VOA慢速英语：5岁女孩成为全国拼写大赛最年轻选手

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

5岁女孩成为全国拼写大赛最年轻选手

This is What's Trending Today...

这里是今日热点节目。

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.

美国各地的学生一直都在参加地方和州一级的拼写大赛。这些比赛并称之为spelling bees。年轻的选手们能拼写出一些甚至成年人可能都没听过的单词。

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多名地方优胜者就会获得本年度斯克里普斯全国拼写大赛的参赛资格。这项比赛将于5月28日到6月3日期间在华盛顿特区附近的马里兰州国家海港举行。

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

参加全国拼写大赛的选手年龄大多在12岁到14岁之间。

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

但是今年，有名选手的年龄还不到那一年龄的一半，这就是5岁伊迪丝·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，她在家乡俄克拉荷马州赢得了地方拼写大赛。这场耗时5个小时的比赛持续了37轮。伊迪丝正确地拼写出了像sevruga(一种俄罗斯鱼子酱)、javamar(一种鸟)、以及Nisei(日本移民的孩子)这些单词。

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

她的获胜单词是Jnana，这是一个涉及更高知识层面的梵语单词。

Remember, Edith is five.

要知道伊迪丝只有5岁哦。

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

她是有史以来获得全国拼写大赛参赛资格的最年轻选手。

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，当她还只有4岁时，伊迪丝让她的父母感到惊讶，因为她能够拼写出restaurant(餐厅)这个单词。在那一刻，她的父母意识到自己的孩子可能极具天赋。

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

她的妈妈本周对《塔尔萨世界报》表示，“我们知道这事有点特别。”

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

伊迪丝在家接受教育。所以她的父母得以花略多时间教她拼写。

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."

她的妈妈说，学习新的单词对伊迪丝来说非常有趣。她对《塔尔萨世界报》表示，准备拼写大赛帮助伊迪丝“了解到不同的国家和文化，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.

大约有2%的美国儿童在家接受教育。然而，接受家庭教育的孩子通常占到了全国拼写大赛选手的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.

她的父亲对塔尔萨市的KJRH's电视台谈到了对伊迪丝进行家庭教育的好处。“我们能够自由地回答她的问题，帮助她按照自己的步伐前进。”

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."

现在，富勒一家必须帮助年幼的伊迪丝做好参加全国拼写大赛的准备。但是不管她届时成绩如何，伊迪丝已经被称之为“拼写达人”。

And that's What's Trending Today.

以上就是本期今日热点的全部内容。

I'm Caty Weaver.

卡蒂·韦弗报道。