read the passage and answer the questions.
"everyday things"
often, we do not scrutinize the little things that make our lives easier. we do not really recognize the value of the simple luxuries we enjoy today. when was the last time you thought about how much easier your life is because of . . the wooden pencil in your hand? living in a land of plenty like america makes us easy prey for ingratitude. we should show some appreciation for the little everyday things, like wooden pencils, that make written communication easier.
the wooden pencil first dates back to 17th century europe. the first wooden pencils were eraserless. imagine the anxiety of making mistakes! it was not until the american civil war years that erasers were added to wooden pencils. lead pencils date back to early roman times, when romans wrote with lead styluses. we still call them "lead" pencils, but actually, what is inside the modern–day pencil is graphite. early pencils were merely long sticks of graphite inserted into wooden sticks that had been hollowed out by hand. pencils were not mass–produced until 1662 in nuremberg, germany. in 1762, george washington used a three–inch pencil to survey the ohio territory. in 1812, william monroe, a cabinetmaker of concord, massachusetts, began to mass–produce wooden pencils in america.
even the color of the pencil today is significant. in the 19th century, china was renowned for producing the best graphite in the world. pencil makers in the u. s. wanted to convey to consumers that they only used chinese graphite. therefore, they painted them yellow, a color the chinese associate with respect and royalty. this way, american manufacturers let their buyers know that they used chinese graphite exclusively. it is amazing how such a tradition has a profound effect on something as mundane, yet important, as pencil production. seventy–five percent of all pencils produced in america today are yellow. now that you know the history of that little, yellow–painted graphite stick in your hand, remind yourself once in a while to be for the everyday things that people so long ago did without.
microwave ovens
i never thought about my microwave oven until it stopped working one day. i pressed start and then a strange silence, not a steady, busy hum, ensued. it was an essential part of my 20–minute lunch period until the day it retired unannounced. for a week, i battled with messy saucepans and sticky wooden spoons to heat my lunch each day. when i finally bought a new microwave, i vowed never to take for granted this great convenience of modern life.
the following question has two parts. first, answer part a. then, answer part b.
part a:
in the section titled "microwave ovens," what made the microwave oven such an "essential part" of the author's lunch period?
the author had only a short lunch period, and it was difficult to clean up dishes after heating lunch using saucepans.
the meals made for microwaves came pre-packaged, making it easy to consume in a short amount of time.
the microwave had settings that were perfect for reheating leftovers the author brought to work from home.
the microwave cooked things much faster than the traditional toaster oven that it had replaced.