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The woman at the fast-food restaurant got tears in her eyes because she was …

1. insulted.

2. worried.

3. grateful to the author.

4. unhappy about her job.

Time to get off the phone

Last week, while I was trying to enjoy my manicure, I watched in horror as the two women across from me talked on their phones the entire time they were getting their nails done. They employed their head nods, eyebrow raises, and finger-pointing to instruct the manicurists on things like nail length and polish choices.

I really couldn’t believe it. I’ve had my nails done by the same two women for ten years. I know their names, their children’s names, and many of their stories. They know my name, my children’s names, and many of my stories. When I finally made a comment about the women on their cell phones, they both quickly averted their eyes. Finally, in a whisper, the manicurist said, “They don’t know. Most of them don’t think of us as people.”

On my way home, I stopped at Barnes & Noble to pick up a magazine. The woman ahead of me in line bought two books, applied for a new “reader card”, and asked to get one book gift-wrapped without getting off her cell phone. She plowed through the entire exchange without making eye contact or directly speaking to the young woman working at the counter. She never acknowledged the presence of the human being across from her.

After leaving Barnes & Noble, I went to a drive-through fast food restaurant to buy a Diet Coke. Right as I pulled up to the window, my cell phone rang. I wasn’t quite sure, but I thought it might be my son’s school calling, so I answered it. It wasn’t the school – it was someone calling to confirm an appointment.

In the short time it took me to say, “Yes, I’ll be at my appointment,” the woman and I had finished our soda-for-money transaction. I apologized to her the second I got off the phone.

I must have surprised her because she got huge tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you so much. You have no idea how humiliating it is sometimes. They don’t even see us.”

I don’t know how it feels for her, but I do know how it feels to be an invisible member of the service industry. I worked my way through undergrad and some of graduate school by waiting tables and bartending. I worked in a very nice restaurant that was close to campus and a hot spot for wealthy college kids and their parents. When the customers were kind and respectful, it was OK, but one ‘waiter as object’ moment could tear me apart. Unfortunately, I now see those moments happening all the time.

I see adults who don’t even look at their waiters when they speak to them. I see parents who let their young children talk down to store clerks. I see people rage and scream at receptionists, then treat the bosses/doctors/bankers with the utmost respect.

When we treat people as objects, we dehumanize them. We do something really terrible to their souls and to our own. Martin Buber, an Austrian-born philosopher, wrote about the differences between an I-it relationship and an I-you relationship. We create an I-it relationship when we treat people like objects – people who are simply there to serve us or complete a task. I-you relationships are characterized by human connection and empathy.

I’m not suggesting that we engage in a deep, meaningful relationship with the man who works at the cleaners or the woman who works at the drive-through, but I’m suggesting that we stop dehumanizing people and start looking them in the eye when we speak to them. If we don’t have the energy or time to do that, we should stay at home.

16. What does New York city councillor Peter Vallone say about graffiti?

1) Graffiti can be good for cities as long as it is tasteful and conveys positive messages.

2) Graffiti can be beautiful if it is done by a skilled artist.

3) Graffiti is harmful for societal morale.

4) Graffiti is a crime if the artist does not have permission.

A brief history of graffiti

The first drawings on walls appeared in caves thousands of years ago. Later the Ancient Romans and Greeks wrote their names and protest poems on buildings. Modern graffiti seems to have appeared in Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and by the late sixties it had reached New York. The new art form really took off in the 1970s, when people began writing their names, or ‘tags’, on buildings all over the city. In the mid seventies it was sometimes hard to see out of a subway car window, because the trains were completely covered in spray paintings known as ‘masterpieces’.

In the early days, the ‘taggers’ were part of street gangs who were concerned with marking their territory. They worked in groups called ‘crews’, and called what they did ‘writing’ – the term ‘graffiti’ was first used by The New York Times and the novelist Norman Mailer. The article was about a young street artist from New York under the nickname Taki183. He worked as a courier, so he spent a lot of time on the subway. There, at every station he visited, he left a mark with his name. Over time, there were so many of them that not only passers-by, but also local journalists paid attention to them. The artist became the first replacement in the history of graffiti and is considered one of its founders.

