LESSON 5 ENGLISH 11

LESSON 05

THE MIRACLE OF RADIO

Q.01: At what speed do wireless waves move? What do other waves move at this speed?

Wireless waves move at the speed of 200792.5 kilometers per second. The light waves move at the same speed.

Q.02: Why were wireless waves once called ‘Hertzian Waves’?

The wireless waves were once called ‘Hertizan Waves’ in the honour Heinrich Hertz, a German scientist who discovered these waves.

Q.03: In what years were wireless signals first transmitted over the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean? Who was responsible for these successful experiments?

The signals were first transmitted over the English Channel in the year 1901, and the Atlantic Ocean in 1896. Guglielmo Marconi was responsible for these successful experiments.

Q.04: What facts are given in the text about the first use of wireless to bring help to a ship in distress?

About the first use of wireless in order to bring help to ship in distress, it is stated in the text that wireless signals were used to seek help for the first time when the Liner Republic collided with another ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Q.05: Could speech be transmitted in the early days of wireless signaling? If not, how were messages transmitted?

No, speech could not be transmitted in the early days of wireless signaling. Instead of a speech, the Morse code of dots and dashes, which was a slow process of communication, was used for transmitting messages.

 

Q.06: During what period did sound broadcasting become generally established?

Sound broadcasting generally became established in the 1920s.

Q.07: In what way is television an advance upon sound broadcasting?

Television is an advance upon sound broadcasting since as opposed to sound broadcasting, which can only transmit sounds, television can transmit sounds accompanied by a video.

Q.08: Is television in color possible? If so, why is it not in general use?

Television in colour has been made possible. It is not in general use because it is more expensive in comparison to black and white television.

Q.09: What is the function of radar?

The function of radar is to locate the position and movements of aircraft ships or aircrafts in the surrounding area, and accurately observe the presence of any coastline nearby. For this reason, ships equipped with radar can avoid collision with other ships caused due to fog and darkness.

Q.10: What use can the astronomer now make of radio?

The astronomer can now make use of a radio telescope in order to explore the vast universe around him. A radio telescope with huge aerials and sensitive receivers can work by detecting radio waves sent by distant stars and galaxies, which are too remote to be seen through the largest optical telescopes.

 

COMPOSITION

Write an essay of not more than 350 words on one of the following topics :

1.    The benefits of wireless and radar to sea and air transport

2.    The potential value of sound broadcasting to education.

3.    The advantages and disadvantages of having a television in the home.

4.    Some important uses of radio in the modern world.

The Benefits of Wireless and Radar to Sea and Air Transport

Radar was developed in the 1930s from the development of radio waves of high frequency, which can now be reflected from aircraft and the reflected waves can be detected. The radio waves used by radar are produced by a piece of equipment called a magnetron. Whether it is mounted on a plane, a ship, a radar set needs the same basic set of components: something to generate radio waves and send them out into space, something to receive them, and a means of displaying information so that the radar operator can quickly understand it. The main function of the radar in the sea and air transport is to locate the position and movements of ships or aircraft in the surrounding area and to accurately observe the presence of any coastline in the surroundings.

Radars play a great role in controlling air and sea transport and making travel through ships and aircrafts peaceful. Ships and aircrafts equipped with radar can land and take off safely, avoiding collision with other ships caused due to fog and darkness. Air services on a moderate scale would be impossible without radar. Radars can determine the position of ships in the sea or airplanes within a distance of 46 meters or even less if required. All aircraft movements near airports are directed by ground controllers which can detect the position of every aircraft in the area. Therefore, the illegal movement of a spy airplane or ship from another country can also be discovered by radar.

 In the past half century, weather radars have played an increasingly important role in meteorological applications. They warn about the hazards associated with severe local storms that include hail, tornadoes, high winds, and intense rainfall. Weather radar also monitors larger weather systems such as hurricanes. Weather radars improve aviation safety and increase the operational efficiency of the entire air and ship transport industry. They monitor the rainfall intensity and contribute to agriculture alerts and flood warnings. Radar measurements have also increased our understanding of the atmosphere and weather prediction. Such advances have been enabled through the improvements in radar hardware, signal processing, and automated weather displays.

 

In recent times, radars have come to be of great use in the aviation of ships and aircrafts. They are used to detect and track aircraft, spacecraft, and ships at sea as well as insects and birds in the atmosphere, and identify the presence of coastline in the surrounding area. They are also useful to control air and sea traffic and ensure safe travelling. Besides, they not only provide automated weather displays but also warn about weather conditions, such as rainfall and the probability of floods and hurricanes etc.

