A 14-year-old girl wins$25,000 prize for vehicle blind-spot technology

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Last weekend in Washington, D.C., 30 young researchers from across the nation were preparing for a competition of their own.In a sense,all were winners already.After all,each had to beat out hundreds of others for the chance to face off in team play.But only one competitor—Alaina Gassler, 14—would take home the top prize: an educational award worth$25,000.Her award was one of over a dozen announced at an evening party on October 29.

Alaina was one of 30 finalists from 13 states who competed in the ninth yearly Broadcom MASTERS competition. Alaina and the other finalists had to be in sixth,seventh or eighth grade to attend the competition.What's more,their research had to be judged within the top 10 percent of all projects.Those projects all fell within the fields of science,technology, engineering or mathematics.Fifteen of the finalists took home major awards.For the first time,this year,60%of the finalists were female.

Alaina developed a system aimed at improving driving safety. “Congratulations to Alaina,whose project has the possibility to reduce the number of traffic accidents,” says Maya Ajmera,president of Society for Science&the Public,the organization that created the competition.

Alaina goes to school in West Grove,Pennsylvania. “I didn't think I'd win an award this big,” she said. For her project, Alaina developed a system that could reduce blind spots for drivers.Such areas can hide objects or other cars from a driver's view, and thus easily lead to accidents.

Alaina's system depends on a camera fixed on the front part of the passenger-side window. It's pointed so that it can monitor things a driver can't see.The camera records a video of what it's seeing and at the same time sends it to a projector fixed over the driver's head.That projector plays the video on a screen,which is fixed on the passengerside roof support.In this way,the blind spots are reduced.

閱讀檢測

1.What can we know about the 2019 Broadcom MASTERS competition?

A.It is meant for students in all grades.

B.It is a close national competition.

C.It encourages practical programs.

D.It covers an important international event.

2. What is the requirement for attending the competition?

A.Good academic performance.

B.High interest in science news.

C.Having a math-related project.

D.Being between 6th-8th grades.

3.The 2019 Broadcom MASTERS competition is special because.

A.more winners stand out

B.it provides bigger awards

C.more girls perform better

D.its works are more useful

4. How does Alaina Gassler feel about her prize according to the text?

A.It is unexpected.

B.It is satisfying.

C.It is encouraging.

D.It is as planned.

語言學習

難句分析

The camera records a video of what it's seeing and at the same time sends it to a projector fixed over the driver's head.攝像機記錄下它所看到的畫面，同時將其發送到固定在司機頭部上方的投影儀上。

該句為主從復合句， 句中what引導賓語從句。

背景知識

美國博通大師賽

美國博通大師賽（Broadcom MASTERS）是科學與公眾協會的一個項目，是面向美國中學生的全國性科學競賽。 博通基金會于2010年發起了這項競賽， 旨在發掘和獎勵在科學、技術、工程、數學等學科展露天賦的中學生，并培養他們的領導力和創新力。