Article: In 1809, Mary Kies received the first U.S. patent issued to a woman. Kies , a Connecticut native , invented a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. First Lady Dolley Madison praised her for improving the nation's het industry. Unfortunately , the patent file was destroyed in a big fire in 1836. Until about 1840, only 20 U.S. patents were issued to women. The inventions were related to clothes, tools ,cook stoves and fireplaces. Patent is the "ownership" of an invention and only the inventor(s) can apply for it. In the past , women were not allowed to have equal rights of property ownership and many women patented their inventions under their husbands' or fathers' name. Women were also prevented from receiving higher education necessary for inventing. Here are a few examples to be noticed, and from these examples, we know enough reasons for encouraging girls and women to pursue technology-based courses and careers. The women inventors took annually granted U.S. patents rising fro;m 2.6 percent in 1977 to 10.3 percent in 1998. The majority of the U.S. woman-inventor patents are in the chemical technologies. In 1996, every eleven U.S. patent grant included one woman inventor. In the past 20 years, about 83 percent of the U. S. patent grants to women were for utility patents , 16.5 percent for design patents, and 0.5 percent for plant patents. About 35 percent of the U.S woman-inventor patents granted during the 1977 to 1996 period originated form California , New York or New Jersey. Today, hundreds of thousands of women apply for and receive patents every year. About 20% of all inventors are currently female and that number will quickly rise to 50% over the next generation. Question: In the past few women patented their own inventions because _ . Yes or no, is the answer "women were not allowed to have property ownership"?
No
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Article: A neighbor of mine, while visiting his mother in Boston, took her to a shoe store to buy a new pair of shoes. While she was trying on different styles, my neighbor took the manager aside. "When she picks out a pair that she likes," he said, "Just tell her that the price is 12 dollars. I'll pay the regular price. I don't care how much it is." The following week, my neighbor was walking by the shoe store and the manager recognized him and called him in. "What's the problem?" asked my neighbor as he entered the store. "Wasn't my check any good?" "That's not it," answered the manager, "The problem is that your mother is bringing all her friends in for those 12-dollar shoes!" Question: What do we know about the character of my neighbor's mother? Yes or no, is the answer "She would like to buy cheap things."?
No
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Article: The fourth round of heavy smog to hit Beijing in four weeks has sent more people to the hospital with respiratory illnesses and led to calls for laws to control the pollution. Pan Shiyi, a celebrity real estate developer said he is planning to propose a Clean Air Act to the local government. As a representative to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, he started an online survey at 9:20 a.m. Within three hours, more than 25,000 web users, or 99 percent of total respondents , welcomed his proposal on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter. They have good reasons to stand alongside Pan. The latest round of haze reduced visibility to under 500 meters in many parts of the city. The smog has also led to a great increase in respiratory illnesses, particularly among children and the elderly. Anxious parents and doctors almost all blame the smoggy air for the illnesses. Though most schoolchildren are home for the winter holidays, the bad air can easily move indoors. Besides, ordinary medical masks fail to provide adequate protection, so some people have turned to gas masks and respirators . The causes of the scary smog are rather mysterious, though experts blame excessive emissions and the mountains around Beijing that trap pollution in winter, unless there is adequate wind to clear it away. Some critics have pointed fingers at China's top two oil firms, China National Petroleum Corp and China Petrochemical Corporation, saying the companies' outdated production technologies produce large quantities of substandard, high-polluting gas fuel. Meanwhile, concerned Beijingers have moved their brainstorming sessions to cyberspace. If Pan's proposal for a Clean Air Act is adopted, netizens say the new law should include items providing for "car-free days" in times of smog, higher standards for vehicle fuel, stricter restrictions on industrial and exhaust gas emissions, and more effective protection for the public. Beijing is not the only city that has ever lost the blue sky. Five days of thick fog caused thousands of deaths in... Question: What can we learn from the passage? Yes or no, is the answer "Smog is worse for people with lower resistance to diseases."?
Yes
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Article: Brothers Ishmael and Isadore were complete opposites. People who knew them both could hardly believe they were from the same planet, let alone the same family. The boys were not unkind toward one another, but their personalities were so different that it was difficult for them to reach a decision they both liked. Their mother frequently played the judge in their disagreement. Ishmael, the older brother,was athletic. He played baseball, football, and basketball.Isadore, the younger brother, hated sports. He was quieter and less active than his brother. He preferred spending his time on the computer, making short videos and writing short articles. Ishmael loved classic rock. He listened to bands like the Beatles. Isadore didn't care much for those bands. He preferred music from Central Africa. Luckily for their parents, both boys enjoyed listening to music through headphones. One other thing the brothers did agree on was that they wanted a pet. Mom had _ getting one, but after both brothers had begged, she finally agreed."We can get a pet, as long as you two take care of it," she said.That means you do the feeding, you do the training, and if it needs to be walked, you do the walking. "No problem, Mom,"Ishmael and Isadore said together. "Good, we all agree," Mom said. "Now, what kind of pet are we going to get?" Question: The two brothers' mother often had to be the judge when they _ . Yes or no, is the answer "couldn't come to an agreement"?
Yes
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