CONFIDENCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL PROPORTIONS TAKES YOUTH FAR.Byline: Jeff Wright Jeff Wright can refer to:
The answer, Sam Brandt insists, was on the tip of his tongue. It's not like he didn't know the name of the Brazilian state rich in African heritage and home to the colonial-era city of Salvador. "The answer was Bahia but it just didn't come in my mind," 11-year-old Sam said in a telephone chat Wednesday, a few hours after placing sixth in the nation in the National Geographic Society's 15th annual geography bee in Washington, D.C. "You only get 12 seconds to answer." Sam, a sixth-grader at Eugene's Roosevelt Middle School, was the youngest of 10 finalists in the two-day bee, won by James Williams James Williams can refer to: In American politics:
He nailed eight of nine questions to put him in Tuesday's preliminary rounds - winning $500, and qualifying for a spot in the finals and a chance at the top prize of a $25,000 college scholarship. His secret? "I answered the questions confidently even if I was not all that sure," he said. In Wednesday's finals - emceed by Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (born as Giorgi Suka-Alex Trebek [1] on July 22, 1940) is an Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American television personality and game show host, best known as the host of the game show Jeopardy! since September 10, 1984. of "Jeopardy!" quiz show quiz show n. A television or radio program in which the contestants' knowledge is tested by questioning, with some contestants winning money or prizes. fame - Sam had little trouble identifying the body of water that abuts Yellowknife in Canada (Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake, second largest lake of Canada, c.10,980 sq mi (28,400 sq km), Northwest Territories, named for the Slave (Dogrib), a tribe of Native Americans. It is c. ), or the European country divided by the Apennines mountain range (Italy). But who knew that Kenya's Lake Turkana extends into Ethiopia? Not Sam, who guessed Uganda. A French Immersion student who also plays trombone trombone [Ital.,=large trumpet], brass wind musical instrument of cylindrical bore, twice bent on itself, having a sliding section that lengthens or shortens it and thus regulates the pitch. The descendant of the sackbut, it was developed in the 15th cent. and loves baseball, Sam said his passion for geography goes way back: "It started when I was 3 in preschool," he said. "They had an atlas and I was constantly looking at it, memorizing facts, remembering all the flags." Now he's really got the bug. "I still got two more years to try to get back here," he said. Sam made the D.C. trip with his folks, Jonathan and Sara Brandt, little sister Ingrid, and Roosevelt's librarian, Melinda Warburg. He said he really liked Trebek - securing an autograph he plans to donate to his school - but disappointed when a two-hour wait in an afternoon rain washed out hopes of meeting President Bush on the White House South Lawn. Jonathan Brandt said his son "has an incredible ability to focus and keep distractions at bay. He's also very hard-working." He said he and his wife were thrilled when Sam gave one correct answer in French - with perfect pronunciation - and caught off-guard when he told Trebek he aspires to a career in sports broad- casting. Back in Eugene, meanwhile, Roosevelt staff was beaming. Colette Richardson, Sam's homeroom home·room n. A school classroom to which a group of pupils of the same grade are required to report each day. Noun 1. homeroom and French Immersion teacher, describes him as a mature and sensitive student who's highly motivated to do the best he can. "If he doesn't conjugate conjugate /con·ju·gate/ (kon´jdbobr-gat) 1. paired, or equally coupled; working in unison. 2. a conjugate diameter of the pelvic inlet; used alone usually to denote the true conjugate diameter; see his verbs in French, he'll retake re·take tr.v. re·took , re·tak·en , re·tak·ing, re·takes 1. To take back or again. 2. To recapture. 3. To photograph, film, or record again. n. 1. the test until he gets them right," she said. As for the geography bee: "He had a strategy," Richardson said. "He said, `I'm going this year to have an idea of what it's like, and next year I'm going to win it.' ' TEST YOUR GEOGRAPHY Here are some questions Sam Brandt answered correctly in the National Geographic Society's bee. Answers are at the end of the story on Page A11. Which city is most populous - Sao Paulo or Quito? Name the desert that covers much of the area between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar. Aragon is the name of an autonomous region and former kingdom in which Mediterranean country? Place these islands in order according to their area, from largest to smallest: Cuba, Sumatra, Borneo. In March 2003, thousands of endangered sea turtles returned to the Bay of Bengal Noun 1. Bay of Bengal - an arm of the Indian Ocean to the east of India Andaman Sea - part of the Bay of Bengal to the west of the Malay Peninsula Indian Ocean - the 3rd largest ocean; bounded by Africa on the west, Asia on the north, Australia on the east to nest on beaches in the state of Orissa, which is in what country? Tea and coconut products are exported through a large artificial harbor located near the Kelani River on an island in the Indian Ocean. Give the name of this port city. Abidjan is the chief port of what country on the Gulf of Guinea Noun 1. Gulf of Guinea - a gulf off the southwest coast of Africa Bioko - an island in the Gulf of Guinea that is part of Equatorial Guinea Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean - the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa ? Answers Sao Paulo; Gobi; Spain; Borneo, Sumatra, Cuba; India; Colombo; Cote d'Ivoire (or Ivory Coast) |
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