How cities can better prevent fires
August 29, 2018
America’s deadliest building fire for more than a decade struck Oakland, California, on December 2nd 2016, killing 36 people attending a dance party in a warehouse that had become a cluttered artist collective. The disaster highlights an open secret: many cities lack resources to inspect for fire risk all the structures that they should. Even though the Oakland building had no fire sprinklers and at least ten people lived there illegally, no inspector had visited in about 30 years. How might cities make better use of the inspectors they do have?
A handful of American cities have begun to seek help from a new type of analytics software. By crunching diverse data collected by government bodies and utilities, the software works out which buildings are most likely to catch fire and should therefore be inspected first. Plenty of factors play a role. Older, wooden buildings, unsurprisingly, pose more risk, as do those close to past fires and leaks of gas or oil. Poverty also pushes up fire risk, especially if lots of children, who may be attracted to mischief, live nearby. More telling are unpaid taxes, foreclosure proceedings and recorded complaints of mould, rats, crumbling plaster, accumulating rubbish, and domestic fights, all of which hint at property neglect. A building’s fire risk also increases the further it is from its owner’s residence.
Predictive software designed at Harvard that Portland, Oregon, will soon begin using will do that. Perhaps more importantly, the city’s fire chief noticed that buildings marked as being the biggest risks are clustered in areas lacking good schools, public transport, health care and food options. Healthier, happier people start fewer fires, he concluded. He now lobbies officials to reduce Portland’s pockets of deteriorated areas.
(The Economist. www.economist.com/the-economist-explains /2018/08/29/how-cities-can-better-prevent-fires. Adaptado)
According to the last paragraph, Portland’s fire chief believes that
The words such as in “such as electronics, automobiles, and home appliances" (paragraph 1) is used to indicate
What has the study pointed out in relation to technological change?
What has been changing in the role of labor because of technological progress?
Based on the text, judge the following items.
Some decades ago, watching TV depended on different factors, including the weather.
Based on the text, judge the following items.
In the 1970s, it was only possible to watch local TV programs.
Based on the text, judge the following items.
The term “wellderly" (line 7) refers to anyone who turns 80.
Based on the text, judge the following items.
People live a long and healthy life in Molochio because there is a ban on smoking and drinking there.
Considering the text 6A4AAA, judge the following item.
Tangible and intangible programs of protection differ in the sense that the former can rely on existing laws in national levels whereas the latter demands the creation of new institutional instruments.
Concerning the ideas of the previous text and the vocabulary used in it, judge the following item.
The text shows that English dominance on the Internet brings a geo-political concern for some researchers.
Which of the following class activities most effectively helps beginning-level English Language Learners (ELLs) develop decoding skills?
Read the text below and answer the question that follow:
In the second paragraph, when Kate said "loved it", she meant that she loved:
According to the text which alternative(s) is(are) corrrect:
thief-resistant locks on the front and back doors; key-operated window locks; and a time-switch operated light in the bedroom and/or living room which goes on and off at night if you are away. (Anthony Bowles) According to the text, which statements are correct? 1- professional burglars can always be prevented from entering houses if the security system is good. 2- the casuals are professional burglars. 3- scare off means “frighten off”. 4- break-ins refer to the act of burgling. 5- the light referred to is described as being time-switch operated.
