US spelling competition ends in a tie

DO you know how to pronounce or spell ‘Feldenkrais’? How about ‘gesellschaft’? Do not worry if you do not, because they are really difficult words! But if you want to win the national spelling competition in the United States (美國) – called a spelling bee (拼字比賽) – you have to spell them right because these were the final words that two little boys spelt out right before they won the competition together.

Yes, this year ended, as it has for the past two years, in a tie. And it is the ninth year in a row that the contest was won by South Asians (南亞裔人士). The two boys Big Dee ASK who won this year were only 13 and 11.

(This article is published on Goodies on 6 June 2016)