Learn English with American Primary School Textbooks

Chapter 4 Social Life (4)
The work of making parchment and writing it by hand made a book very hard to get in days gone by. What a big step forward it was when paper and print were made. First paper was made from cloth. Today most paper is made of wood pulp. But the most important invention was the printing press. The printing press had movable pieces of print that could be set up as a page for a book. With ink rolled over the print and paper pressed onto it, a whole page was made at One time. Many pages could be made easily before the next page of print was set up. The writing did not have to be done by hand each time. After a long time, books became common and did not cost so much. Today, huge presses make newspapers every day. Just about everyone can read the news and know what is happening in the world.
Being able to send messages by mail is another big step in communication. A person can write a letter, put a stamp on it, and send it.
Anywhere in the world, at first letters were carried by horses and riders. This way was called the Pony Express. Today most mail travels by airplane and truck.
Telephone
People still talk to other people. As man found out more about his world, he used what he learned to communicate from distances.
Over 100 years ago the telegraph was invented. The telegraph was a way of sending messages over wires. Samuel Morse made up an alphabet of dots and dashes known as the Morse Code. These long and short signals were sent great distances over wires.
The next step was made by Alexander Graham Bell. He believed voices could be sent along a wire, too. After a lot of thought and work, Bell invented the telephone. Today we can talk to someone hundreds of miles away using the telephone.
Radio and television
The time came when men decided that sound could be sent without wires. They learned that voices and music could be sent through the air and picked up by a special receiver. This invention was first called the wireless. Today we call it the radio. used the radio for fun by listening to music and stories. They also listened to the news.
The next invention sent pictures through the air. The receiver for the pictures was the television. The first television was in black and white. Now color televisions often are used. Soon some telephones will have small televisions so you can see the person you are talking to.
Satellites and computers
To make pictures travel farther, satellites are used. Satellites travel in space around the earth. They pick up signals and send them out again. This way a television station on one side of the world can send a signal to a satellite. The satellite sends the signal on to a station on the other side of the world. One famous satellite is named Telstar.
Computers are becoming a very important way to communicate, At first computers were just machines that could do mathematics very fast. Now they do much more. They store words and thoughts and sort through them for particular things. Stores now use computers to check out groceries and to reorder them at the same time. Computers can solve hard problems quickly. Computers are used by airlines to help make sure you get on the right plane. Computers are now widely used in business and science.
Vocabulary
Parchment ["pɑ: t? m? nt] n. Parchment, top-quality paper, official text printed on top-quality paper
pulp [p? lp] n. Pulp, pulp, low-grade books

Movable ["mu: v? bl] adj. Active, movable

ink[i? k] n. Ink, ink

just about about, immediately, almost

stamp [st? mp]n. Stamps, seals, imprints, stamps;
vt. Affix a stamp to, stamp on...;
vt. & vi. stomp
Pony Express n. The system of Pony Express

telegraph ["teliɡrɑ: f] n. Telegraph, telegraph machine;

vt. & vi. to telegraph (message)

Alphabet ["?lf? bit] n. Alphabet

dot [d? t] n. point, small dot;

vt. Marked with small dots, distributed everywhere, hit (someone)

dash [d? ? ] vi. rush, rush;
vt. & vi. slam, (make) slam;

n. dash, gallop, dash, dash
wireless ["wai? lis] adj. Without wires, transmitted by radio waves;

n. radio

satellite ["s?t?lait] n. Satellite, artificial satellite

mathematics["m?θi"m? tiks] n. mathematics
sort[s? : t] n. group, category, category, certain person;

vt. & vi. classify, organize

Grocery ["ɡr? us? ri] n. grocery industry, grocery store
Practice
I． Write yes if the sentence is true. Write no if the sentence is not true.
1. Sound can be sent without wires．

2. The wireless is what we call Morse Code.

3. Man can send pictures through the air.

4. We can hear the news on the radio.

5. The first pictures sent through the air were in color.

6. Someday you may see the person you are talking to on the telephone.

7. Large flat pieces of stone are called parchment.

8. Newspapers tell people what is happening in the world.

II． Write the lines using words from the story.
The man who invented the telephone was .

