A
It is such a common occurrence that no one ever wonders from where it came. But the telephone has a fascinating story behind it. It is the story of Alexander Graham Bell.
He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1847. The son of a man who was bitten by the workings of the human voice, how it is produced and used, and especially teaching the deaf how to use it, young Alexander Graham Bell grew up with his father’s such strong feelings.
In 1870, because of poor health, he migrated to Canada. It was not long before his success in teaching the deaf to speak brought him to the attention of a wealthy merchant in Boston who wanted Bell to help her daughter, Mabel. Finally, Mr. Bell and Mabel fell in love. It was she who inspired him to develop the remarkable instrument that transformed speech into electrical impulses(脉冲) that could then be changed back into human speech at the end of a wire. In 1877, he and Mabel were married. He later became an American citizen.
Alexander Graham Bell was showered with the praise of the world. Honors came to him from all the points of the compass. He went on to other discoveries, many of them. But in his own view, he was most proud of his efforts to help the deaf. So, when the government of France awarded him the Volta Prize for inventing the telephone, he combined this monetary award with the money he made from selling the patent on another invention to establish the Volta Bureau in Washington, D. C. Its purpose was to fund research on deafness. Today, it is called the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Its role has been changed to providing the latest information for the deaf of the world on how best to deal with their disability.
21. Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase “bitten by”?
A. Fed up with. B. Familiar with. C. In harmony with. D. Enthusiastic about.
22. What does the author say about Bell?
A. He married a deaf woman.
B. He taught the deaf to use telephones.
C. He was funded by a merchant.
D. He was inspired by his father to invent telephones.
23. What may the paragraph that follows be about?
A. The development of the Association.
B. Examples of Bell’s other inventions.
C. Something about Bell’s family.
D. Bell’s death and his influence.
