Automatic Grading Datasets Without Labels
Collection
14 items • Updated
essay_id stringlengths 7 28 | score int64 1 6 | full_text stringlengths 697 20.5k | assignment stringclasses 7
values | prompt_name stringclasses 7
values | economically_disadvantaged stringclasses 2
values | student_disability_status stringclasses 2
values | ell_status stringclasses 2
values | race_ethnicity stringclasses 6
values | gender stringclasses 2
values | source_text_1 stringclasses 7
values | source_text_2 stringclasses 2
values | source_text_3 stringclasses 2
values | source_text_4 stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AAAOPP13416000011976 | 3 | In the article "Driverless Cars are Coming," it informs readers about cars that can be driven without drivers in the future. These self-driving cars in my opinion seems dangerous and unnessasary the thought of a car being driven without a driver in today's society is a horrible idea. The fact that there are terrorist
who already drive in vehicles with self detonated bombs wired to that vehicle into a building or a secured area with people in the facinaty. Imagin what what they would do if they didn't need a driver for a mobil bomb.
And on the other hand what about nofunctions in these new driverless cars people don't know what all the new designs are in the vehicle how will they know what thier doing? Further more what about accidents, if someone was to be injured or worse by a vehicle that was being driven by a computer and not a real person who is responsible? The driver was in the car in the drivers seat but wasn't driving who is at fault as stated in the article. "If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault-the driver or the mamufacturer." So how can we prevent these confusions from accuring, by making laws some might assume but will that even change anything if the car is operated by a computer. The comupter won't change how it was manufactured to drive and doesn't learn
from making mistakes the only way we can be sure of safe driving is to insure the driver is a human. As stated in the article."Presently, traffic laws are written with the assumtion that the only safe car has a human driver in control at all times."
In conclusion the Driverless cars should not be legal to be used or sold to anybody due to safty laws and threatened situationd that can be caused by the vehicle in controll of a threatoning person who wants to cause a horrible event. And for the saftey of others who dosent know how the vehicle works or malfunctions. | In the article “Driverless Cars are Coming,” the author presents both positive and negative aspects of driverless cars. Using details from the article, create an argument for or against the development of these cars. Be sure to include: your position on driverless cars; appropriate details from the article that support your position; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | Driverless cars | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Black/African American | M | Driverless Cars Are Coming
Can you imagine a time in the future when no one buys cars because no one needs them anymore? Google cofounder Sergey Brin can. He envisions a future with a public transportation system where fleets of driverless cars form a public-transport taxi system. The cars he foresees would use half the fuel of today’s taxis and offer far more flexibility than a bus. He believes such cars would fundamentally change the world.
Television and movies have long been fascinated with cars that could drive themselves. In reality, Google has had cars that could drive independently under specific conditions since 2009. Their cars have driven more than half a million miles without a crash, but so far, Google cars aren't truly driverless; they still alert the driver to take over when pulling in and out of driveways or dealing with complicated traffic issues, such as navigating through roadwork or accidents. So what roadblocks lie ahead for the autonomous car?
Sensing the World
Let's begin by looking at which companies are making computer-driven cars. Originally, many futurists believed the key to developing self-driving cars someday wasn't so much smarter cars as smarter roads. For example, in the late 1950s, General Motors created a concept car that could run on a special test track. The track was embedded with an electrical cable that sent radio signals to a receiver on the front end of the car. Engineers at Berkeley tried something similar, but they used magnets with alternating polarity. The car read the positive and negative polarity as messages in binary code. These smart-road systems worked surprisingly well, but they required massive upgrades to existing roads, something that was simply too expensive to be practical.
Without the option of smarter roads, manufacturers turned to smarter cars—but how much smarter did the cars need to be? For starters, they needed a whole lot of sensors. Google's modified Toyota Prius uses position-estimating sensors on the left rear wheel, a rotating sensor on the roof, a video camera mounted near the rearview mirror, four automotive radar sensors, a GPS receiver, and an inertial motion sensor. The most important bit of technology in this system is the spinning sensor on the roof. Dubbed LIDAR, it uses laser beams to form a constantly updating 3-D model of the car's surroundings. The combination of all this input is necessary for the driverless car to mimic the skill of a human at the wheel.
Sensors are nothing new, of course. In the 1980s, automakers used speed sensors at the wheels in the creation of antilock brakes. Within 10 years, those sensors had become more advanced to detect and respond to the danger of out-of-control skids or rollovers. The information from the sensors can cause the car to apply brakes on individual wheels and reduce power from the engine, allowing far better response and control than a human driver could manage alone. Further improvements in sensors and computer hardware and software to make driving safer are also leading to cars that can handle more and more driving tasks on their own.
Driving or Assisting?
Antilock brakes and driver assistance still seem a long way from the dream of calling a driverless cab to take us wherever we desire, but Sebastian Thrun, founder of the Google Car project, believes that the technology has finally begun to catch up to the dream. “There was no way, before 2000, to make something interesting. The sensors weren't there, the computers weren't there, and the mapping wasn't there. Radar was a device on a hilltop that cost two hundred million dollars. It wasn't something you could buy at Radio Shack.” So just how driverless will the cars be in the near future?
In 2013, BMW announced the development of “Traffic Jam Assistant.” The car can handle driving functions at speeds up to 25 mph, but special touch sensors make sure the driver keeps hold of the wheel. In fact, none of the cars developed so far are completely driverless. They can steer, accelerate, and brake themselves, but all are designed to notify the driver when the road ahead requires human skills, such as navigating through work zones and around accidents. This means the human driver must remain alert and be ready to take over when the situation requires. This necessitates the car being ready to quickly get the driver's attention whenever a problem occurs. GM has developed driver's seats that vibrate when the vehicle is in danger of backing into an object. The Google car simply announces when the driver should be prepared to take over. Other options under consideration are flashing lights on the windshield and other heads-up displays. Manufacturers are also considering using cameras to watch that drivers are remaining focused on the road. While the driver watches the road, the car watches the driver.
Why would anyone want a driverless car that still needs a driver? Wouldn’t drivers get bored waiting for their turn to drive? “The psychological aspects of automation are really a challenge,” admits Dr. Werner Huber, a BMW project manager driver. “We have to interpret the driving fun in a new way.” Some manufacturers hope to do that by bringing in-car entertainment and information systems that use heads-up displays. Such displays can be turned off instantly when the driver needs to take over—something not available to drivers trying to text with a cell phone. In this way, the in-car system is actually a safety feature, and safety is a big concern.
Waiting on the Law
Most driving laws focus on keeping drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safe, and lawmakers know that safety is best achieved with alert drivers. Presently, traffic laws are written with the assumption that the only safe car has a human driver in control at all times. As a result, in most states it is illegal even to test computer-driven cars. California, Nevada, Florida, and the District of Columbia have led the country in allowing limited use of semi-autonomous cars; manufacturers believe that more states will follow as soon as the cars are proved more reliably safe. Still, even if traffic laws change, new laws will be needed in order to cover liability in the case of an accident. If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault—the driver or the manufacturer?
Automakers are continuing their work on the assumption that the problems ahead will be solved. Tesla has projected a 2016 release for a car capable of driving on autopilot 90 percent of the time. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Nissan plan to have cars that can drive themselves by 2020. The road to the truly autonomous car stretches on ahead of us, but we grow closer to the destination every day. | null | null | null |
AAAVUP14319000065510 | 2 | The author strongly believes that our Earth "twin" planet, should have more attention than what it has. As in more research over it and more resources to gain from it. The author also suggests that more attention should be forward to Venus "If our sister planet is so inhospitable, why are scientists even discussing further visits to its surface?". The author later on spoke about NASA having thoughts of sending humans to Venus because of the benefit that they'll gain from it including the advances from the machines that they have been working on.
Not just that the author also belivies that Venus should aso have care for,
it's a planet that is close to similiar as Earth.
It's temperature average is over 800 degrees fahrenheight and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than our experience in Earth. Other than the author knowing research for their argument, the author persuasion tolwards traveling and studying Venus also describes the perspective of it "Human curiosity will likely lead us into many equally intimidating endeavors. Our travels on Earth and beyond should not be limited by dangers and doubts but should be expanded to meet the very edges of imagination and innovation". The author is trying to prove that besides the risks and dangers the studying of Vneus she be reconsidered. | In "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," the author suggests studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents. Using details from the article, write an essay evaluating how well the author supports this idea. Be sure to include: a claim that evaluates how well the author supports the idea that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers; an explanation of the evidence from the article that supports your claim; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | Exploring Venus | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Hispanic/Latino | F | The Challenge of Exploring Venus
Venus, sometimes called the “Evening Star,” is one of the brightest points of light in the night sky, making it simple for even and amateur stargazer to spot. However, this nickname is misleading since Venus is actually a planet. While Venus is simple to see from the distant but safe vantage point of Earth, it has proved a very challenging place to examine more closely.
Often referred to as Earth's “twin,” Venus is the closest planet to Earth in terms of density and size, and occasionally the closest in distance too. Earth, Venus, and Mars, our other planetary neighbor, orbit the sun at different speeds. These differences in speed mean that sometimes we are closer to Mars and other times to Venus. Because Venus is sometimes right around the corner - in space terms - humans have spent numerous spacecraft to land on this cloud-draped world. Each previous mission was unmanned, and for good reason, since no spacecraft survived the landing for more than a few hours. Maybe this issue explains why not a single spaceship has touched down of Venus in more than three decades. Numberous factors contribute to Venus's reputation as a challenging planet for humans to study, despite its proximity to us.
A thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the clouds of highly corrosive sulfuric acid in Venus's atmosphere. On the planet's surface, temperatures average over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet. These conditions are far more extreme than anything humans encounter on Earth; such an environment would crush even a submarine accustomed to diving to the deepest parts of our oceans and would liquefy many metals. Also notable, Venus has the hottest surface temperature of any planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to our sun. Beyond high presure and heat, Venusian geology and weather present additional impediments like erupting volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, and frequent lightning strikes to probes seeking to land on its surface.
If our sister is so inhospitable, why are scientists even discussing further visits to its surface? Astronomers are fascinated by Venus beccause it may well once have been the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. Long ago, Venus was probably covered largely with oceans and could have supported various forms of life, just like Earth. Today, Venus still has some features that are analogous to those on Earth. The planet has a surface of rocky sediment and includes familiar features such as valleys, mountains, and craters. Furthermore, recall that Venus can sometimes be our nearest option for a planetary visit, a crucial consideration given the long time frames of space travel. The value of returning to Venus seems indisputable, but what are the options for making such a mission both safe and scientifically productive?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has one particularly compelling idea for sending humans to study Venus. NASA's possible solution to the hostile conditions on the surface of Venus would allow scientists to float above the fray. Imagine a blimp-like vehicle hovering 30 or so miles above the roiling Venusian landscape. Just as our jet airplanes travel at a higher altitude to fly over many storms, a vehicle hovering over Venus would avoid the unfriendly ground conditions by staying up and out of their way. At thirty-plus miles above the surface, temperatures would still be toasty at around 170 degrees Farenheit, but the air pressure would be close to that of sea level on Earth. Solar power would be plentiful, and radiation would not exceed Earth levels. Not easy conditions, but survivable for humans.
However, peering at Venus from a ship orbiting or hovering safely far above the planet can provide only limited insight on ground conditions rendering standard forms of photography and videography ineffective. More importantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock, gas, or anything else, from a distance. Therefore, scientists seeking to conduct a thorough mission to understand Venus would need to get up close and personal despite the risks. Or maybe we should think of them as challenges. Many researchers are working on innovattions that would allow our machines to last long enough to contribute meaningfully to our knowledge of Venus.
NASA is working on other approaches to studying Venus. For example, some simplified electronics made of silicon carbide have been tested in a chamber simuulating the chaos of Venus's surface and have laster for three weeks in such conditions. Another project is looking back to an old technology called mechanical computers. These devices were first envisioned in the 1800s and played an important role int he 1940s during World War II. The thought of computers existing in those days may sound shocking, but these devices make calculations by using gears and levers and do not require electronics at all. Modern commputers are enormously powerful, flexible, and quick, but tend to be more delicate when it comes to extreme physical conditions. Just imagine exposing a cell phone or tablet to acid or heat capable of melting tin. By comparison, systems that use mechanical parts can be made mroe resistant to pressure, heat, and other forces.
Striving to meet the challenge presented by Venus has value, not only because of the insight to be gained on the planet itself, but also because human curiousity will likely lead us into many equally intimidating endeavors. Our travels on Earth and beyond should not be limited by dangers and doubts but should be expanded to meet the very edges of imagination and innovation. | null | null | null |
AAATRP14318000707581 | 3 | Have you ever taken a Facebook quiz that is supposed to tell you how u feel by looking at your profile and/or after u complete a set of questions? Well people are coming up with better, and better technology everyday. In fact, Dr. Paul Eckman created the "FACS". Which allows Pc's to know how you are feeling just by using a camera. "FACS" will become useful from time to time, and there are many reasons why.
First reason why the "FACS" is useful, is because schools could use the app on computers. For example when students are taking a test, or a quiz on the computer, it could sence if the student is becoming confused, and could change the question into a different one. In addition, this would also be useful when taking test because students could use it to see how a person feels about a certain subject.
Another reason why it is useful, is because is can help prevent attacks in schools, business places, and much more. For instance, if the "FACS" was installed next to the door of the main entrance. The Security would be able to know how the person that is trying to enter is feeling.
In conclusion, the "FACS" could be very useful at times.1 reason being because it could find out what subjects your intrested in and 2 being because it can prevent attacks in important buildings. | In the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile," the author describes how a new technology called the Facial Action Coding System enables computers to identify human emotions. Using details from the article, write an essay arguing whether the use of this technology to read the emotional expressions of students in a classroom is valuable. | Facial action coding system | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Hispanic/Latino | M | Copyright Restricted | null | null | null |
AAAVUP14319000101692 | 2 | The author suggests that studying Venus is worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents a challenging planet for the humans to land on it. In the text it said, "On the planet's surface, temperature average over 800 degrees Farenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet." this explains that the planet Venus is more hot and it's their pressure was 90 times more than the earth. Another in the text it said, "Long ago, Venus was probably covered largely with oceans and could have suppport various forms of life, just like Earth." this explains that the planet has a different form of the earth and it's the reason why Venus is worth to study. In conclusion the author suggests that studying Venus is worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents a challenge planet for the humans to land on it. The author suggests that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents us to have the challenge to study the planet Venus. In the text it said, "Beyond high pressure and heat, Venusian geology and weather present additional impediments like erupting volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, and frequent lighting strikes to probes seeking to land on its surface." this explains that the planet has high pressure and the heat also it adds the weather. Another on the text it said, "More importantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock, gas, or anything else, from a distance." this explains that it's dangerous for the scientists to take anythimg from that planet cause it could be radiation or as different chemicals that scientists didn't know about it. In conclusion the author suggests that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents us to have the challenge to study the planet Venus. | In "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," the author suggests studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents. Using details from the article, write an essay evaluating how well the author supports this idea. Be sure to include: a claim that evaluates how well the author supports the idea that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers; an explanation of the evidence from the article that supports your claim; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | Exploring Venus | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | Yes | Hispanic/Latino | M | The Challenge of Exploring Venus
Venus, sometimes called the “Evening Star,” is one of the brightest points of light in the night sky, making it simple for even and amateur stargazer to spot. However, this nickname is misleading since Venus is actually a planet. While Venus is simple to see from the distant but safe vantage point of Earth, it has proved a very challenging place to examine more closely.
Often referred to as Earth's “twin,” Venus is the closest planet to Earth in terms of density and size, and occasionally the closest in distance too. Earth, Venus, and Mars, our other planetary neighbor, orbit the sun at different speeds. These differences in speed mean that sometimes we are closer to Mars and other times to Venus. Because Venus is sometimes right around the corner - in space terms - humans have spent numerous spacecraft to land on this cloud-draped world. Each previous mission was unmanned, and for good reason, since no spacecraft survived the landing for more than a few hours. Maybe this issue explains why not a single spaceship has touched down of Venus in more than three decades. Numberous factors contribute to Venus's reputation as a challenging planet for humans to study, despite its proximity to us.
A thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the clouds of highly corrosive sulfuric acid in Venus's atmosphere. On the planet's surface, temperatures average over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet. These conditions are far more extreme than anything humans encounter on Earth; such an environment would crush even a submarine accustomed to diving to the deepest parts of our oceans and would liquefy many metals. Also notable, Venus has the hottest surface temperature of any planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to our sun. Beyond high presure and heat, Venusian geology and weather present additional impediments like erupting volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, and frequent lightning strikes to probes seeking to land on its surface.
