EXPLORATIONS - Information Age, Part 1

EXPLORATIONS - October 16, 2002: Information Age, Part 1

By Paul Thompson

VOICE ONE:
This is Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today, we begin a series of

three programs about modern communications. Our first program tells about the history of communications.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
Information always has been extremely important. Throughout history, some information has had value beyond

measure. The lack of information often cost huge amounts of money and, sometimes, many lives.
One example of this took place near the American city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Britain and the United States
were fighting the War of Eighteen-Twelve. American and British forces fought near New Orleans on January
eighth, eighteen-fifteen. The battle of New Orleans is a famous battle. As in all large battles, hundreds of troops
were killed or wounded.

After the battle, the Americans and the British learned¹ there had been no need to
fight. Negotiators for the United States and Britain had signed a peace treaty² in the
city of Ghent, Belgium, two weeks earlier. Yet news of the treaty had not reached
the United States before the opposing troops met in New Orleans. The battle had
been a terrible waste. People died because information about the peace treaty
traveled so slowly.

VOICE TWO:

From the beginning of human history, information traveled only as fast as a ship could sail. Or a horse could run.
Or a person could walk.

People experimented with other ways to send messages. Some people tried using birds to carry messages. Then
they discovered it was not always a safe way to send or receive information.

A faster method finally arrived with the invention of the telegraph³. The first useful telegraphs⁴ were developed in
Britain and the United States in the eighteen-thirties.

The telegraph was the first instrument used to send information using wires and electricity. The telegraph sent
messages between two places which were connected by telegraph wires. The person at one end would send the
information.

The second person would receive it. Each letter of the alphabet and each number had to be
sent separately by a device⁵ called a telegraph key. The second person would write each letter
on a piece of paper as it was received. Here is what it sounds like. For our example we will
only send you three letters: V-O-A. We will send it two times. Listen closely⁶.

(SOUND: Telegraph key)

VOICE ONE:

In the eighteen-fifties, an expert with a telegraph key could send about thirty-five to forty


words in a minute. It took several hours to send a lot of information. However, the telegraph
permitted people who lived in cities to communicate much faster. Telegraph lines linked large city centers. The
telegraph soon had a major influence on daily life.

The telegraph provided⁷ information about everything. Governments, businesses and individuals used the
telegraph to send information. At the same time, newspapers used the telegraph to get the information needed to
tell readers what was happening in the world. Newspapers often were printed four or five times a day as new
information about important stories was received over the telegraph. The telegraph was the quickest method of
sending news from one place to another.

VOICE TWO:

On August fifth, eighteen-fifty-eight, the first message was transmitted⁸ by a wire cable⁹
under the Atlantic Ocean. The wire linked the United States and Europe by telegraph.
This meant that a terrible mistake like the battle of New Orleans would not happen
again.

Reports of the daily news events in Europe began to appear in American newspapers.
And the news of the United States appeared in European newspapers. Information now
took only a matter of hours to reach most large cities in the world.

This was true for the big cities linked by the telegraph. It was different, though, if you lived in a small farming
town, kilometers away from the large cities. The news you got might be a day or two late. It took that long for
you to receive your newspaper.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

On November second, nineteen-twenty, radio station K-D-K-A in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, broadcast the first
radio program. That broadcast gave the results of a presidential election¹⁰.

Within a few short years, news and information could be heard anywhere a radio broadcast could reach. Radios
did not cost much. So most people owned at least one radio.

Radio reporters began to speak to the public from cities where important events were taking place.

Political leaders also discovered that radio was a valuable political instrument. It permitted them to talk directly
to the public. If you had a radio, you did not have to wait until your newspaper arrived. You could often hear
important events as they happened.

VOICE TWO:

Some people learned quickly that information meant power. Many countries in the nineteen-thirties began
controlling information. The government of Nazi¹¹ Germany is a good example.

Before and during World War Two, the government of Nazi Germany controlled all information the German
people received. The government controlled all radio broadcasts and newspapers. The people of Germany only
heard or read what the government wanted them to hear or read. It was illegal for them to listen to a foreign
broadcast.

