美國父親深情講述: 女兒贏了拼字比賽!

前言： 由於工作需要，我在國內出差，長期奔波穿梭在祖國大地。遠離他爹，遠離孩子，心中的虧欠是無法用言語表達的。我不但錯過了兒子的童子軍活動，更錯過了女兒的重要賽事。這讓我無比遺憾！ 感謝他爹，既當爹又當娘，還要照顧公司業務。這篇文章是他爹寫給我的信，深情講述了他們爺兒倆是如何為女兒人生的第一場比賽而戰的故事。雖然這只是女兒未來更大賽事的開端，不是什麼偉大的活動。我決定翻譯出來，發在博客里，作為對他爹的感激，和對女兒的鼓勵。女兒是聰慧的，現在上小學三年級。從一年級被選入GT天才班，她就已經像羚羊一樣，奔跑在知識的原野上。成績一直在班上乃至年級領先。不斷給我們驚喜！我這個當娘的，除了遺傳基因和溺愛，還沒有好好給過女兒任何的輔導，和虎媽般的關懷，在女兒人生第一場比賽中，我只有從中國打電話給孩子，給予她一點基本的競技建議，然後就是遙遠的祝福。女兒很爭氣，沒有辜負父母的期望。我很欣慰，也很自豪。祝願女兒繼續像羚羊一樣，歡快，奔跑！跑向更多更大的挑戰，贏取全校乃至全國拼字比賽的勝利！）

美國父親深情講述:   女兒贏了拼字比賽!

