First African American Wins National Spelling Competition

Zaila Avant-garde is her name.

Murraya is the word.

The 14-year-old girl from Harvey, Louisiana, twirled and jumped after correctly spelling "m-u-r-r-a-y-a" to become the first African American winner in the 96-year history of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Zaila said she knew Black children were watching her and dreaming of following the same path. She even thought of MacNolia Cox, the first Black finalist at the 1936 competition. Cox was not permitted to stay in the same hotel as the rest of the spellers because of her skin color.

The competition has long been a setting¹ for spellers from South Asian families. Up to now, the only Black winner was also the only champion from outside the United States: Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica in 1998. And Zaila's win breaks a line of at least one South Asian winner every year since 2008.

"I'm hoping that within the next few years, I can see a little bit of an influx² of African Americans, and not many Hispanic people, either, so I'm hoping to see them there, too," Zaila said.

She has described spelling as something she does on the side, although she regularly practiced for seven hours a day. She is also a star basketball player who holds three Guinness world records for dribbling³ several balls at one time. She hopes to play someday in the Women's National Basketball Association⁴ (WNBA).

Many of the top spellers started competing at a young age. But Zaila started just two years ago.

On Thursday night, she said knew all the words including "murraya" which means a genus of tropical⁵ Asiatic and Australian trees. Only one word gave her any real trouble, "nepeta," a kind of Old World mint⁶ plant, and she jumped even higher when she got that one right than she did when she won the competition.

This spelling bee was different from any that came before because of the coronavirus pandemic. Only spellers' close family members could attend. Normally⁷, hundreds of fans and former spellers watch the bee in person. This year the bee was moved to Florida, and only the top 11 spellers competed in person.

Five of the 11 finalists were gone after the first set of questions, and Zaila became the champion in just under two hours. Zaila will take home more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.

On Friday morning, former U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated the new champion on Twitter. He wrote, "Three Guinness World Records and now the national spelling bee champ! Congrats, Zaila—your hard work is paying off. We're all proud of you."

Words in This Story

bee – n. a gathering⁸ of people for the purpose of spending time together while working on similar projects; often used to describe a spelling competition

dribble⁹ – v. to move a ball or puck forward by tapping, bouncing¹⁰, or kicking it

twirl – v. to turn or spin around and around

genus – n. a group of related animals or plants that includes several or many different species

1 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

2 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

3 dribbling   

n.（燃料或油从系统内）漏泄v.流口水( dribble的现在分词 )；（使液体）滴下或作细流；运球，带球

参考例句：

• Basic skills include swimming, dribbling, passing, marking, tackling, throwing, catching and shooting. 个人基本技术包括游泳、带球、传球、盯人、抢截、抛球、接球和射门。 来自互联网
• Carol: [Laurie starts dribbling again] Now do that for ten minutes. 卡罗：（萝莉开始再度运球）现在那样做十分钟。 来自互联网

4 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

5 tropical   

adj.热带的，热带的，炎热的

参考例句：

• You must grow these tropical flowers in a glasshouse.你必须把这些热带花卉种在温室里。
• This disease is widespread in tropical areas.这种疾病在热带地区蔓延很广。

6 mint   

n.薄荷，铸币厂；vt.铸造（硬币），创造（词）等

参考例句：

• The mint makes coins.铸币厂制造硬币。
• This candy tastes of mint.这糖果有薄荷味。

7 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 dribble   

v.点滴留下，流口水；n.口水

参考例句：

• Melted wax dribbled down the side of the candle.熔化了的蜡一滴滴从蜡烛边上流下。
• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。

10 bouncing   

adj.精力充沛的；精神饱满的；活泼的vt.“bounce”的现在分词

参考例句：

• a bouncing baby boy 茁壮的男婴
• He kept bouncing up and down like a yo-yo . 他像个悠悠球似的蹦蹦跳跳。