Richard Turere walks through his family's farm just outside Nairobi National Park in Kenya. Goats, cows, and sheep eat grass peacefully on the farm while in the park nearby, lions wander leisurely, living in peaceful coexistence with the livestock. An extraordinary picture! How do livestock manage to live safely near these huge lions? It's all due to this young man's brilliant invention, Lion Lights.
Livestock is his family's entire livelihood—which is why whenever lions attacked their goats, sheep, or cattle, it was disastrous. There seemed to be no good solution to the problem until Richard began working on it. After a lion killed his family's only bull, Richard started experimenting with ways to scare off the lions. His first two attempts—fire and then a scarecrow—were unsuccessful. But one night in 2011, when he was walking around with a flashlight, he noticed that lions stayed away. That's when he realized: these big cats were afraid of moving lights!
Then Richard—who'd taken apart and studied machines since he was very small—began experimenting. Despite his lack of any formal training in electrical engineering, he fitted a system of flashing LED lights on poles around the farm. The flashing lights, which he made from vehicle indicator flashers, car batteries, and a solar panel, tricked the lions into thinking the grounds were guarded, keeping the lions away.
The word got out about the brilliant "lion-lights boy". Soon Richard was fixing the Lion Lights system for neighbors. Later, his invention won him a scholarship to Kenya's well-known Brookhouse International School. And when Richard was 13, he was invited to California to speak about his invention at a TED conference. These days, Richard still lives on his family's farm, and fixes the Lion Lights system for people all over Kenya, which functions efficiently. He dreams of becoming an airplane engineer and pilot, but he also works to arouse people's awareness about the need to support young Kenyan inventors like himself.
4. What does "an extraordinary picture" refer to?
A.Eye-catching scenery. | B.Well-protected ecosystem. |
C.Lions losing their nature. | D.Animals existing in harmony. |
5. What used to be the problem with Richard's farm?
A.Lions attacked livestock. | B.The locals' lives were threatened. |
C.Machines didn't function well. | D.Flashlights weren't in good condition. |
6. From the Lion Lights experiment we can know that_________.
A.Richard's idea came from his failure. | B.Flashing lights could scare lions away. |
C.Richard's academic knowledge mattered. | D.Flashing lights were difficult to maintain. |
7. What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A.Richard's dream has come true. | B.Richard's invention makes a difference. |
C.Richard's devotion to helping his neighbors. | D.Richard's awareness of bettering his community. |