VOA慢速英語：5歲女孩成為全國拼寫大賽最年輕選手

5-Year-Old Girl, Youngest to Make National Spelling Bee

5歲女孩成為全國拼寫大賽最年輕選手

This is What's Trending Today...

這里是今日熱點(diǎn)節(jié)目。

Schoolchildren across the United States have been taking part in local and state spelling competitions. These competitions are called spelling bees. The young competitors spell words that even some adults may never have heard of.

美國各地的學(xué)生一直都在參加地方和州一級的拼寫大賽。這些比賽并稱之為spelling bees。年輕的選手們能拼寫出一些甚至成年人可能都沒聽過的單詞。

More than 280 local winners will earn the right to compete in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee. The event will take place from May 28 to June 3 near Washington, D.C., at the National Harbor in Maryland.

280多名地方優(yōu)勝者就會獲得本年度斯克里普斯全國拼寫大賽的參賽資格。這項(xiàng)比賽將于5月28日到6月3日期間在華盛頓特區(qū)附近的馬里蘭州國家海港舉行。

Most competitors in the National Spelling Bee are between the ages of 12 and 14.

參加全國拼寫大賽的選手年齡大多在12歲到14歲之間。

But this year, one competitor will be less than half that age -- five-year-old Edith Fuller.

但是今年，有名選手的年齡還不到那一年齡的一半，這就是5歲伊迪絲·富勒(Edith Fuller)。

Last weekend, she won an area spelling bee in her home state of Oklahoma. The five-hour competition lasted 37 rounds. Edith correctly spelled words like sevruga (a kind of Russian caviar); jacamar (a kind of bird); and Nisei (a child of Japanese immigrants).

上周，她在家鄉(xiāng)俄克拉荷馬州贏得了地方拼寫大賽。這場耗時5個小時的比賽持續(xù)了37輪。伊迪絲正確地拼寫出了像sevruga(一種俄羅斯魚子醬)、javamar(一種鳥)、以及Nisei(日本移民的孩子)這些單詞。

Her winning word? Jnana, a sanskrit word that is related to having a higher level of knowledge.

她的獲勝單詞是Jnana，這是一個涉及更高知識層面的梵語單詞。

Remember, Edith is five.

要知道伊迪絲只有5歲哦。

She is the youngest person ever to qualify for the National Spelling Bee.

她是有史以來獲得全國拼寫大賽參賽資格的最年輕選手。

Not so long ago, when she was just four, Edith surprised her parents when she was able to spell the word "restaurant." At that moment, her mom and dad realized their child might have a mental gift.

不久前，當(dāng)她還只有4歲時，伊迪絲讓她的父母感到驚訝，因?yàn)樗軌蚱磳懗鰎estaurant(餐廳)這個單詞。在那一刻，她的父母意識到自己的孩子可能極具天賦。

Her mother told the Tulsa-World newspaper this week, "We knew there was something special there."

她的媽媽本周對《塔爾薩世界報(bào)》表示，“我們知道這事有點(diǎn)特別。”

Edith is homeschooled. So, her parents are able to spend a little more time teaching her to spell.

伊迪絲在家接受教育。所以她的父母得以花略多時間教她拼寫。

Her mom says learning new words is fun for Edith. She told Tulsa-World that studying for the spelling bee helped Edith "learn about different countries and cultures and different kinds of food."

她的媽媽說，學(xué)習(xí)新的單詞對伊迪絲來說非常有趣。她對《塔爾薩世界報(bào)》表示，準(zhǔn)備拼寫大賽幫助伊迪絲“了解到不同的國家和文化，以及各色美食。”

About two percent of U.S children are homeschooled. Yet, homeschooled kids usually make up 8 to 10 percent of those who make it to the National Spelling Bee.

大約有2%的美國兒童在家接受教育。然而，接受家庭教育的孩子通常占到了全國拼寫大賽選手的8%到10%。

Her father spoke with Tulsa's KJRH's TV about the benefits of homeschooling Edith. "We have the freedom to answer her questions, to help her advance at her own pace," he said.

她的父親對塔爾薩市的KJRH's電視臺談到了對伊迪絲進(jìn)行家庭教育的好處。“我們能夠自由地回答她的問題，幫助她按照自己的步伐前進(jìn)。”

Now, the Fullers must prepare young Edith for the national bee. But no matter how she does there, Edith is already being called a "spellebrity."

現(xiàn)在，富勒一家必須幫助年幼的伊迪絲做好參加全國拼寫大賽的準(zhǔn)備。但是不管她屆時成績?nèi)绾?，伊迪絲已經(jīng)被稱之為“拼寫達(dá)人”。

And that's What's Trending Today.

以上就是本期今日熱點(diǎn)的全部內(nèi)容。

I'm Caty Weaver.

卡蒂·韋弗報(bào)道。