Two things I really believe in --- saving money and saving the planet, and it's even better when I can do something that accomplishes both at the same time. Rainwater harvesting is just such a thing. In the near future, rainwater harvesting will be as common as twelve-year-old girls carrying cell phones. Many countries already rely heavily on rainwater. Every building in these countries collects the rainwater from its roof and stores it for later use. However, America is just slightly slow to take action. There are many ways to harvest rainwater and most of them are easy and inexpensive. For example, use rain barrels to collect the water that would run off your roof. You'd be surprised at how fast a fifty-gallon barrel will be filled with free, usable water. New building construction offers some good ways to gather rainwater, and the cost of set-up is usually made up by reduced usage very quickly. Rainwater can be conveyed by roof pipes into underground containers, where a pump can draw water up as needed. The rainwater can even be treated to make it drinkable. If that rainwater were not collected, but allowed to run over your lawn , into the street and eventually to a storm water treatment facility, it would pick up all sorts of pollutants on its journey --- chemical compositions and agricultural poisons from the grass, motor oil, waste water and such from the roads, and who knows what else. That is to say, the shorter distance it covers the more drinkable it will be. Depending on where you live, the rainwater may be piped to a treatment plant or it may run in natural channels to allow nature to remove the pollutants. Either way, the treatment of rainwater is high priced. If you reduce the amount of rainwater run-off from your home or office, you reduce the need for treatment. Water is rapidly becoming one of our most precious resources and it is not as abundant as you may think. In the year 2015, the United States used generally 479 billion gallons of fresh water per day. What is the best time for people to harvest rainwater for drinking? A) Before it is piped to a treatment plant. B) After it runs over your lawn. C) After it runs into the street. D) Before it drops from the roof.
D
Just two years before her 100thbirthday, Sensei Keiko Fukuda has become the first woman to achieve a tenth-degree black belt --- the highest rank in the martial art and combat sport judo . Fukuda is now one of only four living people who've earned the tenth-degree (or dan) black belt. Throughout history, only sixteen people have ever achieved this honor. Fukuda began practicing judo in 1935 and is the only surviving student of its founder, Kano Jiguro. Urged by her teacher, she learned English to help spread judo internationally. During a time when getting married, building a family, and becoming a housewife was the standard, Fukuda went against tradition, _ marriage to pursue the martial art. "All I did was judo ... this was my marriage," Fukuda reflected tearfully to the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is when my life destiny was set. I just never imagined how long this road would be." She described the Jiguro's school, known as the Kodokan, as "old-fashioned and sexist about belts and ranks". In fact, an order that prevented women from achieving any higher than a fifth-degree black belt kept Fukuda at that level for thirty years. She was finally promoted to sixth dan in 1972 when a woman's division was created. Fukuda said she approached judo and her life with the intention to "be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically". Fukuda said this kind of beauty is decidedly not external . " A kind soul is inner beauty," she explained to the paper. "I believe this is true beauty ... All my life this has been my dream." Dream realized, the 98-year-old Sensei Keiko Fukuda continues to teach judo three times a week at a woman's judo. Which of the following is the main idea of the passage? A) The only surviving student of Kano Jiguro remains single. B) The tenth-degree black belt is the highest rank in judo. C) Sensei Keiko Fukuda spreads judo throughout the world. D) 98-year-old woman becomes the first woman ever to earn judo's highest-degree black belt.
D
Q: In the course of working my ways through school , I took many jobs I would rather forget . But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard ; the pay was poor ; and, most of all , the working conditions were terrible. First of all , the job made huge demands on my strength . For ten hours a night , I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck . Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night . I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time -- two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay , I felt eager to get as much as possible . I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home more than $ 100 a week. But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor. I stayed on the job for five months , all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money , and the conditions under which I worked . By the time I left , I was determined never to go back there again. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time ? A) To pay for his schooling B) To save for his future C) To support his family D) To gain some experience
A: A
(Q).
My name is Amanda LaMunyon. I have Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism . I don't see myself as a person with a disability. I share who I am when I paint, sing and write. I started writing poetry because I wanted to tell people what it was like to have Asperger's syndrome. I don't know how my life would be different without Asperger's, but I know I look at the world differently than most people. I'm also learning that you don't have to be like everybody else. You just have to be confident in who you are. I discovered I could paint when I was 7. My math teacher Mrs. Brock loved one of my paintings so much that she hung it on the wall in her bedroom. I was so encouraged by her and since then my life has changed greatly. Soon after, people asked me to show my art for charity events. I began to donate prints of my work for charity auctions . I was glad that I really made a difference. I learned that when you give, you receive happiness. I think it is very important for teens to express themselves. It's a way to know yourself more clearly. You can turn your thoughts and feelings into a piece of artwork or a poem. For example, when you paint, colors can help you express different emotions. When you write a poem, you have to get really honest with yourself and not be afraid to write down what you feel. Creativity makes you unique and sets you apart from others. Creative ideas also help you make your dreams come true. They help you look at things in a new way. I hope my story helps people to believe they can overcome their challenges and achieve their dreams. I like to encourage others. I know what encouragement has meant to me. The author mentions Mrs. Brock because she _ . A) taught the author how to paint B) found the author had a gift for painting C) influenced the author's later life greatly D) encouraged the author to change her life
(A).
C