If our sister is so inhospitable, why are scientists even discussing further visits to its surface? Astronomers are fascinated by Venus beccause it may well once have been the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. Long ago, Venus was probably covered largely with oceans and could have supported various forms of life, just like Earth. Today, Venus still has some features that are analogous to those on Earth. The planet has a surface of rocky sediment and includes familiar features such as valleys, mountains, and craters. Furthermore, recall that Venus can sometimes be our nearest option for a planetary visit, a crucial consideration given the long time frames of space travel. The value of returning to Venus seems indisputable, but what are the options for making such a mission both safe and scientifically productive?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has one particularly compelling idea for sending humans to study Venus. NASA's possible solution to the hostile conditions on the surface of Venus would allow scientists to float above the fray. Imagine a blimp-like vehicle hovering 30 or so miles above the roiling Venusian landscape. Just as our jet airplanes travel at a higher altitude to fly over many storms, a vehicle hovering over Venus would avoid the unfriendly ground conditions by staying up and out of their way. At thirty-plus miles above the surface, temperatures would still be toasty at around 170 degrees Farenheit, but the air pressure would be close to that of sea level on Earth. Solar power would be plentiful, and radiation would not exceed Earth levels. Not easy conditions, but survivable for humans.
However, peering at Venus from a ship orbiting or hovering safely far above the planet can provide only limited insight on ground conditions rendering standard forms of photography and videography ineffective. More importantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock, gas, or anything else, from a distance. Therefore, scientists seeking to conduct a thorough mission to understand Venus would need to get up close and personal despite the risks. Or maybe we should think of them as challenges. Many researchers are working on innovattions that would allow our machines to last long enough to contribute meaningfully to our knowledge of Venus.
NASA is working on other approaches to studying Venus. For example, some simplified electronics made of silicon carbide have been tested in a chamber simuulating the chaos of Venus's surface and have laster for three weeks in such conditions. Another project is looking back to an old technology called mechanical computers. These devices were first envisioned in the 1800s and played an important role int he 1940s during World War II. The thought of computers existing in those days may sound shocking, but these devices make calculations by using gears and levers and do not require electronics at all. Modern commputers are enormously powerful, flexible, and quick, but tend to be more delicate when it comes to extreme physical conditions. Just imagine exposing a cell phone or tablet to acid or heat capable of melting tin. By comparison, systems that use mechanical parts can be made mroe resistant to pressure, heat, and other forces.
Striving to meet the challenge presented by Venus has value, not only because of the insight to be gained on the planet itself, but also because human curiousity will likely lead us into many equally intimidating endeavors. Our travels on Earth and beyond should not be limited by dangers and doubts but should be expanded to meet the very edges of imagination and innovation. | null | null | null |
AAATRP14318000594420 | 3 | Computers can read your mind?! No, not really, but they can tell how you're feeling. A new technolagy created by Dr. Thomas Huang, allows computes to read your facial expresions. In the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile," the author describes how this new technology can be valuable. This technology that we can use to read students emotinal expressions would be valuable.
Because of the students facial expression, the computer can tell if the student is confused from a lesson in class. In the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile," Dr. Huang predicts "A classroom computer could recognize when a student is becoming confused or bored, then it could modify the lesson". If the computer could understand when the student is having a problem and can effectively fix that issue, then this could be the best way to teach. The use of reading students emotional expressions is valuable, because they can be taught better.
eventhough it may not seem praticle to use this technology, students can actualy learn from it. "the process begins when the computer constructs a 3-D comuter model of the face; all 44 major muscles in the model must move like human muscles... Dr. Paul Eckman, creator of FACS(Facial Action Coding Sytsem) has classified six basic emotions -happiness, suprise, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness- and then associated each with characteristic movements of the facial muscles". Eckman's technology has a lot of information studets can learn. The technology is valuable because the students that use it can learn and better understand diffrent facial expresions made by others.
The use of this technology to read students emotional expressions is valuable. it can teach students about other facial expressions, or whatever they are learning in class. With the help of this new technology we can ensure students to have better grades go to better schools, and in the end make the world a much smarter and better place. | In the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile," the author describes how a new technology called the Facial Action Coding System enables computers to identify human emotions. Using details from the article, write an essay arguing whether the use of this technology to read the emotional expressions of students in a classroom is valuable. | Facial action coding system | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | White | M | Copyright Restricted | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000003670 | 3 | If you like to be with animals such as horses than we would sure have a fun time on the SS Charles W. Wooster. We have to help the animals that are being shiped over seas like horses, cattle, and mules.
When we aren't caring for the animals then we are out site seeing or playing games on the boat. In the empty stals the horese, cattle, and mules aren't in we play games like baceball and volleyball they had table tennis tournaments, fencing tournaments, boxing tournaments, they read, and other games that would help pass the time.
This could be a danger if you aren't careful, one time it was raining and I was on nightwatch then I fell and a strip o melat stoped me from falling overboard. I couldn't work for a couple of days due to cracked ribs from me hitting them of the strip of metal.
But it is not all fun and games so if you like hard word you would love the job of being a Seagoing Cowboy, we have to clean out the stalls the horses and cattle and mules were in and that stinks litterily. We have to carry huge bags of oats and other food for the animals, and boy does my back hurt,whew.
But don't get my wrong this job is fun hangging out with friends. If this job sounds apealing then come on over and help we need it a lot. This job is fun, hard, and worth your time, so please come over. | You have just read the article, 'A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves.' Luke's participation in the Seagoing Cowboys program allowed him to experience adventures and visit many unique places. Using information from the article, write an argument from Luke's point of view convincing others to participate in the Seagoing Cowboys program. Be sure to include: reasons to join the program; details from the article to support Luke's claims; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | "A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves" | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Hispanic/Latino | F | A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves
by Peggy Reif Miller
Luke Bomberger crossed the Atlantic Ocean 16 times and the Pacific Ocean twice to help people affected by World War II.
Luke Bomberger had no idea that his life would change soon after his high school graduation. He was working two part-time jobs in a grocery store and a bank when his friend Don Reist invited him to go to Europe on a cattle boat. Luke couldn’t say no. He knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime.
It was 1945, World War II was over in Europe, and many countries were left in ruins. To help these countries recover their food supplies, animals, and more, 44 nations joined together to form UNRRA (the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). UNRRA hired “Seagoing Cowboys” to take care of the horses, young cows, and mules that were shipped overseas. Luke and Don signed up.
Heading Overseas
In August 1945, they received their orders to report to New Orleans. “We arrived August 14,” Luke says, “the day the Pacific war ended.” They got their seaman’s papers and boarded the SS Charles W. Wooster, headed for Greece – with a cargo of 335 horses plus enough hay and oats to feed them.
Luke turned 18 before arriving in Greece, which meant he could be drafted for military service. “When my draft board learned that I was on a cattle-boat trip, they told me to just keep doing that for my service.” By the time he was discharged in 1947, Luke had made nine trips – the most of any Seagoing Cowboy.
“The cattle-boat trips were an unbelievable opportunity for a small-town bow,” he says. “Besides helping people, I had the side benefit of seeing Europe and China. But seeing the Acropolis in Greece was special,” he says. “So was taking a gondola ride in Venice, Italy, a city with streets of water.” Luke also toured an excavated castle in Crete and marveled at the Panama Canal on his way to China.
Traveling the High Seas
It took about two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern coast of the United States and a month to get to China. Caring for the animals during the crossings kept Luke busy. They had to be fed and watered two or three times a day. Bales of hay and bags of oats had to be pulled up from the lower holds of the ship. Stalls had to be cleaned.
Helping out on his aunt Katie’s farm as a boy had prepared Luke for hard work, but not for the dangers at sea. On his second trip, Luke served at night watchman. His job was to check on all the animals every hour. One rainy night, after making his hourly report to the captain, he slid down a slippery ladder on his backside. Luke’s heart raced as he shot feet first toward an opening on the side of the ship. A small strip of metal along the edge stopped his slide, keeping him from flying overboard into the dark Atlantic. He was happy to be alive. But he couldn’t work for a couple of days because of cracked ribs.
Luke also found time to have fun on board, especially on return trips after the animals had been unloaded. The cowboys played baseball and volleyball games in the empty holds where animals had been housed. Table-tennis tournaments, fencing, boxing, reading, whittling, and games also helped pass the time.
But being a Seagoing Cowboy was much more than an adventure for Luke Bomberger. It opened up the world to him. “I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he says. “It made me more aware of people of other countries and their needs.” And that awareness stayed with him, leading his family to host a number of international students and exchange visitors for many years.
“A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves” by Peggy Reif Miller from Highlights for Children Magazine’s October 2013 issue, copyright 2013 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Colombus, Ohio. Used by permission. | null | null | null |
5341681 | 3 | Limit car usage! While you may think having a car is a necessity, others completely disagree. According to the passage -''In
German, life goes on without cars'', street parking, driveways, and home garages are forbidden in a new district on the outskirts of
Frieburg. 70% Vauban families dont own cars and 57% sold there cars just to move. Many find it better this way. For example,Heidren Walter stated- '' When I had a car, I was always tense. I'm much happier this way.''
In Paris, France, there is more smog then any other European capital. According to the passage- ''Paris bans driving due to smog'', drivers were fined and motorists with even numbered license plates were forced to leave there cars at home. Diesal fuel is to blame for warmer layers of air traping car emissians. Delivery companies complained. However, exceptions were made for plug-in car, hybrids, and cars that can hold three or more people. When the smog cleared,the ruling French party rescinded the ban for odd numbered plates. According to the passage-''car- free day is spinning into a big hit in Bogota''- this is the third year cars have been banned, this sets a goal to promote alternative transportation and to decrease smog. This program influenced two other
Colombian cities to join and participate in trying to end all smog. The reduce of cars impacted Colombia in a positive way.
Therefore, causing the air to blossom and the air to blossom and new construction to occur. In the U.S.A, President Obama's goal is to curb the U.S green house gas emissions. According to the passage-'' The end of car culture'', the U.S has peaked its driving miles in 2005 and dropped there after. A recent study found that driving by young people decreased 23% between 2001 and 2009. However the Mobile congress in Barcelona, Spain, laid out a business plan inwhich bicycles, private cars, and public transportation traffic would save time, conserve resources and save energy.
Concluding to all my information, many countries and states are still trying to reduce car usage. Therefore, reducing smog and pollution . This will not only improve the air , it also solves our time, resource, and safety issues. This will help to improve society aswell. Therefore, we can live without cars. | Write an explanatory essay to inform fellow citizens about the advantages of limiting car usage. Your essay must be based on ideas and information that can be found in the passage set. Manage your time carefully so that you can read the passages; plan your response; write your response; and revise and edit your response. Be sure to use evidence from multiple sources; and avoid overly relying on one source. Your response should be in the form of a multiparagraph essay. Write your essay in the space provided. | Car-free cities | null | null | No | Hispanic/Latino | F | In German
Suburb, Life Goes On
Without Cars
by Elisabeth Rosenthal
VAUBAN, Germany—Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going
where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up
their cars.
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental
new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are
completely “car-free”—except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs,
and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two
places to park—large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space,
for $40,000, along with a home.
As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to
move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun
Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of
bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.
Vauban, completed in 2006, is an example of a growing trend in Europe, the United States
and elsewhere to separate suburban life from auto use, as a component of a movement called
“smart planning.”
Automobiles are the linchpin of suburbs, where middle-class families from Chicago to
Shanghai tend to make their homes. And that, experts say, is a huge impediment to current
efforts to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes . . . . Passenger cars are
responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe . . . and up to 50 percent in
some car-intensive areas in the United States.
While there have been efforts in the past two decades to make cities denser, and better for
walking, planners are now taking the concept to the suburbs . . . . Vauban, home to 5,500 residents within a rectangular square mile, may be the most advanced experiment in low-car
suburban life. But its basic precepts are being adopted around the world in attempts to make
suburbs more compact and more accessible to public transportation, with less space for parking.
In this new approach, stores are placed a walk away, on a main street, rather than in malls along
some distant highway.
“All of our development since World War II has been centered on the car, and that will have
to change,” said David Goldberg, an official of Transportation for America, a fast-growing coalition
of hundreds of groups in the United States . . . who are promoting new communities that are less
dependent on cars. Mr. Goldberg added: “How much you drive is as important as whether you
have a hybrid.”
Levittown and Scarsdale, New York suburbs with spread-out homes and private garages,
were the dream towns of the 1950s and still exert a strong appeal. But some new suburbs may
well look more Vauban-like, not only in developed countries but also in the developing world,
where emissions from an increasing number of private cars owned by the burgeoning middle
class are choking cities.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is promoting “car reduced”
communities, and legislators are starting to act, if cautiously. Many experts expect public
transport serving suburbs to play a much larger role in a new six-year federal transportation bill
to be approved this year, Mr. Goldberg said. In previous bills, 80 percent of appropriations have by
law gone to highways and only 20 percent to other transport.
Excerpt from “In German Suburb, Life Goes On
Without Cars” by Elisabeth Rosenthal, from the
New York Times. Copyright © 2009 by the New
York Times Company. Reprinted by permission of
the New York Times Company via Copyright
Clearance Center. | Paris bans
driving due to smog
by Robert Duffer
After days of near-record pollution, Paris enforced a partial driving ban to clear the air of the
global city.
On Monday motorists with even-numbered license plates were ordered to leave their cars at home or suffer a 22-euro fine ($31). The same would apply to odd-numbered plates the following
day.
Almost 4,000 drivers were fined, according to Reuters . . . [Twenty-seven] people had their
cars impounded for their reaction to the fine.
That’s easier to imagine than a car-free Champs-Elysees.
Congestion was down 60 percent in the capital of France, after five-days of intensifying
smog . . . [The smog] rivaled Beijing, China, which is known as one of the most polluted cities in
the world.
Cold nights and warm days caused the warmer layer of air to trap car emissions.
Diesel fuel was blamed, since France has . . . [a] tax policy that favors diesel over gasoline.
Diesels make up 67 percent of vehicles in France, compared to a 53.3 percent average of diesel
engines in the rest of Western Europe, according to Reuters.
Paris typically has more smog than other European capitals . . . [Last] week Paris had 147
micrograms of particulate matter (PM) per cubic meter compared with 114 in Brussels and 79.7
in London, Reuters found.
Delivery companies complained of lost revenue, while exceptions were made for plug-in
cars, hybrids, and cars carrying three or more passengers. Public transit was free of charge from
Friday to Monday, according to the BBC.
The smog cleared enough Monday for the ruling French party to rescind the ban for oddnumbered plates on Tuesday.
Reuters: an international news agency
headquartered in London
Champs-Elysees: a famous street in Paris
congestion: car traffic
Excerpt from “Paris bans driving due to smog” by
Robert Duffer, from the Chicago Tribune.
Copyright © 2014 by the Chicago Tribune.
Reprinted by permission of the Chicago Tribune via
Copyright Clearance Center. | Car-free day is
spinning into a big hit in
Bogota
by Andrew Selsky
BOGOTA, Colombia—In a program that’s set to spread to other countries, millions of
Colombians hiked, biked, skated or took buses to work during a car-free day yesterday, leaving
the streets of this capital city eerily devoid of traffic jams.
It was the third straight year cars have been banned with only buses and taxis permitted for
the Day Without Cars in this capital city of 7 million. The goal is to promote alternative
transportation and reduce smog. Violators faced $25 fines.
The turnout was large, despite gray clouds that dumped occasional rain showers on Bogota.
“The rain hasn’t stopped people from participating,” said Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus . . .
.
“It’s a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution,” said businessman
Carlos Arturo Plaza as he rode a two-seat bicycle with his wife.
For the first time, two other Colombian cities, Cali and Valledupar, joined the event.
Municipal authorities from other countries came to Bogota to see the event and were
enthusiastic. “These people are generating a revolutionary change, and this is crossing borders,”
said Enrique Riera, the mayor of Asunción, Paraguay. . . .
The day without cars is part of an improvement campaign that began in Bogota in the mid1990s. It has seen the construction of 118 miles of bicycle paths, the most of any Latin American
city, according to Mockus, the city’s mayor.
Parks and sports centers also have bloomed throughout the city; uneven, pitted sidewalks
have been replaced by broad, smooth sidewalks; rush-hour restrictions have dramatically cut
traffic; and new restaurants and upscale shopping districts have cropped up.
Excerpt from “Car-free day is spinning into a big
hit in Bogota” by Andrew Selsky, from the Seattle
Times. Copyright © 2002 by the Seattle Times
Company. Reprinted by permission of the Seattle
Times Company via Copyright Clearance Center. | The End of Car
Culture
by Elisabeth Rosenthal
President Obama’s ambitious goals to curb the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions,
unveiled last week, will get a fortuitous assist from an incipient shift in American behavior:
recent studies suggest that Americans are buying fewer cars, driving less and getting fewer
licenses as each year goes by.
That has left researchers pondering a fundamental question: Has America passed peak
driving?
The United States, with its broad expanses and suburban ideals, had long been one of the
world’s prime car cultures. It is the birthplace of the Model T; the home of Detroit; the place
where Wilson Pickett immortalized “Mustang Sally” . . . .
But America’s love affair with its vehicles seems to be cooling. When adjusted for population
growth, the number of miles driven in the United States peaked in 2005 and dropped steadily
thereafter, according to an analysis by Doug Short of Advisor Perspectives, an investment
research company. As of April 2013, the number of miles driven per person was nearly 9 percent
below the peak and equal to where the country was in January 1995. Part of the explanation
certainly lies in the recession, because cash-strapped Americans could not afford new cars, and
the unemployed weren’t going to work anyway. But by many measures the decrease in driving
preceded the downturn and appears to be persisting now that recovery is under way. The next
few years will be telling.
