NASA Student Competitions
NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge
Teams of high school and college students are challenged to design and build a human-powered vehicle to travel across the simulated(模拟的) surface of another world. The course includes 14 roadblocks and 5 tasks, and teams must successfully follow NASA instructions. Each U.S. school may enter up to two teams. For international entries, no more than four teams from each country will be accepted.
International Team Registration Deadline: July 12
U.S. Team Registration Deadline: August 16
NASA Lunabotics Competition
Lunabotics challenges teams to design, build and run their autonomously operated robot, travel through simulated off-world areas and dig the simulated lunar soil. This challenge includes presentations and demonstrations, and a systems engineering paper explaining the methodology the team uses to design and build their robot.
Registration Deadline: July 18
NASA SUITS Design Challenge
NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) gives students an authentic engineering design experience supporting NASA’s Artemis mission—landing American astronauts safely on the Moon by 2024! This activity challenges students to design and create spacesuit information displays within AR environments.
Proposal Deadline: July 25
2020 BIG Idea Challenge
NASA’s 2020 Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge is open to teams of 5 to 20 students. Teams are challenged to submit proposals for sample lunar payloads(有效载荷) that demonstrate technology systems needed for exploration and science in the permanently shadowed regions in and near the Moon’s polar regions. Selected teams will receive awards from $50,000 to $180,000 to bring their ideas to life!
Entry Deadline: August 16
1.John, a student who is good at designing vehicles, can enter______________.
A.2020 BIG Idea Challenge B.NASA Lunabotics Competition
C.NASA SUITS Design Challenge D.NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge
2.What does NASA Lunabotics Competition require of participants?
A.They need to finish building their robot on July 18.
B.They have to complete a course of 5 tasks.
C.They need to create their own simulated environments.
D.They should write a paper showing how they build their robot.
3.Which of the following statements about the last two competitions is true?
A.They both require submitting proposals before August.
B.They both ask participants to bring their ideas to life.
C.They are both preparations for Moon exploration.
D.Both of them will present winners with big awards.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
The other day on a cold night, I left my wife and drove from Harrisburg to Lewisburg, a distance of about 100 miles. It was rather late. Several times I got stuck behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road with a solid white line on my left, and I became increasingly impatient.
At one point along an open road, I came to a crossing with a traffic light. I was alone on the road by now, but as I drove near the light, it turned red and I made a stop. I looked left, right and behind me. Nothing. Not a car, no suggestion of car lamps, but there I sat, waiting for the light to change, the only human being for at least a mile in any direction.
I started wondering why I refused to run the light. I was not afraid of being caught, because there was clearly no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no danger in going through it.
Much later that night, the question of why I’d stopped for that light came back to me. I think I stopped because it’s part of a contract we all have with each other. It’s not only the law, but it’s an agreement we have, and we trust each other to honor it: we don’t go through red lights.
Trust is our first inclination. Doubting others does not seem to be natural to us. The whole construction of our society depends on mutual trust, not distrust. We do what we say we’ll do; we show up when we say we’ll show up; and we pay when we say we’ll pay. We trust each other in these matters, and we’re angry or disappointed with the person or organization that breaks the trust we have in them.
I am so proud of myself for stopping for the red light that night.
1.How does the author feel about the truck driver?
A.Pleased. B.Satisfied. C.Sorry. D.Annoyed.
2.What can we infer about the author?
A.He hates driving at night. B.He desired to cross the red light that night.
C.He approves of obeying traffic rules by himself. D.He is easy when suffering the traffic jam.
3.What is the meaning of the underlined word “inclination” in paragraph 5?
A.Tendency. B.Faith.
C.Adjustment. D.Guidance.
4.What’s the message the author tries to convey?
A.Politeness matters. B.Hold belief in human nature.
C.People should be patient and helpful. D.There’s a need to improve traffic rules.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Bill Gates’ body might live in the present, but his brain lives in the future. He has made a career out of predicting what will happen in matters of computing, public health and the environment. He correctly predicted the rise of smartphones and social media, and his latest predictions could come true, too. Here’s what Gates predicts for the future of our world.
