'Perestroika,' 'lokshen' among spelling bee words
Source: Agencies |
May 30, 2013, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE US National Spelling Bee opened with "glasnost" and was soon followed by "perestroika" - a fascinating choice of words for a group of youngsters born long after the hey day of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Speller No. 1 - Meghana Giri of Albama - handled the Cold War-era word "glasnost" without a hitch yesterday morning at the start of the onstage rounds of the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Meghana was the first of 281 youngsters taking a turn at the microphone in the competition for the title of top speller in the English language. Yesterday's rounds were to be combined with scores from a computer test to determine the semifinalists. The test included a section on vocabulary for the first time in the bee's history.
The spellers came from all 50 states as well as Canada, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, China, Ghana, Italy, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands. The youngest is 8-year-old Tara Singh of Louisville, Kentucky. Last year there was a 6-year-old - Lori Anne Madison, the youngest speller ever to qualify - but she did not win her regional bee this year.
The finals are tonight, when the winner will take home more than US$30,000 in cash and prizes.
The first 20 spellers breezed through words such as "mandir," "Eocene" and "tertiary."
The first of this year's favorites, 14-year-old Rachael Cundey of Georgia, had no problem with "lokshen" (another word for noodles). Rachael tied for 10th last year and is back for the fifth time.
Another top contender hopes to become the second half of the bee's first set of sibling champions. Eleven-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Kansas also finished tied for 10th last year and is hoping to emulate her sister, Kavya, who won the title in 2009.
Vanya, sporting her now-familiar look of headband and ponytail, is an energetic presence onstage and nods assuredly after spelling her words. It's quite the contrast from her sister, who came across as more serious and always finished her words with a modest smile.
Speller No. 1 - Meghana Giri of Albama - handled the Cold War-era word "glasnost" without a hitch yesterday morning at the start of the onstage rounds of the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Meghana was the first of 281 youngsters taking a turn at the microphone in the competition for the title of top speller in the English language. Yesterday's rounds were to be combined with scores from a computer test to determine the semifinalists. The test included a section on vocabulary for the first time in the bee's history.
The spellers came from all 50 states as well as Canada, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, China, Ghana, Italy, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands. The youngest is 8-year-old Tara Singh of Louisville, Kentucky. Last year there was a 6-year-old - Lori Anne Madison, the youngest speller ever to qualify - but she did not win her regional bee this year.
The finals are tonight, when the winner will take home more than US$30,000 in cash and prizes.
The first 20 spellers breezed through words such as "mandir," "Eocene" and "tertiary."
The first of this year's favorites, 14-year-old Rachael Cundey of Georgia, had no problem with "lokshen" (another word for noodles). Rachael tied for 10th last year and is back for the fifth time.
Another top contender hopes to become the second half of the bee's first set of sibling champions. Eleven-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Kansas also finished tied for 10th last year and is hoping to emulate her sister, Kavya, who won the title in 2009.
Vanya, sporting her now-familiar look of headband and ponytail, is an energetic presence onstage and nods assuredly after spelling her words. It's quite the contrast from her sister, who came across as more serious and always finished her words with a modest smile.
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