In the late 1500s, a large powerful gun was placed on top of the Signal Hill, in Newfoundland, to prevent attacks from the outside. Flags were also flown there to warn sailors of bad weather. It’s fitting, then, the Italian Gulielmo Marconi should have chosen this site (场所) to receive the world’s first radio signal ― in Morse code ― from England on December 12, 1901.

    Marconi, combining earlier ideas with his own, led us to a new communications age. For the next 50 years, until the appearance of television, radio ruled the air waves.

    Today, it’s the TV that rules. No single person can say to have invented television.

    In 1884, the German Paul Nipkow invented a device (设备) that sent pictures mechanically (机械地), and in 1906, Boris Rosing, a Russian, used a ray and a disc to create the world’s first TV system. Then in the early 1920s, another Russian, Vladimir Zworykin，invented a picture display tube. He took out a patent (专利) for color TV, even though it wouldn’t be developed for another 25 years.

    In 1924, a Scot entered the scene ― John Logie Baird. He first succeeded in sending a moving picture and a year later got the first actual TV picture. In 1926, Baird showed TV in a London laboratory. Two years later in New York, Felix the Cat became the first TV star.

TV excited everyone’s imagination, but hardly anyone had a set, with just two thousand in use worldwide in the mid-1930s.

Since the late 1940s, TV technology has developed very quickly. Computers may finally be combined with all televisions to give people a total all-in-one communications network.

Today, it’s possible to sit and watch TV in the middle of a forest or in the Arctic. It’s surprising when one considers that Marconi was on Signal Hill in the same century.

73．We can learn from the text that Signal Hill was once used as _________.

A．a site of communication                    B．a weather station

C．a factory to produce weapons            D．a battle field to fight enemies from the outside

74．When the writer says that today it is the TV that rules, he means that the TV _________.

    A．has led to a new communications age

    B．is a major means of today’s communication

    C．is a device invented with ideas from Marconi

    D．has replaced the radio in today’s communication

75．What is the main idea of Paragraphs 4 and 5 ?

    A．London is the place where TV is invented．

    B．John Logie Baird was the chief inventor of television．

    C．A number of people contributed to the invention of television．

    D．Russian scientists played an important role in the invention of television．

76．The writer believes that the day will come when _________.

    A．the future computers will be able to do the work TV is now doing

    B．the future computers will become available to everyone in the world

    C．the future computers will be connected to create one international network

    D．the future computers will take the place of televisions and radios

In the late 1500s, a large powerful gun was placed on top of the Signal Hill, in Newfoundland, to prevent attacks from the outside. Flags were also flown there to warn sailors of bad weather. It's fitting, then, the Italian Gulielmo Marconi should have chosen this site（场所） to receive the world's first radio signal - in Morse code - from England on December 12, 1901.

    Marconi, combining earlier ideas with his own, led us to a new communications age. For the next 50 years, until the appearance of television, radio ruled the air waves.

    Today, it's the TV that rules. No single person can say to have invented television.

    In 1884, the German Paul Nipkow invented a device (设备) that sent pictures mechanically (机械地), and in 1906, Boris Rosing, a Russian, used a ray and a disc to create the world's first TV system. Then in the early 1920s, another Russian, Vladimir Zworykin，invented a picture display tube. He took out a patent (专利) for color TV, even though it wouldn't be developed for another 25 years.

    In 1924, a Scot entered the scene - John Logie Baird. He first succeeded in sending a moving picture and a year later got the first actual TV picture. In 1926, Baird showed TV in a London laboratory. Two years later in New York, Felix the Cat became the first TV star.

TV excited everyone's imagination, but hardly anyone had a set, with just two thousand in use worldwide in the mid-1930s.

Since the late 1940s, TV technology has developed very quickly. Computers may finally be combined with all televisions to give people a total all-in-one communications network.

Today, it's possible to sit and watch TV in the middle of a forest or in the Arctic. It's surpris-

ing when one considers that Marconi was on Signal Hill in the same century.

1．We can learn from the text that Signal Hill was once used as _________.

       A．a site of communication            

       B．a weather station

       C．a factory to produce weapons    

       D．a battle field to fight enemies from the outside

2．When the writer says that today it is the TV that rules, he means that the TV _________.

    A．has led to a new communications age

    B．is a major means of today's communication

       C．is a device invented with ideas from Marconi

       D．has replaced the radio in today’s communication

3．What is the main idea of Paragraphs 4 and 5?

       A．London is the pace where TV is invented.

       B．John Logie Baird was the chief inventor of television.

       C．A number of people contributed to the invention of television.

       D．Russian scientists played an important role in the invention of television.

4．The writer believes that the day will come when        .

       A．the future computers will be able to do the work TV is now doing

       B．the future computers will become available to everyone in the world

       C．the future computers will be connected to create one international network

       D．the future computers will take the place of televisions and radios

Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light bulb. Without him, the world might still be a dark place. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.

Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847. His family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, when he was seven years old. Surprisingly, he attended school for only two months. His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age with electrical and mechanical things at home.

When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train that ran between Port Huron and Detroit. He set up a laboratory in a baggage car of the train so that he could continue his experiments in his spare time. Unfortunately, his first work experience did not end well. Thomas was fired（解雇）when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the baggage car.

Thomas then worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time on the job conducting experiments. He got his first patent（专利）in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity. However, the vote recorder was not a success. In 1870, he sold another invention, a stock-ticker, for $40,000. A stock-ticker is a machine that automatically prints stock prices on a tape. He was then able to build his first shop in Newark, New Jersey.

Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He called himself a "two-shift man" because he worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes he worked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.

Thomas Edison died at the age of 84 on October 18, 1931, at his estate in West Orange, New Jersey. He left numerous（大量的）inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.

54. According to the article, which of the following is in the right order?

A. He became a telegraph operator, a newsboy, and then got his first patent

B. He became a newsboy, got his first patent, and then became a telegraph operator

C. He got a patent, became a telegraph operator, and then became a newsboy

D. He became a newsboy, a telegraph operator, and then got a patent

55. Edison considered his deafness________.

A. a disadvantage              B. a blessing               C. an invention   D. a necessity

56. Of all the inventions, _________ was probably the most important for civilization（文明）.

A. the vote recorder B. the stock ticker  C. the light bulb  D. the motion picture camera

57. The main idea of this passage is that _______.

A. Thomas Edison was always interested in science and inventions, and he invented many important things

B. Thomas Edison could not keep a job

C. Thomas Edison worked day and night on his experiments

D. Deaf people make good inventors because they can focus without the distraction of spoken conversation