A city of the future

江蘇無錫青山高中 劉豪杰

海詞積累

1.showcase v.使展現

2.entrant n.參賽者

3.renewable adj.可再生的；可更新的

4.power grid電力網

What will the future look like?I recently got to ask middle school students at the 27thannualFuture City Competition in Washington,D.C.Earlier this month,43 middle school teams from the United States,Canada,and Chinashowcasedtheir ability to think creatively in Washington,D.C.The students had made it through months of regional competitions,which had started with more than 40,000entrants.

This year's theme was “Powering Our Future”.Entrants were challenged to find innovative ways for a city and itspower grid to with-standthe effects of a natural disaster and recover as quickly as possible.

According to Future City program manager Maggie Dressel,this was not arandomexercise.“We're not just saying, ‘Come up with a crazy idea just for the heck of it,'”Dressel said.“We're asking students to think about real-world issues and then come up with the solutions.”

Each team had spent four to five months designing and building their model cities with help from instructors.After several rounds of judging,students from Warwick Middle School in Lititz,Pennsylvania,won the top prize.Their city, “Toyama”,is based on a coastal city in Japan.

Among the judges was Shar Govindan,a content creator at Bentley Systems,a software development company.When asked what he enjoyed most about the competition,Govindan said, “The promise that the future is in great hands and a chance to see all thesebrilliantminds showcase their brilliant ideas.They're going to make the world a better place.”

While observing the entries,I had the chance to speak with Thanisha Vadgama,Hershal Patel,and Rebecca Beaudry,who are from North Carolina.The finalists imagined Mumbai,India,in 2120,withrenewableenergy from a variety of sources,including graphite.Their design would enable part of the city's power grid to work even when another part was down.

The top prize winners from Warwick took home$7,500 for their school's STEM program and earnedatrip toUSSpaceCamp in Huntsville,Alabama.“My takeaway from this amazing experience is,‘I can do it,'” said Grace Kegal,a member of the winning team.“It's all possible.”

Reading Check

1.How can the entrants win the 27th annual Future City Competition?

A.Passing the regional competitions.

B.Supplying the power for the future.

C.Showing their ability to think creatively.

D.Solving the potential power failure in natural disasters.

2.Which of the following won the competition?

A.Grace Kegal. B.Hershal Patel.

C.Shar Govindan. D.Maggie Dressel.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Important words in the text

1.annual adj.年度的；每年的

2.withstand v.經受；承受；禁得起

3.random adj.隨機的；任意的

4.brilliant adj.燦爛的；杰出的

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences.

1.同位語從句

未來的希望掌握在偉大的人手中，我有機會看到所有這些聰明的人展示他們的卓越想法。

_________the future is in great hands and a chance to see all these brilliant minds showcase their brilliant ideas.

2.while引導時間狀語，表示當/在……時間。

在觀察參賽作品時，我有機會與他們交談。

__________the entries,I had the chance to speak with them.