冠军拼写者与失落的字母

ABC，听好了。

ABC, listen.

你好。

Hello there.

我是露比，你正在收听《新闻时间》的一期节目。

It's Ruby here, and you're listening to an episode of News Time.

嘿，露比。

Hey, Ruby.

你好。

Hello.

在本期《新闻时间》中，我们将讲述一个家庭收到一百年前消息的故事。

On this week's News Time, we're going to hear about a family who received a message from a hundred years in the past.

我们将展开一次寻找神秘动物的冒险，它一直在附近出没，然后我们会穿上舞鞋，迎接本周的精彩亮点。

We'll go on a quest to identify a mysterious animal that's been prowling around, and then we'll put on our dancing shoes for a wild wow of the week.

让我们动起来，尽情摇摆。

Let's move and groove.

第五个故事。

Story number five.

紫薇花盛开了，蝉儿在鸣叫，人们家外面已经开始挂起圣诞灯饰。

The jacarandas are blooming, the cicadas are chirping, and Christmas lights are being strung up outside people's houses.

这意味着夏天快要到了。

That means summer is nearly here.

告诉我，你最喜欢夏天的哪些方面？

Tell me, what are your favorite things about the warmest season?

我们可以到处跑，还能被水溅到。

That we can run around a lot and get splashed with water.

海滩很温暖，游泳池也开放了。

The beach is warm and pools are open.

我喜欢在海滩上堆沙堡。

I like building sand castles on the beach.

是的。

Yes.

没有什么比喝点凉水、吃些美味的夏季水果更让人清爽的了。

And there's nothing quite like cooling down with some cold water and delicious summer fruit.

火龙果。

Dragon fruit.

覆盆子。

Raspberries.

樱桃。

Cherries.

停一下。

Stop.

你让我饿了。

You're making me hungry.

芒果。

Mangoes.

味道非常好。

It tastes really good.

我同意。

I agree.

我非常喜欢芒果。

I love mangoes.

它们非常美味，可以直接啃着吃，或者配一点冰淇淋享用。

They are so tasty, eaten off the seed or served with a little bit of ice cream.

今年夏天对芒果爱好者来说将是一场真正的盛宴。

This summer is going to be a real treat for mango lovers.

有一种全新的芒果品种，叫做红宝石金。

There's a brand new mango variety, and it's called Ruby Gold.

它并不是以我命名的。

It's not named after me.

它实际上是根据芒果皮的红宝石红色命名的。

It's actually named after the ruby red color of the mango skin.

红宝石金芒果是在昆士兰州远北地区培育和种植的，农民们有信心，这种芒果足以供应全澳大利亚的超市。

The Ruby Gold has been developed and grown in Far North Queensland, and farmers are confident there'll be enough to stock in supermarkets right across Australia.

但这确实引发了一个问题。

It does raise the question, though.

你如何培育出一个新的芒果品种？

How do you create a new variety of mango?

通过将种子结合起来

By adding seeds together

来创造出新的风味。

to make, like, new flavors.

这种芒果最初是在一棵肯辛顿骄傲树的枝条上发现的。

This mango was first found growing off the branch of a Kensington pride tree.

肯辛顿骄傲是一种相当常见的芒果品种。

A Kensington pride is a pretty common variety of mango.

种植它的那家人意识到它有些特别，于是花了十年时间进行嫁接和种植，最终，它成了一个独立的品种。

The family who was growing it knew there was something special, and they spent ten years grafting and planting the mango until, voila, it was its own variety.

他们只是想创造一种比芒果稍微好一点的新东西。

They just wanted to create a new thing, little bit better than mango.

我觉得它有点酸，又特别甜。

I think it tastes like a little bit sour and really sweet.

根据

According to

种植者说，这种芒果的味道比普通芒果更浓郁，但纤维没那么多。

the growers, the flavor is a bit stronger than your average mango, but it's not quite as stringy.

他们希望今年夏天向超市运送一万五千托盘的芒果。

They're hoping to send 15,000 trays of mangoes to supermarkets this summer.

我不知道明年我们会看到什么新的水果品种。

I wonder what new fruit varieties we might see next.

我想知道芒果种子和树莓混合会怎样。

I wanna know what mango seed and raspberries.

把种子混在一起。

Seeds mixed together.

它们长出来的时候会是什么样子？

What would they look like when they're growing?