“What most intrigues me is that rates of car ownership per household and per person
started to come down two to three years before the downturn,” said Michael Sivak, who studies
the trend and who is a research professor at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research
Institute. “I think that means something more fundamental is going on.”
If the pattern persists—and many sociologists believe it will—it will have beneficial
implications for carbon emissions and the environment, since transportation is the second largest
source of America’s emissions, just behind power plants. But it could have negative implications
for the car industry. Indeed, companies like Ford and Mercedes are already rebranding themselves
“mobility” companies with a broader product range beyond the personal vehicle.
“Different things are converging which suggest that we are witnessing a long-term cultural
shift,” said Mimi Sheller, a sociology professor at Drexel University and director of its Mobilities
Research and Policy Center. She cites various factors: the Internet makes telecommuting possible
and allows people to feel more connected without driving to meet friends. The renewal of center
cities has made the suburbs less appealing and has drawn empty nesters back in. Likewise the
rise in cellphones and car-pooling apps has facilitated more flexible commuting arrangements,
including the evolution of shared van services for getting to work.
With all these changes, people who stopped car commuting as a result of the recession may
find less reason to resume the habit. . . .
New York’s new bike-sharing program and its skyrocketing bridge and tunnel tolls reflect
those new priorities, as do a proliferation of car-sharing programs across the nation.
Demographic shifts in the driving population suggest that the trend may accelerate. There
has been a large drop in the percentage of 16- to 39-year-olds getting a license, while older
people are likely to retain their licenses as they age, Mr. Sivak’s research has found.
He and I have similar observations about our children. Mine (19 and 21) have not bothered
to get a driver’s license, even though they both live in places where one could come in handy.
They are interested, but it’s not a priority. They organize their summer jobs and social life around
where they can walk or take public transportation or car-pool with friends.
Mr. Sivak’s son lives in San Francisco and has a car but takes Bay Area Rapid Transit, when
he can, even though that often takes longer than driving. “When I was in my 20s and 30s,” Mr.
Sivak said, “I was curious about what kind of car people drove, but young people don’t really
care. A car is just a means of getting from A to B when BART doesn’t work.”
A study last year found that driving by young people decreased 23 percent between 2001
and 2009. . . .
Whether members of the millennial generation will start buying more cars once they have
kids to take to soccer practice and school plays remains an open question. But such projections
have important business implications, even if car buyers are merely older or buying fewer cars in
a lifetime rather than rejecting car culture outright.
At the Mobile World Congress last year in Barcelona, Spain, Bill Ford, executive chairman of
the Ford Motor Company, laid out a business plan for a world in which personal vehicle ownership
is impractical or undesirable. He proposed partnering with the telecommunications industry to
create cities in which “pedestrian, bicycle, private cars, commercial and public transportation
traffic are woven into a connected network to save time, conserve resources, lower emissions and
improve safety.”
incipient: at an initial stage; beginning to happen
or develop
Excerpt from “The End of Car Culture” by
Elisabeth Rosenthal, from the New York Times.
Copyright © 2013 by the New York Times
Company. Reprinted by permission of the New
York Times Company via Copyright Clearance
Center. |
AAATRP14318000791088 | 3 | Are you against of this technology to read people's mind? I am against it because there are people out there that suffer and want to get over their life. If that technology read their mind and the world knows it they will suffer more and never get over it. Also, there are many good reasons to agree it and there are many reasons that I disagree. The technology might ruin every person's life.
In addition, I disagree with this technology because in the text, third paragraph says in order to read the expressions your face bone has to be different, but there are a lot of emotions that people don't show, you might be happy or sad and your face still the same. I don't think that tecnology can comprehend people's emotion and people's mind. Basically, the third paragraph says that emotion are base on your bones but I notice when I am sad, happy, disgust or mind blank my face is the same: a face that's blank minded. Most people can't read my mind and I don't think the technology can either.
Another reason that I don't agree with technology reads mind is because there are people who don't want people to know what's in them. For example, if there's a girl is unhappy and in order to make her friends to be happy she do everything and maybe no one will notice and her friends will be glad for her. If the technology reads her minds and let her knows about it, their friendship might be in chaos and ends.
Also, why I am disagree with it because I remeber one time my teacher told me that science is not always 100%. I don't think this technology is accurate because I notice when one of my friend is sad I can tell by the way she talks but not her expressions. In the text says that not only your facial muscles knows your emotion but also produce them, but what if your bone is twisted and have an unhappy seems face but you are actually happy. The article says that facial muscles produce emotion, I disagree with it because when I feel sad or blank most of the time my facial bones still the same.
In conclusion, this technology shouldn't invented because it might not be accurate and says false about people expresson. This technology can only read expression only by bone but not voice or heart so I don't think it's accurate. That's why we shouldn't use this technology because science is not always 100% correct. We should get to know the person's mind better instead of use technology to know theirs. If you don't know what's in them then, that means relationship is not close and it's better to learn their minds and know each other better. | In the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile," the author describes how a new technology called the Facial Action Coding System enables computers to identify human emotions. Using details from the article, write an essay arguing whether the use of this technology to read the emotional expressions of students in a classroom is valuable. | Facial action coding system | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | Yes | Asian/Pacific Islander | F | Copyright Restricted | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000070708 | 2 | The face on Mars is just a natural landform that gives off the apperance of a human face. Some people agree and some people want to go further in so we did.
The reason that the "face" on Mars is just a natural landform, is because we don't think there is a way that aliens could have made it so there was only one way to find out. We sent in spacecrafts to take pictures and many web surfers were anxious to find out. After all the pictures showed us it was just a natural landform.
Not everyone was satisfied though so we decided to look one more time. When we did, we sent out more spacecrafts and took more pictures and zoom in to the maxium. So, once again it was only a natural landform.
So, after all the research, effort, and photos we took it only turned out to be just a bundle of little landforms clutstered together. "So we were right all along." | You have read the article 'Unmasking the Face on Mars.' Imagine you are a scientist at NASA discussing the Face with someone who thinks it was created by aliens. Using information in the article, write an argumentative essay to convince someone that the Face is just a natural landform.Be sure to include: claims to support your argument that the Face is a natural landform; evidence from the article to support your claims; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | The Face on Mars | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Black/African American | F | Unmasking the Face on Mars
Side by side: a Viking 1 photo from 1975, a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) image from 1998, and the latest MGS image from 2001.
New high-resolution images and 3D altimetry from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft reveal the Face on Mars for what it really is: a mesa.
On May 24, 2001—Twenty five years ago, something funny happened around Mars. NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft was circling the planet, snapping photos of possible landing sites for its sister ship Viking 2, when it spotted the shadowy likeness of a human face. An enormous head nearly two miles from end to end seemed to be staring back at the cameras from a region of the Red Planet called Cydonia.
There must have been a degree of surprise among mission controllers back at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the face appeared on their monitors. But the sensation was short-lived. Scientists figured it was just another Martian mesa, common enough around Cydonia, only this one had unusual shadows that made it look like an Egyptian Pharaoh.
A few days later NASA unveiled the image for all to see. The caption noted a “huge rock formation . . . which resembles a human head . . . formed by shadows giving the illusion of eyes, nose, and mouth.” The authors reasoned it would be a good way to engage the public and attract attention to Mars.
It certainly did!
The “Face on Mars” has since become a pop icon. It has starred in a Hollywood film, appeared in books, magazines, radio talk shows – even haunted grocery store checkout lines for 25 years! Some people think the Face is bona fide evidence of life on Mars – evidence that NASA would rather hide, say conspiracy theorists. Meanwhile, defenders of the NASA budget wish there was an ancient civilization on Mars.
A 1976 Viking 1 photograph of the Face on Mars
Although few scientists believed the Face was an alien artifact, photographing Cydonia became a priority for NASA when Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) arrived at the Red Planet in Sept. 1997, eighteen long years after the Viking missions ended. “We felt this was important to taxpayers,” explained Jim Garvin, chief scientist for NASA’s mars Exploration Program. “We photographed the Face as soon as we could get a good shot at it.”
And so on April 5, 1998, when Mars Global Surveyor flew over Cydonia for the first time, Michael Malin and his Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team snapped a picture ten times sharper than the original Viking photos. Thousands of anxious web surfers were waiting when the image first appeared on a JPL web site, revealing . . . a natural landform. There was no alien monument after all.
But not everyone was satisfied. The Face on Mars is located at 41 degrees north martial latitude where it was winter in April ‘98 – a cloudy time of year on the Red Planet. The camera on board MGS had to peer through wispy clouds to see the Face. Perhaps, said skeptics, alien markings were hidden by haze.
Mission controllers prepared to look again. “It’s not easy to target Cydonia,” says Garvin. “In fact, it’s hard work.” Mars Global Surveyor is a mapping spacecraft that normally looks straight down and scans the planet like a fax machine in narrow 2.5 km-wide strips. “We don’t pass over the Face very often,” he noted.
Nevertheless, on April 8, 2001 – a cloudless summer day in Cydonia – Mars Global Surveyor drew close enough for a second look. “We had to roll the spacecraft 25 degrees to center the Face in the field of view,” said Garvin. “Malin’s team captured an extraordinary photo using the camera’s absolute maximum resolution.” Each pixel in the 2001 image spans 1.56 meters, compared to the 43 meters per pixel in the best 1976 Viking photo.
“As a rule of thumb, you can discern things in a digital image 3 times bigger than the pixel size,” he added. “So, if there were objects in this picture like airplanes on the ground or Egyptian-style pyramids or even small shacks, you could see what they were!”
What the picture actually shows is the Martian equivalent of a butte or mesa – landforms common around the American West. “It reminds me of most of Middle Butte in the Snake River Plain of Idaho,” says Garvin. “That’s a lava dome that takes the form of an isolated mesa about the same height as the Face on Mars.”
Text and photographs courtsey of NASA, “Unmasking the Face on Mars,” May 24, 2001 (retrieved from science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast24may_1/) | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000036471 | 5 | Development of cars will improve our society and make everyday life much easier. People will be much happier and more free with cars that drive them everywhere without worrying about traffic. The advantage of having a car that will talk to you if anything goes wrong is beyond amazing. This break through will lower many accidents and safety always has to be first. The development of cars should be continued further because it will help people with disabilities to go through life easier, the frustrations of always being alert while driving could be made easier, and the technology developing more could lead to other break throughs.
A supporting idea is how people with disabilities alwasy have it harder than others when driving cars. It doesn't matter if your old or even deaf, anybody with a disability will tell you it is harder to drive under circumstances like these. In the deaf world, the deaf people believe that they can do anything a hearing person can do and that is true but in driving accidents happen all the time. Not being able to hear just makes it worse. If someone did not hear a car behind them honking because there is something coming towards the car or the traffic light is green and he hasn't noticed, many things can go wrong at that moment. Having a car that will alert you with flashing lights will be a much safer choice than leaving it to how alert a person is. Everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes but in the development of cars mistakes will be avoided. The mistakes that will be avoided can even save lives. Senior citizens will probably say that having a technology based car that would make it easier for them to get in and out of their car is what they have alwasy wanted. When a person is old and fragile they want to be treated with grace, cars that are more developed will hopefully give their hips a rest from the other cars that are hard to drive and sit in.
Another aspect that will go away with furthur developed cars is the frustrations of a driver always having to be alert. People will make mistakes in driving and with a car that will be watching a driver and ready to correct that mistake, it will make it much more safer for the driver and others that could be potentially hurt from someone's mistake. Accidents can happen in a second and if these futuristic cars can prevent all the deaths each year, then why not furthur develop cars. The developments will have drivers that are at ease. Not always having to be alert and jumpy at the wheel makes everyone happy. The way google uses their cars to have alerts will be perfect for any driver. The story talked about how flashing lights will be put into the cars and sounds to alert the driver of any mishaps. If the technology reaches to even more developments it will be great, for example the drivers will not even have to drive.
The third supporting idea will be how the development of cars could lead to more break throughs in anyway. The cure for cancer could just need a tweak and the develpoment of cars could push that nodge. Yes, cars are totally different than diseases but if one truley thinks about it human beings could begin to furthur develop their brains more in any aspect of technology. Leading forward will have scientists and manufacturers working together in furthur developing cures and even inventions that will help any person with a disability. The help that will be pushed from all this technology just makes the idea of developing these cars more. The technology that will be developed will inspire many things. The break throughs will come from more ideas once developed.
Many people will apose the idea of developing the technology of cars. People believe that people will become lazy but the truth is people are already lazy. Many people die from car accidents and most of the time it is because someone was lazy to focus on the road instead of the radio or forgot that they were drinking. Break throughs with cars will allow people to save lives and put safety fisrt. The development of car should not be stopped but continused because furthur developed cars will help people with disabilities, it will allow alerts to be made for the driver to always be on the watch, it will also lead to other break throughs down the line. Supporting the idea of developing cars should be voted for and people need to realize that change is good. | In the article “Driverless Cars are Coming,” the author presents both positive and negative aspects of driverless cars. Using details from the article, create an argument for or against the development of these cars. Be sure to include: your position on driverless cars; appropriate details from the article that support your position; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | Driverless cars | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | White | F | Driverless Cars Are Coming
Can you imagine a time in the future when no one buys cars because no one needs them anymore? Google cofounder Sergey Brin can. He envisions a future with a public transportation system where fleets of driverless cars form a public-transport taxi system. The cars he foresees would use half the fuel of today’s taxis and offer far more flexibility than a bus. He believes such cars would fundamentally change the world.
Television and movies have long been fascinated with cars that could drive themselves. In reality, Google has had cars that could drive independently under specific conditions since 2009. Their cars have driven more than half a million miles without a crash, but so far, Google cars aren't truly driverless; they still alert the driver to take over when pulling in and out of driveways or dealing with complicated traffic issues, such as navigating through roadwork or accidents. So what roadblocks lie ahead for the autonomous car?
Sensing the World
Let's begin by looking at which companies are making computer-driven cars. Originally, many futurists believed the key to developing self-driving cars someday wasn't so much smarter cars as smarter roads. For example, in the late 1950s, General Motors created a concept car that could run on a special test track. The track was embedded with an electrical cable that sent radio signals to a receiver on the front end of the car. Engineers at Berkeley tried something similar, but they used magnets with alternating polarity. The car read the positive and negative polarity as messages in binary code. These smart-road systems worked surprisingly well, but they required massive upgrades to existing roads, something that was simply too expensive to be practical.
Without the option of smarter roads, manufacturers turned to smarter cars—but how much smarter did the cars need to be? For starters, they needed a whole lot of sensors. Google's modified Toyota Prius uses position-estimating sensors on the left rear wheel, a rotating sensor on the roof, a video camera mounted near the rearview mirror, four automotive radar sensors, a GPS receiver, and an inertial motion sensor. The most important bit of technology in this system is the spinning sensor on the roof. Dubbed LIDAR, it uses laser beams to form a constantly updating 3-D model of the car's surroundings. The combination of all this input is necessary for the driverless car to mimic the skill of a human at the wheel.
Sensors are nothing new, of course. In the 1980s, automakers used speed sensors at the wheels in the creation of antilock brakes. Within 10 years, those sensors had become more advanced to detect and respond to the danger of out-of-control skids or rollovers. The information from the sensors can cause the car to apply brakes on individual wheels and reduce power from the engine, allowing far better response and control than a human driver could manage alone. Further improvements in sensors and computer hardware and software to make driving safer are also leading to cars that can handle more and more driving tasks on their own.
Driving or Assisting?
Antilock brakes and driver assistance still seem a long way from the dream of calling a driverless cab to take us wherever we desire, but Sebastian Thrun, founder of the Google Car project, believes that the technology has finally begun to catch up to the dream. “There was no way, before 2000, to make something interesting. The sensors weren't there, the computers weren't there, and the mapping wasn't there. Radar was a device on a hilltop that cost two hundred million dollars. It wasn't something you could buy at Radio Shack.” So just how driverless will the cars be in the near future?
In 2013, BMW announced the development of “Traffic Jam Assistant.” The car can handle driving functions at speeds up to 25 mph, but special touch sensors make sure the driver keeps hold of the wheel. In fact, none of the cars developed so far are completely driverless. They can steer, accelerate, and brake themselves, but all are designed to notify the driver when the road ahead requires human skills, such as navigating through work zones and around accidents. This means the human driver must remain alert and be ready to take over when the situation requires. This necessitates the car being ready to quickly get the driver's attention whenever a problem occurs. GM has developed driver's seats that vibrate when the vehicle is in danger of backing into an object. The Google car simply announces when the driver should be prepared to take over. Other options under consideration are flashing lights on the windshield and other heads-up displays. Manufacturers are also considering using cameras to watch that drivers are remaining focused on the road. While the driver watches the road, the car watches the driver.
