9 Communication

Communication written by John Lockyer

约翰·洛克耶(John Lockyer)著

Communication is getting and giving information. People communicate when they write, talk and listen. Friends who live in different places write letters to each other to tell their news. If someone is in trouble, they can talk to the police, fire or ambulance workers. People also listen to the radio and television to find out information.

沟通就是获取和传递信息。 人们通过写、说和听来交流。 住在不同地方的朋友互相写信告诉他们的消息。 如果有人遇到麻烦，他们可以向警察、消防员或救护人员求助。 人们也听广播和电视来获取信息。

cave drawing People have always communicated with each other. Long ago, stories were painted onto the walls of caves. Messages were also sent to people by beating on drums, or by making smoke signals. Another way to send a message without words was by waving two flags. The moving flags made patterns to show numbers and letters of the alphabet. This is called semaphore.

人们总是相互交流。 很久以前，人们把故事写在洞穴的墙上。 人们还可以通过击鼓或发出烟雾信号来传递信息。 另一种不用语言传递信息的方式是挥舞两面旗帜。 移动的旗子做成图案，显示字母表中的数字和字母。 这叫做信号量。

newspaper Before there was writing, many people learned about old or new happenings from storytellers. When the alphabet was invented, stories were written onto stone, clay, and paper. Many years later, after the printing press was invented, the stories were printed in books, magazines, comics, and newspapers.

在没有文字之前，许多人从讲故事的人那里了解新旧事件。 当字母表被发明出来时，故事被写在石头、粘土和纸上。 许多年后，印刷机发明后，这些故事被印在书籍、杂志、漫画和报纸上。

telegraph The telegraph was once the quickest way to send a message a long way. The letters and words were changed into a code of dots and dashes. Then the code was sent along power lines from one telegraph office to another. The telephone became a better way to communicate because it sent sounds along the power lines. People could hear each other's voices as they shared their important and interesting information.

电报曾经是传送长途信息最快的方式。 字母和单词变成了点和线组成的代码。 然后，电码沿着电力线从一个电报局传送到另一个电报局。 电话成为一种更好的交流方式，因为它通过电线传送声音。 人们可以听到彼此的声音，因为他们分享他们的重要和有趣的信息。

television The radio helped everyone communicate in another way. It gave information to many people all at the same time. Radios didn't need power lines because the sounds were sent to them through the air. Television was an exciting invention because it had moving pictures as well as sounds. At first, TV showed for just a few hours each night. There were only a few channels, and the pictures were black and white.

广播以另一种方式帮助大家交流。 它同时向许多人提供信息。 收音机不需要电线，因为声音是通过空气传送给它们的。 电视是一项令人兴奋的发明，因为它不仅有声音，而且有活动的画面。 起初，电视每晚只播放几个小时。 只有几个频道，而且照片是黑白的。