💦Read the text.

One Giant Splash for Mankind

John Lethbridge changed underwater diving forever. In 1715, he built one of the first diving barrels, which helped divers explore the oceans.

At the time, people wanted an easier way to dive deep underwater. Divers could find buried treasure in ships that had sunk. But it was hard for them to explore the sunken ships. Deep diving was gruelling. Divers had to stay inside a diving bell, which was a small, dark space filled with a small amount of air. It was often scary and uncomfortable. They could not swim freely or pick up things from the ocean floor.

Lethbridge’s barrel solved some of those problems. Its main part was a long wooden tube. A diver could fit lying down in the tube. The tube’s walls were strong enough to keep water out and air inside, even deep underwater. The tube had a glass window in the front so that the diver could see. It also had an opening for the diver’s arms so that the diver could pick up objects. While inside the barrel, the diver could stay underwater for more than thirty minutes before needing to come up for air.

Lethbridge first tested the barrel in a pond outside his house. Then, he used the barrel to explore sunken ships around Europe. Some of these ships were filled with lost treasure, including chests full of silver. Lethbridge became very rich because of his trips in the diving barrel.

What is the text about?

• It is about which places John Lethbridge explored with his diving barrel.
• It is about how much money people paid for John Lethbridge’s diving barrel.
• It is about how John Lethbridge’s diving barrel helped make diving better.

💦Read the text.

The Clean Machine

Inventions like the washing machine have made housework quicker and easier. Today, people can save countless hours on housework thanks to different kinds of machines. However, it’s possible that nobody has saved more time on housework than inventor Frances Gabe.

As a child, Gabe disliked housework, like many children do. She did not want to spend time cleaning the oven or mopping the floor. But she enjoyed going to work with her father, who designed and built buildings for a living. She learned about design from watching him work.

Years later, Gabe was tired of cleaning up after her own messy children. So she used her design skills to construct a home that cleaned itself. She put sprinklers in the ceiling of each room. When she pressed a button, the sprinklers would spray soap and water all over the walls and the floor. The extra water washed down a drain in each room. Gabe added hot-air machines to blow the rooms until they were warm and dry. She also built a special shelf that washed dishes, and she made a wardrobe that washed clothes. All in all, Gabe invented sixty-eight different tools to help her house clean itself.

Gabe’s home was not perfect. She had to put covers on her tables, chairs, sofas and books to keep them safe from the sprinklers. And her sprinklers sometimes broke down and sprayed water in the wrong places. Gabe was only able to build one complete self-cleaning home. But her bold ideas live on in the cleaning robots of today.

💦 What is the text about?

• It is about what led Frances Gabe to make a house that cleans itself.
• It is about why Frances Gabe taught people to clean.
• It is about how Frances Gabe learned to design machines when she was young.

💦 Read the text.

Benjamin Banneker, Lifelong Learner

Benjamin Banneker was a farmer, scientist, writer and more. Though his parents were once enslaved, Banneker grew up as a free man in the American state of Maryland. Throughout his life, he taught himself many skills and used them to help people.

Banneker did much of his learning outside the classroom. His grandmother taught him to read at a young age, and he loved books. Around age fourteen, he had to leave school to work on his family’s farm. But Banneker continued to educate himself after that. For example, he taught himself how to make a clock by taking apart a pocket watch. And he borrowed books from friends to learn more about maths and the movements of the stars and planets. Banneker later used these skills to help his country.

In 1791, Banneker travelled to Washington, D.C., to help design the capital of the United States. He helped plan where all the streets and important buildings would go. His work can still be seen today in the city of Washington, D.C.

Banneker also shared what he learned with others. He studied the stars and used his findings to write an almanac. An almanac is a book with lots of useful facts for farmers, including when the sun will rise and set each day. Almanacs also tell about holidays, the tides and the dates of full moons. Banneker wrote six different almanacs over the years.

💦 What is the text about?

• It is about which schools Benjamin Banneker went to while he was growing up.
• It is about how Benjamin Banneker taught himself and helped others.
• It is about the different teachers that helped Benjamin Banneker become famous.