VOA文化艺术2023--Spelling Bee Winner: ‘I Need to Sleep’

Spelling Bee Winner: ‘I Need to Sleep’

Fourteen-year-old Dev Shah has dreamed of winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2019. He finally won it Thursday after correctly spelling the word "psammophile."

Dev asked for the word to be used in a sentence. He had described the request earlier as a way to gain more time to remember the spelling.

"Psammo meaning sand, Greek?" Dev asked. "Phile, meaning love, Greek?" The Merriam-Webster dictionary says the word "psammophile" means "an organism that prefers or thrives in sandy soils or areas."

Then, Dev put his hands over his face as he was declared the winner.

Dev first competed at the national bee in 2019. Officials cancelled the 2020 competition because of the COVID-19 health emergency. And he did not make it to the national bee in 2021.

Last year, Dev spent five hours spelling outdoors in cold, windy, wet conditions at a regional competition in Orlando, Florida. Again, he failed to make it to the national competition. He was very sad.

"Despondent¹ is the right word," Dev said. "I just didn't know if I wanted to keep continuing."

Dev's mother, Nilam Shah, said it took her four months to get him to try again. When Dev decided² to try again, he added exercises to help sharpen his focus and lost nearly seven kilograms, she said.

"He appreciated that this is a journey..." said Dev's coach, Scott Remer, a former speller. "I think the thing that distinguishes³ the very best spellers from the ones that end up not really leaving their mark is actually just grit⁴."

When it was all over, Dev held the trophy⁵ over his head as confetti fell. "I would say I was confident on the outside but inside I was nervous, especially for my winning word — well, like, before. Not during," he said.

Dev is the 22nd champion in the past 24 years with South Asian ancestry⁶. His father, Deval, said his son could spell words starting at age 3.

Dev received more than $50,000 as the winner. And Charlotte Walsh took home $25,000 as the runner-up.

"I'm so happy for him," said Charlotte, a 14-year-old from Arlington, Virginia. "I've known Dev for many years, and I know how much work he's put into this and I'm so, so glad he won."

Now that he finally won it, Dev said, "I need to sleep. There have been a lot of sleepless⁷ nights these last six months."

Words in This Story

spell –v. to say the letters that make up a word

thrive –v. to grow and develop well

appreciate –v. to understand the value of something and to be grateful for it

grit –n. (informal) the ability to get through difficult times

trophy –n. an object given to the winner of a competition

confetti –n. small pieces of colored paper that are thrown in the air as part of a celebration of a special event

1 despondent   

adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的

参考例句：

• He was up for a time and then，without warning,despondent again.他一度兴高采烈，但忽然又情绪低落下来。
• I feel despondent when my work is rejected.作品被拒后我感到很沮丧。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 distinguishes   

辨别，区别( distinguish的第三人称单数 )； 使出众； （凭任何感觉器官）识别出； 看清

参考例句：

• He has that je ne sais quoi that distinguishes a professional from an amateur. 他有那种难以言表的特质，体现出他是专业而非业余的。
• It is in a storm that a capable skipper distinguishes himself. 暴风雨中才识好船长。

4 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

5 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

6 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

7 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。