Table of Contents
Passage
Jean-Antoine Nollet was a French clergyman and physicist. In 1746 he gathered about two hundred monks into a circlemabout a mile (1.6 km) in circumference, with pieces iron wire connecting them. He then discharged a battery of Leyden jars through the human chain and observed that each man reacted at substantially the same time to the electric shock, showing that the speed of electricity’s propagation was very high. Given a more humane detection system, this could be a way of signaling over long distances. In 1 748, Nollet invented one of the first electrometers, the electroscope, which detected the presence of an electric charge by using electrostatic attraction and repulsion.
After the introduction of the European semaphore lines in 1792, the world’s desire to further its ability to communicate from a distance only grew. People wanted a way to send and receive news from remote locations so that they could better understand what was happening in the world around them—not just what was going on in their immediate town or city. This type of communication not only appealed to the media industry, but also to private individuals and companies who wished to stay in touch with contacts. In 1840 Charles Wheatstone from Britain, with William Cooke, obtained a new patent for a telegraphic arrangement. The new apparatus required only a single pair of wires, but the telegraph was still too costly for general purposes. In 1 845, however, Cooke and Wheatstone succeeded in producing the single needle apparatus, which they patented,and from that time the electric telegraph became a practical instrument, soon adopted on all the railway lines of the country.
It was the European optical telegraph, or semaphore, that was the predecessor of the electrical recording telegraph that changed the history of communication forever. Building on the success of the optical telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse completed a working version of the electrical recording telegraph, which only required a single wire to send code of dots and dashes. At first, it was imagined that only a few highly skilled encoders would be able to use it but it soon became clear that many people could become proficient in Morse code. A system of lines strung on telegraph poles began to spread in Europe and America.
In the 1840s and 1850s several individuals proposed or advocated construction of a telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean, including Edward Thornton and Alonzo Jackman. At that time there was no material available for cable insulation and the first breakthrough came with the discovery of a rubber-like latex called gutta percha. Introduced to Britain in 1843, gutta percha is the gum of a tree native to the Malay Peninsula and Malaysia. After the failure of their first cable in 1850, the British brothers John and Jacob Brett laid a successful submarine cable from Dover to Calais in 1851. This used two layers of gutta percha insulation and an armoured outer layer. With thin wire and thick insulation, it floated and had to be weighed down with lead pipe.
In the case of first submarine-cable telegraphy, there was the limitation of knowledge of how its electrical properties were affected by water. The voltage which may be impressed on the cable was limited to a definite value. Moreover, for certain reasons, the cable had an impedance associated with it at the sending end which could make the voltage on the cable differ from the voltage applied to the sending-end apparatus. In fact, the cable was too big for a single boat, so two had to start in the middle of the Atlantic, join their cables and sail in opposite directions. Amazingly, the first official telegram to pass between two continents was a letter of congratulation from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom to the President of the United States, James Buchanan, on August 16, 1 858. However, signal quality declined rapidly, slowing transmission to an almost unusable speed and the cable was destroyed the following month.
To complete the link between England and Australia, John Pender formed the BritishAustralian Telegraph Company. The first stage was to lay a 557nm cable from Singapore to Batavia on the island of Java in 1870. It seemed likely that it would com ashore qt the northern port of Darwin from where it might connect around the coast to Queensland and New South Wales. It was an undertaking more ambitious than spanning ocean. Flocks of sheep had to be driven with the 400 workers to provide food. They needed horses and bullock carts and, for the parched interior, camels. In the north, tropical rains left the teams flooded. In the centre, it seemed that they would die of thirst. One critical section in the red heart of Australia involved finding a route through the McDonnell mountain range and then finding water on the other side. The water was not only essential for the construction teams. There had to be telegraph repeater stations every few hundred miles to boost the signal and the staff obviously had to have a supply of water.
