1 CULTURE

English – a global language

1 Do the quiz, then check your A B

answers.
1 Which of these languages is
spoken as an official language in
the most countries?
a Spanish b French c English
d Russian

2 Which of these languages has the

most speakers?
a Chinese b Spanish c French
d English

3 English is spoken by about …

native speakers.
a 300 million b 100 million 2 What do you think is the connection between photos A–D? Read the
c 1,000 million d 500 million two extracts from Mother Tongue, a book by Bill Bryson, and check your
answers.
4 How much of the information on
the Internet is in English?
a 50% b 90% c 80% d 40% 1 For better or worse, English has become the most global of languages,
the lingua franca of business, science, education, politics, and pop music.
5 More than … of the world’s
For the airlines of 157 nations (out of 168 in the world), it is the agreed
population speaks English (with
international language of discourse. In India, there are more than 3,000
varying degrees of competence).
5 newspapers in English. The six member nations of the European Free
a 25% b 10% c 50% d 75%
Trade Association conduct all their business in English, even though not
6 Nearly … of EU citizens say they one of them is an English-speaking country. When companies from four
can speak English. European countries — France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland — formed
a 20% b 50% c 70% d 60% a joint truck-making venture called Iveco in 1977, they chose English as
10 their working language because, as one of the founders wryly observed,
7 Around … people come to learn ‘It puts us all at an equal disadvantage.’ And when Volkswagen set up a
English in the UK each year. factory in Shanghai it found that there were too few Germans who spoke
a 100,000 b 700,000 Chinese and too few Chinese who spoke German, so now Volkswagen’s
c 1,000,000 d 3,000,000 German engineers and Chinese managers communicate in a language
Answers 1c, 2a, 3a, 4c, 5d, 6d, 7d 15 that is alien to both of them, English. Belgium has two main languages,
French and Flemish, yet on a recent visit to the country’s main airport in
Brussels, I counted more than 50 posters and billboards and not one of
them was in French or Flemish. They were all in English.
For non-English speakers everywhere, English has become the common
20 tongue. Even in France, the most determinedly non-English-speaking
nation in the world, the war against English encroachment has largely
been lost. In early 1989, the Pasteur Institute announced that henceforth
it would publish its famed international medical review only in English
because too few people were reading it in French.
25 English is, in short, one of the world’s great growth industries. ‘English
is just as much big business as the export of manufactured goods,’
Professor Randolph Quirk has written. Indeed, such is the demand to
learn the language that there are now more students of English in China
than there are people in the United States.

4 Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 C
2 There are problems in trying to put a figure on the
number of English speakers in the world. Most estimates
put the number at about 330 million as compared with
260 million for Spanish, 150 million for Portuguese and a
5 little over 100 million for French. Of course these numbers
mean little. Mandarin Chinese, spoken by 750 million
people, has twice as many speakers as any other language
in the world, but see how far that will get you in Rome or
Rochester. No other language than English is spoken as
10 an official language in more countries – 44, as against 27
D for French and 20 for Spanish, and none is spoken over
such a wide area of the globe. English is used as an official
language in countries with a population of about 1.6
billion, roughly a third of the world total.
15 Without any doubt, English is the most important
language in the world, and it is not hard to find impressive
statistics to prove it. ‘Two thirds of all scientific papers are
published in English,’ says The Economist. ‘Nearly half of all
business deals in Europe are conducted in English,’ says
20 The Story of English. ‘More than 70% of the world’s mail is
written in English,’ says Lincoln Barnett in The Treasure of
Our Tongue.