Art galleries in New York began buying graffiti in the early seventies. But at the same time that it began to be regarded as an art form, John Lindsay, the mayor of New York, declared the first war on graffiti. By the 1980s it became much harder to write on subway trains without being caught, and instead many of the more established graffiti artists began using roofs of buildings or canvases. Artists earned additional respect for tags in hard-to-reach locations, such as at high altitudes or in protected areas. Then the priority was not given to the visual side, but popularity was measured in the number of marks throughout the city.

The debate over whether graffiti is art or vandalism is still going on. Peter Vallone, a New York city councillor, thinks that graffiti done with permission can be art, but if it is on someone else’s property it becomes a crime. ‘I have a message for the graffiti vandals out there,’ he said recently. ‘Your freedom of expression ends where my property begins.’ On the other hand, Felix, a member of the Berlin-based group Reclaim Your City, says that artists are reclaiming cities for the public from advertisers, and that graffiti represents freedom and makes cities more vibrant.

For decades graffiti has been a springboard to international fame for a few. Jean-Michel Basquiat began spraying on the street in the 1970s before becoming a respected artist in the ’80s. The Frenchman Blek le Rat and the British artist Banksy have achieved international fame by producing complex works with stencils, often making political or humorous points. Works by Banksy have been sold for over £100,000. Commerce has become a characteristic feature of modern graffiti culture. As large companies realized the popularity of street artists' drawings, artists became increasingly involved in advertising campaigns, and manifestations of graffiti in popular culture can be found everywhere — from advertising and films to video games.

16. The word they in paragraph 6 (“...they often aren’t strict enough…”) refers to … 

1) methods

2) plants

3) growers 

4) practices 

A threat to bananas

In the 1950s, Central American commercial banana growers were facing the death of their most lucrative product, the Gros Michel banana, known as Big Mike. And now it’s happening again to Big Mike’s successor – the Cavendish.

With its easily transported, thick-skinned and sweet-tasting fruit, the Gros Michel banana plant dominated the plantations of Central America. United Fruit, the main grower and exporter in South America at the time, mass-produced its bananas in the most efficient way possible: it cloned shoots from the stems of plants instead of growing plants from seeds, and cultivated them in densely packed fields.

Unfortunately, these conditions are also perfect for the spread of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, which attacks the plant’s roots and prevents it from transporting water to the stem and leaves. The TR-1 strain of the fungus was resistant to crop sprays and travelled around on boots or the tyres of trucks, slowly infecting plantations across the region. In an attempt to escape the fungus, farmers abandoned infected fields, flooded them and then replanted crops somewhere else, often cutting down rainforest to do so.

Their efforts failed. So, instead, they searched for a variety of banana that the fungus didn’t affect. They found the Cavendish, as it was called, in the greenhouse of a British duke. It wasn’t as well suited to shipping as the Gros Michel, but its bananas tasted good enough to keep consumers happy. Most importantly, TR-1 didn’t seem to affect it. In a few years, United Fruit had saved itself from bankruptcy by filling its plantations with thousands of the new plants, copying the same monoculture growing conditions Gros Michel had thrived in.

While the operation was a huge success for the Latin American industry, the Cavendish banana itself is far from safe. In 2014, South East Asia, another major banana producer, exported four million tons of Cavendish bananas. But, in 2015, its exports had dropped by 46 per cent thanks to a combination of another strain of the fungus, TR-4, and bad weather.

Growing practices in South East Asia haven’t helped matters. Growers can’t always afford the expensive lab-based methods to clone plants from shoots without spreading the disease. Also, they often aren’t strict enough about cleaning farm equipment and quarantining infected fields. As a result, the fungus has spread to Australia, the Middle East and Mozambique – and Latin America, heavily dependent on its monoculture Cavendish crops, could easily be next.

Racing against the inevitable, scientists are working on solving the problem by genetically modifying the Cavendish with genes from TR-4-resistant banana species. Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology have successfully grown two kinds of modified plant which have remained resistant for three years so far. But some experts think this is just a sophisticated version of the same temporary solution the original Cavendish provided. If the new bananas are planted in the same monocultures as the Cavendish and the Gros Michel before it, the risk is that another strain of the disease may rise up to threaten the modified plants too.