On August 22, 1872, the Northern and Southern sections of the Overland Telegraph Line were connected, uniting the Australian continent and within a few months, Australia was at last in direct contact with England via the submarine cable, too. This allowed the Australian Government to receive news from around the world almost instantaneously for the first time. It could cost several pounds to send a message and it might take several hours for it to reach its destination on the other side of the globe, but the world would never be the same again. The telegraph was the first form of communication over a great distance and was a landmark in human history.
Questions
Question 27 – 32
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet, write
| TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN | if the statement agrees with the information if the statement contradicts the information if there is no information on this |
27 In the research of the French scientist, metal lines were used to send messages.
28 People increasingly hoped to explore ways of long-distance communication in the late eighteenth century.
29 Using Morse Code to send message needed special personnel to first simplify the message,
30 Morse was a famous inventor before he invented the code.
31 Water was significant to early telegraph repeater stations on the continent.
32 The Australian Government offered funds for the first overland line across the continent.
Questions 33 – 40
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 33-40 on your answer sheet.
33 Why did Charles Wheatstone’s telegraph system fail to come into common use in the beginning?
34 What material was used for insulating cable across the sea?
35 What was used by British pioneers to increase the weight of the cable in the sea?
36 What would occur in the submarine cable when the voltage was applied?
37 Who was a message first sent to across the Atlantic by the Queen?
38 What animals were used to carry the cable through desert?
39 What weather condition delayed construction in north Australia?
40 How long did it take to send a telegraph message from Australia to England in 1872?
Answers
Below are the answers, key words, synonyms and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage History of Telegraph in Communication (Passage 3, Questions 27–40).
Questions 27–32: True / False / Not Given
27. In the research of the French scientist, metal lines were used to send messages.
Answer: FALSE
Key words: iron wire connecting them … observed that each man reacted at substantially the same time … the speed of electricity’s propagation was very high
Synonyms: metal lines = iron wire; but the wire was used to show the speed of propagation, not to send messages = “with pieces iron wire connecting them … showing that the speed of electricity’s propagation was very high”
Explanation: Nollet did use iron wire (metal lines), but only to demonstrate how fast electricity travels — not to send messages. Messaging was merely raised as a future possibility (“this could be a way of signaling over long distances”), so the statement contradicts the passage → FALSE.
28. People increasingly hoped to explore ways of long-distance communication in the late eighteenth century.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: After the introduction of the European semaphore lines in 1792, the world’s desire to further its ability to communicate from a distance only grew
Synonyms: increasingly hoped to explore long-distance communication = the world’s desire to communicate from a distance only grew; late eighteenth century = 1792 = “After the introduction of the European semaphore lines in 1792, the world’s desire … only grew”
Explanation: From 1792 (late 18th century) the wish to communicate over distance kept growing, which matches the statement → TRUE.
29. Using Morse Code to send message needed special personnel to first simplify the message.
Answer: FALSE
Key words: it was imagined that only a few highly skilled encoders would be able to use it but it soon became clear that many people could become proficient
Synonyms: needed special personnel = only a few highly skilled encoders (which turned out to be untrue) = “At first, it was imagined that only a few highly skilled encoders would be able to use it but it soon became clear that many people could become proficient in Morse code”
Explanation: The passage says the belief that only skilled specialists could use Morse code proved wrong — many people became proficient. So no special personnel were needed, contradicting the statement → FALSE.
30. Morse was a famous inventor before he invented the code.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: Samuel F. B. Morse completed a working version of the electrical recording telegraph
Synonyms: famous before inventing the code = no information about his earlier reputation = “Building on the success of the optical telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse completed a working version of the electrical recording telegraph”
Explanation: The passage describes what Morse built but says nothing about whether he was already famous beforehand → NOT GIVEN.
31. Water was significant to early telegraph repeater stations on the continent.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: There had to be telegraph repeater stations every few hundred miles to boost the signal and the staff obviously had to have a supply of water
Synonyms: water was significant to repeater stations = the staff had to have a supply of water; on the continent = in Australia = “There had to be telegraph repeater stations every few hundred miles … the staff obviously had to have a supply of water”
Explanation: Repeater stations across Australia needed staff, and the staff had to have water, so water was essential to them → TRUE.