3 Choose the correct meaning of these words, as used in extract 1.

What do you think?
1 lingua franca shared language of communication / alternative to French • Why has English become so widely
used internationally?
2 discourse communication / study • Is it good that one language is so
3 founders people who started it / people who discovered it important in the world? Why? / Why
not?
4 wryly angrily / ironically • Do you think English will continue to
be popular in the future? Why? / Why
5 billboards price lists in restaurants / large advertisements in the street
not? Which other language(s) might
6 tongue pronunciation / language one day become dominant? Would
you like your language to become
7 encroachment gradual takeover / sudden aggression the dominant world language?
8 henceforth from now on / as a result
PROJECT
4 Answer the questions about both extracts. Think about the English words and phrases
1 Why do you think so many airlines use English? used in your language, e.g. le weekend
in French. Study articles on the Internet,
2 What do the European Free Trade Association and Iveco have in
in newspapers and in magazines, noting
common? down these expressions and where you
3 Why did Volkswagen choose English as the company language in China? found them. Then write an article for an
4 What surprised the writer during his trip to Brussels? international magazine on linguistics,
5 Why does the writer give the example of the Pasteur Institute? covering these points:
6 Why does he compare the number of Chinese learners of English to the • examples, with the topics they are
population of the US? associated with
7 How many people in the world, approximately, speak English? • why you think they are used in your
8 In how many countries is it an official language? language
9 How many people live in countries where English is an official language? • whether you think this is a good or a
10 Why is it important for business people and scientists to know English? bad thing

Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate 5

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 2 CULTURE
Multicultural Britain

1 What does the word ‘British’ mean 3 Read the text to check your answers.
to you? Discuss your ideas with a
partner. What does ‘multicultural’
mean? How multicultural do you
think present-day Britain is?
A nation of immigrants
1 If you walk down a street in Britain, 3 In the 1660s, as Britain’s trading
especially in the bigger cities, you empire grew, the slave trade began
will usually see a very diverse mix to bring many people from Africa
of people. These people of different to work in the houses of rich British
races and colours are all part of families. By the end of the 1700s,
multicultural Britain. About 14% there were about 20,000 black people
of the population is originally from living in London, but in 1833 the
another country – that’s about slave trade was abolished throughout
9 million people – and in London the British Empire.
more than 300 languages are spoken. 4 The British Empire during the 1700s
2 What many people don’t know is and 1800s was very powerful. It
2 Find out how much you know that Britain has always been a mixed- controlled many places across the
about the people of Britain by doing race society. The first people to settle world, such as India, several African
this quiz. in Britain were Celts, who probably countries, and the West Indies (the
came from Spain. But it was the islands of the Caribbean, including
1 How many of the people now in Romans who brought the first big Jamaica). As a result, many aspects
Britain originally came from another changes to the culture of the island, of British culture, such as sport,
country? building an effective road structure, were imported there, and the people
a 10% b 14% c 16% towns, and houses. The Roman learned English. They also fought for
2 How many languages are spoken in occupation, which lasted from 43 AD Britain, most notably in the First and
London today? to 410 AD, was followed by invasions Second World Wars.
a 100 b 200 c 300
by Saxons (from Germany), Vikings 5 In the 1880s, Jewish people from
(from Scandinavia), and Normans Russia came to Britain to escape
3 When did the Romans arrive in (from France). The Normans, who
Britain?
prejudice in their own country. Irish
invaded in 1066, had the greatest settlers arrived during the same
a 43 BC b 43 AD c 410 AD influence on Britain, establishing a period, to find a new way of life
4 How long ago, approximately, was legal and administrative system in away from the poverty and famine
the last invasion of Britain? the country. French was the official in Ireland. And new trade with India
a 2,000 years b 1,000 years language in Britain for over 300 and China brought people from
c 200 years years!
5 What, for three centuries from 1066,
was the official language of Britain?
a French b German c English
6 How many immigrants came to live
in Britain in 2006?
a 20,000 b 143,000 c 4,600,000
7 How many Polish people lived in
Britain in 2018?
a 500,000 b 750,000 c 900,000
8 What is now the most popular food
in Britain?
a curry b roast beef c fish and
chips
Invasions of Britain Immigration flows into Britain