Why would anyone want a driverless car that still needs a driver? Wouldn’t drivers get bored waiting for their turn to drive? “The psychological aspects of automation are really a challenge,” admits Dr. Werner Huber, a BMW project manager driver. “We have to interpret the driving fun in a new way.” Some manufacturers hope to do that by bringing in-car entertainment and information systems that use heads-up displays. Such displays can be turned off instantly when the driver needs to take over—something not available to drivers trying to text with a cell phone. In this way, the in-car system is actually a safety feature, and safety is a big concern.
Waiting on the Law
Most driving laws focus on keeping drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safe, and lawmakers know that safety is best achieved with alert drivers. Presently, traffic laws are written with the assumption that the only safe car has a human driver in control at all times. As a result, in most states it is illegal even to test computer-driven cars. California, Nevada, Florida, and the District of Columbia have led the country in allowing limited use of semi-autonomous cars; manufacturers believe that more states will follow as soon as the cars are proved more reliably safe. Still, even if traffic laws change, new laws will be needed in order to cover liability in the case of an accident. If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault—the driver or the manufacturer?
Automakers are continuing their work on the assumption that the problems ahead will be solved. Tesla has projected a 2016 release for a car capable of driving on autopilot 90 percent of the time. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Nissan plan to have cars that can drive themselves by 2020. The road to the truly autonomous car stretches on ahead of us, but we grow closer to the destination every day. | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000179246 | 3 | Driverless cars is an idea that makes society feel like it is moving forward in the future. Like the iPhone, driverless cars can be a breakthrough for the world, but are they necessary? Do we really need a car that can drive itself and almost have control of our lives in the car? No, I believe that the idea driverless cars is an idea that seems like something we need, but we do not.
Driverless cars have been talked about for a very long time, but we must focus on other breakthroughs in technology. "If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault—the driver or the manufacturer?" This final sentence in paragraph 9 asks us the question that could be brought up countless times when people are injured or killed in a car crash involving a driverless car. People should be able to have full control of their vehicle. In today's world, technology can be reliable, but it is not always perfect. Hackers are a problem too. As society moves forward in technology, everyone does, including people who want to use technology for more bad than good. We also should not be able to take the fun away from learning how to drive, because as we move forward in the idea of driverless cars, soon enough, these car manufacturers will make a car that is completely driverless and that is not safe.
In conclusion, driverless cars are not something we should move forward on too fast. The idea might be a new step in technology, but is the world ready for these types of vehicles? If something fails in a driverless car, who's to blame? Our world should not progress to those questions. Instead we should work on moving forward in different ideas. Though this idea of driverless cars might be inevitable, we must not have them take control of what we do on the road. It is a danger to drivers and pedestrians. | In the article “Driverless Cars are Coming,” the author presents both positive and negative aspects of driverless cars. Using details from the article, create an argument for or against the development of these cars. Be sure to include: your position on driverless cars; appropriate details from the article that support your position; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | Driverless cars | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | null | Black/African American | M | Driverless Cars Are Coming
Can you imagine a time in the future when no one buys cars because no one needs them anymore? Google cofounder Sergey Brin can. He envisions a future with a public transportation system where fleets of driverless cars form a public-transport taxi system. The cars he foresees would use half the fuel of today’s taxis and offer far more flexibility than a bus. He believes such cars would fundamentally change the world.
Television and movies have long been fascinated with cars that could drive themselves. In reality, Google has had cars that could drive independently under specific conditions since 2009. Their cars have driven more than half a million miles without a crash, but so far, Google cars aren't truly driverless; they still alert the driver to take over when pulling in and out of driveways or dealing with complicated traffic issues, such as navigating through roadwork or accidents. So what roadblocks lie ahead for the autonomous car?
Sensing the World
Let's begin by looking at which companies are making computer-driven cars. Originally, many futurists believed the key to developing self-driving cars someday wasn't so much smarter cars as smarter roads. For example, in the late 1950s, General Motors created a concept car that could run on a special test track. The track was embedded with an electrical cable that sent radio signals to a receiver on the front end of the car. Engineers at Berkeley tried something similar, but they used magnets with alternating polarity. The car read the positive and negative polarity as messages in binary code. These smart-road systems worked surprisingly well, but they required massive upgrades to existing roads, something that was simply too expensive to be practical.
Without the option of smarter roads, manufacturers turned to smarter cars—but how much smarter did the cars need to be? For starters, they needed a whole lot of sensors. Google's modified Toyota Prius uses position-estimating sensors on the left rear wheel, a rotating sensor on the roof, a video camera mounted near the rearview mirror, four automotive radar sensors, a GPS receiver, and an inertial motion sensor. The most important bit of technology in this system is the spinning sensor on the roof. Dubbed LIDAR, it uses laser beams to form a constantly updating 3-D model of the car's surroundings. The combination of all this input is necessary for the driverless car to mimic the skill of a human at the wheel.
Sensors are nothing new, of course. In the 1980s, automakers used speed sensors at the wheels in the creation of antilock brakes. Within 10 years, those sensors had become more advanced to detect and respond to the danger of out-of-control skids or rollovers. The information from the sensors can cause the car to apply brakes on individual wheels and reduce power from the engine, allowing far better response and control than a human driver could manage alone. Further improvements in sensors and computer hardware and software to make driving safer are also leading to cars that can handle more and more driving tasks on their own.
Driving or Assisting?
Antilock brakes and driver assistance still seem a long way from the dream of calling a driverless cab to take us wherever we desire, but Sebastian Thrun, founder of the Google Car project, believes that the technology has finally begun to catch up to the dream. “There was no way, before 2000, to make something interesting. The sensors weren't there, the computers weren't there, and the mapping wasn't there. Radar was a device on a hilltop that cost two hundred million dollars. It wasn't something you could buy at Radio Shack.” So just how driverless will the cars be in the near future?
In 2013, BMW announced the development of “Traffic Jam Assistant.” The car can handle driving functions at speeds up to 25 mph, but special touch sensors make sure the driver keeps hold of the wheel. In fact, none of the cars developed so far are completely driverless. They can steer, accelerate, and brake themselves, but all are designed to notify the driver when the road ahead requires human skills, such as navigating through work zones and around accidents. This means the human driver must remain alert and be ready to take over when the situation requires. This necessitates the car being ready to quickly get the driver's attention whenever a problem occurs. GM has developed driver's seats that vibrate when the vehicle is in danger of backing into an object. The Google car simply announces when the driver should be prepared to take over. Other options under consideration are flashing lights on the windshield and other heads-up displays. Manufacturers are also considering using cameras to watch that drivers are remaining focused on the road. While the driver watches the road, the car watches the driver.
Why would anyone want a driverless car that still needs a driver? Wouldn’t drivers get bored waiting for their turn to drive? “The psychological aspects of automation are really a challenge,” admits Dr. Werner Huber, a BMW project manager driver. “We have to interpret the driving fun in a new way.” Some manufacturers hope to do that by bringing in-car entertainment and information systems that use heads-up displays. Such displays can be turned off instantly when the driver needs to take over—something not available to drivers trying to text with a cell phone. In this way, the in-car system is actually a safety feature, and safety is a big concern.
Waiting on the Law
Most driving laws focus on keeping drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safe, and lawmakers know that safety is best achieved with alert drivers. Presently, traffic laws are written with the assumption that the only safe car has a human driver in control at all times. As a result, in most states it is illegal even to test computer-driven cars. California, Nevada, Florida, and the District of Columbia have led the country in allowing limited use of semi-autonomous cars; manufacturers believe that more states will follow as soon as the cars are proved more reliably safe. Still, even if traffic laws change, new laws will be needed in order to cover liability in the case of an accident. If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault—the driver or the manufacturer?
Automakers are continuing their work on the assumption that the problems ahead will be solved. Tesla has projected a 2016 release for a car capable of driving on autopilot 90 percent of the time. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Nissan plan to have cars that can drive themselves by 2020. The road to the truly autonomous car stretches on ahead of us, but we grow closer to the destination every day. | null | null | null |
AAAVUP14319000123404 | 3 | Do u ever want to go exploring Venus? Venus is a planet in our solar system. Venus is very challenging place to go. Earth and Venus are close bye. Venus is called the evening star one if the brightest point of light in the night sky. Venus is fun place to go exploring. Venus is the second planet from our sun.
Exploring planet is very danger. People can be die by exploring or can get injury. Its is so imporant. If some thing wrong people have to give their life away. In pargrpah 3" a thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the clouds of highly corrosive sulfuric acid in Venus's atmoosphere." When you are going to exploring venus or othe planet you have to be careful. When some thing happend you will give you life away. Its so imporant
Theres some people name NASA they have explored Venus or other planet. They said that some simplified electronics mad of silicon carbide have been tested in chamber simulating the chaos of venus suface. They have a devices were first envisioned in the 1800s and played an important role in the 1440s during World War 2. Venus systems that used mechanical parts can be made mor resistant to pressure,heat,and other forces.
When you get to Venus you are flying you can't walk. The Venus a ship orbiting or hovering safely far abouve the planet can provide only limited insight on ground. In pargrpah 6" More mportantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock,gas,or anything else from a distance. Many researchers are working on innovations that would allow our machines to last long enough to contribute meaningfully to our knowledge of Venus.
I'll love to go explored Venus it look fun. Explored another planet is good you can learn new thing. You don't have to walk you will be fly so it will be fun. It will be danger but u cant get new thing or learn new thing. I'll love to explored . | In "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," the author suggests studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents. Using details from the article, write an essay evaluating how well the author supports this idea. Be sure to include: a claim that evaluates how well the author supports the idea that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers; an explanation of the evidence from the article that supports your claim; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | Exploring Venus | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | Yes | Asian/Pacific Islander | M | The Challenge of Exploring Venus
Venus, sometimes called the “Evening Star,” is one of the brightest points of light in the night sky, making it simple for even and amateur stargazer to spot. However, this nickname is misleading since Venus is actually a planet. While Venus is simple to see from the distant but safe vantage point of Earth, it has proved a very challenging place to examine more closely.
Often referred to as Earth's “twin,” Venus is the closest planet to Earth in terms of density and size, and occasionally the closest in distance too. Earth, Venus, and Mars, our other planetary neighbor, orbit the sun at different speeds. These differences in speed mean that sometimes we are closer to Mars and other times to Venus. Because Venus is sometimes right around the corner - in space terms - humans have spent numerous spacecraft to land on this cloud-draped world. Each previous mission was unmanned, and for good reason, since no spacecraft survived the landing for more than a few hours. Maybe this issue explains why not a single spaceship has touched down of Venus in more than three decades. Numberous factors contribute to Venus's reputation as a challenging planet for humans to study, despite its proximity to us.
A thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the clouds of highly corrosive sulfuric acid in Venus's atmosphere. On the planet's surface, temperatures average over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet. These conditions are far more extreme than anything humans encounter on Earth; such an environment would crush even a submarine accustomed to diving to the deepest parts of our oceans and would liquefy many metals. Also notable, Venus has the hottest surface temperature of any planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to our sun. Beyond high presure and heat, Venusian geology and weather present additional impediments like erupting volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, and frequent lightning strikes to probes seeking to land on its surface.
If our sister is so inhospitable, why are scientists even discussing further visits to its surface? Astronomers are fascinated by Venus beccause it may well once have been the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. Long ago, Venus was probably covered largely with oceans and could have supported various forms of life, just like Earth. Today, Venus still has some features that are analogous to those on Earth. The planet has a surface of rocky sediment and includes familiar features such as valleys, mountains, and craters. Furthermore, recall that Venus can sometimes be our nearest option for a planetary visit, a crucial consideration given the long time frames of space travel. The value of returning to Venus seems indisputable, but what are the options for making such a mission both safe and scientifically productive?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has one particularly compelling idea for sending humans to study Venus. NASA's possible solution to the hostile conditions on the surface of Venus would allow scientists to float above the fray. Imagine a blimp-like vehicle hovering 30 or so miles above the roiling Venusian landscape. Just as our jet airplanes travel at a higher altitude to fly over many storms, a vehicle hovering over Venus would avoid the unfriendly ground conditions by staying up and out of their way. At thirty-plus miles above the surface, temperatures would still be toasty at around 170 degrees Farenheit, but the air pressure would be close to that of sea level on Earth. Solar power would be plentiful, and radiation would not exceed Earth levels. Not easy conditions, but survivable for humans.
However, peering at Venus from a ship orbiting or hovering safely far above the planet can provide only limited insight on ground conditions rendering standard forms of photography and videography ineffective. More importantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock, gas, or anything else, from a distance. Therefore, scientists seeking to conduct a thorough mission to understand Venus would need to get up close and personal despite the risks. Or maybe we should think of them as challenges. Many researchers are working on innovattions that would allow our machines to last long enough to contribute meaningfully to our knowledge of Venus.
NASA is working on other approaches to studying Venus. For example, some simplified electronics made of silicon carbide have been tested in a chamber simuulating the chaos of Venus's surface and have laster for three weeks in such conditions. Another project is looking back to an old technology called mechanical computers. These devices were first envisioned in the 1800s and played an important role int he 1940s during World War II. The thought of computers existing in those days may sound shocking, but these devices make calculations by using gears and levers and do not require electronics at all. Modern commputers are enormously powerful, flexible, and quick, but tend to be more delicate when it comes to extreme physical conditions. Just imagine exposing a cell phone or tablet to acid or heat capable of melting tin. By comparison, systems that use mechanical parts can be made mroe resistant to pressure, heat, and other forces.
Striving to meet the challenge presented by Venus has value, not only because of the insight to be gained on the planet itself, but also because human curiousity will likely lead us into many equally intimidating endeavors. Our travels on Earth and beyond should not be limited by dangers and doubts but should be expanded to meet the very edges of imagination and innovation. | null | null | null |
AAAVUP14319000093942 | 3 | The planet of Venus is one of the most intresting planets in our solar system. Being that it is our sister planet and closest to us, scientist want to study this planet more. The only issue they have is the conditions, Venus is a very harsh planet. But
scientist do not want to see this as an ending point. It is the closest planet to us. We have landed things on that planet before and it also means its another step forward into space exploration.
Venus is the closest planet to us in our solar system. It's even visible from the night sky on Earth. Being that it is so close to us, our scientist want to study the planet more. The only issue is the conditions on Venus. Many of the ships that we have landed there have only lasted a few hours due to the harsh conditions. scientist are looking for ways to make them last longer and theres been ideas.
The author explains many great ideas astronomers and scientist have come up with. Theres been thoughts about using old technology instead of computers so that they last longer. Theres thoughts about being at a high altitude to avoid many of the harsh conditions on the ground. Old technology would be more useful to study Venus because they aren't as delicate as computers. This would help astronomers with studying the planet. Many ideas are still being thought of and the author has hope that scientist will overcome the obstecles.
Humans have overcome many challenges and the author says that space exploration is just the next big challenge to face. He states in the text that Venus would be one of the best ideas for space exploration because how similar it is to Earth and hopes that we will be able to visit the planet someday. The author also says that dangers shouldn't be an excuse for us not to go. He wants to give hope for humans and find a way to get passed the dangers of the planet. Human curiosity is also another reason mankind will vistit Venus, the author knows how far curiosity has gotten us and he hopes it will get us farther.
This comes to that Venus could be the next focus for space explorataion. Scientist will be able to study the planet easier. Human will someday visit Venus. The author has many good reasons why Venus should be studied more. | In "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," the author suggests studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents. Using details from the article, write an essay evaluating how well the author supports this idea. Be sure to include: a claim that evaluates how well the author supports the idea that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers; an explanation of the evidence from the article that supports your claim; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | Exploring Venus | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Hispanic/Latino | M | The Challenge of Exploring Venus
Venus, sometimes called the “Evening Star,” is one of the brightest points of light in the night sky, making it simple for even and amateur stargazer to spot. However, this nickname is misleading since Venus is actually a planet. While Venus is simple to see from the distant but safe vantage point of Earth, it has proved a very challenging place to examine more closely.
Often referred to as Earth's “twin,” Venus is the closest planet to Earth in terms of density and size, and occasionally the closest in distance too. Earth, Venus, and Mars, our other planetary neighbor, orbit the sun at different speeds. These differences in speed mean that sometimes we are closer to Mars and other times to Venus. Because Venus is sometimes right around the corner - in space terms - humans have spent numerous spacecraft to land on this cloud-draped world. Each previous mission was unmanned, and for good reason, since no spacecraft survived the landing for more than a few hours. Maybe this issue explains why not a single spaceship has touched down of Venus in more than three decades. Numberous factors contribute to Venus's reputation as a challenging planet for humans to study, despite its proximity to us.
A thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the clouds of highly corrosive sulfuric acid in Venus's atmosphere. On the planet's surface, temperatures average over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet. These conditions are far more extreme than anything humans encounter on Earth; such an environment would crush even a submarine accustomed to diving to the deepest parts of our oceans and would liquefy many metals. Also notable, Venus has the hottest surface temperature of any planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to our sun. Beyond high presure and heat, Venusian geology and weather present additional impediments like erupting volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, and frequent lightning strikes to probes seeking to land on its surface.