32. The Australian Government offered funds for the first overland line across the continent.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: John Pender formed the British-Australian Telegraph Company … the Australian Government to receive news
Synonyms: offered funds = paid for / financed (never stated) = “This allowed the Australian Government to receive news from around the world almost instantaneously”
Explanation: The passage mentions the company that built the line and that the government could then receive news, but never says the government funded the overland line → NOT GIVEN.
Questions 33–40: Short-answer (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
33. Why did Charles Wheatstone’s telegraph system fail to come into common use in the beginning?
Answer: too costly
Key words: the telegraph was still too costly for general purposes
Synonyms: failed to come into common use = too costly for general purposes = “The new apparatus required only a single pair of wires, but the telegraph was still too costly for general purposes”
Explanation: Even with only one pair of wires, the early system was too expensive for general use → too costly.
34. What material was used for insulating cable across the sea?
Answer: gutta percha
Key words: a rubber-like latex called gutta percha … two layers of gutta percha insulation
Synonyms: material for insulating cable = gutta percha insulation = “the first breakthrough came with the discovery of a rubber-like latex called gutta percha … two layers of gutta percha insulation”
Explanation: Gutta percha, a rubber-like latex, was the insulating material for the submarine cable → gutta percha.
35. What was used by British pioneers to increase the weight of the cable in the sea?
Answer: lead pipe
Key words: it floated and had to be weighed down with lead pipe
Synonyms: increase the weight = weighed down = “With thin wire and thick insulation, it floated and had to be weighed down with lead pipe”
Explanation: Because the cable floated, the Brett brothers weighed it down with lead pipe → lead pipe.
36. What would occur in the submarine cable when the voltage was applied?
Answer: impedance
Key words: the cable had an impedance associated with it at the sending end
Synonyms: what would occur when voltage was applied = the cable had an impedance = “the cable had an impedance associated with it at the sending end which could make the voltage on the cable differ from the voltage applied”
Explanation: Applying voltage produced impedance at the sending end, making the cable voltage differ from the applied voltage → impedance.
37. Who was a message first sent to across the Atlantic by the Queen?
Answer: James Buchanan
Key words: a letter of congratulation from Queen Victoria … to the President of the United States, James Buchanan
Synonyms: message first sent across the Atlantic by the Queen = the first official telegram from Queen Victoria = “the first official telegram to pass between two continents was a letter of congratulation from Queen Victoria … to the President of the United States, James Buchanan”
Explanation: Queen Victoria’s first transatlantic telegram was addressed to US President James Buchanan → James Buchanan.
38. What animals were used to carry the cable through desert?
Answer: camels
Key words: for the parched interior, camels
Synonyms: through desert = for the parched interior = “They needed horses and bullock carts and, for the parched interior, camels”
Explanation: For the dry desert interior, camels were used → camels.
39. What weather condition delayed construction in north Australia?
Answer: tropical rains
Key words: In the north, tropical rains left the teams flooded
Synonyms: weather condition that delayed construction = tropical rains that left the teams flooded = “In the north, tropical rains left the teams flooded”
Explanation: In the north, tropical rains flooded the work teams and held up construction → tropical rains.
40. How long did it take to send a telegraph message from Australia to England in 1872?
Answer: several hours
Key words: it might take several hours for it to reach its destination on the other side of the globe
Synonyms: how long to send a message = it might take several hours to reach its destination = “it might take several hours for it to reach its destination on the other side of the globe”
Explanation: Once connected in 1872, a message could still take several hours to reach the far side of the world → several hours.
Answer Key (Quick Reference)
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | FALSE | 34 | gutta percha |
| 28 | TRUE | 35 | lead pipe |
| 29 | FALSE | 36 | impedance |
| 30 | NOT GIVEN | 37 | James Buchanan |
| 31 | TRUE | 38 | camels |
| 32 | NOT GIVEN | 39 | tropical rains |
| 33 | too costly | 40 | several hours |
