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صفحة: 35
3 Look at the title of the article below . What do you think this article is about ? 4 Read the article and explain its title . The Power of Communication at Sea What is the connection between a 2 T century Internet freak and a wireless operator in the early 1900 s ? The storyof Jack Binns will show you that the two have more in common than you may think . Jack Binns was born in England in 1 884 . As a boy , he was fascinated by wireless communication and he eventuall y went to work for the Marconi Company . "The Marconi Company was developing wireless telegraphy * at the beginning of the 1900 s . " explains Dr . Lisa Trent , an expert in the history of modern communications . "Jack Binns was one of the 'Marconi Men , ' talented young people who spent hours playing with radios , just as computer enthusiasts today spend hours at their computers surfing the Internet or chatting on ICQ * . " On January 22 " c 1909 , the luxury steamshi p Republic left New York with almost 1 , 600 passengers . Binns was the wireless operator on board . "Binns used the wireless mainly to send messages in Morse code from passengers to friends and relatives back home , " explains Dan Sheldon , a student of communications studies . "But the accident between the Republic and the Florida made people take wireless more seriously . " The Florida was a ship that had left Naples in Italy some days earlier . On January 23 "' , before dawn , the Florida and the Republic collided and the Republic began sinking . Binns used the wireless to send out the distress signal , CQD , which stood for "All Stations ( CQ ) , Danger ( D ) . " Fortunatel y , the distress signal was picked up by both the wireless at the land station and other ships in the area . Binns directed the rescue operation by transmitting messages in Morse code from his wireless station . For forty-eight hours , Binns had no food or rest . He worked in complete darkness and freezing temperatures . Thanks to Binns and the power of wireless communication , all the passengers and 0 ז 0 \\ י from the Republic were rescued by the steamshi p Baltic before the Republic sank . Only two passengers were killed at the time of the collision . Many wireless operators on board ships in the area had heard the exchange of messages between the Republic and the Ba / lic , and Binns received a hero ' s welcome in New York . The amazing sea rescue helped to make the world understand the importance ofwireless communication . We have indeed come a long way : from CQD to ICQ . * wireless telegraphy — sending messages in Morse code by radio signals . * ICQ —an Internet chat program .
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