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.

阅读检测

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.

语言学习

难句分析

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.摄像机记录下它所看到的画面，同时将其发送到固定在司机头部上方的投影仪上。

该句为主从复合句， 句中what引导宾语从句。

背景知识

美国博通大师赛

美国博通大师赛（Broadcom MASTERS）是科学与公众协会的一个项目，是面向美国中学生的全国性科学竞赛。 博通基金会于2010年发起了这项竞赛， 旨在发掘和奖励在科学、技术、工程、数学等学科展露天赋的中学生，并培养他们的领导力和创新力。