Morse Code Reading Answers

Jan 5, 2023

Morse Code Reading Answers is a topic of brief discussion about the morse code which is used to send alert messages to the sea. The given IELTS topic has originated from the book named “The Development of IELTS”. The topic named Morse Code Reading Answers comes with 12 sets of questions. There are two different sorts of questions, which are, match the headings, and True/False/Not Given. The candidates should thoroughly read the IELTS reading passage to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and answer the questions below. Similar kinds of topics like Morse Code Reading Answers are included in the IELTS reading practice papers, which the candidates can take into their consideration for performing a good score in this section.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

Morse Code Reading Answers

{A} Morse code is being replaced by a new satellite-based system for sending distress calls at

sea. Since 1992 countries around the world have been decommissioning their Morse equipment with similar (if less poetic) sign-offs, as the world's shipping switches over to a new satellite-based arrangement, the Global Maritime Distress, and Safety System. The final deadline for the switch-over to GMDSS is February 1st, a date that is widely seen as the end of an era. Although dots and dashes will not die out altogether they will, for example, continue to be used by amateur radio operators, spies, and some members of the armed forces the switch to GMDSS marks the end of the last significant international use of Morse.

{B} The code has, however, had a good history. Appropriately for a technology commonly

associated with radio operators on sinking ships, the idea of Morse code is said to have occurred to Samuel Morse while he was on board a ship crossing the Atlantic. At the time, Morse was a painter and occasional inventor, but when another of the ship's passengers informed him of recent advances in electrical theory, Morse was suddenly taken with the idea of building an electric telegraph. Other inventors had been trying to do just that for the best part of a century. Morse succeeded and is now remembered as the father of the telegraph partly thanks to his single-mindedness it was 12 years, for example, before he secured money from Congress to build his first telegraph line but also for technical reasons.

little more than a 'key' (essentially, a spring-loaded switch) to send messages, a clicking 'sounder' to receive them, and a wire to link the two. But although Morse's hardware was simple, there was a catch: in order to use his equipment, operators had to learn the special code of dots and dashes. Originally, Morse had not intended to use combinations of dots and dashes to represent individual letters. His first code, sketched in his notebook during that transatlantic voyage, used dots and dashes to represent the digits 0 to 9. Morse's idea was that messages would consist of strings of numbers corresponding to words and phrases in a special numbered dictionary. But Morse later abandoned this scheme and, with the help of an associate, Alfred Vail, devised the Morse alphabet, which could be used to spell out messages a letter at a time in dots and dashes. At first, the need to learn this complicated-looking code made Morse's telegraph seem impossibly tricky compared with other, more user-friendly designs. For example, Cooke and Wheatstone's telegraph used five needles to pick out letters on a diamond-shaped grid. But although this meant that anyone could use it, it also required five wires between telegraph stations. Morse's telegraph needed only one.

{D} As electric telegraphy took off in the early 1850s, the Morse telegraph quickly became

dominant. It was adopted as the European standard in 1851, allowing direct connections between the telegraph networks of different countries. (Britain chose not to revise to allow for accents and other foreign more years). By this time, Morse code had been involved, sticking with needle telegraphs for a few characters, resulting in a split between American and International Morse that continues to this day.

{E} On international submarine cables, left and right swings of a light beam reflected from a tiny

rotating mirror were used to represent dots and dashes. Meanwhile, a distinct telegraphic

subculture was emerging, with its own customs and vocabulary and a hierarchy based on the

speed at which operators could send and receive Morse code. First-class operators, who could

send and receive at speeds of up to 45 words a minute, handled press traffic, securing the best-

paid jobs in big cities. At the bottom of the pile were slow, inexperienced rural operators, many of whom worked the wires as part-timers. As their Morse code improved, however, rural operators found that their newfound skill was a passport to better pay in a city job. Telegraphers soon swelled the ranks of the emerging middle classes. Telegraphy was also deemed suitable work for women. By 1870, a third of the operators in the Western Union office in New York, the largest telegraph office in America, were female.

