Skimming for the main idea

Ten years ago, many people in big cities hardly ever cooked. They bought ready meals from the supermarket or ordered food to their homes. Today, however, more and more people are learning to cook for themselves, and cooking classes are fuller than ever.

Money is one important reason for this change. Restaurant prices have risen quickly, and a meal made at home usually costs much less than a takeaway. A family of four can save a large amount each month by cooking just three or four evenings a week.

Health is another reason. When you cook at home, you know exactly what goes into your food. You can use less salt, sugar and oil, and add more vegetables. Doctors say that people who cook regularly often have a healthier diet.

The internet has also made cooking easier to learn. Thousands of free videos show beginners how to chop an onion or bake bread, step by step. Some people say they have learned more from short online videos than from any cookbook.

Of course, not everyone has time to cook every day. But for many people, cooking has changed from a boring job into a useful skill and even a hobby. It seems that the home kitchen is busy again.

When you think of a library, you probably think of books. But in a growing number of towns, people can now borrow drills, tents, sewing machines and even musical instruments. These places are called “libraries of things”, and they are becoming popular in Europe and North America.

The idea is simple. Most of us own things that we use only once or twice a year. An electric drill, for example, may stay in a cupboard for months between uses. Instead of buying one, members of a library of things pay a small fee and borrow it for a few days, just like a book.

Supporters say these libraries are good for the planet. If ten families share one lawnmower, nine lawnmowers do not need to be made, transported or thrown away. Less shopping means less waste, and fewer things end up in rubbish dumps.

Libraries of things also bring people together. Many of them are run by volunteers, who often offer free workshops on repairing clothes or fixing bicycles. Members say they have met neighbours they had never spoken to before.

However, running a library of things is not always easy. Some items come back broken or dirty, and volunteers have to check and clean everything. Small libraries also find it hard to pay for storage space and insurance. Many depend on money from local councils, and this money may not continue for ever.