Variant 1 You could have come first and won the race if you … faster

23. How does the author describe the machine in the passage?

A) specific amount of viewing time B) person’s viewing allocation

C) electronic disciplinarian D) team up to maximize recourses

24. According to the principle of TV Allowance, when your viewing time is over ...

A) you must punch your code. B) you have to delete your allocation.

C) your parents do not let you watch TV. D) your television set switches off.
Imagine a world where all your clothes had to be sewn by hand! That`s how things were until the 1800s, when a number of inventors began building mechanical sewing machines. Until that time, sewing was a difficult, time-consuming job. Plans for sewing machines were patented by many inventors, for example, Thomas Saint in England in 1790 and Barthelemy Thinomonnier in France, who produced the first practical sewing machine in 1830. A number of American inventors furthered the design during the 1800s, but perhaps the best known is a farmer from Massachusetts Elias Howe, who built a machine in 1844. Despite his patents, Howe`s design was produced by a number of other manufacturers, including Isaac Singer (who formed the Singer Sewing Machines, which is still in operation). Both Howe and Singer became multi-millionaires, and the world got … more clothes!