文/他爹  翻譯/ 丹奇

女兒的學校上周開始為全國拼寫比賽做準備，首先從學校每個班裡選出第一名參加學校內部選拔賽，然後代表學校參加全國比賽。這個拼寫比賽是由美國某新聞組織主辦的。
女兒為此準備了幾個星期。她手裡有一個300個單詞的清單。我們還給她買了一本新詞典。女兒開始每天學習。隨著比賽日期臨近，我可以感覺到女兒的緊張感也在增加。她實在太想成功了，以至於現在就開始害怕拼錯了單詞而不能贏。我們很高興看到她的競技精神已經紮根，也越來越努力。就像一頭專心獵物的狼，而比賽和她的同班同學就是那羊。她很專註。捧著詞典學習，學習過的那些單詞已經超出了她的年齡。許多單詞就是成年人都不認識或不懂得拼寫。她學習單詞規則或拼寫規則。學習單詞的定義，因為有些單詞聽起來是一樣的但是拼寫起來並不一樣，因此她知道了有時候，你必須詢問這個詞的意義，以此了解要拼寫的是哪個詞。比如說：for, fore, four ,或者 see ,sea，她的比賽意識在增長，她的信心也在增加，但是又摻雜了一絲只有一個8歲的孩子才懂得的緊張感。
這是比賽前的晚上。女兒在我的身邊找到位置。她已經學的太辛苦了，疲勞了。我可以感覺到她給予自己的壓力，這就像是一個優秀的體育運動員在錦標賽就要開始時經歷的那樣。她坐在我的旁邊，問我問題「我要是第一個詞就不記得怎麼辦？」我告訴她，我認為那不大可能發生。她然後問道「我要是贏不了怎麼辦？」我告訴她，所有的比賽最終最有意義的是兩個旗鼓相當的人面對面競技。這場意志力的偉大戰役通常靠策略和不失誤，靠清晰的思維和向你的對手顯示沉默的信心和力量來贏得。她然後說「我要是贏不了，你會生我的氣嗎？」我說，「不，不，不，關鍵是你去比賽。但是，如果你要去比賽，你就要為此做準備。你只要為此比賽發揮了最高水平，那你就是這場競賽中對手的勁敵！」我很驚訝她能理解這個推理及其重要性。我告訴她，她現在已經學的差不多了。她已經學習了好幾周了。今晚應該休息一下，好好地讓她那已經疲憊的心靈休息一下。               
那晚我們雖然沒有學習，但是我們討論了策略：當給你一個單詞的時候要大聲重複出來。深呼吸一下，慢慢地重複單詞，標識單詞的每一個音節。從大腦存儲的文檔里找出你的知識和這個單詞的影像。我鼓勵她，她會很棒的。她去睡覺了。臉色有著緊張感。她可能夢見比賽來臨。
女兒的母親在中國出差，知道女兒要參加拼寫比賽，也積極地給予孩子自己的經驗和建議：當你站在聽眾和觀眾前面的時候，要盡量把自己的視線落在觀眾席背後的那堵牆上，不要與眼前的觀眾進行眼神的交流，這樣就不會被任何觀眾的表情所干擾。把目光固定在自己對面的牆上，就可以集中精力，不會走神。這是女兒母親長期在公眾面前成功演講時採取的方式。也可以稍微閉上眼睛，讓單詞在閉眼后的黑暗中閃現。現在女兒母親把這些經驗當做訣竅要傳給女兒。並請我轉告給女兒母親的祝福和第二天給她打電話鼓勵她的約定。
第二天，女兒醒的很早。還不到6點鐘。藏不住那份焦慮。女兒給遠在中國出差的母親準時撥打電話，女兒的母親冷靜地安慰女兒，並把自己上面提到的經驗當著母女之間的「秘密」，悄悄地分享給女兒。母親還答應女兒，拼寫比賽后，會給她買禮物。女兒聽到好喜歡，跑到自己房間里，悄悄告訴母親：自己喜歡藍色，白色和黑色的衣服。母親一口應承下來。女兒這時已經徹底放鬆了。一點小小的物質鼓勵在這個時候對一個8歲的，開始發現美的女孩子來說，可能有著鎮定的作用。最後，母親和女兒交換了她們之間的親吻密碼。母女大笑。女兒把電話給回我。
