| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. bests Germany, France for world geography title
TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- Who says Americans are lousy at geography? Three U.S. teenagers won the gold medal Wednesday in the National Geographic World Championship, beating teams from Germany and France to successfully defend the U.S. title in a contest held every two years. The teenagers beat Germany in the finals by identifying Bahrain from a series of clues about the oil-producing nation and then naming Crete as the island where oranges, grapes and olives are grown and is associated with the worship of Zeus. "It's kind of nerve wracking," said U.S. team member John Rice, 15, who is home schooled at his family's Maddock, North Dakota, wheat farm. "We took it one question at a time." Dallas Simons, 13, of Nashville, Tennessee, and Alexander Smith, 15, of Burlington, North Carolina, were the other U.S. competitors. It's the fourth time the United States has won the competition since it was first held in 1993. Eighteen countries from as far away as Singapore and Nigeria sent three-student teams to the two-day tournament at Busch Gardens. The United States, Germany and France advanced to the finals after beating the other countries in an elaborate, geography-based scavenger hunt through the amusement park Tuesday. No formula for successU.S. students become candidates for the team through a series of local, regional and national geography bees sponsored by National Geographic. Top finishers in the U.S. national championship are selected based on an essay. Wednesday's questions, created by a team of National Geographic writers and teachers, were heavily based on the geography of Africa, southeast Asia and Pacific island nations. The competition specifically excluded questions about the finalists' home countries. The students were asked to name cities marked on a map devoid of any names and locators, and find which lakes, rivers and islands were misplaced on other maps. In one round, animals including an African wildcat and a small boa constrictor were brought on stage and the competitors had to answer questions about the animals' natural habitat. The U.S. team said there was no formula for preparing for the contest. They studied world almanacs, Internet geography sites and newspapers to boost their knowledge of places, people and events. "If you're interested in it, you remember it," Simons said. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
