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Reading the following passage and do the tasks below. Inventors and Inventions Technology is the reason humans have risen to a dominant role on our planet, above all other species. We are not the strongest or the fastest, in fact we're quite weak in relation to many other animals. But our brains, and our technology have allowed us to dominate our world. The most important discovery in human history is the harnessing of fire, which allowed us to operate in darkness, keep warm in the winter, and cook food. There is no set date to think about the invention of fire, however. The first great invention, then, was agriculture. Ancient peoples collected wild grains to eat as long ago as 20,000 BC, but didn't start growing these crops until 13,000 BC and 6,000 BC, depending on the region. One of the earliest crops to be domesticated was rice, in China in around 11,000 B            C. Agriculture includes animals, of course, and the earliest animals to be domesticated are believed to be pigs, in 13,000 BC in Macedonia. The switch to agriculture is crucial, as it provides a food surplus. This surplus means that not everyone has to be involved in food production, freeing people up to conduct trade and advance science and the arts. Other crucial inventions are the wheel, invented by the Greeks, which allowed people to carry heavy goods; as well as nails, invented by the Romans, without which construction was difficult. Another great, world-shaking invention was the compass. The compass was invented between 200 BC and 100 AD in China. Prior to the compass, mariners had to use the sun and stars to navigate, which meant it was impossible to steer when the sky was overcast. The invention allowed accurate navigation in any weather... though the compass was first used for feng shui, or the construction of houses to be harmonious with the environment. Probably the most significant medieval achievement was the printing press, without which modern civilization wouldn't be possible. It was invented in Johannes Gutenberg in 1436. Though imprinting symbols or images via stencils and ink had been known in Europe and China for hundreds of years, Gutenberg mechanized the process, improving its speed and efficiency. Up until then, books had to be painstakingly copied by hand, but now they could be mass-produced easily. About fifty years after the invention of the printing press, twenty million volumes had been mass-produced. This led to a rise of literacy never seen before and directly contributed to the Protestant Reformation as it allowed average people to access the Bible. One of the greatest inventions, which today we take for granted, is the lightbulb. There were several contributors to the field before Thomas Edison came along, but today he is credited with the invention of the first practical incandescent light bulb. He tried thousands of times to create the light bulb before managing to do so in 1879. This invention revolutionized the world. When asked about the thousands of times he'd failed to create the lightbulb, Edison replied 'I didn't fail. I just found 2,000 ways now not to make a light bulb; I only needed to find one way to make it work.' Who the next great inventor will be is up in the air. 1. Why was agriculture an important invention?

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Read the following passage and do the tasks below. The traditional American family The nuclear family, consisting of a mother, father, and their children, may be more an American ideal than an American reality. Of course, the so called traditional American family was always more varied than we had been led to believe, reflecting the very different racial, ethnic, class, and religious customs among different American groups, but today diversity is even more obvious. The most recent government census statistics reveal that only about one third of all current American families fits the traditional mold of two parents and their children, and another third consists of married couples who either have no children or have none still living at home. An analysis of the remaining one third of the population reveals that about 20 percent of the total number of American households are single people, the most common descriptor being women over sixty-five years of age. A small percentage, about 3 percent of the total, consists of unmarried people who choose to live together; the rest, about 7 percent, are single parents, with at least one child. There are several easily identifiable reasons for the growing number of single-parent households. First, the sociological phenomenon of single-parent households reflects changes in cultural attitudes toward divorce and also toward unmarried mothers. A substantial number of adults become single parents as a result of divorce. In addition, the number of children born to unmarried women who choose to keep their children and rear them by themselves has increased dramatically. Finally, there is a small percentage of single-parent families that have resulted from untimely death. Today, these varied family types are typical and, therefore, normal. In addition, because many families live far from relatives, close friends have become a more important part of family life than ever before. The vast majority of Americans claim that they have people in their lives whom they regard as family although they are not related. A view of family that only accepts the traditional nuclear arrangement not only ignores the reality of modern American family life, but also undervalues the familial bonds created in alternatives family arrangements. Apparently, many Americans are achieving supportive relationships in family forms other than the traditional one. 1. Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?

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