VOA标准英语2011--US High School Students Shine in Prestigious Science Competition

US High School Students Shine in Prestigious¹ Science Competition

 

Twenty U.S. high school students were in Washington, D.C., this week squaring off in one of the nation’s premier² science research contests. The prize: a half million dollars in college scholarship awards. It wasn't just prize money, however, motivating these Math, Science and Technology contestants³. These young competitors hope their innovations will make a positive difference in the world.

Andrew Xu is one of America’s rising young scientists. His mathematical equations are designed to enhance the performance of Internet communications and social networking sites like Facebook.

“Our project has the potential to improve the efficiency of such networks. And this is important because as networks become larger and larger, improving efficiency could mean saving costs,” said Xu.

Xu and 19 other high school students are finalists in the Siemens Foundation Annual Math, Science and Technology Competition in Washington. Each of the contestants hopes the judges will decide that his or her project is the most innovative⁴ and scientifically important.

John Solder⁵ invented ways light can be used to treat people with brain injuries and disorders⁶ like Alzheimer’s.

Twenty U.S. high school students squared off in one of the nation's premier science research contests, the Siemens Foundation Annual Math, Science and Technology Competition, in Washington, DC, December 2011.

“And you have a fiber⁷ optic cable coming into the prefrontal cortex, where I was telling you disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases can occur. So what you can do is get these light sensitive channels within the neuron itself, and using the light you can stimulate⁸ those neurons and help restore the function of the brain that you lost,” said Solder.

Seventeen year-old Cassee Cain and Ziyuan Liu won top honors in the team competition. They're sharing a $100,000 college scholarship for their bioengineering project.

They discovered how an inexpensive [Kinect] motion sensor⁹ and the popular X-Box 360 video gaming console can be used to improve the gait, or walking movements, of amputees.

“What we are really hoping to do is to give this affordable¹⁰, portable and accessible system to the public in rural areas where they don’t have access to million-dollar gait labs,” said Cain.

Julia Crowley-Farenga and her teammate won third place for their research on how galaxies¹¹ evolve. Julia wants to inspire more young people to follow in her footsteps.

“I worked with third-grade students after school for a science project, and it is really cool to see them and hope that they will one day go into science studies in high school. So I think it is about getting science into the minds of kids at a young age,” said Crowley-Farenga.

This year's highest individual science honor and a $100,000 scholarship went to Angela Zhang for her research on how cancer cells stimulate the growth of tumors. Now she and the other winners in the Siemens Foundation competition are well on their way to driving tomorrow's breakthroughs in science and technology.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

5 solder   

v.焊接，焊在一起；n.焊料，焊锡

参考例句：

• Fewer workers are needed to solder circuit boards.焊接电路板需要的工人更少了。
• He cuts the pieces and solders them together.他把那些断片切碎，然后把它们焊在一起。

6 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

8 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

9 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

10 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

11 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。