next year because she is only 12.

r 8. Nemmani's victory also shows the power of a new industry of spelling coaches.

r 9. Nemmani thanked his a former competitor, who is only 16 years old herself.

r 10. Nemmani is the 13th spelling bee champion from an Indian family in each of the past 14 years.

u KEY

ý 1. Fourteen-year-old Karthik Nemmani of Texas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night. Her victory wasn’t a surprise. 正确表达：Fourteen-year-old Karthik Nemmani of Texas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night. Her victory was a surprise.

ý 2. I didn't really think I'd be able to do it, he said softly. I had no confidence that I could, but I honestly didn't realistically think it could happen. 正确表达：I didn't really think I'd be able to do it, he said softly. I had confidence that I could, but I honestly didn't realistically think it could happen.

þ 3. Many people had expected Naysa Modi to win.

ý 4. But at the national championship, Modi misspelled "Bewusstseinslage," a word from the Greek language. 正确表达：But at the national championship, Modi misspelled "Bewusstseinslage," a word from the German language.

ý 5. The two competitors appeared to have some hard feelings. 正确表达：The two competitors did not appear to have any hard feelings, however.

þ 6. By winning, he will take home more than $42,000 worth of prizes.

þ 7. Modi will have one more chance to win the national championship next year because she is only 12.

þ 8. Nemmani's victory also shows the power of a new industry of spelling coaches.

þ 9. Nemmani thanked his a former competitor, who is only 16 years old herself.

ý 10. Nemmani is the 13th spelling bee champion from an Indian family in each of the past 14 years. 正确表达：But there is at least one way in which Nemmani is not unusual. He is the 14th spelling bee champion from an Indian family in each of the past 14 years.