Air conditioning

The history of an invention that makes life more pleasant

Willis Carrier designed the first air-conditioning unit in 1902, just a year after
graduating from Cornell University with a Masters in Engineering.

At a Brooklyn printing plant, fluctuations in heat and moisture were causing the
size of the printing paper to keep changing slightly, making it hard to align different
colours. Carrier’s invention made it possible to control temperature and humidity
levels and so align the colours. The invention also allowed industries such as film,
processed food, textiles and pharmaceuticals to improve the quality of their
products.

*fluctuation (n) sự biến động

*align (v) xếp thẳng hàng

In 1914, the first air-conditioning device was installed in a private house. However,
its size, similar to that of an early computer, meant it took up too much space to
come into widespread use, and later models, such as the Weathermaker, which
Carrier brought out in the 1920s, cost too much for most people. Cooling for human
comfort, rather than industrial need, really took off when three air conditioners
were installed in the J.L. Hudson Department Store in Detroit, Michigan. People
crowded into the shop to experience the new invention. The fashion spread from
department stores to cinemas, whose income rose steeply as a result of the comfort
they provided.

To start with, money-conscious employers regarded air conditioning as a luxury.

They considered that if they were paying people to work, they should not be paying
for them to be comfortable as well. So in the 1940s and ’50s, the industry started
putting out a different message about its product: according to their research,
installing air conditioning increased productivity amongst employees. They found
that typists increased their output by 24% when transferred from a regular office to
a cooled one. Another study into office working conditions, which was carried out in
the late ’50s, showed that the majority of companies cited air conditioning as the
single most important contributor to efficiency in offices.

*money-conscious employers (n) những ông chủ chỉ chú tâm về tiền bạc
*productivity (n) năng suất
*typists (n) thợ đánh máy

However, air conditioning has its critics. Jed Brown, an environmentalist, complains
that air conditioning is a factor in global warming. Unfortunately, he adds, because
air conditioning leads to higher temperatures, people have to use it even more.
However, he admits that it provides a healthier environment for many people in the
heat of summer.
Questions 1-5
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1 When Willis Carrier invented air conditioning, his aim was to

A make workers feel cooler.

B produce more attractive paper.

C set up a new business.

D solve problems in a factory.

2 Home air conditioners were not popular at first because they were

A too big and expensive.

B not considered necessary.

C too inefficient.

D complicated to use.

3 Employers refused to put air conditioning in workplaces at first because they

A could not afford to pay for it.

B thought it was more suitable for cinemas.

C did not want to spend money improving working conditions.

D thought people would not work so hard in comfortable conditions.

4 What was the purpose of the research done in the 1940s and ’50s?

A to make office workers produce more

B to compare different types of air conditioner

C to persuade businesses to buy air conditioners

D to encourage employees to change offices

5 What does Jed Brown say about air conditioning?

A In future, everyone will need it.

B Turning it off will not reduce global warming.

C It can seriously damage people’s health.

D It is good for people, but bad for the environment.

Making a change
How easy is it for us to change our lives - and why?

In 1990, a young American named Christopher McCandless gave up his career plans,
left behind everyone he knew, including his family, and went off on an adventure. He
was 22 at the time. In an act of kindness, he donated all his savings to the famous
charity, Oxfam International, and hitchhiked his way through America to Alaska. His
decisions were so unusual for his age that Jon Krakauer wrote a book about them
called Into the Wild, and Sean Penn directed a film that had the same title.

Of course, this is an unusual story. Most college graduates would not do quite the
same thing. However, studies do show that in teenage years, people are more likely
to try out new experiences. Instead of following the family career path, for example,
and working his way up the same organisation like his grandfather did, a 15-year-
old may dream about becoming a traveller - only to find in his early 20s that this
fascination with new places is declining and change is less attractive. This age-
related trend can be observed in all cultures.

