Technology

Telephones

ImageWhat if you want to talk right now to a friend who lives far away? The answer is simple. You pick up your telephone and press some buttons. Next, you hear a ringing sound—one, two, three rings. Then you hear your friend’s voice say, “Hello.” Making a phone call seems so easy. But did you ever think about what makes it possible?

When you pick up your phone, it instantly hooks up with a vast, worldwide telephone network. The network has millions of miles of wire. It has cables that run under the oceans.

Television

ImageYou probably have a favorite television show. Maybe you have more than one favorite TV show. Did you ever wonder where your favorite shows come from? Did you ever wonder how they get to the TV set in your home?

WHERE DO TV SHOWS COME FROM?

Some TV shows are made in TV studios. Some of these shows are broadcast live—that is, as they are being made. Some shows are taped in the studio. The tape gets played on TV later on.

Trains

ImageHave you ever stopped at a railroad crossing when a freight train rumbled by? Did you try to count the cars? Have you ever seen a high-speed passenger train whiz past? Trains are very important to transportation. Trains carry freight and people in places all over the world.

A train is made up of railroad cars hooked together and pulled by a locomotive. Locomotives are sometimes called engines. All trains run on tracks. Freight trains haul goods. Passenger trains carry people.