【英语时差8，16】少年获得美国拼字比赛冠军

 Sameer Mishra provided more than just comic relief at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee. He ended up winning the title.

The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Indiana, who often had the audience laughing with his one-line commentaries, was all business when he aced¹ "guerdon"－a word that appropriately means "something that one has earned or gained"－to win the 81st version of the bee.

"I don't know about comedy lines, but my parents have been telling me since the beginning that I should always stay calm, cool and collected," said Sameer, who likes playing the violin and video games, and hopes one day to be a neurosurgeon.

Sameer, appearing in the bee for the fourth time and a top 20 finisher the last two years, clenched² both fists and put his hands to his face after spelling the winning word.

He won a tense duel³ over first-time participant Sidharth Chand, 12, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, who finally stumbled on "prosopopoeia," a word describing a type of figure of speech.

Sameer is coached by his sister, Shruti, a high school senior and three-time spelling bee competitor. He was a crowd favorite throughout the tournament. The first-place finish won him US$35,000 in cash and more than US$5,000 in other prizes.

1 aced   

vt.发球得分（ace的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• I don't know how I aced in, I was lucky enough. 我不知道这好事怎么让我给碰上了，我够幸运的。 来自互联网
• He aced every physical fitness test they gave him. 他顺利通过了他们对他所作的每项体格检查。 来自互联网

2 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。