The man who made the alphabet of dots and dashes was ．

These dots and dashes are called the ．

Many copies of a piece of writing could be made on a ．

Most paper today is made of .

An early way to send mail was called the .

A radio used to be called a ．

Something that helps send signals around the world is a ．

Translation
All the time, people are constantly finding new ways to communicate with other people.They learned to talk to people far away. Writing is no longer limited to handwriting. It can even be transmitted to space through radio waves, pictures and sounds. People can also accept pictures and sounds sent from space.

write

In the old days of handwriting on parchment, getting a book was hard work.When paper and printing were invented, we took a big step forward.The first paper was made from cloth, many papers are now made from wood pulp, but the most important invention was the printing press.The movable printing plate of the printing press can be set as a page of a book. When the ink on the printing plate is rolled over the paper, what needs to be printed remains on the paper, and the printing of the whole page is completed at the same time.Many pages can easily be printed before the next plate is set.In this way, the work does not need to be copied by hand every time.After a while, books became very popular and not so expensive anymore.Today, huge printing presses print newspapers every day, and almost everyone can read the news and know what's going on in the world.

A mailbox capable of sending letters was another great advance in communication.One could write a letter, put a stamp on it, and mail it.

Anywhere in the world, letters were originally delivered by horses and riders in a method known as stagecoach mail.Today, much mail is carried by plane and truck.

Telephone

People want to talk to other people.When man knows more about his world, he uses what he has learned to communicate with people far away.

The telegraph was invented more than 100 years ago.Telegraphy is a way of sending messages over wires.Samuel Moore invented an alphabet of dots and dashes known as Moore's code.These long or short signals are transmitted to long distances through wires.

The next step was taken by Alexander Graham Bell.He thought that sound could also be transmitted through a wire, and after a lot of thinking and work, Bell invented the telephone.Today, through the telephone, we can talk to people thousands of miles away.

radio and television

Over time, it was thought that sound could be transmitted without wires.They learned that sound and music could be transmitted through the air and picked up by a special receiver.This invention was originally called the radio.Today, we call it broadcasting.People have fun listening to music, listening to stories, and they can listen to the news.

The next invention was to transmit pictures through the air, and the recipient of the pictures was a television set.The first TV stations were black and white, and now we usually use color TVs.Soon, some phones will have small TVs installed so you can see who you're talking to.

satellites and computers
To send pictures farther, people use satellites.Satellites orbit the Earth in space.They receive signals and send them out.In this way, a TV station on one side of the world sends a signal to a satellite, and the satellite relays the signal to a TV station on the other side of the world.There is a well-known satellite named as a communication satellite.

Computers are becoming a very important means of communication.In the beginning, a computer was just a machine that could quickly do math problems.Now, they do a lot of work.They store words and ideas by which we can organize information when we do certain things.Today, stores use computers to check items and rearrange them at the same time.Computers can quickly solve difficult problems, and airlines use them to make sure you're on the right flight.Computers are now widely used in business and science.

Exercise
Ⅰ. If the following sentence is correct, write yes, if it is wrong, write no.

1.Sound can be transmitted without wires.

2.Radio is what we call Moore code.

3.People can send pictures through the air.

4.We can listen to the news on the radio.

5.The first pictures transmitted through the air were in color.

6.One day, over the phone you'll see the person you're talking to.

7.Large flat stones are known as parchment.

8.Newspapers tell people what is happening in the world.

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks with words that have appeared in the text.

1.The man who invented the telephone is.

2.The guy who invented the alphabet with dots and dashes.

3.These dots and dashes are called .

4.Many copies can be produced from a single page of work.

5.Today, many papers are made from .

6.The early way of delivering mail was called .

7.Broadcasting used to be called.

8.Things that can help a signal travel around the world are.

Ⅰ．1．yes　2．no　3．yes　4．yes　5．no　6．yes　7．no　8．yes
(End of this chapter)