我觉得这种水果组合会非常受欢迎。

I think that fruit combo would be very popular.

第四个故事。

Story number four.

如果你

If you're

在学校，你会知道拼写单词是每个课堂的常规部分，有些孩子通过参加一种叫拼字比赛的竞赛把拼写提升到了一个新的水平。

at school, you'd know that spelling words is part of every classroom routine, and some kids take spelling to the next level by taking part in a competition called a spelling bee.

我拼写还不错。

I'm decent at spelling.

我拼写非常好，因为我进入了学校的拼字比赛。

I'm very good at spelling because I made it into the school's spelling bee.

干得好。

Well done.

学生们一个接一个上台拼写一些非常难的单词，最后剩下的那位选手获胜。

Students step up one by one to spell some pretty tricky words, and the last speller standing is declared the winner.

最近，新南威尔士州最优秀的拼写选手齐聚总理拼写大赛，他们拼写了如'inundate'（I n u n d a t e）这样的单词。

Recently, the best spellers in New South Wales gathered for the Premier's Spelling Bee, and they spelled words like inundate, I n u n d a t e.

干得漂亮。

Nice one.

这些选手是从最初参赛的200人中脱颖而出的州内前32名。

These spellers were the best 32 in the state from the original 200 who began the competition.

在长达三小时的决赛中，只有拼对单词的人才能继续晋级。

Across three hours of the final, only the people who spelled words correctly could move on.

最终，只剩下两名选手：10岁的芬恩和9岁的苏凯娜。

Eventually, there was a final two, 10 year old Finn and nine year old Sukaina.

苏凯娜被要求拼写'sabbatical'这个词，但她拼错了。

Sukaina was given the word sabbatical but misspelled it.

芬恩被要求拼写'subcutaneous'这个词。

Finn was given the word subcutaneous.

我从来没听过这个词。

I've never heard that word.

嗯。

Yeah.

这是一个奇怪的词。

It's a strange one.

这是一个医学术语，意思是皮下。

It's a medical term that means under the skin.

好消息是，芬正确地拼出了这个词，并被命名为2025年新南威尔士州拼写冠军。

The good news was Finn spelled it correctly and was named the New South Wales spelling champion for 2025.

祝你好运，宝贝。

Good luck, baby.

拼写单词并不总是容易的，每个人的学习节奏都不一样。

Spelling words isn't always easy, and everyone learns at their own pace.

但这是一个重要的技能。

But it's an important skill to have.

你得在以后的生活中做到这一点。

You gotta do it later in life.

我觉得我们需要它，因为如果你没有手机但需要拼写某个词时，就可以用拼写技能。

I think we need it because if you don't have your phone and you need to spell something, you can just use spelling.

芬恩正在运用他的拼写技能，和朋友一起写一本书。

Finn is putting his spelling skills to work and writing a book with his friend.

这本书讲述了一个孩子试图击败一只怪物的故事，这非常贴切，因为芬恩自己就挑战过一个艰巨的任务。

It's about a kid who tries to defeat a monster, which is quite appropriate considering Finn took on a monster challenge.

第三个故事。

Story number three.

今年早些时候，在西澳大利亚一个偏远的海滩上，一只小巧而古老的玻璃瓶被冲上了岸。

Earlier this year, on a remote beach in Western Australia, a small and very old glass bottle washed up on the shore.

一户家庭在海滩上散步时发现了它，发现里面有一样非常特别的东西。

A family walking along the beach found it, and they found something very special inside.

可能是回忆，或是人的照片，一大堆沙子，一张藏宝图之类的。

Memories, maybe photos of people, lots and lots and lots of sand, a map or to a treasure or something.

瓶子里有两封信，是第一次世界大战中的士兵——下士马尔科姆·内维尔和下士威廉·哈雷利写的。

The bottle contained two letters written by soldiers who fought in World War one, private Malcolm Neville and private William Harley.

他们于1916年在前往欧洲的船上将瓶子扔进了海里。

They threw the bottle overboard on a boat on the way to Europe in 1916.

这意味着这两封信在海水中漂浮了超过一百年。

That means these letters have been bobbing around in the sea for more than a hundred years.

我想上面写着：嗨，家人。

I think it says, hi, family.

是我。

It's me.

我现在在工作，真希望我能在这里陪你们。

I'm currently in work, and I wish I I could be here with you.