16. Coaches are different from parents and teachers because:

1. They always work at specialized places.
2. They can deal with the complexity of the child. 
3. They are smarter and more restrained. 
4. Coaches can teach things that are impossible to learn at school or with parents.

Teenagers and hobbies

Nowadays the youth  has troubles with forming the future. Hobbies give teenagers a chance to meet new people, discover new passions, develop skills outside of school, and do something all kids (yes, teens are part kid) should do: have fun. You don’t need peer-reviewed scientific studies to tell you that. But you might need a little reminder about adolescent development to drive home the importance of hobbies. 

Two of the most important things that happen during the teen years are identity formation and differentiation. Identity formation is exactly what it sounds like: it’s the process of becoming an individual with an entire set of personal wants, needs, skills, and preferences. It’s quite a complicated period of life and the choice can be changed on a daily basis. Differentiation is part of identity formation, but – and this is crucial – differentiation is special. It’s the formation of an identity outside and apart from parents and family.

That’s where hobbies come in. Hobbies are a great way for teens to form an identity outside their family. And hobbies that take place after school hours can be even better. They also give teenagers a chance to forge their own path outside of the watchful eye of parents and teachers.

While in school, teachers act as an extension of the family. That’s the law of the land: both common law dating back centuries and the U.S. Supreme court holding that school officials can act in loco parentis, or in the place of the parents.

But things like sports and band are different: it’s common knowledge that figures like sports coaches and band directors – while they’re coaching or directing a band – are neither teachers nor parents. They help teens learn and grow in new and different ways, under a unique set of rules and norms – all while teaching them skills they don’t learn at home or in class.

In addition to facilitating basic psychological needs, hobbies benefit teens on many levels. Here’s a partial list. Some hobbies are just fun. And that’s what’s great about them. They’re no big deal. They’re not school, they’re not work, they’re not family: they’re just something fun to do to pass the time. And that’s one hundred percent okay.  When you are pursuing a hobby, you are utilizing your free time in a better way. This keeps you busy and makes you conscious about the importance of time. Learning to manage time helps in leading a more disciplined lifestyle, and keeps you ahead in the game.

Everyone needs a way to while away the hours, relieve stress, and have a good time while doing so. That’s the amazing thing about hobbies: they can be just that – relatively inconsequential pursuits that make you feel good – but they can also be much more. They can be a template for accomplishment, achievement, and success. They can teach a teenager valuable life lessons that resonate across the decades and enrich life on physical, emotional, and psychological levels. When you look at hobbies that way, it’s a no-brainer: you can’t afford not to have one.

16. Manny Lopez was

1) a robot.

2) a welfare officer.

3) mentally disabled.

4) an exception.

Today was a rice day, fifty pound sacks of white rice in trucks bearing an elephant logo. The same happy elephant appeared on the bags, its head raised to the sky, the trunk curved like an S. ‘Elephant,’ Todd said. He said it because a labourer was staring at it intently, which meant he wasn’t working. ‘That’s right,’ the man said. ‘I couldn’t remember the word.’ He was the only other human at the loading dock this morning. The man didn’t have a name, just a number, like the rest of the robots.

That could be me, Todd thought as he watched him work side by side with his silent mechanical counterparts, lifting, carrying, and dropping bags of rice from the back of the truck to the warehouse. A bad car accident, a bad fall from a ladder, and that could be me. Or a bad memrip.

At lunch, Todd thought of things he could sell. Everything he owned of any value, he could touch: his grandfather’s watch, his grandmother’s wedding ring, a gold necklace be longing to some forgotten relative. His car, too, but that was out of the question as he needed it to work. He got up from his chair and scanned the floor below, the robots still working away, a sea of metallic shoulders rising and falling in unison, strangely beautiful in a way. Over by the forklift sat 8831, his eyes as blank as the piece of bread he was eating.

Two weeks from today was Todd’s thirtieth wedding anniversary, and even if he were to pawn the watch, the ring, and the necklace, he knew he wouldn’t even come close to having enough for Paris. That’s where Sue had wanted to go for as long as he could re member. They didn’t have the money to honeymoon there, but that was okay because back then, there had been plenty of time. They were young, both healthy and working, so they would save a little here and there and in a couple of years, they would be walking up to the Eiffel Tower at night arm in arm, find themselves underneath the arch and look up at the beacon that shines on this city of lights.