{F} In a dramatic ceremony in 1871, Morse himself said goodbye to the global community of

telegraphers he had brought into being. By the time of his death in 1872, the world was well and

truly wired: more than 650,000 miles of telegraph line and 30,000 miles of submarine cable were throbbing with Morse code, and 20,000 towns and villages were connected to the global network. Just as the Internet is today often called an 'information superhighway,' the telegraph was described in its day as an 'instantaneous highway of thought.'

{G}But by the 1890s, the Morse telegraph's heyday as a cutting-edge technology was coming to

an end, with the invention of the telephone and the rise of automatic telegraphs, precursors of the teleprinter, neither of which required specialist skills to operate. Morse code, however, was about to be given a new lease of life thanks to another new technology: wireless. Following the invention of radiotelegraphy by Guglielmo Marconi in 1896, its potential for use at sea quickly became apparent. For the first time, ships could communicate with each other, and with the shore, whatever the weather and even when out of visual range. In 1897 Marconi successfully sent Morse code messages between a shore station and an Italian warship 19km (12 miles) away. The first sea rescue after a distress call sent by the radiotelegraph took place in 1899 when a lightship in the Dover Straits reported the grounding of the Elbe, a steamship.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-7

Reading passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A-G Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-G from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

Standard and variation for the code
Substitution for Morse code
Emergence of many employment opportunities
The advantages of Morse’s invention
Discovery of electricity
Sea application of Morse code expanded under new technology
The invention of Morse code
The need for radio operators
The international reach of Morse code

Question 1: Paragraph A

Answer: ii
Supporting sentence: Since 1992 countries around the world have been decommissioning their Morse equipment with similar (if less poetic) sign-offs, as the world's shipping switches over to a new satellite-based
arrangement, the Global Maritime Distress, and Safety System
Keyword: Morse equipment, satellite-based arrangement, Global Maritime Distress
Keyword location: paragraph A, lines 1-2
Explanation: Lines 1-2 of paragraph A suggests that for delivering distress signals at sea, a new satellite-based method is taking the place of Morse code. Countries all over the world have been retiring their Morse equipment with identical (though less poetic) sign-offs since 1992. It was happened as the world's shipping switches to a new satellite-based system, the Global Maritime Distress, and Safety System.

Question 2: Paragraph B

Answer: vii
Supporting sentence: At the time, Morse was a painter and occasional inventor, but when another of the ship's passengers informed him of recent advances in electrical theory, Morse was suddenly taken with the idea of
building an electric telegraph.
Keyword: Morse, painter, occasional inventor
Keyword location: paragraph B, lines 2-3
Explanation: Paragraph B says that the idea of Morse code is claimed to have come to Samuel Morse while he was on board a ship crossing the Atlantic. It is fit for a technology that is frequently linked with radio operators on sinking ships. Morse was a painter and infrequent inventor at the time. Although when one of the ship's passengers informed him of recent developments in electrical theory, Morse was instantly enamoured. He remained devoted with the concept of creating an electric telegraph.

Question 3: Paragraph C

Answer: iv
Supporting sentence: At first, the need to learn this complicated-looking code made Morse's telegraph seem impossibly tricky compared with other, more user-friendly designs.
Keyword: complicated, Morse's telegraph, user-friendly designs
Keyword location: paragraph C, line 7
Explanation: According to Morse's plan, communications would be made up of numerical strings that stood in for words and phrases in a unique numbered lexicon. The Morse alphabet, which could be used to spell out messages one letter at a time in dots and dashes, was instead developed by Morse. Also, an accomplice named Alfred Vail after he later abandoned this plan. When compared to other, more user-friendly designs, Morse's telegraph initially appeared to be impossible to use. This is due to the requirement to learn this complicated-looking code.

Question 4: Paragraph D

Answer: i
Supporting sentence: It was adopted as the European standard in 1851, allowing direct connections between the telegraph networks of different countries.
Keyword : European standard, direct connections, different countries
Keyword location: paragraph D, lines 1-2
Explanation: Paragraph D says that the Morse telegraph swiftly overtook other forms of telegraphy as electric communication gained popularity in the early 1850s. In 1851, it became the accepted European standard, enabling direct links between the telegraph networks of various nations. Britain decided against revising to account for accents and other foreign languages for longer years.

