Washing clothes by hand sounds like a simple task, but for many women around the world it can do harm to their well-being and living. What would you do with your time if you could spend less time washing your clothes? “Paid work,” replied Aleas, a 49-year-old woman from a family of 10 with no access to an electric washing machine. She spent 8-12 hours every week washing everyone’s clothes by hand and described how the required body position of sitting on her feet caused her back pain.

Washing Machine Project provides low-income communities with an accessible washing solution. Its task is to help women save the time to take charge of their lives. “A mother or a child doesn’t have to spend 20 hours a week washing clothes by hand,” said Nav Sawhney, an engineering student at University of Bath in the UK.

Sawhney has created a movable washing machine that is operated by hand. He came up with the idea when Divya, a woman he met in southern India, explained the struggle of washing clothes without a machine. This burden is often shouldered by women and girls in many developing countries. Now, Sawhney’s washing machines, which he named Divya after the woman, could greatly reduce the time of washing clothes and allow women and young girls to receive education and have paid work.

After research in Iraq, Lebanon, the Philippines and Jordan, as well as India, Sawhney came up with a machine that uses only 10 liters of water every time, compared with 30 by a typical electric machine, extremely important in places where water is short. It’s also made out of things that are easy to get and replace, which means it doesn’t need much money to make it. Sawhney and his volunteers won the support of University of Bath, and already received orders from Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.

【小题1】What does washing clothes by hand mean to Aleas?

A．A hard way of making a living.

B．A simple method of killing time.

C．The tiring housework she has to do.

D．The family duty she volunteers to do.

【小题2】Why was the washing machine named after Divya?

A．She inspired the invention.	B．She helped with the design.
C．She was the first to order it.	D．She thought up the idea first.

【小题3】What can we learn about the washing machine “Divya”?

A．It is cheap and water-saving.	B．It is mainly promoted in India.
C．It is shared by a community.	D．It is free to use.

【小题4】What is the main purpose of Sawhney’s washing machines?

A．To develop the market in developing countries.

B．To reduce women’s burden in low-income areas.

C．To take the place of traditional washing machines.

D．To wash clothes in an environmentally-friendly way.