The Potential Value of Sound Broadcasting to Education

We are living in the age of scientific wonders. One of these wonders is broadcasting or the transmission of information to the masses through radio or television. Sound broadcasting, in particular, refers to the audio transmission of programmers to the owners of radio sets by wireless. Nowadays, the wireless sound broadcasting system has reached the nook and corner of every country. Every country has its own network of radio stations from where all sorts of programmers are broadcasted across the nation and the world at large.

Sound broadcasting is a useful medium for the sharing of ideas and knowledge. People can listen to the interviews and lectures of the great thinkers with the ease of sitting in their homes. The entire mankind can expand its knowledge by gaining awareness about the views of great philosophers or leaders through their own words. It spreads information to a greater group of the population by saving their time, energy, money and manpower in an effective way.

 Sound broadcasting can be used as an effective and interesting tool for formal and non-formal education, both. In terms of non-formal education, sound broadcasting can be used as a medium to educate the public regarding different matters, such as civic sense, prevention, and control of diseases and other rules of public conduct. Moreover, many social evils can be eradicated from the society by broadcasting interesting features projecting these evils.  As far as formal education is concerned, classroom lessons of schools and colleges can be supplemented through special radio programmers. In this way, the teachers can make the teaching of even the most boring of subjects interesting for the students. Thus, radio is a powerful mass medium used in education for disseminating information, imparting instruction and giving entertainment.

Sound broadcasting of educational programmers based on distant learning supports a wide range of subject areas in different countries. In some cases, education through sound broadcasting is supported by the use of printed material, a local discussion group, and regional study centers. Nowadays, the Pakistani government is making efforts to uplift the state of education in rural areas by broadcasting educational programmers.

Due to its low cost, portability and easy accessibility, sound broadcasting is being recognized as a particularly suitable medium for the purpose of education. It is also being used to impart education and expand the vision of the underprivileged people. Thus, it has become an important medium for educating the masses. 

The Advantages and Disadvantages of having Television in the Home

Today, television is considered a vast media for communication available in our homes. It carries news from one corner of the world to another. With the growth of television channels, the competition between various channels has slowly increased over the years. In such a scenario, relying on information being telecasted becomes a challenge because channels telecast news depending upon their media requirements.

Watching television at home is a cheap source of entertainment available at our homes. Women at home rely on television as their best companion. They can enjoy movies, dramas, matches, cooking shows etc. without going anywhere. They can also find television as a medium to bring everyone in the family together for some time. Many animated programs and cartoon channels are telecasted for kids and children. Students can gain a lot of information by watching informative programs based on education and general knowledge. Besides, they can also benefit from special programs telecasted with the aim of creating awareness about their career. Moreover, television is also a big stress buster for people who work all day long.

Television is not only a good pastime, but it also brings information. People can gain awareness about the happenings and developments across the world in economic, industrial and political fields. They can also have a look at the state of affairs of the country through the conferences and seminars, which expose the aims, objectives, and achievements of the country in various fields. On the other hand, it telecasts the programs on wildlife and aquatic life. Moreover, they can see different places and animals which are out of their reach.

There are many other disadvantages of television, but these disadvantages are prominent when there is excessive use of television. Children are prone to become addicts to Television. If students watch television all night, they cannot wake up early in the morning and so their academic activities may be affected. Similarly, if housewives watch television all day, then they cannot complete they home tasks at a time which may give rise to domestic issues. Another great disadvantage is that watching Television for long hours might disturb a person’s sleep cycle, routine and severely affect one’s health too. Excessive use of television can also cause eyesight problems.

Television may induce people to shift from their needs to wants and also deteriorate their moral values.  The advertisements telecasted on TV attract people to the things that are advertised on Television. Besides, different movies and dramas can badly impact one’s moral values. It may spoil its viewers’ mind, especially of those young ones who are sensitive to every kind of impression they receive. 

Although television plays a vital role in carrying news and information across the world, after the advent of computers and the internet, it has considerably lost its importance in society. Having a television at home is a great source of information and entertainment. However, excessive addiction to television can lead to deterioration of eyesight. The disadvantages of television, however, can be overcome by its constructive use.

4. Some Important Uses of Radio in the Modern World

With the advancements in modern technology and media, radio has also been developed. Since its invention, the radio has been used for many purposes. In the earlier days, radio was generally to send telegraphic messages through the use of Morse code between ships and land. In addition, it was used as the means of communication between the operators and nearby vessels and between armies and navies during World War for conveying diplomatic messages. Today, radio has become one of the best ways for commutation as well as entertainment.

Radio is one of the most effective sources of entertainment, which can be carried anywhere across the world. Commercial radio broadcast includes news, music, dramas, comic programmers, variety shows and different other forms of entertainment. People can also enjoy short stories or dramas on their radios. Sports fans can listen to the live commentaries on the go. The rural folk can listen to the programmers especially meant for them. Therefore, we can say that radio caters to a variety of interests.