But then came two sons and three recessions and a second mortgage. A hysterectomy for her, a double bypass for him, and now here he was, nine years short of retirement, supervising a team of robots and a retarded man, thinking about folks who could sell things they couldn’t touch, like stocks and bonds and whatever else he couldn’t even fathom, people with money who would pay to experience another’s most cherished moments.

Silly. That would be Sue’s word for it if this were a story she’d overheard. For a trip, what a silly thing to do. But it was more than a trip. It was their life together. There was life and there was death, and it seemed to Todd that if he waited any longer, there wouldn’t be any difference between the two.

He opened the filing cabinet and rifled through the folders. Name: Lopez, Manny. Age: 46. Tax Status: Married. In all the years he’d been here, only a handful of human workers had come and gone. All of them were handicapped in some way; they came through the city welfare program, and 8831 was no exception.

Manny’s wife picked up on the second ring. Todd told her who he was, and after he assured her that her husband was not hurt, he was fine, he was a great worker, he asked her what he wanted to know. She listened without interrupting him; then there was a lengthy silence.

‘Why?’ she asked.

‘Does it matter?’

‘I can report you.’

‘I know.’ More silence.

‘He did it because he loved me. Loved,’ she said, hardening. ‘Not loves.’

‘I heard you.’

Then she hung up, and for the rest of the day, Todd replayed the conversation in his mind. Should he have lied to her, made up some story about a sick mother, a dying child? He wasn’t good at talking, especially on the phone. People thought he was unfriendly, hostile. A woman once told him his voice sounded like broken stones rattling in a cage.

The horn blared at five, time for the two humans to go home and the robots to be reconditioned and put in standby.

(Adapted from ‘Paris, at Night’ by Sung J. Woo)

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Leadership in college

    Everyone says it's important to get involved in college. Joining organizations and clubs helps college students feel more connected to their schools, build résumés, learn important life skills that may not be gleaned in lecture halls, and potentially meet some of their best friends.

    The minute I walked on campus to begin my freshman year, I knew I had to get involved in as many organizations as I could. In January, I began my position as a sisterhood director, which entailed planning events for my chapter, whether that is at our own chapter or out in the city community. I've hosted events such as essential-oil DIY parties, yoga classes, movie nights and senior send-off celebrations for our chapter members. I was very excited about the opportunity, and I knew that my previous leadership experiences would help me out. However, my perspective on what it means to be a leader among my peers has definitely changed after a semester of holding the position.

    There are three main components that I have learned through leadership: communication, organization, and delegation. I've learned that no matter how many times or in how many different ways you communicate a message, it will not get agross to everyone, and that is OK.

    People value transparency and sometimes need to be told exactly what you expect of them. Some people are so on top of schedules that they could tell you what's going on six months from now, but some people need constant reminders and do not keep track of their schedules. There is a gap in communication between these two types of people that can lead to frustration and disorganization on both ends.

    This past semester I have worked to bridge that gap between types of communicators, and that is one of the most valuable tlings I have learned from my position.

    It's important to appreciate the time it takes for every aspect of an event to plan and to take place; some tasks can take months to put together, and those should not involve procrastination. But some are OK to sort out the day of. Some of my best work was done with hours to spare, and if that's when you work best, why avoid it? Procrastination, when paired with an organized plan, can turn out to be successful.

    One of the strongest qualities a good leader can have is the ability to delegate. It's a misconception that as a leader, you must do and be a part of every step of a project. Delegating tasks to members of a committee, in my case, was a lifesaver and what made my job so worthwhile. I got to work with so many different talents, and this way, they all feel as if they're contributing in a way that is specific to their talents.

    What I've learned through mistakes and successes in my position has led me to be more knowledgeable, not only about planning events and about the members of my chapter but about communicating, organizing, modeling roles, and involving the community.

    I feel so grateful to be in a position that has encouraged me to learn more about myself and the skills that I've had to acquire. I feel so fortunate to have had this position so far, and it has made me reflect on the kind of leader I hope to be in my future career. Having a leadership position in college is vital to be able to discover how you communicate with others and what skills you have and lack before you go off into the real world.

It in "why avoid it?" (paragraph 6) most probably refers to...

1) doing work.

3) delaying work.

2) an organized plan.