The reason why people all over the world become less keen to change as they get
older may be because people’s lives generally follow similar patterns and involve
similar demands. Most people, wherever they are, aim to find a job and a partner. As
they get older, they may have young children to look after and possibly elderly
family members. These responsibilities cannot be achieved without some degree of
consistency, which means that new experiences and ideas may not have a place in
the person’s life. New experiences may bring excitement but also insecurity, and so
most people prefer to stay with the familiar.

*consistency(n) sự nhất quán

However, not every individual is the same. One toddler may want to play a different
game every day and get fed up if nothing changes at the nursery. Another may seek
out and play with the same children and toys on every visit. Young children who
avoid new experiences will grow up to be more conventional than others.
Psychologists argue that those who have more open personalities as children are
more open than others might be when they are older. They also suggest that young
men have a greater interest in novelty than women, although, as they age, this desire
for new experiences fades more quickly than it does in women.
The truth is that, as we get older, we prefer the things we know. We tend to order
the same meals in restaurants, sit on the same side of the train when we commute
to work, go on holiday to the same places and construct our day in the same way. If
you are older than 20, remember that your openness to new experiences is slowly
declining.

So you are better off making a new start today than postponing it until later.

* commute (v) di chuyển, đi lại

Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the reading
passage?

Write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1 Teenagers are more ready to have new experiences than young adults.

2 Grandparents usually encourage their grandchildren to get a well-paid job.

3 Life demands are different depending on which country you live in.

4 Some toddlers find repetitive activities boring.

5 Children who dislike new experiences become more adventurous than others as
adults.

6 If you want to change something in your life, you should avoid delay.

What is speed reading, and why do we need it?

Speed reading is not just about reading fast. It is also about how much information
you can remember when you have finished reading. The World Championship
Speed-Reading Competition says that its top competitors average between 1,000
and 2,000 words a minute. But they must remember at least 50 percent of this in
order to qualify for the competition.
B

Nowadays, speed reading has become an essential skill in any environment where
people have to master a large volume of information. Professional workers need
reading skills to help them get through many documents every day, while students
under pressure to deal with assignments may feel they have to read more and read
faster all the time.

Although there are various methods to increase reading speed, the trick is deciding
what information you want first. For example, if you only want a rough outline of an
issue, then you can skim the material quickly and extract the key facts. However, if
you need to understand every detail in a document, then you must read it slowly
enough to understand this.

Even when you know how to ignore irrelevant detail, there are other improvements
you can make to your reading style which will increase your speed. For example,
most people can read much faster if they read silently. Reading each word aloud
takes time for the information to make a complete circuit in your brain before being
pronounced. Some researchers believe that as long as the first and last letters are in
place, the brain can still understand the arrangement of the other letters in the word
because it logically puts each piece into place.

Chunking is another important method. Most people learn to read either letter by
letter or word by word. As you improve, this changes. You will probably find that
you are fixing your eyes on a block of words, then moving your eyes to the next
block of words, and so on. You are reading blocks of words at a time, not individual
words one by one. You may also notice that you do not always go from one block to
the next: sometimes you may move back to a previous block if you are unsure about
something.

A skilled reader will read a lot of words in each block. He or she will only look at
each block for an instant and will then move on. Only rarely will the reader’s eyes
skip back to a previous block of words. This reduces the amount of work that the
reader’s eyes have to do. It also increases the volume of information that can be
taken in over a given period of time.

G
On the other hand, a slow reader will spend a lot of time reading small blocks of
words. He or she will skip back often, losing the flow and structure of the text, and
muddling their overall understanding of the subject. This irregular eye movement
quickly makes the reader tired. Poor readers tend to dislike reading because they
feel it is difficult to concentrate and comprehend written information.

The best tip anyone can have to improve their reading speed is to practise. In order
to do this effectively, a person must be engaged in the material and want to know
more. If you find yourself constantly having to re-read the same paragraph, you may
want to switch to reading material that grabs your attention. If you enjoy what you
are reading, you will make quicker progress.
Questions 1-6
The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-H.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

1 the types of people who need to read more quickly

2 the fastest reading speeds

3 how a reader can become confused

4 why reading material should be interesting

5 a definition of speed reading

6 what you should consider before you start reading