6 Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate

© Copyright Oxford University Press
4 Why did large groups of these people leave their countries to come to 5 Find words in the text with these
Britain? Match ethnic groups 1–8 to to reasons a–h. meanings. The paragraph numbers are
in brackets.
1 Romans, Saxons, and Normans a to do trade with the British 1 different from each other (1)
2 Africans b to get away from prejudice 2 the main groups that humans can be
divided into because of their physical
3 Russian Jews c to work as slaves
appearance (1)
4 Irish d to invade Britain 3 decide to live somewhere
5 Chinese e to work elsewhere in the EU permanently (2)
4 dislike of people because of their
6 West Indians and Asians f to help Britain after the war
race, religion, etc. (5)
7 Bosnians and Somalis g to live in safety from war 5 lack of food in a country (5)
8 Poles h to escape extreme hunger 6 going into a country to live there (6)
7 belonging to a particular race of
these countries to the main introduced in the 1960s to make it people (7)
ports in Britain – Liverpool, illegal to refuse housing, employment, 8 a steady movement in one direction
Bristol, and London. or public services to people because of (8)
6 From 1948 until the 1970s, their ethnic background. The British 9 people who have to leave their
Britain experienced a period government also began to restrict country because of danger (8)
of mass immigration. After immigration, and by 1972, only holders 10 cruel treatment of people because of
the Second World War, Britain of work permits or people with parents their race, religion, etc. (8)
needed help to rebuild the or grandparents born in Britain could
11 people who join together because of
country. In 1948, a boat called settle there.
religion, nationality, interests, etc. (8)
the Empire Windrush arrived 8 Nevertheless, since 1970 there has 12 related to people who lived a long
from the West Indies, carrying been a continuous flow of people time ago (9)
the first of many thousands into Britain. Many of them have been
of West Indians who settled refugees, escaping from wars and
in Britain during the 1950s persecution in places such as Uganda, What do you think?
and 1960s, mostly in the Bosnia, Somalia, and Albania. In • Do you think society benefits from
industrialized cities of London, 2006, 143,000 people were allowed being multicultural, or should
Birmingham, and Manchester. to settle in Britain. As the European immigrants adapt to the culture of
Workers also arrived from India, Union expanded, allowing for the free the country they go to live in?
Pakistan, and Bangladesh. movement of people, there was a huge • How can tensions between different
7 Inevitably there were tensions increase in the number of temporary communities be avoided?
between some of the new immigrant workers from Central and • Should governments restrict the
immigrant communities and Eastern Europe. The Polish community number of people coming into
the white British population, in particular grew faster than any other, the country to work? Should they
and race relations laws were and the total number of Poles living limit the entry of refugees, who
in Britain in 2018 was estimated to be may be escaping war, famine, or
900,000. At the same time, of course, persecution?
many British people continue to settle
in other EU countries, and beyond.
9 Being a multicultural society has had an
PROJECT
enormous impact on Britain’s history Choose an immigrant community in
and identity: its immigrants have your country. Find out as much as you
established the systems of government, can about it and write an article for your
added to its wealth, commerce, and school magazine. Say when, why, and how
industry, and influenced music, art, they arrived, outline the difficulties they
sport, and diet (many people now have faced and describe the contributions
consider curry to be Britain’s national they have made to the country’s economy
dish!). Everyone in Britain is descended and society.
from immigrants – it’s just a question of
how far back you want to go.

Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate 7

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 5 CULTURE
Journalism in the 21st century

1 Where do you get your news from? How often do you 3 Read Extract 1 from Journalism: A Very Short
read a newspaper or watch the news on TV? Introduction by Ian Hargreaves and decide whether it
holds a positive or negative view of modern journalism.
2 Read the quotes about journalism and discuss to what
extent you agree with each one.
1 ‘Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press,
Extract 2
We know, from opinion surveys, that journalists are less
and that cannot be limited without being lost.’
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) trusted and less esteemed than used to be the case. In
terms of trust, journalists rank alongside politicians, but
2 ‘A free press can of course be good or bad, but,
most certainly, without freedom it will never be behind business executives and civil servants and way
anything but bad.’ Albert Camus (1913–60) 5 behind the most respected professionals such as doctors,
3 ‘The freedom of the press works in such a way teachers, and scientists.
that there is not much freedom from it.’ Dr Carl Jensen said that ‘The press has the power to
Grace Kelly (1929–82) stimulate people to clean up the environment, prevent
4 ‘Well, to be honest, I think I tell less truth when nuclear proliferation, force crooked politicians out
I write journalism than when I write fiction.’ 10 of office, reduce poverty, provide quality health care
Julian Barnes (1946–) for all people, and even to save the lives of millions of
people as it did in Ethiopia in 1984. But, instead, we are
using it to promote violence and sensationalism and
Extract 1 to line the pockets of already wealthy media moguls.’
News, which was once difficult and expensive to 15 Jensen’s view was widely echoed in the United States
obtain, today surrounds us like the air we breathe. Much during the scandal that engulfed President Bill Clinton.
of it is literally ambient: displayed on computers, public The American news media were widely judged to be
billboards, trains, aircraft, and mobile phones. Where peddling gossip, rumour, and unchecked facts as they
5 once news had to be sought out in expensive and scarce scrambled to outdo each other for sensation and scoops.
news sheets, today it is ubiquitous and very largely free
at the point of consumption. Satisfying news hunger no
longer involves a twice daily diet of morning newspaper
and evening TV news bulletin: news comes in snack-
10 form, to be grazed, and at every level of quality; even to
be programmed to order, to arrive, pre-sorted, via your
personal digital assistant. Where once journalism’s reach
was confined to the time it took to haul bundles of
newsprint from one end of a country to the other, now it
15 is global, instantaneous, and interactive.
But there are problems with this new culture of news.
Because there is so much of it, we find it difficult to
sort the good from the bad. The fact that it is mostly
obtainable without direct payment may mean that we
value it less. As a generation grows up unaccustomed
to the idea that news costs money, the economics
of resource-intensive journalism, like in-depth
investigations, are undermined.

12 Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 6 Read all three extracts again. In which extract can you
Extract 3 find these views expressed?
H.L.Mencken, the great Baltimore iconoclast, 1 Journalists should be allowed to write whatever they
considered journalism ‘a craft to be mastered in four want without being regulated by governments.
days and abandoned at the first sign of a better job’. 2 Journalists used to be held in higher regard.
Behind Mencken’s irony lies a serious point. 3 The news is like food.
Journalism, he says, cannot be likened to professions
5
4 These days, the press is more interested in making
such as medicine and the law because the journalist ‘is money than in delivering honest news.
unable, as yet, to control admission to his craft’. Indeed,
5 Because people are used to getting their news for free,
the only societies where admission to the practice of the quality of reporting has gone down.
journalism is controlled are those that have abandoned
6 Journalists aren’t as conscientious about accuracy as
10 or never known democracy. If journalists are forced they should be.
to belong to a state-approved ‘union of journalists’
7 If there is freedom of speech in a country, it means
or ‘press club’, this guarantees that real journalism, if that anyone can spread news or publish an opinion.
it exists at all, will take place by subterfuge. The core
8 Journalism can be a force for good.
democratic right to free expression gives, in principle,
15 every citizen the right to be a journalist, to report a fact,
and to publish an opinion. In other words, this means
that journalism is philosophically and practically exempt
from regulation by any state organization. Just as free
expression guarantees tolerance for bad novels, so too,
it must avert its eyes from bad journalism.

4 Now read Extracts 2 and 3. Which extract expresses

the importance of maintaining freedom of the press
regardless of the quality of journalism?

5 Match the words from the extracts to their meanings.

The extract number is in brackets.

