Semester Test - 2. Reading for Grade 10

Read the texts and answer the questions 1-8. Choose A, B, C or D.

 A. The Remote Control

After a long day at work or school, many of us come home, jump on the sofa and reach for the remote control. For today's generation it is normal not to have to stand up to change channels on the television or to turn on the music. This is, however, a relatively recent invention. It was not until 1950 that the first commercial television remote control was created. The Zenith Radio Corporation called it the 'Lazy Bone'. In those days, however, the Lazy Bone was not wireless: it was attached to the television by a long cable. This was seen as a danger, as people kept tripping and falling over it. Just five years later, in 1955, the first wireless TV remote control was created by Eugene Polley and this soon became very popular indeed. Opinions are divided as to whether this invention is necessarily a good thing; many believe we have created a generation of couch potatoes - people who are too lazy to move from the sofa.

According to the text, this invention:

Read the texts and answer the questions 1-8. Choose A, B, C or D.

 B. The Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland in 1847. He was a very talented person; a great inventor, an expert in speech and also very musical. His most famous invention was, of course, the telephone in the 1870's. While experimenting with electrical signals, he discovered he could hear a sound coming over the wire. On 10th March 1876 he made the first telephone call to his assistant, Mr Watson, in the next room. The very first words ever spoken over the phone were 'Mr Watson. Come here. I want to see you.' The telephone has transformed the way the world communicates.

According to the text, this invention:

Read the texts and answer the questions 1-8. Choose A, B, C or D.

 C. The Microwave

Dr Percy L. Spencer invented the microwave oven by accident, in 1946. He was already known as an electronics expert and worked with machines called magnetrons which produced microwave radiation. One day, he stopped in front of one of these machines when it was on and he noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. Being an experienced inventor, he decided to test his theory with popcorn and, sure enough, when he placed the popcorn near the machine it became so hot it popped! From this first experiment, it was clear that microwaves were able to heat food very quickly. This is how the microwave oven was born

According to the text, this invention:

Read the texts and answer the questions 1-8. Choose A, B, C or D.

 D. The Automobile

The very first self-propelled vehicle was actually invented in 1769 by a French army engineer, Nicolas Cugnot. It was powered by heating water and creating steam to drive the engine. It was a very heavy machine with only 3 wheels. Over 100 years later, the very first gas-powered motor engine was invented by Nicolaus Otto in 1876. However, the fathers of the modern automobile industry are considered to be Carl Benz, who invented the petrol engine in 1885, and Gottlieb Daimler, who built a car with an engine of his own design a year later. Daimler's engine was much lighter than any other before it, and it was soon being produced in large numbers. It was to change the transport habits of the world.

According to the text, this invention: