The History of Communications

Why was the printing press invented?

• to print more material in less time

• to help authors see their books quicker

• to print pictures in more books

• to make paper that would last longer

The author says that the armies in the American Civil War depended on the telegraph. Which point does this example support?

• The stories that reporters wrote were sent by telegraph.

• The clicks sent from the telegraph needed to be decoded by someone.

• The telegraph was finally developed after several years of experimentation.

• The telegraph was important because it quickly sent information to different places.

Why was the radio a special invention?

• It used electricity to communicate signals.

• It was developed by many different people.

• It was able to send electric code to another location.

• It allowed people to communicate without connected wires.

The passage says Alexander Graham Bell had a breakthrough when one of his experiments led to the invention of the telephone. What is a breakthrough?

• a trial

• a success

• a thought

• a certainty

Why does the author arrange the passage chronologically?

• to explain who invented communication tools

• to give an opinion about communication tools

• to show how communication tools have advanced over time

• to compare communication tools with other inventions that are similar