1 ubiquitous (1) 7 judged (2)

2 sought out (1) 8 outdo (2)
What do you think?
3 reach (1) 9 craft (3)
• Can you think of any examples of journalists having too
4 undermined (1) 10 state-approved (3) much freedom?
5 crooked (2) 11 subterfuge (3) • To what extent do the media in your country peddle
‘gossip, rumour, and unchecked facts’?
6 moguls (2) 12 exempt (3)
• Do you agree that every citizen has ‘the right to be a
journalist, to report a fact, and to publish an opinion’?
a powerful, important people Why? / Why not?
b made weaker, ineffective • Should the government control the press? Why? / Why
c secret, dishonest way of behaving not?
d activity requiring a special skill or training
e corrupt; dishonest PROJECT
f supported by the government in power
g free from an obligation or duty Go to the website of an English-language newspaper, for
example The Guardian, The New York Times, or The Sydney
h very common Morning Herald. Write a report about the following:
i considered, believed • the amount of celebrity gossip
j do more or better than somebody else
• how sensationalist the stories are
k extent or range of influence
• the amount of in-depth investigations
l looked for

Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate 13

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 13 CULTURE
Conversation conventions

1 What do you understand by the term small

talk? What topics are usual topics for small
talk in your country?

2 Which of the following do you think are likely

reasons why the British talk so much about
the weather? Read through the text to check
your answers.
1 Children are taught at school how to
discuss it.
2 It gives people something to talk about
with others.
3 It is an easy way to start an argument
with people.
4 The British climate is extremely violent. Just Making Conversation
5 It has helped create the British way of life. ‘It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first
6 Its changeability has affected farming and talk is of the weather,’ the 18th-century writer Samuel Johnson famously
industry. remarked. This is often the case today, but what makes the English as a
nation obsessed with the elements?
3 Match the words in A and B to make 5 Look at any book or website that teaches foreigners English and
collocations from the text. Then match them one of the first conversations you can learn is about the weather. One
to the definitions a–j. site says, ‘English speakers love to talk about the weather. Learn the
proper vocabulary and expressions, and you will find it easy to start a
A B conversation anytime and anywhere with anyone you meet!’
10 George Mikes in his book about English traits, How To Be An Alien,
1 sum the point sums it up perfectly when he says the weather is the most important
topic in the land – an ever-interesting, thrilling subject that you must be
2 natural identity
good at discussing.
3 miss to light The Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, suggested another reason why people
15 might discuss the weather. In his play, The Importance of Being Earnest,
4 global it up e Gwendolen says, ‘Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing.
5 weather warming Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain
that they mean something else.’
6 cultural embedded This is also what Kate Fox, author of Watching The English, thinks –
7 daily patterns 20 conversations are not really about the weather at all, but code to help
us overcome our natural reserve and actually talk to each other. They
8 deeply keeping serve as a simple greeting, an ice-breaker, or back-up for when the
conversation falters.
9 come reserve
There are rules to weather-related conversations, however. All writers
10 diary routine 25 on the subject agree that you must never contradict anybody when
discussing the weather, as this would be very bad etiquette. Even if it is
a form a strong and central part of something snowing outside and someone says, ‘Nice weather, isn’t it?’ you must
b increase in the temperature of the Earth’s reply, ‘Yes, it is!’
atmosphere Bill Bryson, the bestselling American writer and journalist, thinks
30 the English weather is not at all fascinating, as there is no danger
c noting down observations every day
of monsoons, hurricanes, or tropical storms – as with many other
d characteristic tendency not to talk about
countries. English broadcaster, journalist, and author Jeremy Paxman
one’s feelings disagrees, saying Bryson has missed the point, as the interest is in
e describe the main points in a few words its uncertainty. Despite this, the English are still surprised when the
f become known to the public 35 weather changes! With the continuing rise in global warming and

28 Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 g characteristics that distinguish one society from others
h the order and way we do things every day
i not understand the most important idea
about something
j regular changes between rain, sunshine, heat, cold, etc.
4 The text refers to the ideas of various writers. Match
writers A–E to points 1–8.