4) free time.

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Educational technology

    The covid outbreak showed all of us that education online is possible. Moreover, it can be even effective if we learn to implement educational technology available today.

    Educational technology is the use of tools in the classroom to develop an engaging and personalized learning experience. Beyond the use of computers, students and teachers can use interactive platforms, devices, and even analytical software to better gauge students' progress using data in real-time. Learning has never been a one-size-fits-all endeavour, and with educational technology, teachers can better serve students' individualized needs.

    The benefits of technology in education are far-reaching and growing with each day. Let's take a look at some of the upsides of how technology impacts education positively.

    The first thing that comes to mind is 24/7 availability and accessibility. Technology like the internet and the ability to record lectures, upload learning resources to a platform, and host discussion forums make it possible to expand one's access and availability to learn. For example, at many universities around the world students can earn their degrees entirely online through the use of an online learning system. Students used to have to be physically located inside a classroom to obtain their education. These days, online learning (by choice or by circumstance) has led to a revolution in education that makes it accessible to anyone, anywhere.

    Furthermore, technology offers great metrics for tracking progress. With technological platforms, students and teachers can report and review progress based on each individual's performance. Through the use of analytics, teachers can easily visualize how a student is growing or being thwarted. This can help teachers spot inefficiencies or areas that are ripe for improvement or attention.

    Follow-up activities in online education are more diverse. Once a student leaves their designated class time, homework is a standard follow-up. However, when handing out paperwork, there may be missed opportunities. With education and technology, teachers can design personalized follow-up activities and grant each student the ability to learn at their own pace, even when they are outside of the classroom. For example, teachers can host a variety of options online for follow-up activities, and students, based on their level of understanding, can choose their course of action.

    What the opponents of online education usually say is that you lack communication. But I think using technology actually means increased collaboration. Classroom management tools make it easier than ever for students, parents, and teachers to collaborate. For example, it's not always easy to get students to work together in groups. But, with online portals and discussion forums, students can contribute in their own space and time to work with other students. Additionally, teachers can communicate and collaborate in an organized manner with parents for feedback and the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and/or concerns.

    Lastly, just because schools or institutions use educational technology, it doesn't mean that the need for a teacher is removed. Teachers are necessary to implement the technology properly; devise creative lesson plans, and support students' needs, among other things.

    To conclude, technology in education has led to more accessibility, lower costs, and personalized learning experiences. From education data platforms to online schools and everything in between, it's asy to see how technology has affected education, and continues to do so with each innovation.

What is the author's response to the opponents of online education?
1) Lack of communication is just a minor problem.
2) Communication with parents online is more difficult.
3) Online discussion forums are better for communication.

4) Technology actually encourages working together.

16. Global warming has

1) only negative consequences.

2) only positive consequences.

3) more negative than positive consequences.

4) more positive than negative consequences.

The risk of catastrophic climate change is getting worse, according to a new study from scientists involved with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Threats — ranging from the destruction of coral reefs to more extreme weather events like hurricanes, droughts and floods — are becoming more likely at the temperature change already underway: as little as 1.8 degree Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) of warming in global average temperatures.

‘Most people thought that the risks were going to be for certain species and poor people. But all of a sudden the European heatwave of 2003 comes along and kills 50,000 people; [Hurricane] Katrina comes along and there’s a lot of data about the increased intensity of droughts and floods. Plus, the dramatic melting of Greenland that nobody can explain certainly has to increase your concern,’ says climatologist Stephen Schneider of Stanford University, who co-authored the research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as well as in several IPCC reports. ‘Everywhere we looked, there was evidence that what was believed to be likely has happened. Nature has been cooperating with climate change theory unfortunately.’

Schneider and his colleagues updated a graph, dubbed the ‘burning embers,’ that is designed to map the risks of damage from global warming. The initial version of the graph drawn in 2001 had the risks of climate change beginning to appear after 3.6 or 5.4 degrees F (2 to 3 degrees C) of warming, but the years since have shown that climate risks kick in with less warming.

According to the new graph, risks to ‘unique and threatened systems’ such as coral reefs and risks of extreme weather events become likely when temperatures rise by as little as 1.8 degrees F from 1990 levels, which is on course to occur by mid-century given the current concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases. In addition, risks of negative consequences such as increased droughts and the complete melting of ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica definitively outweigh any potential positives, such as longer growing seasons in countries such as Canada and Russia.

