Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. He first worked for his father. He developed a system for teaching deaf people to speak. This system, called Visible Speech, use symbols which showed the position of the throat, tongue and lips in making sounds. From this early experience, Bell became interested in the telegraph.

   On March 10^th, 1876, during one experiment with his assistant Thomas Watson in  separate rooms, Bell spilled some acid on his clothe by accident and said, “Mr. Watson come here. I want you”. Watson heard the message through the telephone spring and came immediately. These were the first sentences ever transmitted over the telephone.

    Today people almost everywhere can speak to each other by telephone. There are even car phones and plane phones which transmit sounds through air waves rather than telephone lines. The telephone has truly became an essential part of everyday life for people all over the world

Part One: (14 pts)

A-Reading Comprehension: (8 pts)

Activity 1:  answer the following questions : (5 pts)

1-How did visible speech teach deaf people to speak?

2- What did Bell become interested in?

3- How do car phones and plane phones transmit sounds?

Activity 2:What do the underlined words in the text refer to?  (1.5 pt)

He E………………………………….         these E…………………………………..

 Activity 3:1-Find in the text words that are closest in meaning to:   (1.5 pt)

 need = …………………………   nearly = …………………….           talk = ………………………

  2-Find in the text words that are oppoite in meaning to:   (1.5 pt)

 last ‡………………………..     without ‡…………………….     nowhere ‡  ………………………

 B-Mastery of Language   (6 pts)  

Activity One:   Rewrite sentence b so that it means the same as sentence a :  (4 pts)

a- Bell invented the telephone in 1876.

b- The telephone ………………………………………………………………………………

a- Watson heard the message.

b- The message …………………………………………………………………………………

Activity Two:   Complete the table with the infinitive or the simple past.     (2 pts)

Activity Three:Reorder these words to write a coherent question.    (2 pts)

heard – sentence – over – who – complete – the – transmitted – telephone – first- ?

………………………………………………………………..

Part Two:  Written Expression    (6 pts)

Using the following notes,write a short biography of Graham Bell.

-born in 1847, Edinburgh, Scotland.

-Assistant of his father at University, London.

-to Canada and USA 1871

-opened school for training teachers of deaf, Boston.

-invented telegraph multiplexing system.

-founded Journal Science 1883.

-death in 1922

2014-12-23