A George Mikes
B Kate Fox
C Bill Bryson
D Jeremy Paxman
E Benjamin Orlove

1 Compared to what sometimes happens in other parts

of the world, the English weather is rather boring.
2 The English sometimes talk about the weather when
they can’t think of anything else to say.
3 By the end of the 18th century, the weather was
resulting change in weather patterns, our awareness and becoming a common topic of conversation.
understanding of the weather has never been so important.
4 Conversations may appear to be about the weather,
Is there more to talking about the weather than passing
but in fact they are not.
the time of day? Throughout history, the weather has been
40 both dreaded and respected for its influence over living
5 Everyone in England needs to have something to say
creatures. Not only does it control our moods and activities
about the weather.
but it has also played a role in England’s cultural identity, 6 The English sometimes use the topic of the weather to
concept of time, and economic development. The weather begin a conversation.
is such a big part of our daily routines that many of us 7 The English weather is interesting because it is not
45 forget how much this powerful force shapes our customs. predictable.
Benjamin Orlove, in his book Weather, Climate, Culture, 8 The English have been interested in their weather ever
writes that ways of thinking and talking about the weather since scientific discoveries were made about it.
have become deeply embedded in the English national
culture and that many of the things one hears about the
What do you think?
50 weather reflect uncertainties about England’s identity in the
modern world. • Which do you think is the most convincing reason why
Orlove goes on to say that aspects of the English’s the British often talk about the weather? Why?
preoccupation with the weather relate to the country’s • What other topics would be acceptable for small talk
experiences during the last few centuries, for example with a stranger in Britain? What would be
55 modernisation during the 18th century Enlightenment (a unacceptable? Why?
movement that placed importance on scientific truth and • In what other ways might climate contribute to the
reason about the Universe), where new ideas about the ‘national character’ of a country?
national climate came to light.
In this period there were the beginnings of revolutionary
PROJECT
60 growth in agriculture and industry, which brought a new
awareness of the environment, and the English acquired Think about conversations in your country. Write an article
a sense of their national weather, its peculiarities and about them for a website for visitors to your country. Include
regularities, and its role in the life of the nation. information on:
By the late 1700s, according to Orlove, the weather • appropriate topics for small talk
65 started to be catalogued through diary keeping and • topics that should be avoided
journalism, making it an everyday affair. This public weather • when and where small talk is appropriate and acceptable
was talked about in many different social situations,
becoming comparable with fashion and news.
• any differences between age groups, regions, etc.
So the next time someone talks to you about the weather,
70 remember: there’s a lot more to it than it might seem!

Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate 29

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 18 CULTURE
Inventions

1 Read the introduction to the article. Can you think of any inventions like that?
2 Look at the headings. What do you already know about these inventions, if anything?
Read the article and compare it to your ideas.

3 Read the article again. What do these years refer to?

1845 1769 1837 1825 1876 1879 1712 1847

4 Match the words from the article in A to their meanings in B.

A B
1 patent (l.11) 6 tap (l.34) a strongly, forcefully e become more successful than something else
person or thing that comes before another of
2 vastly (l.9) 7 infrastructure (l.36) b a quick, light knock f
the same kind
3 devote (l.22) 8 precursor (l.43) c greatly h official right to make and sell an invention
the basic facilities needed for the operation of a
4 overtake (l.15) 9 contemporary (l.44) d give all your time to i
public system
5 vigorously (l.29) 10 arguably (l.49) g probably j person living at the same time as another