If our sister is so inhospitable, why are scientists even discussing further visits to its surface? Astronomers are fascinated by Venus beccause it may well once have been the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. Long ago, Venus was probably covered largely with oceans and could have supported various forms of life, just like Earth. Today, Venus still has some features that are analogous to those on Earth. The planet has a surface of rocky sediment and includes familiar features such as valleys, mountains, and craters. Furthermore, recall that Venus can sometimes be our nearest option for a planetary visit, a crucial consideration given the long time frames of space travel. The value of returning to Venus seems indisputable, but what are the options for making such a mission both safe and scientifically productive?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has one particularly compelling idea for sending humans to study Venus. NASA's possible solution to the hostile conditions on the surface of Venus would allow scientists to float above the fray. Imagine a blimp-like vehicle hovering 30 or so miles above the roiling Venusian landscape. Just as our jet airplanes travel at a higher altitude to fly over many storms, a vehicle hovering over Venus would avoid the unfriendly ground conditions by staying up and out of their way. At thirty-plus miles above the surface, temperatures would still be toasty at around 170 degrees Farenheit, but the air pressure would be close to that of sea level on Earth. Solar power would be plentiful, and radiation would not exceed Earth levels. Not easy conditions, but survivable for humans.
However, peering at Venus from a ship orbiting or hovering safely far above the planet can provide only limited insight on ground conditions rendering standard forms of photography and videography ineffective. More importantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock, gas, or anything else, from a distance. Therefore, scientists seeking to conduct a thorough mission to understand Venus would need to get up close and personal despite the risks. Or maybe we should think of them as challenges. Many researchers are working on innovattions that would allow our machines to last long enough to contribute meaningfully to our knowledge of Venus.
NASA is working on other approaches to studying Venus. For example, some simplified electronics made of silicon carbide have been tested in a chamber simuulating the chaos of Venus's surface and have laster for three weeks in such conditions. Another project is looking back to an old technology called mechanical computers. These devices were first envisioned in the 1800s and played an important role int he 1940s during World War II. The thought of computers existing in those days may sound shocking, but these devices make calculations by using gears and levers and do not require electronics at all. Modern commputers are enormously powerful, flexible, and quick, but tend to be more delicate when it comes to extreme physical conditions. Just imagine exposing a cell phone or tablet to acid or heat capable of melting tin. By comparison, systems that use mechanical parts can be made mroe resistant to pressure, heat, and other forces.
Striving to meet the challenge presented by Venus has value, not only because of the insight to be gained on the planet itself, but also because human curiousity will likely lead us into many equally intimidating endeavors. Our travels on Earth and beyond should not be limited by dangers and doubts but should be expanded to meet the very edges of imagination and innovation. | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000217736 | 3 | People should participate in the Seagoing Cowboy program because you will get travel the world and go different places. People should also participate in the Seagoing Cowboy program because people can spend time with animals.You will have a great time at the Seagoing Cowboy program
You can travel many places if you participate in the Seagoing Cowboy promgram.The text states Luke turned 18 before arriving in Geece. The text also states, In August 1945,they received their orders to report to New Orleans.The text also states, It took about two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern coast of the United States and a month to get to China.This shows that you will travel many place at the Seagoing Cowboy program.
In the Seagoing Cowboy program you will also be with animals.The text states, UNRRA hired " Seagoing Cowboys"to take care of the hores,young cows, and mules that were shipped overseas. The text also states, Caring for the animals during the crossing kept Luke busy. They had to be fed and watered two or three times a day.The text also states, His job was to check on all the animals every hour.This shows that on the Seagoing Cowboy program you can be with animals.
This is why you should participate in the Seagoing Cowboy program because you will travel the world. If you participate you will be with some animals.If you participate you will have a lot of fun at the Seagoing Cowboy program.This will be a great time for you. | You have just read the article, 'A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves.' Luke's participation in the Seagoing Cowboys program allowed him to experience adventures and visit many unique places. Using information from the article, write an argument from Luke's point of view convincing others to participate in the Seagoing Cowboys program. Be sure to include: reasons to join the program; details from the article to support Luke's claims; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | "A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves" | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Black/African American | M | A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves
by Peggy Reif Miller
Luke Bomberger crossed the Atlantic Ocean 16 times and the Pacific Ocean twice to help people affected by World War II.
Luke Bomberger had no idea that his life would change soon after his high school graduation. He was working two part-time jobs in a grocery store and a bank when his friend Don Reist invited him to go to Europe on a cattle boat. Luke couldn’t say no. He knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime.
It was 1945, World War II was over in Europe, and many countries were left in ruins. To help these countries recover their food supplies, animals, and more, 44 nations joined together to form UNRRA (the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). UNRRA hired “Seagoing Cowboys” to take care of the horses, young cows, and mules that were shipped overseas. Luke and Don signed up.
Heading Overseas
In August 1945, they received their orders to report to New Orleans. “We arrived August 14,” Luke says, “the day the Pacific war ended.” They got their seaman’s papers and boarded the SS Charles W. Wooster, headed for Greece – with a cargo of 335 horses plus enough hay and oats to feed them.
Luke turned 18 before arriving in Greece, which meant he could be drafted for military service. “When my draft board learned that I was on a cattle-boat trip, they told me to just keep doing that for my service.” By the time he was discharged in 1947, Luke had made nine trips – the most of any Seagoing Cowboy.
“The cattle-boat trips were an unbelievable opportunity for a small-town bow,” he says. “Besides helping people, I had the side benefit of seeing Europe and China. But seeing the Acropolis in Greece was special,” he says. “So was taking a gondola ride in Venice, Italy, a city with streets of water.” Luke also toured an excavated castle in Crete and marveled at the Panama Canal on his way to China.
Traveling the High Seas
It took about two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern coast of the United States and a month to get to China. Caring for the animals during the crossings kept Luke busy. They had to be fed and watered two or three times a day. Bales of hay and bags of oats had to be pulled up from the lower holds of the ship. Stalls had to be cleaned.
Helping out on his aunt Katie’s farm as a boy had prepared Luke for hard work, but not for the dangers at sea. On his second trip, Luke served at night watchman. His job was to check on all the animals every hour. One rainy night, after making his hourly report to the captain, he slid down a slippery ladder on his backside. Luke’s heart raced as he shot feet first toward an opening on the side of the ship. A small strip of metal along the edge stopped his slide, keeping him from flying overboard into the dark Atlantic. He was happy to be alive. But he couldn’t work for a couple of days because of cracked ribs.
Luke also found time to have fun on board, especially on return trips after the animals had been unloaded. The cowboys played baseball and volleyball games in the empty holds where animals had been housed. Table-tennis tournaments, fencing, boxing, reading, whittling, and games also helped pass the time.
But being a Seagoing Cowboy was much more than an adventure for Luke Bomberger. It opened up the world to him. “I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he says. “It made me more aware of people of other countries and their needs.” And that awareness stayed with him, leading his family to host a number of international students and exchange visitors for many years.
“A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves” by Peggy Reif Miller from Highlights for Children Magazine’s October 2013 issue, copyright 2013 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Colombus, Ohio. Used by permission. | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000020266 | 3 | I think you should join the Seagoing Cowboys Program. If you think you shouldn't I will give you two
very good reasons why you should. But remember it's a once in a life time thing.
First of if your the kind of person that likes to save the community or help others this is the perfect job for it. If get you join the club you'll be saving lots of animals, people, plants,and habitats. The cows can be saved by building a farm. The animals like dear, wolfs, and squirrels and all the other animals can be saved by the forest. Sharks and fish and the other sea living animals can be saved by not putting polluted thing in the water. Snakes and the coyotes can be saved by helping the desert animals.
Second, if your the kind of guy or women that likes to climb, or go on journeys, and swim then this also the perfect club. You'll go climb mountains and sail on huge boats and for fun catch fish.
Those are the two amazing reasons now i'll see you there hope you have fun! | You have just read the article, 'A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves.' Luke's participation in the Seagoing Cowboys program allowed him to experience adventures and visit many unique places. Using information from the article, write an argument from Luke's point of view convincing others to participate in the Seagoing Cowboys program. Be sure to include: reasons to join the program; details from the article to support Luke's claims; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | "A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves" | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Black/African American | M | A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves
by Peggy Reif Miller
Luke Bomberger crossed the Atlantic Ocean 16 times and the Pacific Ocean twice to help people affected by World War II.
Luke Bomberger had no idea that his life would change soon after his high school graduation. He was working two part-time jobs in a grocery store and a bank when his friend Don Reist invited him to go to Europe on a cattle boat. Luke couldn’t say no. He knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime.
It was 1945, World War II was over in Europe, and many countries were left in ruins. To help these countries recover their food supplies, animals, and more, 44 nations joined together to form UNRRA (the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). UNRRA hired “Seagoing Cowboys” to take care of the horses, young cows, and mules that were shipped overseas. Luke and Don signed up.
Heading Overseas
In August 1945, they received their orders to report to New Orleans. “We arrived August 14,” Luke says, “the day the Pacific war ended.” They got their seaman’s papers and boarded the SS Charles W. Wooster, headed for Greece – with a cargo of 335 horses plus enough hay and oats to feed them.
Luke turned 18 before arriving in Greece, which meant he could be drafted for military service. “When my draft board learned that I was on a cattle-boat trip, they told me to just keep doing that for my service.” By the time he was discharged in 1947, Luke had made nine trips – the most of any Seagoing Cowboy.
“The cattle-boat trips were an unbelievable opportunity for a small-town bow,” he says. “Besides helping people, I had the side benefit of seeing Europe and China. But seeing the Acropolis in Greece was special,” he says. “So was taking a gondola ride in Venice, Italy, a city with streets of water.” Luke also toured an excavated castle in Crete and marveled at the Panama Canal on his way to China.
Traveling the High Seas
It took about two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern coast of the United States and a month to get to China. Caring for the animals during the crossings kept Luke busy. They had to be fed and watered two or three times a day. Bales of hay and bags of oats had to be pulled up from the lower holds of the ship. Stalls had to be cleaned.
Helping out on his aunt Katie’s farm as a boy had prepared Luke for hard work, but not for the dangers at sea. On his second trip, Luke served at night watchman. His job was to check on all the animals every hour. One rainy night, after making his hourly report to the captain, he slid down a slippery ladder on his backside. Luke’s heart raced as he shot feet first toward an opening on the side of the ship. A small strip of metal along the edge stopped his slide, keeping him from flying overboard into the dark Atlantic. He was happy to be alive. But he couldn’t work for a couple of days because of cracked ribs.
Luke also found time to have fun on board, especially on return trips after the animals had been unloaded. The cowboys played baseball and volleyball games in the empty holds where animals had been housed. Table-tennis tournaments, fencing, boxing, reading, whittling, and games also helped pass the time.
But being a Seagoing Cowboy was much more than an adventure for Luke Bomberger. It opened up the world to him. “I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he says. “It made me more aware of people of other countries and their needs.” And that awareness stayed with him, leading his family to host a number of international students and exchange visitors for many years.
“A Cowboy Who Rode the Waves” by Peggy Reif Miller from Highlights for Children Magazine’s October 2013 issue, copyright 2013 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Colombus, Ohio. Used by permission. | null | null | null |
AAATRP14318000192573 | 3 | Facial action coding systems on computers in classrooms would be a very helpful tool. Some classes wouldn't even need teachers any longer. When the student looks confused the computer could change up the lesson or help you out. If the student is smiling the computer could tell they are doing well and move them on to the next lesson in the chapter. It would be very helpful to schools around the United states to have the Facial actions coding system.
According to the text the facial action coding system can identify six different emotions, happiness, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness. When your cheek muscles are raised and your eyes are slightly squinted the computer can tell that you are smiling and are happy. If your eyes are norma;l and your mouth is just opened side to side then the compuer knows it is a fake smile. If your eyebrows are raised up than you are surprised. When your eyebrows are sloped downward towards your nose and your lips are tightened it shows anger and the computer will know you are angry with the lesson. When your fearfull maybe the computer can sense that your lip is trembling or your eyes are looking around a lot.
in conclusion, The facial action coding system would be very helpful to schools and students around the world. it could even possibly be a very important part of our everyday life. Kids might go to school and their teacher may be a computer. Schools would save money in the long run not having to employ teaching staff year round. Students could learn better because the computer could adjust the lesson if they are confused or it is to easy for them. When kids are angry the computer could play a short but relaxing video to calm them down and give them examples on the lesson. | In the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile," the author describes how a new technology called the Facial Action Coding System enables computers to identify human emotions. Using details from the article, write an essay arguing whether the use of this technology to read the emotional expressions of students in a classroom is valuable. | Facial action coding system | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | White | M | Copyright Restricted | null | null | null |
5179277 | 3 | The invention of the automobile was one of the most important inventions of all time. Everyone uses cars! They're everywhere! But what are the effects of car emissions? Are they even worth using if they cause negative effects on people and our environment? Many people are trying to cut back on driving, or even live without cars. Why are they doing this? Well, let me inform you about some of the advanrtages of limited car usage throughout the world.
In Vauban, Germany, there is a suburb where people have decided to ban cars all together. The neighborhood roads are completely car-free and even having a garage is usually not allowed. About 5500 people live in this suburb and 70% of these people do not own cars. For the other 30%, there is a parking garage that is located on the edge of the community that requires a $40,000 payment to use. This trend is growing immensely in Europe and there could quite possibly be several communites that would mirror Vauban and what it is all about. This effort to ban cars is based on the idea of reducing pollution as well as reducing stress, and many members of the community insist they live happier and less stressful lives since moving into Vauban.
Bogota, Columbia is the home to nearly 7 million people, and in Bogota there is an annual car-free day, with hopes to reduce smog and promote alternative transportation. There is also hope that this idea will spread to other cities and to other countries around the world. For the people who decide not to participate in the annual car-free day, a fine of $25 would be handed out. This "holiday" if you will, could be revolutionary potentially and if implemented year round, could really put a dent in the ammount of pollution throughout the city. Even the mayor of Asuncion, Paraguay revered the program, saying it is "generating a revolutionary change".
Officials in Paris, France put a partial driving ban on the city in an effort to reduce smog in the city. The ban worked like this, on Monday, drivers with even-numbered license plates would not be allowed on the road. The next day, it would be the drivers eith odd-numbered license plates that would have to leave their cars at home. Nearly 4000 people were fined due to the enforcement of this ban, for somewhere around $120,000 total. The strictness of the ban was due to the seriousness of the smog and the fact that it was intensifying. The dissapearance of the smog resulted in loosening of the ban and less negative feedback from drivers.
As you can see, these places have been limiting car usage and found at least some sort of benefit from doing so. Maybe if these restrictions or all together bans were implemented in more places, pollution in the world would be hindered. | Write an explanatory essay to inform fellow citizens about the advantages of limiting car usage. Your essay must be based on ideas and information that can be found in the passage set. Manage your time carefully so that you can read the passages; plan your response; write your response; and revise and edit your response. Be sure to use evidence from multiple sources; and avoid overly relying on one source. Your response should be in the form of a multiparagraph essay. Write your essay in the space provided. | Car-free cities | null | null | No | White | M | In German
Suburb, Life Goes On
Without Cars
by Elisabeth Rosenthal
VAUBAN, Germany—Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going
where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up
their cars.
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental
new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are
completely “car-free”—except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs,
and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two
places to park—large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space,
for $40,000, along with a home.
As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to
move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun
Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of
bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.
Vauban, completed in 2006, is an example of a growing trend in Europe, the United States
and elsewhere to separate suburban life from auto use, as a component of a movement called
“smart planning.”
Automobiles are the linchpin of suburbs, where middle-class families from Chicago to
Shanghai tend to make their homes. And that, experts say, is a huge impediment to current
efforts to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes . . . . Passenger cars are
responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe . . . and up to 50 percent in
some car-intensive areas in the United States.
While there have been efforts in the past two decades to make cities denser, and better for
walking, planners are now taking the concept to the suburbs . . . . Vauban, home to 5,500 residents within a rectangular square mile, may be the most advanced experiment in low-car
suburban life. But its basic precepts are being adopted around the world in attempts to make
suburbs more compact and more accessible to public transportation, with less space for parking.
In this new approach, stores are placed a walk away, on a main street, rather than in malls along
some distant highway.
“All of our development since World War II has been centered on the car, and that will have
to change,” said David Goldberg, an official of Transportation for America, a fast-growing coalition
of hundreds of groups in the United States . . . who are promoting new communities that are less
dependent on cars. Mr. Goldberg added: “How much you drive is as important as whether you
have a hybrid.”
Levittown and Scarsdale, New York suburbs with spread-out homes and private garages,
were the dream towns of the 1950s and still exert a strong appeal. But some new suburbs may
well look more Vauban-like, not only in developed countries but also in the developing world,
where emissions from an increasing number of private cars owned by the burgeoning middle
class are choking cities.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is promoting “car reduced”
communities, and legislators are starting to act, if cautiously. Many experts expect public
transport serving suburbs to play a much larger role in a new six-year federal transportation bill
to be approved this year, Mr. Goldberg said. In previous bills, 80 percent of appropriations have by
law gone to highways and only 20 percent to other transport.
Excerpt from “In German Suburb, Life Goes On
Without Cars” by Elisabeth Rosenthal, from the
New York Times. Copyright © 2009 by the New
York Times Company. Reprinted by permission of
the New York Times Company via Copyright
Clearance Center. | Paris bans
driving due to smog
by Robert Duffer
After days of near-record pollution, Paris enforced a partial driving ban to clear the air of the
global city.