找到瓶子的人上网尝试寻找两位士兵的家人。

The people who found the bottle jumped online to try to track down each of the soldiers' families.

他们希望将信件转交给孙子辈。

They were hoping to send the letters on to the grandchildren.

经过一番搜索，终于成功了。

After a bit of searching, success.

一名士兵的家庭在阿德莱德被找到，另一名在爱丽斯泉。

One soldier's family was found in Adelaide, and the other was in Alice Springs.

这些信件被仔细包装后通过邮寄寄出。

The letters were carefully packaged up and sent in the post.

他们很高兴能保留这些已故亲人的回忆。

They're happy that they have those memories of the people who have died.

哈雷下士的孙辈表示，他们将永远感激发现瓶子的人，因为这些人妥善保管了他们祖父的珍贵信件。

Private Harley's grandchildren say they'll be forever grateful to the people who found the bottle because they took really good care of their grandfather's precious letter.

如今，我们知道不应该把瓶子扔进海洋。

These days, we know not to throw bottles into the ocean.

但一百年前，情况并非如此。

But a hundred years ago, that wasn't really the case.

很少有百年前的瓶子能被发现，而且信件还能完好保存。

It's not very often that bottles from a century ago could be found and for those letters to be kept safe.

大多数瓶子都会破碎、软木塞丢失，或沉入海底。

Most bottles would have smashed or lost their cork or sunk to the bottom of the sea.

历史学家认为，还有更多埋藏在沙丘中、尚未被发现的瓶子。

Historians reckon there could be more bottles buried in sand dunes that haven't been discovered yet.

亲爱的孙辈们，

Dear grandchildren,

我来自未来。

I'm in the future.

那将会是一条令人惊讶的消息。

Now that would be one surprising message.

第二个优势。

Strength number two.

好的。

Okay.

现在我们前往爱尔兰共和国，当地警方收到了一些居民的奇怪电话，他们报告称在附近的森林里看到了一头狮子出没。

Now we're heading over to The Republic Of Ireland where local police have received some curious calls from residents who've been reporting sightings of a lion prowling around their local forest.

我认为狮子不应该在那里，因为狮子生活在非洲。

I don't think it should be there because lions live in Africa.

我猜这只狮子可能是从动物园逃出来的。

I wonder if the lion escaped from the zoo.

我觉得当地人说有狮子出没，警察得去抓它，因为他们觉得狮子不该在那里。

I feel like the locals were saying there's, lions around and the police have to come get it because they don't feel like it should be there.

警察强装镇定，前往森林寻找这只生物。

The police put on a brave face and went to the forest to look for the creature.

当他们找到它时，简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。

When they found it, they couldn't believe their eyes.

它是一只体型庞大的动物，有着蓬松的尾巴和浓密的鬃毛。

It was a large animal with a puffy tail and a big mane.

这看起来一点都不像狮子。

That doesn't really look like a lion.

这看起来像一只狗。

That looks like a dog.

它好可爱啊。

It's so cute.

它是一只狮狗混合体。

It's a lion slash a dog.

我觉得是科学家混合了DNA。

I think a scientist mixed DNA.

朋友们，事实证明，这根本不是狮子。

It turns out, my friends, this was not a lion.

它是一只名叫Mouse的纽芬兰犬，刚理过发。

It was a Newfoundland dog named Mouse who just had a fresh haircut.

它的一半毛都被剪掉了。

Half of its fur has been cut off.

没错。

Yep.

这只狗的主人把它的毛全剃了，所以它头周围的毛看起来像鬃毛。

The dog's owners had shaved the dog's fur off, which is why the hair around its head looked like a mane.

当地动物保护机构表示，除非是医疗需要，否则绝不能剃纽芬兰犬的毛。

The local animal protection agency said you should never shave a Newfoundland's coat unless it's for medical reasons.

他们本该先确认一下的。

They probably should have checked.

对主人给它剪了这么难看的发型感到非常、非常、非常生气。

Very, very, very angry at the owners for giving them such a bad haircut.

一位当地警察提出一个理论，认为Mouse的毛发是为万圣节修剪的，以便主人带它挨家挨户讨糖果。

One local policeman has a theory that Mouse's coat had been trimmed for Halloween so his owners could take him from house to house trick or treating.

所以镇上的居民会被吓到。

So the residents of the town can get very scared.

