Imagine that you are preparing a project with your friend. You have found some interesting material for the presentation and you want to read this text to your friend. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, then be ready to read it out aloud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.

The earliest fireworks can be traced to around 2,000 years ago in China. People then are said to have roasted bamboo stalks. The stalks turned black and sizzled. The air inside the hollow stalks would explode. Years later, Chinese chemists took fireworks a step further. This happened sometime between 600 and 900 A.D. People filled bamboo shoots with gunpowder. They threw them into a fire pit. Steel dust or iron shavings were added to make them sparkle. In China, these firecrackers were often used in celebrations. In the 13th century, fireworks spread to Europe. In the centuries that followed, Europeans began moving to North America. So it was no surprise that when July 4th began to be celebrated as America's Independence Day, fireworks were part of the plan. John Adams said he hoped the anniversary of the country’s independence would be marked for years to come by “bonfires” and “illuminations.”