On Monday motorists with even-numbered license plates were ordered to leave their cars at home or suffer a 22-euro fine ($31). The same would apply to odd-numbered plates the following
day.
Almost 4,000 drivers were fined, according to Reuters . . . [Twenty-seven] people had their
cars impounded for their reaction to the fine.
That’s easier to imagine than a car-free Champs-Elysees.
Congestion was down 60 percent in the capital of France, after five-days of intensifying
smog . . . [The smog] rivaled Beijing, China, which is known as one of the most polluted cities in
the world.
Cold nights and warm days caused the warmer layer of air to trap car emissions.
Diesel fuel was blamed, since France has . . . [a] tax policy that favors diesel over gasoline.
Diesels make up 67 percent of vehicles in France, compared to a 53.3 percent average of diesel
engines in the rest of Western Europe, according to Reuters.
Paris typically has more smog than other European capitals . . . [Last] week Paris had 147
micrograms of particulate matter (PM) per cubic meter compared with 114 in Brussels and 79.7
in London, Reuters found.
Delivery companies complained of lost revenue, while exceptions were made for plug-in
cars, hybrids, and cars carrying three or more passengers. Public transit was free of charge from
Friday to Monday, according to the BBC.
The smog cleared enough Monday for the ruling French party to rescind the ban for oddnumbered plates on Tuesday.
Reuters: an international news agency
headquartered in London
Champs-Elysees: a famous street in Paris
congestion: car traffic
Excerpt from “Paris bans driving due to smog” by
Robert Duffer, from the Chicago Tribune.
Copyright © 2014 by the Chicago Tribune.
Reprinted by permission of the Chicago Tribune via
Copyright Clearance Center. | Car-free day is
spinning into a big hit in
Bogota
by Andrew Selsky
BOGOTA, Colombia—In a program that’s set to spread to other countries, millions of
Colombians hiked, biked, skated or took buses to work during a car-free day yesterday, leaving
the streets of this capital city eerily devoid of traffic jams.
It was the third straight year cars have been banned with only buses and taxis permitted for
the Day Without Cars in this capital city of 7 million. The goal is to promote alternative
transportation and reduce smog. Violators faced $25 fines.
The turnout was large, despite gray clouds that dumped occasional rain showers on Bogota.
“The rain hasn’t stopped people from participating,” said Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus . . .
.
“It’s a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution,” said businessman
Carlos Arturo Plaza as he rode a two-seat bicycle with his wife.
For the first time, two other Colombian cities, Cali and Valledupar, joined the event.
Municipal authorities from other countries came to Bogota to see the event and were
enthusiastic. “These people are generating a revolutionary change, and this is crossing borders,”
said Enrique Riera, the mayor of Asunción, Paraguay. . . .
The day without cars is part of an improvement campaign that began in Bogota in the mid1990s. It has seen the construction of 118 miles of bicycle paths, the most of any Latin American
city, according to Mockus, the city’s mayor.
Parks and sports centers also have bloomed throughout the city; uneven, pitted sidewalks
have been replaced by broad, smooth sidewalks; rush-hour restrictions have dramatically cut
traffic; and new restaurants and upscale shopping districts have cropped up.
Excerpt from “Car-free day is spinning into a big
hit in Bogota” by Andrew Selsky, from the Seattle
Times. Copyright © 2002 by the Seattle Times
Company. Reprinted by permission of the Seattle
Times Company via Copyright Clearance Center. | The End of Car
Culture
by Elisabeth Rosenthal
President Obama’s ambitious goals to curb the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions,
unveiled last week, will get a fortuitous assist from an incipient shift in American behavior:
recent studies suggest that Americans are buying fewer cars, driving less and getting fewer
licenses as each year goes by.
That has left researchers pondering a fundamental question: Has America passed peak
driving?
The United States, with its broad expanses and suburban ideals, had long been one of the
world’s prime car cultures. It is the birthplace of the Model T; the home of Detroit; the place
where Wilson Pickett immortalized “Mustang Sally” . . . .
But America’s love affair with its vehicles seems to be cooling. When adjusted for population
growth, the number of miles driven in the United States peaked in 2005 and dropped steadily
thereafter, according to an analysis by Doug Short of Advisor Perspectives, an investment
research company. As of April 2013, the number of miles driven per person was nearly 9 percent
below the peak and equal to where the country was in January 1995. Part of the explanation
certainly lies in the recession, because cash-strapped Americans could not afford new cars, and
the unemployed weren’t going to work anyway. But by many measures the decrease in driving
preceded the downturn and appears to be persisting now that recovery is under way. The next
few years will be telling.
“What most intrigues me is that rates of car ownership per household and per person
started to come down two to three years before the downturn,” said Michael Sivak, who studies
the trend and who is a research professor at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research
Institute. “I think that means something more fundamental is going on.”
If the pattern persists—and many sociologists believe it will—it will have beneficial
implications for carbon emissions and the environment, since transportation is the second largest
source of America’s emissions, just behind power plants. But it could have negative implications
for the car industry. Indeed, companies like Ford and Mercedes are already rebranding themselves
“mobility” companies with a broader product range beyond the personal vehicle.
“Different things are converging which suggest that we are witnessing a long-term cultural
shift,” said Mimi Sheller, a sociology professor at Drexel University and director of its Mobilities
Research and Policy Center. She cites various factors: the Internet makes telecommuting possible
and allows people to feel more connected without driving to meet friends. The renewal of center
cities has made the suburbs less appealing and has drawn empty nesters back in. Likewise the
rise in cellphones and car-pooling apps has facilitated more flexible commuting arrangements,
including the evolution of shared van services for getting to work.
With all these changes, people who stopped car commuting as a result of the recession may
find less reason to resume the habit. . . .
New York’s new bike-sharing program and its skyrocketing bridge and tunnel tolls reflect
those new priorities, as do a proliferation of car-sharing programs across the nation.
Demographic shifts in the driving population suggest that the trend may accelerate. There
has been a large drop in the percentage of 16- to 39-year-olds getting a license, while older
people are likely to retain their licenses as they age, Mr. Sivak’s research has found.
He and I have similar observations about our children. Mine (19 and 21) have not bothered
to get a driver’s license, even though they both live in places where one could come in handy.
They are interested, but it’s not a priority. They organize their summer jobs and social life around
where they can walk or take public transportation or car-pool with friends.
Mr. Sivak’s son lives in San Francisco and has a car but takes Bay Area Rapid Transit, when
he can, even though that often takes longer than driving. “When I was in my 20s and 30s,” Mr.
Sivak said, “I was curious about what kind of car people drove, but young people don’t really
care. A car is just a means of getting from A to B when BART doesn’t work.”
A study last year found that driving by young people decreased 23 percent between 2001
and 2009. . . .
Whether members of the millennial generation will start buying more cars once they have
kids to take to soccer practice and school plays remains an open question. But such projections
have important business implications, even if car buyers are merely older or buying fewer cars in
a lifetime rather than rejecting car culture outright.
At the Mobile World Congress last year in Barcelona, Spain, Bill Ford, executive chairman of
the Ford Motor Company, laid out a business plan for a world in which personal vehicle ownership
is impractical or undesirable. He proposed partnering with the telecommunications industry to
create cities in which “pedestrian, bicycle, private cars, commercial and public transportation
traffic are woven into a connected network to save time, conserve resources, lower emissions and
improve safety.”
incipient: at an initial stage; beginning to happen
or develop
Excerpt from “The End of Car Culture” by
Elisabeth Rosenthal, from the New York Times.
Copyright © 2013 by the New York Times
Company. Reprinted by permission of the New
York Times Company via Copyright Clearance
Center. |
5150354 | 4 | What would you do if you got written a ticket by a police officer for just driving your car? It could happen if we had a day that driving was banned to help the enviroment. I think this is great idea and we shold all get involved with trying to make it work. Other countries have done it and it doesn't seem to effect anybody negativly. The only thing this would do is limit the pollution put off in America and all over.
Cars are probably the biggest source of pollution in our world today. We use cars for eveerything now and it is very convenient but have you ever really thought of what they are doing to our atmoshpere and ozone. Smog is one of the biggest efects from driving and its not a pretty one. I wouldn't want my city to be covered in a thick layer of foggy gas fuems. In paris the smog was so thick they had to make driving outlawed for a few days just to keep it under control. If we did it even just a couple times a year nation wide it could really help.
In columbia they tried this to help with car emisions and everybody enjoyed it. They even said other countrioes joined in so I think its our turn to give it a try.
The people of Vauban, Germany have a pretty much car free town. If towns started going car free like this in America the emmisions would drop greatly. In Vauban evrybody really likes not needing cars and say it is much less stressful than driving everyday. If just one in every 20 cities of the United States went car free we would notice how much cleaner the air is and the greenhouse effect or global warming would be almost nonexistent.
Another thing the articles mentioned is hybrid cars. I think hybrid cars are great, I personally have one, but some people don't really understand or like them. These cars could really help save the enviroment in just a few years if people were to start only using them. Which I doubt will happen but they still are driven by many people and its much better then everyone driving a diesel truck around all the time.
In all honesty I don't think any of this will happen here anytime soon but it sure would be nice. The greenhouse effect is very real no matter how many people argue about it and there is thigs that can be done to help prevent it. We just have to be willing to make some sacrafices to save our planet. | Write an explanatory essay to inform fellow citizens about the advantages of limiting car usage. Your essay must be based on ideas and information that can be found in the passage set. Manage your time carefully so that you can read the passages; plan your response; write your response; and revise and edit your response. Be sure to use evidence from multiple sources; and avoid overly relying on one source. Your response should be in the form of a multiparagraph essay. Write your essay in the space provided. | Car-free cities | null | null | No | White | M | In German
Suburb, Life Goes On
Without Cars
by Elisabeth Rosenthal
VAUBAN, Germany—Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going
where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up
their cars.
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental
new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are
completely “car-free”—except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs,
and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two
places to park—large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space,
for $40,000, along with a home.
As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to
move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun
Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of
bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.
Vauban, completed in 2006, is an example of a growing trend in Europe, the United States
and elsewhere to separate suburban life from auto use, as a component of a movement called
“smart planning.”
Automobiles are the linchpin of suburbs, where middle-class families from Chicago to
Shanghai tend to make their homes. And that, experts say, is a huge impediment to current
efforts to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes . . . . Passenger cars are
responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe . . . and up to 50 percent in
some car-intensive areas in the United States.
While there have been efforts in the past two decades to make cities denser, and better for
walking, planners are now taking the concept to the suburbs . . . . Vauban, home to 5,500 residents within a rectangular square mile, may be the most advanced experiment in low-car
suburban life. But its basic precepts are being adopted around the world in attempts to make
suburbs more compact and more accessible to public transportation, with less space for parking.
In this new approach, stores are placed a walk away, on a main street, rather than in malls along
some distant highway.
“All of our development since World War II has been centered on the car, and that will have
to change,” said David Goldberg, an official of Transportation for America, a fast-growing coalition
of hundreds of groups in the United States . . . who are promoting new communities that are less
dependent on cars. Mr. Goldberg added: “How much you drive is as important as whether you
have a hybrid.”
Levittown and Scarsdale, New York suburbs with spread-out homes and private garages,
were the dream towns of the 1950s and still exert a strong appeal. But some new suburbs may
well look more Vauban-like, not only in developed countries but also in the developing world,
where emissions from an increasing number of private cars owned by the burgeoning middle
class are choking cities.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is promoting “car reduced”
communities, and legislators are starting to act, if cautiously. Many experts expect public
transport serving suburbs to play a much larger role in a new six-year federal transportation bill
to be approved this year, Mr. Goldberg said. In previous bills, 80 percent of appropriations have by
law gone to highways and only 20 percent to other transport.
Excerpt from “In German Suburb, Life Goes On
Without Cars” by Elisabeth Rosenthal, from the
New York Times. Copyright © 2009 by the New
York Times Company. Reprinted by permission of
the New York Times Company via Copyright
Clearance Center. | Paris bans
driving due to smog
by Robert Duffer
After days of near-record pollution, Paris enforced a partial driving ban to clear the air of the
global city.
On Monday motorists with even-numbered license plates were ordered to leave their cars at home or suffer a 22-euro fine ($31). The same would apply to odd-numbered plates the following
day.
Almost 4,000 drivers were fined, according to Reuters . . . [Twenty-seven] people had their
cars impounded for their reaction to the fine.
That’s easier to imagine than a car-free Champs-Elysees.
Congestion was down 60 percent in the capital of France, after five-days of intensifying
smog . . . [The smog] rivaled Beijing, China, which is known as one of the most polluted cities in
the world.
Cold nights and warm days caused the warmer layer of air to trap car emissions.
Diesel fuel was blamed, since France has . . . [a] tax policy that favors diesel over gasoline.
Diesels make up 67 percent of vehicles in France, compared to a 53.3 percent average of diesel
engines in the rest of Western Europe, according to Reuters.
Paris typically has more smog than other European capitals . . . [Last] week Paris had 147
micrograms of particulate matter (PM) per cubic meter compared with 114 in Brussels and 79.7
in London, Reuters found.
Delivery companies complained of lost revenue, while exceptions were made for plug-in
cars, hybrids, and cars carrying three or more passengers. Public transit was free of charge from
Friday to Monday, according to the BBC.
The smog cleared enough Monday for the ruling French party to rescind the ban for oddnumbered plates on Tuesday.
Reuters: an international news agency
headquartered in London
Champs-Elysees: a famous street in Paris
congestion: car traffic
Excerpt from “Paris bans driving due to smog” by
Robert Duffer, from the Chicago Tribune.
Copyright © 2014 by the Chicago Tribune.
Reprinted by permission of the Chicago Tribune via
Copyright Clearance Center. | Car-free day is
spinning into a big hit in
Bogota
by Andrew Selsky
BOGOTA, Colombia—In a program that’s set to spread to other countries, millions of
Colombians hiked, biked, skated or took buses to work during a car-free day yesterday, leaving
the streets of this capital city eerily devoid of traffic jams.
It was the third straight year cars have been banned with only buses and taxis permitted for
the Day Without Cars in this capital city of 7 million. The goal is to promote alternative
transportation and reduce smog. Violators faced $25 fines.
The turnout was large, despite gray clouds that dumped occasional rain showers on Bogota.
“The rain hasn’t stopped people from participating,” said Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus . . .
.
“It’s a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution,” said businessman
Carlos Arturo Plaza as he rode a two-seat bicycle with his wife.
For the first time, two other Colombian cities, Cali and Valledupar, joined the event.
Municipal authorities from other countries came to Bogota to see the event and were
enthusiastic. “These people are generating a revolutionary change, and this is crossing borders,”
said Enrique Riera, the mayor of Asunción, Paraguay. . . .
The day without cars is part of an improvement campaign that began in Bogota in the mid1990s. It has seen the construction of 118 miles of bicycle paths, the most of any Latin American
city, according to Mockus, the city’s mayor.
Parks and sports centers also have bloomed throughout the city; uneven, pitted sidewalks
have been replaced by broad, smooth sidewalks; rush-hour restrictions have dramatically cut
traffic; and new restaurants and upscale shopping districts have cropped up.
Excerpt from “Car-free day is spinning into a big
hit in Bogota” by Andrew Selsky, from the Seattle
Times. Copyright © 2002 by the Seattle Times
Company. Reprinted by permission of the Seattle
Times Company via Copyright Clearance Center. | The End of Car
Culture
by Elisabeth Rosenthal
President Obama’s ambitious goals to curb the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions,
unveiled last week, will get a fortuitous assist from an incipient shift in American behavior:
recent studies suggest that Americans are buying fewer cars, driving less and getting fewer
licenses as each year goes by.
That has left researchers pondering a fundamental question: Has America passed peak
driving?
The United States, with its broad expanses and suburban ideals, had long been one of the
world’s prime car cultures. It is the birthplace of the Model T; the home of Detroit; the place
where Wilson Pickett immortalized “Mustang Sally” . . . .
But America’s love affair with its vehicles seems to be cooling. When adjusted for population
growth, the number of miles driven in the United States peaked in 2005 and dropped steadily
thereafter, according to an analysis by Doug Short of Advisor Perspectives, an investment
research company. As of April 2013, the number of miles driven per person was nearly 9 percent
below the peak and equal to where the country was in January 1995. Part of the explanation
certainly lies in the recession, because cash-strapped Americans could not afford new cars, and
the unemployed weren’t going to work anyway. But by many measures the decrease in driving
preceded the downturn and appears to be persisting now that recovery is under way. The next
few years will be telling.
“What most intrigues me is that rates of car ownership per household and per person
started to come down two to three years before the downturn,” said Michael Sivak, who studies
the trend and who is a research professor at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research
Institute. “I think that means something more fundamental is going on.”
If the pattern persists—and many sociologists believe it will—it will have beneficial
implications for carbon emissions and the environment, since transportation is the second largest
source of America’s emissions, just behind power plants. But it could have negative implications
for the car industry. Indeed, companies like Ford and Mercedes are already rebranding themselves
“mobility” companies with a broader product range beyond the personal vehicle.