可以说，整个小镇最终都被骗了，以为这只Mouse真的是一头狮子。

I guess you could say the whole town was tricked in the end, believing that this mouse was actually a lion.

好了，朋友们。

Okay, friends.

现在让我们从一头有鬃毛的动物转向重头戏。

Time to move on from a mained animal to the main event.

是时候了

It's time for

哇。

Wow.

这个故事让我觉得很好，因为他的腿状态太好了，居然还没累垮。

This story made me go well because how good his legs are and how he hasn't got them tired out yet.

在匈牙利，一位绰号叫蚱蜢的男子连续144小时、六天不间断地做了一件事，创造了世界纪录。

In the country Hungary, a man with the nickname grasshopper has achieved a world record by doing something for one hundred and forty four hours, six days straight.

你能猜出他做什么了吗？

Can you guess what it was?

又大又现代，但没把头放在上面。

The big and modern, but not having your head on them.

跑马拉松？

Running a marathon?

哦，那肯定会累坏的。

Oh, that would be exhausting.

我觉得他做的是开合跳。

I think he did jumping jacks.

不完全对，但蚱蜢确实动了很多。

Not quite, but Grasshopper did a lot of moving around.

他跳舞了。

He danced.

这很令人印象深刻。

It's impressive.

蚱蜢在一款名为《舞蹈革命》的电子游戏中，随着3000多首歌曲蹦跳跳舞。

Grasshopper bopped along to more than 3,000 songs on a video game called Dance Dance Revolution.

我玩过，我觉得这根本不可能。

I played it, and I thought it was impossible.

我立刻就站起来了。

I got up straight away.

玩这个游戏时，你需要站在一个舞蹈平台上，根据音乐节奏用脚踩踏彩色箭头。

To play the game, you stand on a dance platform and hit colored arrows with your feet in time with the music.

美国和英国的一些学校用这个游戏帮助学生锻炼，但不可能让他们的学生连续六天不停地玩。

Some schools in The United States and The UK use the game to help students get exercise, but there's no way they get their students to do it for six days straight.

他的腿啊，肯定会非常紧绷。

His legs, oh, would be so tight.

蚱蜢为这项挑战准备了六个月。

Grasshopper spent six months preparing for the challenge.

他专注于增强腿部和臀部的力量。

He focused on strengthening his legs and his glutes.

他甚至制定了

He even had

一个饮食计划。

a diet plan.

所以你在跳舞，然后

So you're dancing, and then

你一边跳舞一边困得不行。

you go, oof, falling asleep dancing.

然后你就一边跳舞一边睡着了。

Then you fall asleep dancing.

然后你醒着跳舞。

Then you wake up dancing.

然后你睡着了还在跳舞。

Then you fall asleep dancing.

然后你吃午饭时还在跳舞。

Then you eat lunch dancing.

每跳一小时，蚱蜢就能获得十分钟的休息时间。

Well, every one hour of dancing earned Grasshopper a ten minute break.

他可以累积这些休息时间，达到一到两个小时，然后用这段时间小睡一会儿。

He was allowed to build up those breaks to an hour or two, and then he could use that time to have a snooze.

蚱蜢非常高兴达到了144小时的里程碑。

Grasshopper was so pleased to hit the one hundred and forty four hour mark.

他将这项世界纪录描述为枯燥而快乐的。

He described the world record as tediously joyful.

好了，朋友们，是时候从新闻时光机上走下来，放松双脚了。

And with that, my friends, it's time to step off the news time machine and put our feet up.

呼。

Phew.

太棒了，鲁比。

That was gold, Ruby.

我明白你的意思了。

I see what you did there.

记得下周再来收听另一期美味的《新闻时间》。

Make sure you come back next week for another delicious serving of Newstime.

谢谢。

Thank you.

再见，鲁比。

Bye, Ruby.

待会儿见。

See you later.

或者用土耳其语说，《新闻时间》是ABC儿童收听播客。

Or as they say in Turkish, Newstime is an ABC Kids Listen podcast.

如需收听其他精彩的播客、欣赏动感音乐，或寻找助眠的故事与配乐，请下载ABC Listen应用。

For other awesome podcasts to play, music to move to, and stories and soundtracks for sleep, download the ABC Listen app.

它在您的App Store上免费提供。

It's free from your App Store.