 Radio is said to be talking newspaper. In this fast-changing world, everyone wants to keep in touch with the changing events. People can gain awareness about the daily weather reports and other news from around the world. Instead of reading the newspaper and exerting their eyes, people find it convenient to listen to the important news from the farthest corner of the world simply by turning the radio on. Even illiterate persons can keep themselves abreast of world events by listening to the radio. Hence, radio is useful for the literates and illiterates alike.

Radio is also of great use in commerce and industry. Advertising is the commercial use of broadcasting. We hear the advertisements of so many medicines, cosmetics and other articles on the radio on a daily basis. Besides this, businessmen may profit by gaining awareness about the ups and downs of the different markets. Market reports are also relayed on the radio regularly. 

Radio can be used as an effective and interesting tool for formal and non-formal education, both. In terms of non-formal education, radio is being used as the medium to educate the public regarding different matters, such as civic sense, prevention, and control of diseases and other rules of public conduct. As far as formal education is concerned, classroom lessons of schools and colleges can be supplemented through special radio programmers. Radio is also a powerful mass medium used in education for disseminating information, imparting instruction and giving entertainment. It is also used for teaching educational programmers based on distant learning to support a wide range of subject areas in different countries. 

Nowadays, radio is facing stiff competition from television. There is a network of TV receivers and TV programmers can now be viewed in every nook and corner of the country. Radio spreads information to a greater group of the population by saving their time, energy, money and manpower in an effective way. As opposed to the radio, the sale and production of TV sets have increased because people generally prefer video broadcasting over sound broadcasting. Due to its portability, the importance of radio in the lives of the people cannot be overlooked.

EXERCISE 27

Supply the most suitable special verbs with the perfect infinitive of the verb in brackets.

1. The students (finish) the examination. They are already leaving the building.
2. You (come) so early. The lecture doesn’t begin for another hour.
3. He (obtain) his degree if he had wanted to, but he was too lazy to try.
4. My boss is annoyed with me. I didn’t do all the work that I (do) last week.
5. He said that he (work) harder when he was young. Because he didn’t work hard enough, he had lost many opportunities.
6. As he was dying, the old man said: ‘I (make) a lot of mistakes in my life, but I don’t regret any of them.’
7. You (visit) Florence when you were in Italy. Why didn’t you go there?
8. If the workmen had not gone on strike, they (finish) the building by now.
9. He (go) abroad. I haven’t heard anything about him for a long time.
10. They (get) very wet. It’s been raining all the afternoon.
11. He (sit) for the scholarship examination. He is very clever.
12. I think I (have) your ice-cream. If so, I apologize.
13. It was a lovely day yesterday. You (go) to watch the cricket match.
14. I think we are lost; we (arrive) at the station by now. We (take) the wrong road.
15. He (see) the doctor at all. There was nothing wrong with him.
16. I can’t find him anywhere; the plane (land) earlier than we expected.
17. ‘Why is the ground so wet?’ ‘It (rain) last night’
18. He’s a very intelligent man. He (do) much better in his profession than he has done.
19. If he had been luckier, he (become) a headmaster.
20. He (win) a good reputation for himself in the academic world.

Answer:
1. The students must have finished the examination. They are already leaving the building.
2. You needn’t have come so early. The lecture doesn’t begin for another hour.
3. He would have obtained his degree if he had wanted to, but he was too lazy to try.
4. My boss is annoyed with me. I didn’t do all the work that I should have done last week.
5. He said that he must have worked harder when he was young. Because he didn’t work hard enough, he had lost many opportunities.
6. As he was dying, the old man said: ‘I might have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I don’t regret any of them.’
7. You must have visited Florence when you were in Italy. Why didn’t you go there?
8. If the workmen had not gone on strike, they might have finished the building by now.
9. He must have gone abroad. I haven’t heard anything about him for a long time.
10. They must have got very wet. It’s been raining all afternoon.
11. He must have sit for the scholarship examination. He is very clever.
12. I think I might have had your ice-cream. If so, I apologize.
13. It was a lovely day yesterday. You must have gone to watch the cricket match.
14. I think we are lost; we must have arrived at the station by now. We might have taken the wrong road.
15. He mustn’t have seen the doctor at all. There was nothing wrong with him.
16. I can’t find him anywhere; the plane must have landed earlier than we expected.
17. ‘Why is the ground so wet?’ ‘It must have rained last night’
18. He’s a very intelligent man. He could have done much better in his profession than he has done.
19. If he had been luckier, he would have been a headmaster.
20. He ought to have won a good reputation for himself in the academic world.