“Different things are converging which suggest that we are witnessing a long-term cultural
shift,” said Mimi Sheller, a sociology professor at Drexel University and director of its Mobilities
Research and Policy Center. She cites various factors: the Internet makes telecommuting possible
and allows people to feel more connected without driving to meet friends. The renewal of center
cities has made the suburbs less appealing and has drawn empty nesters back in. Likewise the
rise in cellphones and car-pooling apps has facilitated more flexible commuting arrangements,
including the evolution of shared van services for getting to work.
With all these changes, people who stopped car commuting as a result of the recession may
find less reason to resume the habit. . . .
New York’s new bike-sharing program and its skyrocketing bridge and tunnel tolls reflect
those new priorities, as do a proliferation of car-sharing programs across the nation.
Demographic shifts in the driving population suggest that the trend may accelerate. There
has been a large drop in the percentage of 16- to 39-year-olds getting a license, while older
people are likely to retain their licenses as they age, Mr. Sivak’s research has found.
He and I have similar observations about our children. Mine (19 and 21) have not bothered
to get a driver’s license, even though they both live in places where one could come in handy.
They are interested, but it’s not a priority. They organize their summer jobs and social life around
where they can walk or take public transportation or car-pool with friends.
Mr. Sivak’s son lives in San Francisco and has a car but takes Bay Area Rapid Transit, when
he can, even though that often takes longer than driving. “When I was in my 20s and 30s,” Mr.
Sivak said, “I was curious about what kind of car people drove, but young people don’t really
care. A car is just a means of getting from A to B when BART doesn’t work.”
A study last year found that driving by young people decreased 23 percent between 2001
and 2009. . . .
Whether members of the millennial generation will start buying more cars once they have
kids to take to soccer practice and school plays remains an open question. But such projections
have important business implications, even if car buyers are merely older or buying fewer cars in
a lifetime rather than rejecting car culture outright.
At the Mobile World Congress last year in Barcelona, Spain, Bill Ford, executive chairman of
the Ford Motor Company, laid out a business plan for a world in which personal vehicle ownership
is impractical or undesirable. He proposed partnering with the telecommunications industry to
create cities in which “pedestrian, bicycle, private cars, commercial and public transportation
traffic are woven into a connected network to save time, conserve resources, lower emissions and
improve safety.”
incipient: at an initial stage; beginning to happen
or develop
Excerpt from “The End of Car Culture” by
Elisabeth Rosenthal, from the New York Times.
Copyright © 2013 by the New York Times
Company. Reprinted by permission of the New
York Times Company via Copyright Clearance
Center. |
AAAVUP14319000080141 | 2 | I personally think that the author supports this idea rather well, he has mentioned many dangerous things that occur on Venus and why no spacecrafts has touched down on Venus in more than three decades. To back up my thoughts I will include where I've found this information in the article and which paragraphs they are found in.
In paragraph 2 it talks about the spacecrafts. It states, "Each previous mission was unmanned, and for good reason, since no spacecraft survived the landing for more than a few hours". So this right here is explaining why no spacecraft has even tried to land on Venus in over three decades.
In paragraph 3 it states, "On the planet's surface temperatures average over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet. So if a human would land on Venus it would be more than dangerous, it would be deadly, or unlivable. | In "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," the author suggests studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents. Using details from the article, write an essay evaluating how well the author supports this idea. Be sure to include: a claim that evaluates how well the author supports the idea that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers; an explanation of the evidence from the article that supports your claim; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your essay. | Exploring Venus | Economically disadvantaged | Identified as having disability | No | White | F | The Challenge of Exploring Venus
Venus, sometimes called the “Evening Star,” is one of the brightest points of light in the night sky, making it simple for even and amateur stargazer to spot. However, this nickname is misleading since Venus is actually a planet. While Venus is simple to see from the distant but safe vantage point of Earth, it has proved a very challenging place to examine more closely.
Often referred to as Earth's “twin,” Venus is the closest planet to Earth in terms of density and size, and occasionally the closest in distance too. Earth, Venus, and Mars, our other planetary neighbor, orbit the sun at different speeds. These differences in speed mean that sometimes we are closer to Mars and other times to Venus. Because Venus is sometimes right around the corner - in space terms - humans have spent numerous spacecraft to land on this cloud-draped world. Each previous mission was unmanned, and for good reason, since no spacecraft survived the landing for more than a few hours. Maybe this issue explains why not a single spaceship has touched down of Venus in more than three decades. Numberous factors contribute to Venus's reputation as a challenging planet for humans to study, despite its proximity to us.
A thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the clouds of highly corrosive sulfuric acid in Venus's atmosphere. On the planet's surface, temperatures average over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet. These conditions are far more extreme than anything humans encounter on Earth; such an environment would crush even a submarine accustomed to diving to the deepest parts of our oceans and would liquefy many metals. Also notable, Venus has the hottest surface temperature of any planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to our sun. Beyond high presure and heat, Venusian geology and weather present additional impediments like erupting volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, and frequent lightning strikes to probes seeking to land on its surface.
If our sister is so inhospitable, why are scientists even discussing further visits to its surface? Astronomers are fascinated by Venus beccause it may well once have been the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. Long ago, Venus was probably covered largely with oceans and could have supported various forms of life, just like Earth. Today, Venus still has some features that are analogous to those on Earth. The planet has a surface of rocky sediment and includes familiar features such as valleys, mountains, and craters. Furthermore, recall that Venus can sometimes be our nearest option for a planetary visit, a crucial consideration given the long time frames of space travel. The value of returning to Venus seems indisputable, but what are the options for making such a mission both safe and scientifically productive?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has one particularly compelling idea for sending humans to study Venus. NASA's possible solution to the hostile conditions on the surface of Venus would allow scientists to float above the fray. Imagine a blimp-like vehicle hovering 30 or so miles above the roiling Venusian landscape. Just as our jet airplanes travel at a higher altitude to fly over many storms, a vehicle hovering over Venus would avoid the unfriendly ground conditions by staying up and out of their way. At thirty-plus miles above the surface, temperatures would still be toasty at around 170 degrees Farenheit, but the air pressure would be close to that of sea level on Earth. Solar power would be plentiful, and radiation would not exceed Earth levels. Not easy conditions, but survivable for humans.
However, peering at Venus from a ship orbiting or hovering safely far above the planet can provide only limited insight on ground conditions rendering standard forms of photography and videography ineffective. More importantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock, gas, or anything else, from a distance. Therefore, scientists seeking to conduct a thorough mission to understand Venus would need to get up close and personal despite the risks. Or maybe we should think of them as challenges. Many researchers are working on innovattions that would allow our machines to last long enough to contribute meaningfully to our knowledge of Venus.
NASA is working on other approaches to studying Venus. For example, some simplified electronics made of silicon carbide have been tested in a chamber simuulating the chaos of Venus's surface and have laster for three weeks in such conditions. Another project is looking back to an old technology called mechanical computers. These devices were first envisioned in the 1800s and played an important role int he 1940s during World War II. The thought of computers existing in those days may sound shocking, but these devices make calculations by using gears and levers and do not require electronics at all. Modern commputers are enormously powerful, flexible, and quick, but tend to be more delicate when it comes to extreme physical conditions. Just imagine exposing a cell phone or tablet to acid or heat capable of melting tin. By comparison, systems that use mechanical parts can be made mroe resistant to pressure, heat, and other forces.
Striving to meet the challenge presented by Venus has value, not only because of the insight to be gained on the planet itself, but also because human curiousity will likely lead us into many equally intimidating endeavors. Our travels on Earth and beyond should not be limited by dangers and doubts but should be expanded to meet the very edges of imagination and innovation. | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000049896 | 2 | Some people say that they face was created by aliens and others think it was just a natural landform. What do you think it is? How do you think it got there? Well im here to answer all those quetions for you.
There are so many people in the world that thought the face was created by aliens, but it really wasn't. It's just like all of the landforms on Earth that were created by people, animals, plants, and much more. NASA and a couple of scientists had an arugment about whither it was a face created by aliens or landformation. In the end it was created just like all the other landformations. I bet people still wander if NASA was right or wrong.
Well now that i told you about the face and what people think. Do you still believe in what you first thought before reading this? Maybe your right and maybe your wrong everyone has their own opinion. | You have read the article 'Unmasking the Face on Mars.' Imagine you are a scientist at NASA discussing the Face with someone who thinks it was created by aliens. Using information in the article, write an argumentative essay to convince someone that the Face is just a natural landform.Be sure to include: claims to support your argument that the Face is a natural landform; evidence from the article to support your claims; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | The Face on Mars | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Two or more races/Other | F | Unmasking the Face on Mars
Side by side: a Viking 1 photo from 1975, a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) image from 1998, and the latest MGS image from 2001.
New high-resolution images and 3D altimetry from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft reveal the Face on Mars for what it really is: a mesa.
On May 24, 2001—Twenty five years ago, something funny happened around Mars. NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft was circling the planet, snapping photos of possible landing sites for its sister ship Viking 2, when it spotted the shadowy likeness of a human face. An enormous head nearly two miles from end to end seemed to be staring back at the cameras from a region of the Red Planet called Cydonia.
There must have been a degree of surprise among mission controllers back at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the face appeared on their monitors. But the sensation was short-lived. Scientists figured it was just another Martian mesa, common enough around Cydonia, only this one had unusual shadows that made it look like an Egyptian Pharaoh.
A few days later NASA unveiled the image for all to see. The caption noted a “huge rock formation . . . which resembles a human head . . . formed by shadows giving the illusion of eyes, nose, and mouth.” The authors reasoned it would be a good way to engage the public and attract attention to Mars.
It certainly did!
The “Face on Mars” has since become a pop icon. It has starred in a Hollywood film, appeared in books, magazines, radio talk shows – even haunted grocery store checkout lines for 25 years! Some people think the Face is bona fide evidence of life on Mars – evidence that NASA would rather hide, say conspiracy theorists. Meanwhile, defenders of the NASA budget wish there was an ancient civilization on Mars.
A 1976 Viking 1 photograph of the Face on Mars
Although few scientists believed the Face was an alien artifact, photographing Cydonia became a priority for NASA when Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) arrived at the Red Planet in Sept. 1997, eighteen long years after the Viking missions ended. “We felt this was important to taxpayers,” explained Jim Garvin, chief scientist for NASA’s mars Exploration Program. “We photographed the Face as soon as we could get a good shot at it.”
And so on April 5, 1998, when Mars Global Surveyor flew over Cydonia for the first time, Michael Malin and his Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team snapped a picture ten times sharper than the original Viking photos. Thousands of anxious web surfers were waiting when the image first appeared on a JPL web site, revealing . . . a natural landform. There was no alien monument after all.
But not everyone was satisfied. The Face on Mars is located at 41 degrees north martial latitude where it was winter in April ‘98 – a cloudy time of year on the Red Planet. The camera on board MGS had to peer through wispy clouds to see the Face. Perhaps, said skeptics, alien markings were hidden by haze.
Mission controllers prepared to look again. “It’s not easy to target Cydonia,” says Garvin. “In fact, it’s hard work.” Mars Global Surveyor is a mapping spacecraft that normally looks straight down and scans the planet like a fax machine in narrow 2.5 km-wide strips. “We don’t pass over the Face very often,” he noted.
Nevertheless, on April 8, 2001 – a cloudless summer day in Cydonia – Mars Global Surveyor drew close enough for a second look. “We had to roll the spacecraft 25 degrees to center the Face in the field of view,” said Garvin. “Malin’s team captured an extraordinary photo using the camera’s absolute maximum resolution.” Each pixel in the 2001 image spans 1.56 meters, compared to the 43 meters per pixel in the best 1976 Viking photo.
“As a rule of thumb, you can discern things in a digital image 3 times bigger than the pixel size,” he added. “So, if there were objects in this picture like airplanes on the ground or Egyptian-style pyramids or even small shacks, you could see what they were!”
What the picture actually shows is the Martian equivalent of a butte or mesa – landforms common around the American West. “It reminds me of most of Middle Butte in the Snake River Plain of Idaho,” says Garvin. “That’s a lava dome that takes the form of an isolated mesa about the same height as the Face on Mars.”
Text and photographs courtsey of NASA, “Unmasking the Face on Mars,” May 24, 2001 (retrieved from science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast24may_1/) | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000101249 | 3 | Driverless cars are coming like itor not. for one am against it. Yes you wont have to wory about going to the right place or staying awake but, there are still problems.
One thing I see as a problem is that sometypes of driverless car would take expensive road constrution as stated in pargaph 3 . Also the cars themselves may coast 2 or 3 times as much as a regular car because, they have alot of fancey sensers and gagets. Normal cars are better because they don't require lots of constrution or pin point mapping.
Driverless cars would be great but could they see if another car had a driver under the influens or not driving safly and take the right precotinos to keep you safe. I think that no robots or computers could tell that. I think that only humans could tell and thake the right procotionary measures to keep you safe. As stated in paragraph 5 and 8 they say that if a siquation comes up the car may tell yo uto take over because you know how to handle it. Well what if people start to get to comfortable with there smart car and take a nap on the way to work but there is constrution and the car needs
you but you are sleepping what would happen. Well yes they have put in way that the car will get you atichtoin but will you be awake enough to screw up to the way of the man carring tools acrost the road. I for one think that it you won't and there will be a weark. Then that man would die and, you would fell bad and, the car company would put all the blam on you. And you, the man or woman that thought driverless car were a good idea, would have to live with that for the rest of your life.
Also they would have to change tones of laws wich would take time and money witch we a a country don't have right now. Also some of the new laws might mess up some of the existing laws and make every thing more difficult for Driverless cars and normal cars.
Driverless cars are a thing of the futer and that is were they belong not here right now there are just to many things that could go wrong. All and all I thik they are a good idea they just need alot more work to make sure they are safe but for now I am all against driverless cars. | In the article “Driverless Cars are Coming,” the author presents both positive and negative aspects of driverless cars. Using details from the article, create an argument for or against the development of these cars. Be sure to include: your position on driverless cars; appropriate details from the article that support your position; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | Driverless cars | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | White | M | Driverless Cars Are Coming
Can you imagine a time in the future when no one buys cars because no one needs them anymore? Google cofounder Sergey Brin can. He envisions a future with a public transportation system where fleets of driverless cars form a public-transport taxi system. The cars he foresees would use half the fuel of today’s taxis and offer far more flexibility than a bus. He believes such cars would fundamentally change the world.
Television and movies have long been fascinated with cars that could drive themselves. In reality, Google has had cars that could drive independently under specific conditions since 2009. Their cars have driven more than half a million miles without a crash, but so far, Google cars aren't truly driverless; they still alert the driver to take over when pulling in and out of driveways or dealing with complicated traffic issues, such as navigating through roadwork or accidents. So what roadblocks lie ahead for the autonomous car?
Sensing the World
Let's begin by looking at which companies are making computer-driven cars. Originally, many futurists believed the key to developing self-driving cars someday wasn't so much smarter cars as smarter roads. For example, in the late 1950s, General Motors created a concept car that could run on a special test track. The track was embedded with an electrical cable that sent radio signals to a receiver on the front end of the car. Engineers at Berkeley tried something similar, but they used magnets with alternating polarity. The car read the positive and negative polarity as messages in binary code. These smart-road systems worked surprisingly well, but they required massive upgrades to existing roads, something that was simply too expensive to be practical.
Without the option of smarter roads, manufacturers turned to smarter cars—but how much smarter did the cars need to be? For starters, they needed a whole lot of sensors. Google's modified Toyota Prius uses position-estimating sensors on the left rear wheel, a rotating sensor on the roof, a video camera mounted near the rearview mirror, four automotive radar sensors, a GPS receiver, and an inertial motion sensor. The most important bit of technology in this system is the spinning sensor on the roof. Dubbed LIDAR, it uses laser beams to form a constantly updating 3-D model of the car's surroundings. The combination of all this input is necessary for the driverless car to mimic the skill of a human at the wheel.
Sensors are nothing new, of course. In the 1980s, automakers used speed sensors at the wheels in the creation of antilock brakes. Within 10 years, those sensors had become more advanced to detect and respond to the danger of out-of-control skids or rollovers. The information from the sensors can cause the car to apply brakes on individual wheels and reduce power from the engine, allowing far better response and control than a human driver could manage alone. Further improvements in sensors and computer hardware and software to make driving safer are also leading to cars that can handle more and more driving tasks on their own.
Driving or Assisting?
Antilock brakes and driver assistance still seem a long way from the dream of calling a driverless cab to take us wherever we desire, but Sebastian Thrun, founder of the Google Car project, believes that the technology has finally begun to catch up to the dream. “There was no way, before 2000, to make something interesting. The sensors weren't there, the computers weren't there, and the mapping wasn't there. Radar was a device on a hilltop that cost two hundred million dollars. It wasn't something you could buy at Radio Shack.” So just how driverless will the cars be in the near future?
