Upper Intermediate English Skills

Final Exam

Reading comprehension activity

First text: Meet the Woman Who Invented the Automatic Dishwasher
June 21, 2015 by Kids
Discover

Josephine Garis Cochrane was an independent woman

of the mid-1800s. When she married husband William
Cochran, she took his last name but added an “e” to the
end. And when she realized no one had yet created a
proper automatic dishwasher, she invented one herself!
Josephine led a comfortable life in Shelbyville, Illinois.
William was a successful businessman, and the couple
often held dinner parties in their large home. She even
had servants to clean up afterward. But one morning
after a party, she found some of her good china had
gotten chipped. She was so upset, she decided to wash
the dishes herself from then on. It wasn’t long before
Josephine wondered why no one had invented a
machine to do the job … and soon she had sketched out the idea that would become the first
commercially successful automatic dishwasher.

Her design used water pressure to clean, just as today’s dishwashers do. It had wire compartments for
the dishes, which fit into a wheel inside a copper boiler. A motor turned the wheel while soapy water
sprayed onto the dishes. It was practical, but Josephine had a hard time trying to hire a mechanic to build
her machine the way she wanted, instead of insisting on building it HIS way. She finally found a man
named George Butters to work with, and the Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Machine was patented in
1886, three years after her husband died.

Josephine thought her invention would appeal to other housewives, but it was more of a hit with hotels
and restaurants, maybe because it was an expensive appliance for a regular family to buy. She opened
her own factory in 1897, and personally sold her machines nearly up until her death in 1913. In 1926,
her company was bought by Hobart, which eventually became the modern appliance giant KitchenAid.

Taken and adapted from: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/brown-marie-van-brittan-1922-1999/

Second text: MARIE VAN BRITTAN BROWN (1922-1999)

Marie Van Brittan Brown was the inventor of the first home security system. She is also credited
with the invention of the first closed circuit television. Brown was born in Queens, New York , on
October 22, 1922, and resided there until her death on February 2, 1999, at age seventy-six.

The patent for the invention was filed in 1966, and it later influenced modern home security
systems that are still used today. Brown’s invention was inspired by the security risk that her
home faced in the neighborhood where she lived. Marie Brown worked as a nurse and her
husband, Albert Brown, worked as an electronics technician. Their work hours were not the
standard nine-to-five, and the crime rate in their Queens, New York City neighborhood was very
high. Even when the police were contacted in the event of an emergency, the response time
tended to be slow. As a result, Brown looked for ways to increase her level of personal security.
She needed to create a system that would allow her to know who was at her home and contact
relevant authorities as quickly as possible.

Brown’s security system was the basis for the two-way communication and surveillance features
of modern security. Her original invention was comprised of peepholes, a camera, monitors, and a
two-way microphone. The final element was an alarm button that could be pressed to contact the
police immediately.

Three peepholes were placed on the front door at different height levels. The top one was for tall
persons, the bottom one was for children, and the middle one was for anyone of average height.
At the opposite side of the door a camera was attached with the ability to slide up and down to
allow the person to see through each peephole. The camera picked up images that would reflect
on the monitor via a wireless system. The monitor could be placed in any part of the house to
allow you to see who was at the door.

There was also a voice component to enable Brown to speak to the person outside. If the person
was perceived to be an intruder, the police would be notified with the push of a button. If the
person was a welcome or expected visitor, the door could be unlocked via remote control.

Marie and Albert Brown filed for a patent on August 1, 1966, under the title, “Home Security
System Utilizing Television Surveillance.” Their application was approved on December 2, 1969.
Brown’s invention gained her well-deserved recognition, including an award from the National
Scientists Committee (no year for the award can be identified) and an interview with The New
York Times on December 6, 1969.