我們又簡單地複習了一會。她拼錯了一個單詞「FOREGROUND」,她拼成了 「forground」（少了一個e）。一個不注意，就會導致比賽的致命失敗。她很快糾正了自己的錯誤，並且明白自己沒有化時間思考這個單詞。她重複了一遍她的父母教給她的成功策略。父母雙方對他們唯一的女兒有著他們自己不同的智慧之語，但是所有的策略對她的成功都是無價之寶。
到時候了，她該去停車點了。是時候迎接這場她準備了好幾個星期的戰役了。一個又一個小時的學習都是為了這個時刻，現在終於來臨了。是時候迎接她的第一次競賽了。她的第一次戰役：迎戰這麼多人，迎戰她的同學們。只有一個人勝出。只有一個人能贏。只有一個。贏者通吃！
當看著她沿街朝校車停靠點走去時，我可以體會到我的父母看著我在體育比賽時候的感覺了。她把這次的比賽看的很嚴肅，這讓我感到了巨大的自豪。她的態度將有益於她的未來。她已經發現了有備無患的重要性。全神貫注和有備無患可能不能保證成功，但是會給你成功的最佳機會，而且不會讓你羞愧。
當她到達停車點時，她回過頭來看我。臉上是緊張的微笑。我伸出手臂，舉起手給了她一個向上的拇指「加油」！當疑雲不再時，一個微笑馬上在她的臉上綻開，像太陽一樣驅趕了她臉上的緊張。
學校比賽開始了。女兒自信地與同學們站在一起。她的緊張情緒已經不見了。她很專心。已經沒有時間去緊張。
第一個單詞是「Murmur」，全班三分之一的同學都拼錯了，她的對手快速減少。女兒知道這個單詞和意義。接下來的後面幾個單詞，她的對手繼續在拼寫比賽的戰場上倒下。現在只剩下4個孩子了。很快，剩下三個。下一個單詞是「ugliness」。 女兒的對手拼錯了。女兒帶著角鬥士般的活力一躍而上，她已經感覺勝券在握了。現在只剩下女兒和她的最後一個對手了。女兒的對手具有第一個拼寫這個單詞的機會。當裁判給出最後的單詞時，女兒的對手磕巴了，拼錯了這個詞。班級冠軍近在咫尺！裁判重複了這個單詞，女兒慢慢地重複了這個詞。她閉上了眼睛，她看到這個單詞正在她能看到的世界里隨意地漂浮。她對自己重複了一遍這個單詞，然後開始：
「F-O-R-E-G-R-O-U-N-D」。 「Foreground！」她重複了一遍。
裁判老師喜笑顏開：「漢娜，完全正確！」「你是班級冠軍了！」
我們的女兒在她年輕的生命里接受了她的第一場學術挑戰，從23個競爭對手中成功勝出！拼寫比賽的戰場就像古羅馬的競技場。只有一個勝者可以接受眾人和國王的褒獎。她的老師表揚了她，她的對手們祝賀了她。她像夏日裡第一天的太陽一樣綻放光芒。
那天下午，當她從學校回家的時候，我在停車點街邊等著她。她躍下校車，像奧運短跑健將一樣向我奔來。她伸出勝利的雙手，一邊喊叫著「我贏了，我贏了！」一邊躍入了我的懷抱！
我心裡湧起一陣對女兒，對她的專註和盡其所能做出的努力升起的自豪感併流下了感動的淚水。生命中沒有什麼比戰勝你的對手，克服你的恐懼而進行比賽更令人激動人心的了. 我們的小姑娘兩個都做到了。她爬上了一座陡峭的山，把勝利的旗幟插在了比賽的巔峰。
整個晚上，她一遍又一遍地講著她的故事。她是如何運用了媽媽和爸爸的策略。這個策略是如何地幫助了她。她是如何拼寫單詞的，她的對手是如何在拼寫比賽中一一落敗直到只有最後一個對手。她又把單詞重複了一遍給我聽。
「F O R E G R O U N D 「.
這是她在家最後一次練習時拼錯了的那個單詞。正是這個單詞保證了她的勝利。這個單詞恰如其分地出現在她的首次成功里。我看到了我們女兒光明的未來，此刻，在這裡，在「人生舞台上」！



