Reading

How Much Can You Learn about Someone in Three Minutes?

Americans always like to do things more efficiently. So why not speed-dating? On a Tuesday night in Chicago, fifty men and fifty women are gathered together at Joe's Bar for an event sponsored by FastDater. The men are seated at long tables, the women opposite them. A master of ceremonies tells the couples that they have got exactly three minutes to dazzle each other. A bell is rung and the dating begins. "Be free with your yesses!" they are told. "You can always dump the guy or girl later."
The bell rings again. The men swap seats, the women stay where they are and a new round of three minute dating begins. Every participant keeps a score-card, marking each "date" as a "yes" or a "no". The matching "yesses" are tabulated and the participants are notified a few tactful days later.
"Most of the time, three minutes feels too short," says Craig Bartal, a computer programmer – but he is a fan. The movie-star good looks that might be described in a personal ad can be checked on the spot; and filling in a score-card is easier than getting phone numbers in a bar.
Speed-dating has begun popping up all over America. FastDater was started in 2001. It's not a bad little money-spinner. The daters pay $35 to take part, and each event has sold out. Facilities are provided by Joe's Bar which it makes a fortune refuelling the speed-daters between bouts.
The crowd looks like the front office of any bank or insurance company, conservative and respectable. Is there a stigma associated with entrusting your social life to the dating equivalent of McDonald's? "Not one that matters," says Mr. Bartal, who has just been on the best date of his life. Others disagree. "I would never admit to my mom that I'm doing this," confesses one participant.
During the short break, Alexandra Dreier, a software designer, admits to exhaustion, but is still enthusiastic. "Everyone is here for the same reason, and everyone knows that they're here for the same reason." That's what I call an efficient market.

Questions

Choose the best explanation…
  1. "Not a bad little money-spinner" means: 
  2. "Master of ceremonies" means: 
  3. "Three minutes to dazzle each other" means: 
  4. "Makes a packet refuelling the speed-daters between bouts" means:
  5. "A few tactful days later" means:
Are the following statements about the article correct?

1.   So far, speed-dating is only available in Chicago.

2.   Joe's Bar sponsors the speed-dating event.

3.   Craig Bartal likes the idea of speed-dating.

4.   Speed-dating attracts mostly working class people.

5.   The events are a big success.