A team from Paris High School in Texas won the past weekend's Ford/AAA Auto Skills Challenge. The goal of the yearly competition is to accurately repair a car that has been disabled on purpose: Responding to the call, "Gentlemen, start your engines, if you can" at 9:15 a.m., the teams ran to 50 cars with the same mechanical problems. They had 90 minutes to find and repair many "bugs" in the starting, electrical, lighting, braking, temperature control, and power systems. The team from Texas first drove their car across the finish line, winning the contest after judges determined that they had removed all of the bugs. Bradley J. Bolton and Aaron Clay were able to get their car started in less than 30 minutes. In feet, the pair from Texas spent months preparing for the competition with, their instructor. They walked away with $2,500 in scholarships and something interesting to add to their resumes (履历). With many regional competitions, Ford and AAA gave away a total of $6 million in prizes and scholarships to this year's competitors. "Aaron and Bradley proved today that they are America's best teen auto-repair team," Allan Stanley, manager of Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills, said. "Their hard work and drive to be the top high school auto technicians are typical of every participant here. The auto industry must attract such talented young people to keep America's vehicles operating safely." Each year, the Student Auto Skills competition determines the nation's best high school auto technicians with a two-part test. After a written exam worth 40% of their grade, the 50 two-person teams — each representing a state — compete in hands-on repair work, which is worth 60% of their total. Darryl Hazel, senior president of Ford Motor Company, said, "Ford and its dealer (经销商) network are offering these talented young people opportunities to train for high-tech careers with excellent wages." Read the passage and then answer the following questions. |