Vocabulary

Replace the underlined words in the sentences with the words: attractions, boardinghouse, the deaf, experience, an expert, fair, rushed, wire.

1. Alexander Graham Bell taught in a school for people who cannot hear.

2. Watson and Bell tried to send speech through a thin piece of metal.

3. In Philadelphia there was a large show where people see new things called the Centennial Exposition.

4. Bell's father was a person who knew a lot about and had training in phonet­ics.

5. Bell and Watson stayed in a house where there were many rooms to rent.

6. Bell began to try new ideas with a machine to help people who could not hear.

7. One of the interesting things to see at the Centennial Exposition was Bell's "talking machine."

8. When he heard the words, Watson went quickly upstairs, ran into Bell's room and shouted, "I heard you!"

Comprehension

A. Looking for Main Ideas

Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. As a boy, Alexander was interested in sounds and speech because ________.

1. he studied phonetics

2. his father was an expert in phonetics

3. he was born in Scotland

2. Bell and his assistant Watson ________.

1. liked to live in a boardinghouse

2. could not hear very clearly

3. tried to send speech through a wire

3. ________ was one of the main attractions at the Centennial Exposition.

1. Belt's "talking machine"

2. Don Pedro, the emperor of Brazil

3. The large fair

B. Looking for Details

Circle Т if the sentence is true. Circle F if the sentence is false.

1. Alexander taught in a school for the deaf in Boston. T F

2. Bell and Watson worked to­gether for years. T F

3. Bell and Watson were on the same floor in the board­inghouse in Boston. T F

4. Bell rushed upstairs and shouted, "I heard you!" T F

5. Don Pedro, the emperor of Brazil, was surprised when

he saw the thousands of visitors. T F

6. Alexander Graham Bell y p came to America in 1870. T F

Thomas alva edison

Thomas Alva Edison was born in 1847. He was sick a lot when he was young. Edison's mother taught him at home and he only studied the things he wanted to know. At age ten, he read his first science book. After he read the book, he built a laboratory in his house. Soon, Edi­son started to invent things. He was interested in the tele­graph and electricity. At age twenty-three, he made a special telegraphic machine and sold it for a lot of money. With this money, he was now free to invent all the time.

Edison started his own laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jer­sey. He hired mechanics and chemists to help him. He worked day and night. Once, he worked on forty-five inventions at the same time. Edison did not sleep very much, but he took naps. He often fell asleep with his clothes on. One day he even fell asleep in a closet!

Did you know Edison invented wax paper, fire alarms, the battery, and motion pictures? But his favorite invention was the phonograph, or record player. He invented the phono­graph in 1876, His other famous invention was the light bulb. Edison died in 1931, at the age of eighty-four. He had over 1,300 inventions to his name! Many people say that Edison was a genius-one of the smartest people in the world!