In 2013, BMW announced the development of “Traffic Jam Assistant.” The car can handle driving functions at speeds up to 25 mph, but special touch sensors make sure the driver keeps hold of the wheel. In fact, none of the cars developed so far are completely driverless. They can steer, accelerate, and brake themselves, but all are designed to notify the driver when the road ahead requires human skills, such as navigating through work zones and around accidents. This means the human driver must remain alert and be ready to take over when the situation requires. This necessitates the car being ready to quickly get the driver's attention whenever a problem occurs. GM has developed driver's seats that vibrate when the vehicle is in danger of backing into an object. The Google car simply announces when the driver should be prepared to take over. Other options under consideration are flashing lights on the windshield and other heads-up displays. Manufacturers are also considering using cameras to watch that drivers are remaining focused on the road. While the driver watches the road, the car watches the driver.
Why would anyone want a driverless car that still needs a driver? Wouldn’t drivers get bored waiting for their turn to drive? “The psychological aspects of automation are really a challenge,” admits Dr. Werner Huber, a BMW project manager driver. “We have to interpret the driving fun in a new way.” Some manufacturers hope to do that by bringing in-car entertainment and information systems that use heads-up displays. Such displays can be turned off instantly when the driver needs to take over—something not available to drivers trying to text with a cell phone. In this way, the in-car system is actually a safety feature, and safety is a big concern.
Waiting on the Law
Most driving laws focus on keeping drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safe, and lawmakers know that safety is best achieved with alert drivers. Presently, traffic laws are written with the assumption that the only safe car has a human driver in control at all times. As a result, in most states it is illegal even to test computer-driven cars. California, Nevada, Florida, and the District of Columbia have led the country in allowing limited use of semi-autonomous cars; manufacturers believe that more states will follow as soon as the cars are proved more reliably safe. Still, even if traffic laws change, new laws will be needed in order to cover liability in the case of an accident. If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault—the driver or the manufacturer?
Automakers are continuing their work on the assumption that the problems ahead will be solved. Tesla has projected a 2016 release for a car capable of driving on autopilot 90 percent of the time. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Nissan plan to have cars that can drive themselves by 2020. The road to the truly autonomous car stretches on ahead of us, but we grow closer to the destination every day. | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000038312 | 3 | I disagree of the production or development of driverless cars. The cars that are being developed to be driverless sounds like it could work but there are to many factors that are holding the car back from actually being safe and driverless. It will take many computer run test to make it accident free or cable of going through traffic like humans. Weather could have an effect on the devices that are making the care driverless, they could malfunction and that could lead to a car crash. How much will these car cost when they are sold to the public. Are we going to depend on the driverless car to much.
A car crash happens everyday, cause of humans. Sometimes the weather has an effect on the accident. Driverless are can still get in car crashes, cause the car will be a computer with standard driving skills, but humans can change the way they are driving when ever. Driverless cars cant do that, they will still have a driver in the car just in case the gets into a situation. How reliable will the alert system be. If it doesnt work right the car could get in a crash and injure or kill the driver in the car and the one it crashed in to.
Weather could have an effect on the driverless cars abilitys. The Devices it has could be damaged by the rain of hail of storm. Which could leave the car blind in what device gets damaged. If the device is damaged then the car could possibly get into a car crash. What if the driverless car gets in to a fog and cant see with the cameras it has. That could lead to a car crash. Also the driverless car could get hacked.
Will anyone be able to afford a driverless car when they eventually become the only car allowed on the road.
The car that Tesla has released to the public is not a cheap car and also its not a fully driverless car. So when they release a fully driverless car to the public, will the middle and bottom class of people be able to afford these, Probably not. The Government will have to help out people that need to buy a driverless car, and we are already indebt from many things.
Once these car are released, humans will be to dependent on these cars. Eventually they will be used for military purposes. Which would cost alot of money. Also the cars will be electricals, which they can be destroyed by a EMP bomb. A EMP is a bomb that destroy any electrical thing in its blast radius which means the car will be effect. That would mean a waste of money. Taxi company would close down cause of driverless car. Taxi require humans and driverless cars don't. Many people would lose there job cause of driverless cars. Also what about Sports races. Like Nascar, there car would be replaced by driverless race cars. There no entertainment in that. | In the article “Driverless Cars are Coming,” the author presents both positive and negative aspects of driverless cars. Using details from the article, create an argument for or against the development of these cars. Be sure to include: your position on driverless cars; appropriate details from the article that support your position; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | Driverless cars | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | null | Hispanic/Latino | M | Driverless Cars Are Coming
Can you imagine a time in the future when no one buys cars because no one needs them anymore? Google cofounder Sergey Brin can. He envisions a future with a public transportation system where fleets of driverless cars form a public-transport taxi system. The cars he foresees would use half the fuel of today’s taxis and offer far more flexibility than a bus. He believes such cars would fundamentally change the world.
Television and movies have long been fascinated with cars that could drive themselves. In reality, Google has had cars that could drive independently under specific conditions since 2009. Their cars have driven more than half a million miles without a crash, but so far, Google cars aren't truly driverless; they still alert the driver to take over when pulling in and out of driveways or dealing with complicated traffic issues, such as navigating through roadwork or accidents. So what roadblocks lie ahead for the autonomous car?
Sensing the World
Let's begin by looking at which companies are making computer-driven cars. Originally, many futurists believed the key to developing self-driving cars someday wasn't so much smarter cars as smarter roads. For example, in the late 1950s, General Motors created a concept car that could run on a special test track. The track was embedded with an electrical cable that sent radio signals to a receiver on the front end of the car. Engineers at Berkeley tried something similar, but they used magnets with alternating polarity. The car read the positive and negative polarity as messages in binary code. These smart-road systems worked surprisingly well, but they required massive upgrades to existing roads, something that was simply too expensive to be practical.
Without the option of smarter roads, manufacturers turned to smarter cars—but how much smarter did the cars need to be? For starters, they needed a whole lot of sensors. Google's modified Toyota Prius uses position-estimating sensors on the left rear wheel, a rotating sensor on the roof, a video camera mounted near the rearview mirror, four automotive radar sensors, a GPS receiver, and an inertial motion sensor. The most important bit of technology in this system is the spinning sensor on the roof. Dubbed LIDAR, it uses laser beams to form a constantly updating 3-D model of the car's surroundings. The combination of all this input is necessary for the driverless car to mimic the skill of a human at the wheel.
Sensors are nothing new, of course. In the 1980s, automakers used speed sensors at the wheels in the creation of antilock brakes. Within 10 years, those sensors had become more advanced to detect and respond to the danger of out-of-control skids or rollovers. The information from the sensors can cause the car to apply brakes on individual wheels and reduce power from the engine, allowing far better response and control than a human driver could manage alone. Further improvements in sensors and computer hardware and software to make driving safer are also leading to cars that can handle more and more driving tasks on their own.
Driving or Assisting?
Antilock brakes and driver assistance still seem a long way from the dream of calling a driverless cab to take us wherever we desire, but Sebastian Thrun, founder of the Google Car project, believes that the technology has finally begun to catch up to the dream. “There was no way, before 2000, to make something interesting. The sensors weren't there, the computers weren't there, and the mapping wasn't there. Radar was a device on a hilltop that cost two hundred million dollars. It wasn't something you could buy at Radio Shack.” So just how driverless will the cars be in the near future?
In 2013, BMW announced the development of “Traffic Jam Assistant.” The car can handle driving functions at speeds up to 25 mph, but special touch sensors make sure the driver keeps hold of the wheel. In fact, none of the cars developed so far are completely driverless. They can steer, accelerate, and brake themselves, but all are designed to notify the driver when the road ahead requires human skills, such as navigating through work zones and around accidents. This means the human driver must remain alert and be ready to take over when the situation requires. This necessitates the car being ready to quickly get the driver's attention whenever a problem occurs. GM has developed driver's seats that vibrate when the vehicle is in danger of backing into an object. The Google car simply announces when the driver should be prepared to take over. Other options under consideration are flashing lights on the windshield and other heads-up displays. Manufacturers are also considering using cameras to watch that drivers are remaining focused on the road. While the driver watches the road, the car watches the driver.
Why would anyone want a driverless car that still needs a driver? Wouldn’t drivers get bored waiting for their turn to drive? “The psychological aspects of automation are really a challenge,” admits Dr. Werner Huber, a BMW project manager driver. “We have to interpret the driving fun in a new way.” Some manufacturers hope to do that by bringing in-car entertainment and information systems that use heads-up displays. Such displays can be turned off instantly when the driver needs to take over—something not available to drivers trying to text with a cell phone. In this way, the in-car system is actually a safety feature, and safety is a big concern.
Waiting on the Law
Most driving laws focus on keeping drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safe, and lawmakers know that safety is best achieved with alert drivers. Presently, traffic laws are written with the assumption that the only safe car has a human driver in control at all times. As a result, in most states it is illegal even to test computer-driven cars. California, Nevada, Florida, and the District of Columbia have led the country in allowing limited use of semi-autonomous cars; manufacturers believe that more states will follow as soon as the cars are proved more reliably safe. Still, even if traffic laws change, new laws will be needed in order to cover liability in the case of an accident. If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault—the driver or the manufacturer?
Automakers are continuing their work on the assumption that the problems ahead will be solved. Tesla has projected a 2016 release for a car capable of driving on autopilot 90 percent of the time. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Nissan plan to have cars that can drive themselves by 2020. The road to the truly autonomous car stretches on ahead of us, but we grow closer to the destination every day. | null | null | null |
AAAOPP13416000006808 | 3 | Now that Driverless Cars are coming I really think that it is a bad idea. The author did give us some good information about the car and what it can do without a driver but then yet again it is honestly a bad idea.
First, even if the author said that the car would alert the driver if anything happened that alert could stop workng and it would not warn the driver. The warning from the car can stop working anytime and the driver would not know. Why would they not know? That is because they would not ne focus on the road.
Second, the driver should always focus on the road because anything can happen right there and then. The driver should not be on their phones or anything thing that can distract them from the road. The way that the rules are now we should keep them like that. We can say that the car is very smart but do they see any upcoming cars getting close to them and occuring an accident. I really do not. Thats when the human should focus and be very careful on the road.
Finally, the Driverless Cars are very expensive. When you buy them you do not just buy the car. Some Driverless Cars do come with the left rear wheel and rotating sensor, video camera, four automotive radar sensors, GPS receiver, and inertial motion snesor. The cars will need laser beams to form a updating 3-D model of the cars's around them. But what people do not realize is that all those items can stop working and get ruin then it is your job to repair them as soon as possible.
So now that you see my opinions maybe you should think about the negative and postive thoughts about the car. Always remember the alert can stop working, humans should always focus on the road and lastly the Driverless Cars are very expensive. Always think about yourself and your surroundings. | In the article “Driverless Cars are Coming,” the author presents both positive and negative aspects of driverless cars. Using details from the article, create an argument for or against the development of these cars. Be sure to include: your position on driverless cars; appropriate details from the article that support your position; an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to your argumentative essay. | Driverless cars | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability | No | Hispanic/Latino | F | Driverless Cars Are Coming
Can you imagine a time in the future when no one buys cars because no one needs them anymore? Google cofounder Sergey Brin can. He envisions a future with a public transportation system where fleets of driverless cars form a public-transport taxi system. The cars he foresees would use half the fuel of today’s taxis and offer far more flexibility than a bus. He believes such cars would fundamentally change the world.
Television and movies have long been fascinated with cars that could drive themselves. In reality, Google has had cars that could drive independently under specific conditions since 2009. Their cars have driven more than half a million miles without a crash, but so far, Google cars aren't truly driverless; they still alert the driver to take over when pulling in and out of driveways or dealing with complicated traffic issues, such as navigating through roadwork or accidents. So what roadblocks lie ahead for the autonomous car?
Sensing the World
Let's begin by looking at which companies are making computer-driven cars. Originally, many futurists believed the key to developing self-driving cars someday wasn't so much smarter cars as smarter roads. For example, in the late 1950s, General Motors created a concept car that could run on a special test track. The track was embedded with an electrical cable that sent radio signals to a receiver on the front end of the car. Engineers at Berkeley tried something similar, but they used magnets with alternating polarity. The car read the positive and negative polarity as messages in binary code. These smart-road systems worked surprisingly well, but they required massive upgrades to existing roads, something that was simply too expensive to be practical.
Without the option of smarter roads, manufacturers turned to smarter cars—but how much smarter did the cars need to be? For starters, they needed a whole lot of sensors. Google's modified Toyota Prius uses position-estimating sensors on the left rear wheel, a rotating sensor on the roof, a video camera mounted near the rearview mirror, four automotive radar sensors, a GPS receiver, and an inertial motion sensor. The most important bit of technology in this system is the spinning sensor on the roof. Dubbed LIDAR, it uses laser beams to form a constantly updating 3-D model of the car's surroundings. The combination of all this input is necessary for the driverless car to mimic the skill of a human at the wheel.
Sensors are nothing new, of course. In the 1980s, automakers used speed sensors at the wheels in the creation of antilock brakes. Within 10 years, those sensors had become more advanced to detect and respond to the danger of out-of-control skids or rollovers. The information from the sensors can cause the car to apply brakes on individual wheels and reduce power from the engine, allowing far better response and control than a human driver could manage alone. Further improvements in sensors and computer hardware and software to make driving safer are also leading to cars that can handle more and more driving tasks on their own.
Driving or Assisting?
Antilock brakes and driver assistance still seem a long way from the dream of calling a driverless cab to take us wherever we desire, but Sebastian Thrun, founder of the Google Car project, believes that the technology has finally begun to catch up to the dream. “There was no way, before 2000, to make something interesting. The sensors weren't there, the computers weren't there, and the mapping wasn't there. Radar was a device on a hilltop that cost two hundred million dollars. It wasn't something you could buy at Radio Shack.” So just how driverless will the cars be in the near future?
In 2013, BMW announced the development of “Traffic Jam Assistant.” The car can handle driving functions at speeds up to 25 mph, but special touch sensors make sure the driver keeps hold of the wheel. In fact, none of the cars developed so far are completely driverless. They can steer, accelerate, and brake themselves, but all are designed to notify the driver when the road ahead requires human skills, such as navigating through work zones and around accidents. This means the human driver must remain alert and be ready to take over when the situation requires. This necessitates the car being ready to quickly get the driver's attention whenever a problem occurs. GM has developed driver's seats that vibrate when the vehicle is in danger of backing into an object. The Google car simply announces when the driver should be prepared to take over. Other options under consideration are flashing lights on the windshield and other heads-up displays. Manufacturers are also considering using cameras to watch that drivers are remaining focused on the road. While the driver watches the road, the car watches the driver.
Why would anyone want a driverless car that still needs a driver? Wouldn’t drivers get bored waiting for their turn to drive? “The psychological aspects of automation are really a challenge,” admits Dr. Werner Huber, a BMW project manager driver. “We have to interpret the driving fun in a new way.” Some manufacturers hope to do that by bringing in-car entertainment and information systems that use heads-up displays. Such displays can be turned off instantly when the driver needs to take over—something not available to drivers trying to text with a cell phone. In this way, the in-car system is actually a safety feature, and safety is a big concern.
Waiting on the Law
Most driving laws focus on keeping drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safe, and lawmakers know that safety is best achieved with alert drivers. Presently, traffic laws are written with the assumption that the only safe car has a human driver in control at all times. As a result, in most states it is illegal even to test computer-driven cars. California, Nevada, Florida, and the District of Columbia have led the country in allowing limited use of semi-autonomous cars; manufacturers believe that more states will follow as soon as the cars are proved more reliably safe. Still, even if traffic laws change, new laws will be needed in order to cover liability in the case of an accident. If the technology fails and someone is injured, who is at fault—the driver or the manufacturer?
Automakers are continuing their work on the assumption that the problems ahead will be solved. Tesla has projected a 2016 release for a car capable of driving on autopilot 90 percent of the time. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Nissan plan to have cars that can drive themselves by 2020. The road to the truly autonomous car stretches on ahead of us, but we grow closer to the destination every day. | null | null | null |
End of preview. Expand in Data Studio
YAML Metadata Warning:empty or missing yaml metadata in repo card
Check out the documentation for more information.
D_ASAP2
This is the train, test, and validation split of the ASAP 2.0 dataset, prepared for use with the S-GRADES benchmark. Ground truth labels have been removed to prevent leakage during evaluation.
Original Dataset
Citation
If you use this dataset, please cite the original:
@article{crossley2025asap2,
title={A large-scale corpus for assessing source-based writing quality: ASAP 2.0},
author={Crossley, Scott A. and Baffour, Perpetual and Burleigh, L. and King, Jules},
journal={Assessing Writing},
volume={65},
pages={100954},
year={2025},
publisher={Elsevier},
doi={10.1016/j.asw.2025.100954}
}
If used as part of S-GRADES, also cite:
@inproceedings{seuti2026sgrades,
title={S-GRADES: Studying Generalization of Student Response Assessments in Diverse Evaluative Settings},
author={Seuti, Tasfia and Ray Choudhury, Sagnik},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC 2026)},
year={2026}
}
- Downloads last month
- 4,774
Size of downloaded dataset files:
208 MB
Size of the auto-converted Parquet files:
30.3 MB
Number of rows:
24,728