‘We’re definitely going to overshoot some of these temperatures where we see these very large vulnerabilities manifest,’ says economist Gary Yohe of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., another co-author. ‘We’re going to have to learn how to adapt.’ Adaptation notwithstanding, Yohe and Schneider say that scientists must also figure out a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to reverse the heating trend to prevent further damage.

Several bills pending in Congress would set a so-called cap-and-trade policy under which an overall limit on pollution would be set — and companies with low output could sell their allowances to those that fail to cut emissions as long as the total stays within the total pollution cap. Any such federal policy would put a price on carbon dioxide pollution, which is currently free to vent into the atmosphere, Yohe note. He, however, favours a so-called carbon tax that would set a fixed price for such climate-changing pollution rather than the cap-and-trade proposals favoured by the Obama administration. ‘It’s a predictable price, not a thing that bounces around.’

But even with such policies in place—not only in the U.S. but across the globe—climate change is a foregone conclusion. Global average temperatures have already risen by at least 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 degree C) and further warming of at least 0.7 degree F (0.4 degree C) is virtually certain, according to the IPCC. And a host of studies, including a recent one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have shown that global warming is already worse than predicted even a few years ago. The question is: ‘Will it be catastrophic or not?’ ‘We’ve dawdled, and if we dawdle more, it will get even worse,’ Schneider says. ‘It’s time to move.’

16) The Google and Microsoft (paragraph 9) are mentioned to …

1. explain how Planetary Resources Inc. became famous.

2. prove that asteroids can be commercially attractive.

3. show that space research is important for computer science.

4. prove that asteroids can interfere with the Internet.

Have you ever tasted saltwater? I guess you have and if so, you will agree with me that it’s not very refreshing. In fact, drinking more than a few cups worth can kill you.

According to the United States Geological Survey, whose mission is to collect and disseminate reliable, impartial, and timely information that is needed to understand the nation’s water resources, about ninety-seven percent of the water on our planet is saltwater; the rest is stored in lakes, rivers, glaciers and aquifers underground. Moreover, only about one-third of the world’s potential fresh water can be used for human needs. As pollution increases, the amount of usable water decreases.

Water is the most precious and taken-for-granted resource we have on Earth. It is also one of the most threatened resources. Increased population and possible climate change will put more and more strain on supplies of this vital resource as time goes on. What could we do in this situation? Though it may seem like science fiction, the solution could lie in outer space.

I’m not saying we’re going to be teleporting to a spring on the other side of the galaxy or colonizing another planet just to have longer showers – it’s much more mundane than that. What we could achieve realistically in this century is the successful use of the solar system’s rare metals and water, barring the invention of the matrix.

You may be surprised to learn that the metal in your keys, coins, cell phone, computer, car and everywhere else, originally came to this planet from space. When Earth formed, the heavy metals sank to the center and formed a solid core. The lighter elements formed the mantle and the crust we live on. Asteroids and comets that struck the Earth brought water and metals to the surface.

There are thousands of asteroids orbiting near Earth. Most asteroids are made of rock, but some are composed of metal, mostly nickel and iron. Probes could be sent out to these to identify useful ones. Then larger probes could push them towards the Earth where they can be handled in orbit.

In order to fuel ships and probes, we simply need to find a source of water, such as a comet or the surface of the moon. We collect the water and pass an electric current through it from a solar panel. The water separates into oxygen and hydrogen, which in liquid form is a powerful rocket fuel.

Is this really possible? We may soon find out. Private company SpaceX has already started delivering equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).The ISS is proof that countries once at each other’s throats, like America and Russia, can work together and pull off multi-billion dollar projects.

Recently, a company called Planetary Resources Inc. made the news forgetting big names like Google and Microsoft to invest in exploring asteroids for material gain. Although it will take many decades, it is wise to put the gears in motion now.

We’ve already landed probes on the surface of asteroids and taken samples from them. We can put something as large as the ISS, which weighs just short of 500 tons, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in orbit.

We can make a half-million-mile round-trip to get rocks from the moon. We can do all of these things already. They just need to be applied and developed in a smart way.