（带文稿）1202 华人少年在扎克伯格创办的国际突破奖青少组喜获25万美元奖金

张老邪叨哔叨：

        参赛选手面向全世界，为13岁到18岁的初高中学生，每人需要用3分钟的原创影片解释一项物理、数学或生命科学领域的复杂问题。感兴趣的可以看看官网 https://breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org/  感觉是扎克伯格夫妇作为少数族裔对在科学方面特别灵光的其他同胞的一个“绿卡”。

　　杰佛瑞的影片主题为解释天文学中的中微子粒子(neutrino particle)。中微子粒子是一种近乎无质量、以光速在太空中前进的亚原子粒子，因此又被称作“幽灵粒子”(ghost particles)。它可以穿过行星、恒星和星际尘埃，科学家可以通过观察中微子粒子的行进过程，一窥太阳系以外的宇宙活动。【对不起，我也不知道怎么用人话解释，可能北大地空 or 物院的小姐姐小锅锅们能讲透】ε=(´ο｀*)))唉 看看人家的17岁，再想想一把年纪词典都懒得查的某些，老邪啥也不想说了哦豁~~

Jeffrey Chen, winner of 2019 Breakthrough Junior Challenge.

      A California high school student recently took top honors at a worldwide science competition.

        Jeffrey Chen won the Breakthrough Junior Challenge prize in science earlier this month. The prize comes with $250,000 that Chen can use for college.

        The aim of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge is to influence young people so they will think creatively in science and mathematics. Students ages 13-18 produce short videos which explain a complex science or math subject in an interesting way.

        The 17-year-old Chen was chosen over 14 other finalists from the United States, Canada and India.

        The judges included several well-known scientists and educators. Among them were Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy, writer Lucy Hawking and former astronaut Scott Kelly.

        Branko Malaver-Vojvodic, 18, of Peru, won the challenge’s “Popular Vote” contest. He received more than 16,000 likes, shares and positive reactions for his video on cryptography. You can watch it and the other videos on the Breakthrough Facebook page.

       In his prize-winning video, on YouTube, Jeffrey Chen talks about neutrinos.

        “This is a neutrino, you can’t see or feel them, but every second each of us are bombarded with trillions of them.”

        Chen explains neutrinos are particles that are smaller than an atom. He talks about how they can be used in astronomy. Chen says they can help astronomers look at cosmic events.

       “Neutrino astronomy is the next step in human discovery and who knows what we'll find next.”

         He says the small particles may provide information about the earliest days of the universe.

        "It's definitely really incredible to have won and I have a hard time believing it," Chen told San Francisco television station KGO. "I'm really grateful to be in an environment that promotes science. I think our school does a really good job of that."

        Chen is in his final year at Burlingame High School. He will share prizes, worth a total of $400,000, with his school and science teacher. While he gets the $250,000 for college, his teacher, Heather Johnson, will receive $50,000. She helped him launch an environmental science club for students. His school will get a new science laboratory, valued at $100,000.

Jeffrey Chen speaks onstage during the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA on November 03, 2019 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize)

        The competition was open to students from around the world. More than 11,000 students competed in the 2019 competition.

        There were then two rounds of judging -- the first by fellow students, followed by decisions made by a group of judges.

        The 30 semifinalists competed in the Popular Vote contest on Facebook. People were invited to vote for their favorite semifinalist’s work by “liking,” “sharing,” or posting a positive reaction.

        During the 15-day competition, the 30 videos reached more than 500,000 people on the Breakthrough Prize Facebook page.

        Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, partnered with the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. He praised Chen’s science video.

        “Jeffery is a natural science communicator,” Khan said. “He artfully explains a complex topic and makes it easier to understand. We’re proud to support Jeffery and all the other bright minds who participated [in the contest]."

        A California newspaper, The Daily Journal, said the competition combined Chen’s two great interests -- astronomy and film-making. The high school senior told the paper that film-making is “one of the most interesting ways to give an idea to an audience.”

        Chen also said he hopes to continue combining his interests as he studies environmental technology in college. He wants to work on climate change.

        Videos made by the Breakthrough Junior Challenge finalists have been added to the Khan Academy website.

        I’m Anne Ball.

QUIZ 【答案见下面词汇表后】

What is the Breakthrough Junior Challenge?

A. A video competition about any challenging subject

B. A video competition for American high school students

C. A video competition for creativity in science and math

D. A video competition measured by ‘likes’ on Facebook

How is the prize won by Branko Malaver-Vojvodic different from Jeffrey Chen's prize?

A. Branko won the top Breakthrough Challenge prize for his video on cryptography.

B. Branko won the Popular Vote for his video through many positive responses.

C. Branko won the Popular Vote for his video on neutrinos and astronomy.

D. Branko won the top Breakthrough Challenge for his video on science and math.

Which answer best describes Jeffrey Chen's winning video subject?

A.It was about how large objects move in space.

B.It was about how astronomers study space.

C.It was about the history of space exploration.

D.It was about neutrinos and how they can be used in astronomy.

Who will receive prizes from Breakthrough Junior Challenge?

Jeffrey Chen

Heather Johnson

Burlingame High School

All of the above

Words in This Story

cryptography – n. the art of writing or solving codes

trillion - n. the number 1,000,000,000,000 : one thousand billion

cosmic – adj. always used before a noun : of or relating to the universe or outer space

incredible – adj. difficult or impossible to believe

grateful – adj. feeling or showing thanks

promote – v. to make people aware of (something, such as a new product) through advertising : to make (something) more popular, well-known

round – n. one in a series of similar events

semifinalist – n. a person who wins in either one of two matches, games, or contests to decide which people or teams will be in the final part of a competition

positive – adj. good or useful

audience – n. a group of people who gather together to listen to something (such as a concert) or watch something (such as a movie or play) : the people who attend a performance