Question

If you’re encouraged by the tiny house movement and think 160 square feet is just enough for your needs, you may want to contact the Academy of Construction and Design (ACAD) at IDEA Public Charter School in northeast Washington.

Students in the program built a micro house with a kitchen, a bathroom, a sleeping loft with space for a queen-size bed and a storage loft, all set on a trailer for mobility. The exterior of the house was part of a continuous living exhibit in 2015 and was moved to the IDEA campus so students could work with builders to complete the interior earlier this year.

McMahon said the D. C. government’s approval to push companies to hire District residents was at odds with the school system not preparing students for careers in construction, exploring or electrical work. McMahon gathered industry and community leaders to establish ACAD in 2005, and he said 100 percent of the companies he contacted responded positively to the idea, including major firms such as JBG, Clark Construction, Hines Construction and Boston Properties.

“When students make the connection between what they are learning a potential career, their academics improve dramatically,” said Carol Randolph, chief operating officer of the D. C. Students Construction Trades Foundation. “Some of them who didn’t think college was an option now have a better chance because their classes have become relevant to a job.”

“We teach them life skills and explain that even if you start as a laborer, there are opportunities to move up quickly,” he said. “We rewrite the story for them and explain that they can work for a few years, make good money, get promoted, and start their own business or go to school with less debts.”

“Parents and school advisor can be the biggest obstacles because of the negative idea of construction as a blue-collar career,” Karriem said. “I get middle-school advisor on board to talk about the opportunities this education provides. These kids are learning lifelong skills that can help them in other fields, provide them with income and allow them to take care of their homes.”

1.What might be the main purpose of the first paragraph?

A. To advise the students to build houses.

B. To show IDEA Public Charter School.

C. To introduce the tiny house movement.

D. To get in touch with the ACAD organization.

2.What is the program of building a micro house aimed at?

A. Experiencing living in the tiny house.

B. Improving cooperating with related companies.

C. Learning lifelong skills from college classes.

D. Providing the opportunities to get a job.

3.What does the underlined part “at odds with” mean in the 3rd paragraph?

A. Inconsistent B. Favorable

C. Unusual D. Satisfactory

4.What can we infer from the words of Karriem?

A. Students tend to choose the blue-collar career.

B. It’s hard to make the micro house movement popular.

C. Education should provide more job opportunities

D. Life skills help improve students’ academics greatly

Answer 1