VOICE ONE:

After World War Two, a new invention appeared -- television. In the industrial countries, television quickly
became common in most homes. Large companies were formed to produce television programs. These
companies were called networks. Networks include many television stations linked together that could broadcast
the same program at the same time.

Most of the programs were designed to entertain people. There were movies, music programs and game
programs. However, television also broadcast news and important information about world events. It broadcast


some education programs too. The number of radio and television stations around the world increased. It became
harder for a dictator¹² to control information.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

In the nineteen-fifties, two important events took place that greatly affected¹³ the communication of information.
The first was a television broadcast that showed the East Coast and the West Coast of the United States at the
same time. The two coasts were linked by a cable that carried the pictures. So people watching the program saw
the Pacific Ocean on the left side of the screen. On the right side of the screen they saw the Atlantic Ocean.

It was not a film. People could see two reporters talk to each other although they were separated by a continent.
Modern technology made this possible.

The other event happened on September twenty-fifth, nineteen-fifty-six. That was when the first telephone cable
under the Atlantic Ocean made it possible to make direct telephone calls from the United States to Europe.

Less than six years later, in July nineteen-sixty-two, the first communications satellite was placed in orbit¹⁴ around
the Earth. The speed of information again greatly increased.

VOICE ONE:

By the year nineteen-hundred, big city newspapers provided the people of the city with news that was only hours
old. Now, both radio and television, with the aid of satellite communications, could provide information
immediately. People who lived in a small village could listen to or watch world events as they happened.

A good example is when American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.
Millions of people around the world watched as he carefully stepped onto the moon on July twentieth, nineteen-
sixty-nine. People in large cities, small towns and villages saw the event as it was happening. There was no delay
in communicating this important information.

VOICE TWO:

Only a few years after Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, the United States Department of Defense¹⁵ began an
experiment. That experiment led to a system to pass huge amounts of information around the world in seconds.
Experts called it the beginning of the Information Age. The story of that experiment will be our report next week
on EXPLORATIONS.

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Caty Weaver¹⁶. This is Mary
Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week on the Voice of America for our second program about the
Information Age.

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1 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

2 treaty   

n.条约；协议，协定

参考例句：

• Hungary has indicated its readiness to sign the treaty.匈牙利已表示愿意签订该条约。
• I believe this treaty will pave the way to peace in Europe. 我相信这个条约将为欧洲的和平铺平道路。

3 telegraph   

n.电报，电报机；v.打电报，显示

参考例句：

• A new telegraph line has been set up between the two cities.那两个城市之间架设了一条新的电报线。
• Telegraph communication was broken off.电讯中断了。

4 telegraphs   

n.电报( telegraph的名词复数 )；打电报；电报机；（轮船的）车钟

参考例句：

• He has never made any mistakes in recording telegraphs. 他抄收电报从来没有出过错。 来自互联网
• It'seems that the telegraph receiver is broken and can't receive telegraphs. 好像收报机坏了，无法收报！ 来自互联网

5 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

6 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

7 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

8 transmitted   

v.发射，播送，广播( transmit的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；传导；传（热、声等）

参考例句：

• signals transmitted from a satellite 从卫星传送来的信号
• The power which an engine develops is transmitted to the wheels. 引擎产生的动力传递到车轮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 cable   

n.缆绳，索；电缆；电报；vt.电汇，打电报

参考例句：

• Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
• The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。

10 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

11 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

12 dictator   

n.独裁者，爱发号施令的人

参考例句：

• We felt quite impotent to resist the will of the dictator.我们感到无力抗拒独裁者的意志。
• A dictator must have a firm hand.独裁者的手段是很厉害的。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 orbit   

n.轨道；vt.使沿轨道运行；使进入轨道运行；vi.沿轨道运行，环行

参考例句：

• The space rocket was launched and went into orbit.宇宙火箭发射后进入轨道。
• We can draw the earth's orbit round the sun.我们可以画出地球绕太阳运行的轨迹。

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。