(英語原文)
Hannah』s Spelling Bee
By Tadie  (November 23rd, 2011)

Our daughter Hannah』s school began the process for the National Spelling Bee this past week by having their internal spelling bee at the school where there would be a champion from each class. The Spelling Bee is sponsored by the SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS ORGANZIATION.
Hannah had been studying for weeks by this time and had a list of 300 words plus we had purchased a new dictionary for her which she studied everyday as well. As the day of the competition drew closer I could sense her nervousness increase. She had wanted to succeed so badly and win that she now feared missing a word and not winning. I was happy to see her competitive spirit take root and she now studied harder and harder the dedication of a wolf stalking it』s prey. She was the wolf, the spelling bee and her fellow classmates were the deer. She was focused. She read into her dictionary and studied words far beyond her years, many of them most adults wouldn』t know or be able to spell. She was learning rules of language and spelling rules. She was learning to define words since some words sound the same but are spelled differently so she learned that sometimes you will have to ask for the definition of a word to know which word was being spelled ( such as for, fore, four OR see and sea ). Her intuition for the competition now grew, as did her confidence, but there still lingered a nervousness that only an 8 year old girl could know.
It was now the night before the competition. Hannah found her spot on the couch beside me. She was now weary of the studying. She was tired. I could sense the strain she had placed on herself like top athletes put themselves through as a championship competition draws near. As she sat beside me she asked me the question 「 what if I miss the first word」. I told her I doubted that would happen. She then asked 「what if I don』t win」? I told her that all great competitions come down to worthy opponents facing each other. That great battles of will are usually won by strategy and not making mistakes, by thinking clearly and showing strength of a silent confidence to your opponent – to make your opponent nervous or doubt their own skills or strategy. She said then 「if I don』t win will you be mad at me」? I said 「no no no, the key is that you compete. But, if you are going to compete you have to be prepared. Be sure you have done all you can to compete at the highest level. Then you will be a worthy opponent of the best the competition has to offer.」 I was amazed that she could grasp this reasoning and its importance. I told her she had studied enough now. She had been studying for weeks now. It was time to take the night off from studying and rest a very  tired mind.
Although we didn』t study that last night, we did talk about strategy. When you are given a word – repeat the word outloud. Take a deep breath. Repeat the word slowly, enunciating each syllable of the word. Drawing on your knowledge and the mental picture of the word she had stored in the files of her brain. I assured her she would do great. She went to sleep, a nervous look on her face as she dreamed of the competition to come.
The next morning she awoke early, it was not even 6 am. She couldn』t hide the anxiety on her face. As a former athlete myself I knew the feeling. A tense feeling overwhelms your body. Your mind is racing through scenarios of what is to come. Brief bursts of adrenaline weave their way through your very being. The only cure for all of these is for the competition to start.
We studied briefly. She misspelled the word 「FOREGROUND」. She spelled it 「forground」. A lapse of concentration that could prove fatal during the competition. She quickly righted herself and knew she had not taken the time to think about the word. She repeated the strategies of success her parents had given to her. Each parent had their own words of wisdom for their only daughter, but all the strategies were invaluable to her success.
It was time for her to go to the bus stop. Time to walk into a battle that she had been preparing for now for weeks. Hours upon hours of studying for this moment had come to this moment. It was time to approach her first competition. Her first real battle against so many opponents, her classmates. Only one of them could prevail. Only one could win. There can be only one. The winner takes it all.
As I watched her walk up the street to her bus stop I could now sense the feeling my own parents must have felt as they watched me compete in sports. I felt a huge sense of pride that she had taken this so seriously. Her attitude should treat her well in the future. She had found the importance of being prepared for something. That being dedicated and prepared may not guarantee success but it will give you the best chance for success and will leave you no shame.
As she got to her bus stop she turned to look at me. A nervous smile on her face. I put my arms out and my hands – giving her a 「thumbs up」. A smile spread across her face that dispelled the nervous look on her face like the sun does when the clouds of doubt go away.
It was competition time at school. Hannah stood confidently with her classmates. Her nervousness now gone, she was focused. No time to be nervous.
The first word was 「murmur」. One third of the class missed the word, quickly obliterating many of her foes. Hannah knew the word and its definition. Through the next several words her opponents continued to fall on the battlefield of the Spelling Bee. There was now just 4 kids left. Quickly, it was down to 3. The next word was 「ugliness」. Hannah』s opponent misspelled the word. Hannah jumped on the word with the vigor of a gladiator, sensing victory was at hand. It was now just Hannah and her final opponent. Hannah』s final opponent would have first chance at the word. As the monitor gave the word, Hannah』s opponent stumbled and misspelled the word. The class championship was now within her grasp. The monitor again repeated the word. Hannah slowly repeated the word. Closing her eyes, all she could see was the word as it floated effortlessly in a place only she could see. She repeated the word one more time to herself and then began.
「 F – O – R – E – G- R- O –U- N –D 「.  「Foreground」, she repeated the word.
The monitor with a big smile said 「Hannah, that is correct」. 「you are the champion of your class」.
Our daughter had met her first academic challenge of  her young life and emerged victorious over 23 opponents. The battlefield of the Spelling Bee seemed liked the ancient Roman Coliseum. Only one victor could gain the praise of the crowd and the Emperor. Her teacher praised her, her opponents congratulated her. She beamed like the sun on the first day of summer.
I waited down the street from the bus stop that afternoon as she returned from school. She sprinted off the bus, running towards me with the speed like that of an Olympic Sprinter. Her arms outstretched in victory, yelling 「 I won, I won」 as she leapt into my arms.
My pride in my daughter, her dedication and the effort she put forth to do her best quickly ran down my face. There is nothing more invigorating in life than there is in the feeling of conquering your foes and overcoming your fears to compete. Our little girl had done both and climbed a steep mountain to plant her flag of victory at the summit of competition.
Through the evening she relayed the story to me over and over. How she had followed mommy and daddy』s strategies. How it helped her. How she spelled the words and one by one her opponents fell in spelling bee battle until there was only a final opponent. And she then spelled the word again for me.
「F O R E G R O U N D 「.
It was the word she had misspelled that morning in her final practice at home. It was the word that secured her victory. It』s a word that is appropriate for her in this first achievement. I see a bright future for my daughter, in the here and now, in the 「foreground」.

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