Reading comprehension - Advanced level
Reading comprehension - Advanced level
When these 4 items
were first invented, many people did not grasp their significance. However, the
following great British inventions have nevertheless made a huge impact on our
lives since their first conception in the twentieth century. In fact, we cannot
imagine life without them.
The Television - John Logie Baird 1925
Many inventors toyed
with the concept of a basic TV. However,
it was the Scotsman Baird who deserves to be honoured as the man who first
transmitted moving images via a box.
In the early days of
his career, Baird used tea chests, hatboxes, sewing needles and various other
household objects to construct his designs.
Although primitive, Baird's idea, based on the Nipkow disk (a previous
invention by the German Paul Nipkow), utilised two spinning cardboard discs
punched with holes, not dissimilar to a child's flicker book. A tiny Maltese
cross was the first transmitted image and office boy William Taynton was the
first person to appear on TV in 1925. It is said that the young man was rather
overawed by the experience and became too frightened to move, so he had to be persuaded to move around in order to to
convince audiences that he was real!
Baird went on to
develop his idea further, but his inventions faltered as more advances with
electronic transmission came into play.
However, without his pioneering attempts, just think of the time we
could have saved by not watching Xfactor or Game of Thrones!
The Mini car - Alec Issigonis 1959
While the Americans
were still driving their oversized Cadillacs, Britain famously went in the
opposite direction and came up with a compact car that would soon become the epitome
of cool the world over.
Alec Issigonis, A
British citizen of Greek descent, was responsible for the dinky design and
carved a niche for himself in both motoring and cultural history with the
launch of the Mini in 1959 for the British Motor Corporation. The car did not achieve overnight success
(many people thought it 'odd') but it soon began a love affair with the British
people that has never abated, aided by the fact that celebrities adored
it. Many top models, famous footballers
and international film stars drove one, as did all four members of the Beatles.
There was also the memorable game 'How many people can you fit into a Mini?'
(In the case of the Mini Classic, the answer was an incredible 25 people!)
The Mini became a
symbol of the 'Swinging Sixties' and it is one of Britain's biggest-selling
cars, with new upmarket versions becoming available in recent years.
The Bagless Vacuum Cleaner - James Dyson 1979
Sometimes there are
things we are not even aware we need until someone invents them. The bagless vacuum cleaner was one such
invention. James Dyson was inspired to create this convenient household
appliance after purchasing an existing cleaner that simply pushed dirt around
from one location to another. On inspection, the bag of this old-style cleaner
was clogged with dust, restricting suction.
Many would have been
resigned to using this machine, thinking it was better than the manual methods
of cleaning floors and carpets. However,
Dyson went on to change the basic principle of a vacuum cleaner - an idea that
had not been challenged for 100 years - by designing a dual-cyclone sucking
system that removed the necessity of the bag for good. His final version took five years of research
and no less than 5,127 prototypes. He is
known for saying that he doesn't mind failure!
Early on, when Dyson
first approached manufacturers with his idea, he was unable to interest
them. Yet he persevered and in 1993 set
up his own factory in rural Wiltshire in the South of England to produce them
himself. The rest is history. Two years
later, Dyson products were outselling the competition and now, over 20 years
on, Dyson's latest design is still the industry's only cleaner with no bags, no
loss of suction and no filter. Due to
the difficulties he experienced in first bringing his product to market, Dyson
campaigns for fair patenting laws for new inventors.
The World Wide Web - Tim Berners-Lee 1989
Could Tim Berners-Lee
have imagined the impact his invention would have when he handed over the World
Wide Web to the universe for free on 6th August 1991? This is unlikely, yet it
is one of the few inventions that divides life into two distinct periods - before
it was invented and after.
Berners-Lee was a
fellow at the well-known Swiss research company CERN in 1984 when he was
working on hypertext and how it could be linked to the Internet - originally to
allow scientists to exchange ideas. Prototype
software was developed and the concept of the 'www' was born, with the first
website being launched in 1991. Berners-Lee was known for modesty, saying that
his innovation was simply the next logical step for computers. Later he also said that the slash sign (//)
in a web address was unnecessary, but 'seemed a good idea at the time'. His gift has brought him many British awards,
including an OBE, a knighthood and the Order of Merit (which is limited to only
24 living recipients). During the opening
ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, viewers saw Berners-Lee tweeting live
'This is for everyone'. As everyday
users, we surely have to agree with him!
Sources:
Marriott, E 2015, I
should Know That: Great Britain. Michael
O'Mara Books Limited, Great Britain
Reader's Digest 2017,
7 Great British Inventions that Changed the World. Available from:
http://readersdigest.co.uk/technology/gadgets/7-great-british-inventions-changed-world.
[1 October 2017]
BBC News 2017 First
man on television speaks. Available
from: http://www.bbc.co.uk-scotland-38765578/first-man-on-television-speaks [2
October 2017]
4 Great British inventions that changed the
world - Comprehension questions
1. Why was it
important for William Taynton to move around during his television appearance?
2. Explain why the
Mini became much-loved by the British.
3. How has James
Dyson used his eventual success with the bagless vacuum cleaner to aid the
process of invention?
4. In the first
instance, for what purpose was the creation of the world wide web designed?
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