5 Use the context to guess the meaning of these words in the article.
1 try your hand at (doing) something (section A)
What do you think?
2 pave the way for something / someone (section B)
3 join forces with someone (section C) Look at this list of top ten inventions. Which five do you
think have been the most important for the world? Why?
6 Answer these questions about the steam engine Are there any others you would add?
(A), the telegraph (B), the light bulb (C), and their Top ten inventions
inventors (Watt, Morse, and Edison). In some cases, 1 telephone 6 television
more than one answer is possible.
Which invention ... ? 2 computer 7 light bulb
1 was based on knowledge that had been around for a 3 Internet 8 steam engine
long time
4 antibiotics 9 radio
2 was born out of tragedy
3 was based on an earlier design 5 car 10 camera
4 was being developed by more than one person at
the same time
Which inventor ... ? PROJECT
5 refused to acknowledge others working in his field Choose another invention that has had, or did have, a big
6 cooperated with other inventors impact on the way people live. Find out about it and write a
7 personally organized public access to his invention short text. Include information on:
8 gave his name to something connected with • what it is and how it works
his invention • where and when it was invented and by whom
9 originally had a completely different profession • how it changed people’s lives

38 Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate

© Copyright Oxford University Press
 Inventions that shaped the future
A new invention is rarely the idea of one person, but the product of various people and built on previous attempts.
Often the inventor credited with the invention is the person who managed to perfect the first workable design for
commercial production. These three significant inventions are especially important for how they shaped the future.

A The steam engine

5 Before the invention of the steam engine, most products were handmade. Water
wheels and animals provided the only power. The idea of using steam to create power
had been around for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until Thomas Newcomen, an
English blacksmith, tried his hand at designing a steam-powered machine that the first
workable steam engine appeared in 1712. Fifty-seven years later, his design was vastly
10 improved by Scottish engineer James Watt, widely considered the ‘inventor’ of the
modern steam engine. In 1769, he received a patent for his new design.
Watt produced the first effective engine which powered the whole Industrial Revolution
from roughly 1760 to 1870. In less than 120 years, the world saw the greatest period
of change in the shortest amount of time. Steam engines powered factories and
15 transported their goods all over the world. Although steam has been overtaken by
electricity, most power plants in the world actually generate electricity using steam
turbines. A unit of power, the watt, was named after this most influential of inventors.

B C

The telegraph The light bulb

In 1825, artist Samuel Morse was in Washington DC when 40 American inventor Thomas Edison is generally
20 a letter arrived on horseback saying that his wife was ill. recognized as the inventor of the light bulb, filing for
Morse hurried back home only to find she had already died a patent in 1879, but he did not create the first one.
and been buried. Heartbroken, Morse devoted himself to There had been several precursors and there were many
inventing a system of fast, long-distance communication. contemporaries working on the same problem. One of
Morse eventually developed the concept of a single wire 45 these was British inventor Joseph Swann, who held an
25 telegraph. Meanwhile in Britain, William Cooke and Charles 1876 patent for an incandescent lamp. Edison later joined
Wheatstone had developed a telegraph device of their forces with Swann to avoid patent quarrels and they set
own and patented it in 1837. However, their use of multiple up the Ediswan Company to bring electric light to Britain.
wires would later be overtaken by Morse’s method because In fact, this is arguably Edison’s greater achievement, that
it was cheaper. Moreover, Morse vigorously fought to be 50 he was able to bring light to the masses. He raised funds,
30 recognized as the inventor of the telegraph despite the set up power plants, and laid wires to get electricity into
earlier invention. He received a patent in 1847. homes across America.
In 1845, he formed a company to install telegraph lines The light bulb changed the world, but not just in
from New York to other cities. He also invented ‘Morse providing light. There already were relatively cheap
Code’ – a series of taps to send the messages with. 55 and efficient gas lamps at the time. It was actually the
35 The invention of the telegraph transformed our world infrastructure that was built to provide electricity to
because the infrastructure put in place paved the way every home and business that changed everything.
for telephones. Wireless radio and TV followed, and all Today, our world is filled with powered devices that we
communication was now instant. can plug in anywhere thanks to the light bulb.

Headway Culture and Literature Companion Upper Intermediate 39

© Copyright Oxford University Press