A
The M3 Challenge is a contest that gives high schoolers the chance to experience working as a team to deal with a practical problem within limited time. The challenge is meant to give high schoolers a sense of the kinds of problems faced by professional mathematicians working in the real world. Students who are gifted at coding (编程) might consider this competition since extra credit awards are available for teams who include outstanding code as part of their solution.
High school juniors and seniors from anywhere in the U. S. are welcome to participate in the M3 Challenge. Teams of students must consist of three to five people and at least one teacher-coach. Another cool thing? The M3 Challenge is. entirely online until the final round, and there are no participation fees !.
At the end of the M3 Challenge, six teams are identified and invited to present their work in New York City. The finalist teams are also eligible to receive cash awards, which are as follows:
◆ M3 Challenge Champions (Summa Cum Laude Team Prize) $ 20,000
◆ M3 Challenge Runner Up (Magna Cum Laude Team Prize) $ 15,000
◆ M3 Challenge Third Place (Cum Laude Team Prize) $ 10,000
◆ M3 Challenge Finalist (Meritorious Team Prize) $ 5,000 (3 teams)
In addition to these top prizes, there are also awards in the amount of $ 1,500 and $ 1,000 for semi-finalist and honorable mention teams respectively. Finally, Challenge finalists, semi-finalists, and honorable mention teams may be invited to submit applications for summer internships in STEM.
1. What's the purpose of the M3 Challenge?
A. To promote coding.
B. To select math professionals.
C. To solve difficult math problems.
D. To enrich high schoolers' knowledge.
2. Which of the following will lead to disqualification?
A. Having only one coach in a team.
B. Coming from a remote U. S. state.
C. Including eight students in a team.
D. Failing to pay the participation fees.
3. How much is the cash prize for honorable mention teams?
A. $ 1,000. B. $ 1,500. C. $ 5,000. D. $ 10,000.
【答案】1. D 2. C 3. A
【解析】
【分析】本文是一篇应用文。介绍了一项面向高中学生的数学竞赛。
【1题详解】
推理判断题。根据第一段中“The M3 Challenge is a contest that gives high schoolers the chance to experience working as a team to deal with a practical problem within limited time. The challenge is meant to give high schoolers a sense of the kinds of problems faced by professional mathematicians working in the real world.”（M3挑战赛是一项让高中生有机会体验团队合作，在有限时间内解决实际问题的竞赛。这项挑战旨在让高中生了解在现实世界中工作的专业数学家所面临的各种问题。）可知，M3挑战赛的目的是丰富高中生的知识。故选D。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。根据第二段中“Teams of students must consist of three to five people and at least one teacher-coach.”（学生小组必须由三到五个人和至少一名教师教练组成。）因此可以推出，八个学生组成一个小组会导致取消资格，故选C。
【3题详解】
细节理解题。根据最后一段中“there are also awards in the amount of $ 1,500 and $ 1,000 for semi-finalist and honorable mention teams respectively.”（还有1500美元和1000美元的奖金，分别为半决赛和荣誉提名团队。）因此可以看出，荣誉提名团队的奖金是1000美元，故选A。