In his Annual Letter 2015, Gates made the prediction that Africa’s agriculture industry would increase productivity by 50% by 2030. Now the continent buys about $50 billion worth of food from other countries each year, although 70% of people in Africa are farmers. “In the next 15 years，however，creations in farming will solve the food problem in Africa,” Gates wrote. “The world has already developed crops that are more productive; with all the technologies, African farmers could possibly double their harvests.”
By 2035, there could be almost no poor countries. In his Annual Letter 2014, Gates bravely predicted that continued levels of foreign help could mean there would be almost no more poor countries by 2035. “Almost all countries will be what we now call lower-middle income or richer,” Gates explained. “Countries will learn from their most productive neighbors and benefit from things like better seeds and the digital revolution. ”
By 2030, the world will discover a clean-energy breakthrough to power our world. One of Gate’s more hopeful predictions which came in 2016 said that wind, solar, or some other renewable resources would power most of the world within 15 years. “The difficulty we face is big, perhaps bigger than many people imagine,” he wrote in his letter. “But so is the chance to make things better.” Many of the poor countries he visited had no running water or electricity. At night this meant they couldn’t light or power their homes, and keep businesses open.” If the world can find a type of cheap, clean energy, it will do more than prevent climate change,” he wrote. “It will change the lives of millions of the poorest families.”
1.What does the author think of Gates’ predictions?
A.They sound quite unreal. B.They are mainly about computers.
C.They will probably come true. D.They haven’t produced any end result.
2.How is the agriculture in Africa?
A.It is losing its workforce. B.It is in need of productivity.
C.It can satisfy the local needs. D.It is as backward as Africa’s industry.
3.What should poor countries do according to Gates?
A.Use expensive seeds. B.Expect less foreign help.
C.Rely on the digital revolution. D.Learn from the experience of other countries.
4.What’s Gates’ attitude to clean-energy development?
A.It’s no easy task. B.It’s hard to imagine.
C.It can put climate change to an end. D.It has little to do with poor families.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
The reality TV wildlife edition has just come to a dramatic end. The world watched as the bears packed on pounds before they went into their den (兽穴) for the winter. Over the next few months, Fat Bear Week winner, 435 Holly, will go into hibernation (冬眠). Why do bears do this?
The mysteries around hibernating bears have attracted curious researchers for ages. What is hibernation, and what causes it? And probably most interestingly — could humans do this someday?
Dr. Kelly Drew, who studies hibernation, is one of the scientists consulting on a project funded by NASA, looking to put humans into hibernation for spaceflight. “For sending people to space, I think our first step is to perfect short-term hibernation-like periods in humans,” she says. “If we can figure this out, we can then try for longer periods.” We still have a long way to go before this science fiction dream becomes a reality, but several scientists around the country have been studying hibernation.
Cory Williams, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says, “A huge variety of mammals (哺乳动物) hibernate. However, hibernation in bears is different from that in small mammals…their body temperature only drops a few degrees and they don’t experience periodic rewarming.” In general, mammals with lower body temperatures during hibernation awaken every few days to raise their body temperature, or eat a bit. Bears do not emerge for any of these activities. Instead, they live off the fat they have collected during the summer and autumn months and even recycle their metabolic (新陈代谢的) waste.
At the moment, the study of hibernation has and continues to contribute greatly to applications in the human world. For example, bears are able to maintain their bone mass during hibernation, and understanding this could help advance the study of treating people with weak bones. Perhaps one day, it will be the key to sending humans far off into space too.
1.Why is 435 Holly mentioned in Paragraph 1?
A.To show the popularity of Fat Bear Week. B.To introduce the topic of hibernation.
C.To call for the protection of bears. D.To advertise reality TV.
2.How do bears hibernate?
A.They produce new body fat.
B.They lower their body temperature greatly.
C.They sleep through the whole winter.
D.They rewarm themselves regularly.
3.What’s the last paragraph mainly about?
A.The new findings about hibernation. B.The significance of studying hibernation.
C.The ways bears maintain their bone mass. D.The barriers to sending humans into space.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A.What could bears and astronauts have in common?
B.What effects does hibernation have on bears?
C.Why do bears need to go into hibernation?
D.How do humans and bears get along?
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
School success means different things to different people. No matter what success means to you, strong study skills, confidence and goals are key components. 1.. Therefore, why not try the following tips to achieve it?
