Maurice Mountain is a retired lawyer in Washington, D.C. He developed a prototype for a device he calls the Presto Emergency Boat Ladder. His invention is a small folding ladder that attaches to the side of a boat to help people who fall into the water. Mr. Mountain plans to mass-produce his boat ladder. He created his invention at a workshop called TechShop. Mr. Mountain says, "I think it encourages innovation. I think people who probably have had ideas rolling around in the back of their minds for years but have never had the opportunity to actually put them into production or even experiment with them would find this place wonderful. Members of TechShop use high-tech equipment to develop and produce ideas they have for inventions." Isabella Musachio manages a TechShop in Arlington, Virginia. She says the shop has many different kinds of equipment. "TechShop is a do-it-yourself maker space. So when you come in we have all these different areas of the shop, and we have a metal shop, wood shop, lasers, 3D printers, electronics. I mean, we have so many different areas and we have all the equipment that is availahle to anybody above the age of 12." Membership costs for TechShop start at just over $ 100 per month. Members are able to use costly machines including 3D modeling tools and laser cutters. Isabella Musachio says TechShop helps its members build their dreams. "Our motto is 'build your dreams here' because you can really come in with just an idea, and then with the help of TechShop make that leap from an idea to building your project o, your prototype or even your business." Jim Newton is the founder of TechShop. He first introduced the idea for the technology workshops at an arts and sciences event called Maker Faire in San Mateo, California in 2006. His idea attracted hundreds of members during that event, Now, there are eight TechShop locations in the U. S. In all, there are more than 6,000 members. Two more-TechShop locations in the cities of St. Louis and Look Angeles will be set up. What can we know about TechShop from the passage? A) TechShop is founded by Maurice Mountain. B) TechShop puts high-tech dreams within reach. C) TechShop is a non-profit organization. D) TechShop offers its members more ideas.
B
Contrary to common belief, social media websites such as Facebook do not weaken personal ties, they strengthen them in unique ways for different age groups, according to a new study. The rapid spread of Facebook, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, has prompted concerns about its negative effects, but researchers at the University of Texas have reached a different conclusion. "Our findings suggest that Facebook is not replacing face-to-face interactions between friends, family and colleagues," said S.Craig Watkins, an associate professor of radio, TV and film who headed the research team. "In fact, we believe there is sufficient evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community." The researchers questioned 900 college students and recent graduates about how and with whom they interact on Facebook. More than 60 percent of Facebook users said posting status updates was among the most popular activities, followed by 60 percent who wrote comments on their profile and 49 percent who posted messages and comments to friends. The researchers also found that although about the same number of men and women use Facebook, they do so in different ways. "There is a noteworthy difference in aims in how to use a tool like Facebook.We found that for women the content tends to be more affectionate, and (they) are especially interested in using it for connection," said Watkins. "For men, it's more functional," he added. Watkins pointed out that, for example, women are more likely to post pictures of social gatherings with friends, while men are more likely to post pictures of hobbies, or post a political or pop-culture related link. What's the popular viewpoint of ordinary people about the function of social media websites? They think _ . A) It is positive to personal ties B) It has negative effects on personal ties C) It makes no difference to personal ties D) It has both good and bad effects to personal ties
B
Q: Officials in the Midwestern U. S. town of Joplin, Missouri, say the death from Sundays' big tornado reaches 116 and that search efforts continue for possible survivors trapped in rubble . Search and rescue teams are conducting their third sweep through the nearly 10 kilometer - long and one - kilometer wide area of destruction left by the tornado. They are working as quickly as possible while weather conditions remain relatively stable. More storms are forecast for the area. Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said there are areas with large piles of rubble that might hold survivors. "We are still finding individuals. We did rescue seven individuals from underneath rubble yesterday and, of course, we are also finding dead folks as well." Said more folks and that is why we are doing these searches. We want to make every opportunity that we can to find everybody that is in the rubble and that has survived to this point." Randles said the current sweep involves a slower pace that previous searches and that he plans a fourth search, possibly on Wednesday, using specially trained dogs. "We are searching every structure that has been damaged or destroyed in a more in-depth manner, "he said." I have dogs and dog handlers coming from all over the country do help us in that effort." Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations are helping people who were left homeless by the tornado and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is on hand to help. "Joplin is a great city. We have suffered a great loss, "said Rohr." We will recover and we will recover strongly and we have a lot of help and a lot of volunteers to make that easier." The tornado that struck Joplin was classified by the Natioonal Weather Service as an F - 4, with winds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. It lasted only 20 minutes, but it killed more that 100 people, injured more than 400 others, and destroyed or heavily damaged some 2,000 homes, businesses, churches and a hospital. Authorities have... From the text, it can be inferred that _ . A) many victims might be under the ruins B) it was impossible to find out survivors C) the tornado lasted several weeks D) the bad weather influenced the rescue greatly
A: A
Q: Having a husband means an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, getting married saves an hour of housework a week. "It's a _ ," said lead researcher Frank Stafford at University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. "Men usually work more outside the home, while women take on more of the housework." He points out that differences among households exist. But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men. "And the situation gets worse for women when they have children." Stafford said. Overall, times are changing in the American home. In 1976, women busied themselves with 26 weekly hours of sweeping-and-dusting work, compared with 17 hours in 2005. Men are taking on more housework, more than doubling their housework hours from six in 1976 to 13 in 2005. Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most - about 21 hours a week. Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger men. Single men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men. Having children increases housework even further. With more than three, for example, wives took on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week compared with husbands' 10 hours. What kind of man is doing most housework according to the text? A) An unmarried man. B) An older married man. C) A younger married man. D) A married man with children.
A: A