GED Language Arts Practice Test 8

“On the second Saturday of each month, the basement of the Linwood Public Library fills with broken things. Residents carry in toasters that no longer heat, lamps with frayed cords, jeans with split seams, and bicycles with slipping chains. Volunteers at folding tables, most of them retired electricians, tailors, and mechanics, try to fix each item while its owner watches. The idea is borrowed. Repair cafés began in the Netherlands in 2009 and have since spread to thousands of communities around the world. Linwood’s started three years ago, when librarian Celia Marsh noticed how many patrons asked her where they could get a small appliance fixed. The answer, more and more often, was nowhere. The volunteers keep a simple log. Of the 412 items brought in last year, 268 left the basement working again. Another 61 needed a part that the owner could order, and the rest could not be saved. Marsh estimates that the repaired items would have filled two garbage trucks. Still, the volunteers are quick to say that the café is not really about trash. Owners are asked to stay at the table and help, holding a flashlight or turning a screw. “People leave knowing how their things work,” said Frank Odom, a retired electrician. “Half of them come back next month to help someone else.” The café does not charge for repairs. A coffee can by the door collects donations, which pay for solder, thread, and the coffee itself.” Which statement best expresses the main idea of the article?

• ARetired workers are the best source of help with broken household appliances
• BRepair cafés began in the Netherlands and later spread to other countries
• CMost broken items can be repaired if their owners order the right parts
• DA library’s monthly repair event fixes household items and teaches owners