[originaltext] Telephone, television, radio, and telegraph all help people c

Telephone, television, radio, and telegraph all help people communicate with each other. Because of these devices, ideas and news of events spread quickly all over the world. For example, within seconds, people can know the results of an election in another country. News of a disaster such as an earthquake can bring help from distant countries. Within hours, help is on the way. Because of modern technology like the satellites that travel around the world, information travels fast.
    How has this speed of communication changed the world? To many people, the world has become smaller. Of course this does not mean that the world is actually physically smaller. It means that the world seems smaller. Two hundred years ago, communication between the continents took a long time. All news was carried on ships that took weeks or even months to cross the oceans. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it took six weeks for news from Europe to reach America. This time difference influenced people’s actions. For example, one battle in the war of 1812 between England and the United States could have been avoided. A peace agreement had already been signed. Peace was made in England, but the news of peace took six weeks to reach America. During this time, the large and serious Battle of New Orleans was fought. Many people would not have died if news had come in time. In the past, communication took much more time than it does now. There was a good reason why the world seemed so much larger than it does today.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. What makes information spread very quickly, according to the passage?
17. How was news carried between the continents 200 years ago?
18. What might have been avoided if the news of peace agreement had reached America in time?