Organize yourself
When a student lacks organization, he struggles to complete schoolwork on time, or find time to study. 2.. When you sit down to study, you need to organize your time well by allowing enough time for each task. You also need an organized backpack that allows you to transport materials to and from classes.
3.
Spending time with friends, working a part-time job and pursuing other interests has a place. However, you also need to leave time to achieve academic goals, or else your studies will be affected negatively. For example, working too many hours at a job reduces study and sleep time, possibly meaning missed school and difficulty concentrating due to being tired.
Look for support
Whether or not you struggle in school, a support network helps you succeed. So communicate with your teacher outside of class time to ask for help when you struggle. 4.. If your friends think school is a waste of time, you may be influenced to think so.
Go beyond the classroom
Learning doesn’t stop at the classroom doors. 5.. When a topic in the classroom interests you, you should do a little research on your own. For example, set up your own experiment based on something you learned in science class.
A.Balance activities and your studies
B.It isn’t limited to the information on the next exam
C.Never miss school
D.Surround yourself with classmates who also want to succeed in school
E.For students who struggle in school, additional support is necessary for success
F.You need an organized study place at home for completing homework and studying
G.School success opens up doors for future achievements for students at all grade levels
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I experienced great bitterness five years ago. At that time, my father _______ from an accident. As the eldest son, I had no _______ but to drop out of school and work in a factory. I didn’t dare to ask for more, just hoping to _______ my two younger brothers. However, that’s not a(n)_______ thing, for I couldn’t afford to _______ their tuition (学费) even if I worked from day to night. Without my father’s protection, I _______ I was only a slave to the life.
Later on, something changed my life. I still remember that it was a _______ day. I walked slowly in the _______. Suddenly the rain stopped. I _______ my head and found that “the sky” was in fact an umbrella. Then I heard a deep ________. “Why not ________ without an umbrella?” a one-leg man with a walking stick said to me. “If you run, you would get less wet.” His words ________ me deeply. He told me he once had dreamed of being a policeman, but an incident ruined his ________. Later he became a promoter (促销). Though his work was demanding and did’t suit for his ________, he still thought every outing was a wonderful start to him. He stated that he felt ________ he didn’t lose his ________ and still “ran” on the road of life.
Inspired by his words, I became an insurance agent. After two years’ ________, I did well and my family turned better ________. I got the time to return to my senior school, and eventually succeeded in my entrance to ________.
Everything is so simple: to run without an umbrella! When you run out of the rainy season of your life, there will be a ________ sky ahead of you!
1.A.died B.survived C.suffered D.recovered
2.A.possibility B.chance C.choice D.success
3.A.get on with B.give up C.separate from D.bring up
4.A.difficult B.awful C.easy D.wonderful
5.A.pay B.avoid C.lend D.calculate
6.A.imagined B.observed C.explained D.realized
7.A.sunny B.rainy C.windy D.cold
8.A.shop B.room C.street D.school
9.A.nodded B.raised C.shook D.buried
10.A.sound B.voice C.noise D.song
11.A.run B.jump C.dance D.dig
12.A.pleased B.embarrassed C.frightened D.astonished
13.A.health B.job C.family D.dream
14.A.eye B.leg C.hand D.ear
15.A.delighted B.annoyed C.disappointed D.sad
16.A.achievement B.failure C.money D.courage
17.A.struggle B.rest C.relaxation D.hesitation
18.A.completely B.immediately C.gradually D.partly
19.A.participation B.university C.competition D.society
20.A.colorful B.strange C.grey D.bright
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（︿）, 并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2. 只允许修改10处, 多者(从第11处起)不计分。
It was raining light when I got up yesterday. After a quick breakfast, I took an umbrella with me and went to school in the hurry. It was fifteen minutes after school began. I was running quickly when I see an old man walking slowly in the rain. I stopped, wondered whether to help him or not, as I might be late for school. Then I made a decision walk him home. About ten minutes late, we arrived at his house. He thanked for me again and again. I smiled and said it was nothing. I was late when I got to school. Hearing my story, the head teacher, that was giving his lecture, praised me before all the student.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如你是李华，请你代表学生会写一封邮件给本校交换生Chris，告知你们将组织一次校外劳动锻炼并邀请他参加。
内容包括：1. 活动目的；2. 活动安排；3. 表达期待。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Chris,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析