Reading Strategy IS a TOMATO a Fruit or a Vegetable?

A LUCKY DAY? Tomatoes are well-loved everywhere. Cooks

Henry Leech was a salesperson. He was good at his around the world do magic with them. There are

job and sold lots of vacuum cleaners. One week, the more than 4,000 types of tomatoes and very many

manager sent Henry into the countryside to work. ways to eat them. Without tomatoes, we would have

Henry drove down some country roads and stopped at no tomato ketchup or pizza. Spaghetti would not

a small house on a farm. He knocked on the door, taste the same, either. After the potato, the tomato

and the farmer’s wife opened it. Henry started his is the most popular vegetable in the world. But wait

speech immediately. —is it really a vegetable?

“Ma’am, how much time do you spend sweeping Maybe you think, “Who cares?” However, this

the floors?” question once came before the highest court in the

“A lot of time. This is a farm, and things get dirty United States in the 1890s. The government counted

quickly,” said the woman. tomatoes as vegetables, and it imposed a 10%

“And how much time do you spend beating the

import tax on them. Importers, on the other hand,

carpets?” asked Henry.

argued that tomatoes were fruits and should not be
“A lot of time. This house gets dusty, and my dog
taxed.
also lies on them.”
The question went all the way to the Supreme
“Well,” said Henry, “this is your lucky day.”
Court. The justices looked at both science and the
Henry showed her his vacuum cleaner and said,
daily use of tomatoes before deciding. They admitted
“You can clean the house in five minutes with this!”
that, scientifically speaking, tomatoes were fruits
The farmer’s wife did not look interested. Henry
because they were the part of the plant holding the
took out a big bag of dirt. He opened it and threw
seeds. However, they considered that in everyday life
the dirt all over the floor. The farmer’s wife was very
people in the U.S. treated tomatoes as vegetables.
surprised. Before she could speak, Henry said, “Ma’am,
For example, they ate tomatoes with meat or fish,
if this machine doesn’t pick up every last piece of dirt,
not as a dessert. Therefore, the court ruled in 1893
I’ll eat all of it!”
that under customs law, tomatoes counted as
The farmer’s wife looked at Henry and said, “WELL,
vegetables. The importers had to continue to pay the
THEN, I’LL GET YOU A SPOON. WE HAVE NO
tariff.
ELECTRICITY.”
 Should Traffic Tickets Depend on Income? Sharing Economy
Asked by SpeedRadar
What is the "sharing economy"?
A traffic fine is intended to keep people from
Have you ever bought something, used it once,
breaking the law. The poor will find a fine
and left it unused for a long time? If you have, you
burdensome and make up their mind not to violate
may like the idea of the sharing economy. It refers
the traffic law again. However, the same fine may

not work for the rich because it is only a small to an economic model that has recently become

amount of money. The fine must be burdensome to popular. In this model, you are able to borrow or

the rich, too. rent assets such as cars, houses, and even music that

- Posted by Crusher
are owned by someone else. You do not waste your
It is a good idea to punish the rich with heavier
money, and the assets are utilized as fully as
fines. It will help create revenue that the government
possible.
needs in order to build and maintain roads. The rich

do not use public transportation often, they drive

bigger cars, and thus they benefit more from better How is it affecting industries?

and safer roads. I think it is fair for people who Cars

benefit more to contribute more. On average, a car is used for less than one hour a

- Posted by Twister day.

No citizen should be made to pay more because he
In 2010–2012, personal car sales grew by 9%
or she makes more money. Traffic fines should not
globally.
be based on income. In my opinion, richer citizens
Car sharing membership grew by 20%.
have worked harder, and they pay higher taxes. If we
Houses
penalize richer citizens for their hard work, who will

want to work hard? I am afraid the policy would put 80% of travelers would be glad to rent someone

capitalism at risk. else’s holiday house.

- Posted by Moneybite In the U.K., the typical house-sharing host earns

The fact that those who break the traffic law are
￡2,822 renting out a room for 33 nights a year.
richer than others does not change the seriousness
Music
of the crime. The constitution states that people
In 2013, digital revenues accounted for 50% of the
should not be treated differently. Would you also say
U.K. record industry trade revenues for the first time.
younger people should spend more time in prison

than older people for the same crime because they Revenues from streaming grew by 41%.

have more life to spare? What nonsense! 40 million people use a music streaming service.

- Posted by Sunflower
 WATER MAKES WONDERS

APPROPRIATE

TECHNOLOGY•WORLD•LIFESTYLE•ENVIRONMENT

Water is basic to life. It can both heal and clean

us. But did you know that it can also help us see

better? Thanks to some creative thinking and new

inventions, people around the world are seeing the

power of water in a whole new light.

In some parts of Africa, there is only one eye doctor

for every eight million people. For this reason, people

cannot change glasses often. A British physicist

solved this problem by inventing special glasses. They

have water inside the lenses, and there is a dial on

each side of the glasses. By turning the dial, people

can control the amount of water inside the lenses,

which changes the strength of the lenses. With these

glasses, people can see better without visiting a

doctor.

Water helps people see in the Philippines as well. In

Manila, many people used to live in the dark during

the day because they did not have electricity. To

solve this problem, a group of college students

invented a water lamp. It is a one-liter plastic bottle

filled with bleach and water and then placed into a

hole in the metal roof. The clear water in the bottle

sends light from outside into the house. The bleach

keeps the water clean, so the lamp keeps “burning.”

A lot of homes in the city now have these amazing

lamps.