VOA慢速英语20060323a

EDUCATION REPORT - Intel Science Talent Search Winners AnnouncedBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, March 23, 2006

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

An eighteen-year-old high school student from Utah has won the top prize in the Intel Science Talent Search in the United States. The winners receive a computer and money for a college education.

More than one thousand five hundred students from across the country entered projects in the competition this year. Their research involved chemistry, medicine, physics, mathematics, engineering¹, computer science -- almost every area of science.

Forty students were invited to Washington, D.C., for the final judging. A group of scientists judged them on their research abilities, critical thinking skills and creativity. The judges also questioned the students about scientific problems before deciding on the winners.


President Bush speaks to finalists of the 2006 Intel STS in Washington, D.C.

The top winner receives one hundred thousand dollars for college. Shannon Babb of American Fork High School studied the water quality of the Spanish Fork River in Utah for six years.

She found that people have a harmful effect on the river through human activity, including agriculture. And she suggested ways to improve the water quality in the future. These include educating the public not to put household chemicals down storm drains², which lead to the river.

Seventeen-year-old Yi Sun of the Harker School in San Jose, California, earned second place. He won a seventy-five thousand dollar scholarship for new discoveries about a mathematical³ theory known as random⁴ walks. His work could help computer scientists and chemists. Yi Sun was born in China.

The third-place winner was also seventeen and born in China. Yuan Chelsea Zhang of Montgomery Blair High School in Rockville, Maryland, won a fifty thousand dollar scholarship. She researched the molecular⁵ genetics of heart disease⁶. Her findings⁷ could aid the development of new medicines.

The Intel Science Talent Search is the oldest science competition for high school students in the United States. It is sixty-five years old this year. Past winners have gone on to receive six Nobel prizes and other top honors⁸ in science and math.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. Read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com. If you have a question about the American education system, send it to [email protected]. We cannot answer mail personally, but we might be able to answer your question on our program. I'm Steve Ember.

1 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

2 drains   

n.消耗( drain的名词复数 )；排水沟；下水道孔盖；流尽v.（使）流干， （使）逐渐流走( drain的第三人称单数 )；喝光，喝干；使（精力、金钱等）耗尽

参考例句：

• The whole island drains into one river. 整个岛上的水都流进了一条河。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The clearing of rubbish and drains is still incomplete. 垃圾与污水的清理工作还未完成。 来自辞典例句

3 mathematical   

adj.数学的，数学上的

参考例句：

• The solution can be expressed by a mathematical equation.答案可用一个数学方程式来表示。
• Einstein was a mathematical genius.爱因斯坦是数学天才。

4 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

5 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

6 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

7 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

8 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》