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5b Read

A
Match the titles with the articles A-C.
Then listen, read and check your answers.
Hello from Earth 2 Keep it short Internet firsts
1 3

Messages that made history

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© MM Publications

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A Have you ever wondered what the first email

said? Something really important, right?
Before we had email and text messages, people Wrong. In fact, we don’t even know what

used to communicate over long distances by sending that first email said. Ray Tomlinson, the
telegrams, which used electrical signals sent over computer programmer who wrote it (and
a wire. Every word of a telegram cost money, so sent it to himself), said it was a test message
people tried to keep their messages as short as from one computer to another in the same

possible. In fact, the shortest message that was room, and was probably just a collec�on of

ever sent was just one punctua�on mark. The writer different le�ers.
Victor Hugo sent a telegram to his publisher to ask Disappoin�ng phrases were also used in

how well his new book was selling. The telegram other achievements in technology. The first

was just: ‘?’. In answer, his publisher sent back: ‘!’ sentence that was ever spoken over Skype
was said by an Estonian developer in his
na�ve language. What he said meant, ‘Hello,

can you hear me?’ Well, not so surprising,

right? The first tweet was not much be�er.
It was sent by one of Twi�er’s founders,

B who wrote: ‘just se�ng up my tw�r’.
Have you ever sent a text message abroad?
What’s the furthest your messages have
travelled? In 2009, Australian scien�sts

asked for short text messages of no

more than 160 le�ers for an outer space B Read again and answer the

communica�on project. They chose questions. Write A, B or C.

messages which gave informa�on about
people and life on Earth, and sent them out Which text mentions
to a planet called Gliese 581d. The planet 1. messages that haven’t reached their destination yet?
is a ‘super earth’ – it is similar to the Earth,
but it’s eight �mes larger. It’s also 20.3 light 2. a communication system that isn’t used as much

years away, so the messages won’t arrive any more?

there un�l 2029! Will these messages make 3. the length of time messages need to arrive?
history? We will have to wait and see if there
is any reply. 4. a message that was not in English?
5. messages that had to be less than a certain length?
6. a message that was sent as a reply to someone?
7. messages that meant nothing?

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