Question 5: Paragraph E

Answer: iii
Supporting sentence: As their Morse code improved, however, rural operators found that their newfound skill was a passport to better pay in a city job.
Keyword : improved, newfound skill, job
Keyword location: paragraph E, lines 3-5
Explanation: First-class operators handled press traffic, earning the highest salaries in major cities. They thanks to their ability to send and receive information at speeds of up to 45 words per minute. Slow, inexperienced rural operators, many of whom operated the wires part-time, were at the bottom of the heap. However, as they became more proficient at Morse code, rural operators discovered that their brand-new talent was a ticket to better money. It is beneficial in a metropolitan position.

Question 6: Paragraph F

Answer: ix
Supporting sentence: By the time of his death in 1872, the world was well and truly wired: more than 650,000 miles of telegraph line and 30,000 miles of submarine cable were throbbing with Morse code, and 20,000 towns and villages were connected to the global network.
Keyword: 650,000 miles, towns and villages, global network
Keyword location: paragraph F, lines 1-2
Explanation: Lines 1-2 of paragraph F says that, morse himself bid a tearful farewell to the world's telegraphers in a dramatic ceremony in 1871. When he passed away in 1872, the world had been thoroughly wired. Nearly 20,000 cities and villages were connected to the world's network. Also, more than 650,000 miles of telegraph line and 30,000 miles of undersea cable were pulsing with Morse code.

Question 7: Paragraph G

Answer: vi
Supporting sentence: The first sea rescue after a distress call sent by the radiotelegraph took place in 1899 when a lightship in the Dover Straits reported the grounding of the Elbe, a steamship
Keyword: sea rescue, radiotelegraph, lightship
Keyword location : paragraph G, lines 4-6
Explanation: Marconi was able to transmit Morse code communications to an Italian cruiser from a shore station 19 kilometres (12 miles) away in 1897. In 1899, a lightship in the Dover Straits reported the grounding of the steamer Elbe. It led to the first maritime rescue following a radiotelegraph distress call.

Questions 8-12

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?

In boxes 8-12 on your answer sheet, write.

TRUE if the statement is True
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN If the information is not given in the passage

Question 8: Morse had already been famous before the invention of code.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: No available information in order to support this statement is given in the passage. Therefore, this statement can be regarded as an invalid one.

Question 9: Morse waited for a long time to receive support from Congress.

Answer: True
Supporting sentence: Morse succeeded and is now remembered as the father of the telegraph partly thanks to his single-mindedness it was 12 years, for example, before he secured money from Congress to build his first telegraph line but also for technical reasons.
Keyword : Morse, secured money, Congress
Keyword location: paragraph B, last line
Explanation: The notion of creating an electric telegraph instantly appealed to Morse. He had previously only dabbled in invention as a painter and occasional inventor. One of the ship's passengers informed him of recent developments in electrical theory. For the better part of a century, other inventors had attempted to do the same thing. Morse succeeded and is widely recognised as the inventor of the telegraph, in part because of his dedication. It took him 12 years, for instance, to obtain funding from Congress for the construction of his first telegraph line but also for technical factors. Thus, the statement is a True one.

Question 10: Compared with other designs, the learning experience of Morse code is demanding

Answer: True
Supporting sentence: Compared with rival electric telegraph designs, Morse's design was very simple: it required little more than a 'key' (essentially, a spring-loaded switch) to send messages, a clicking 'sounder' to receive
them, and a wire to link the two.
Keyword: Compared, rival electric telegraph designs, sounder
Keyword location: paragraph C, line 1
Explanation: Morse's design was fairly straightforward compared to competing for electric telegraph concepts. All that was needed was a wire to connect the two and a "key" (just a spring-loaded switch) to send and receive messages. Although Morse's hardware was straightforward, there was a catch. Operators had to memorize the unique code of dots and dashes in order to use his apparatus. Therefore, we can conclude this statement to be a True one.

Question 11: Many big cities prefer to employ rural operators.

Answer: False
Supporting sentence: As their Morse code improved, however, rural operators found that their newfound skill was a passport to better pay in a city job.
Keyword: rural operators, newfound skill, job
Keyword location: paragraph E, lines 3-5
Explanation: The highest-paying employment in major cities went to first-class operators who could send and receive information at speeds of up to 45 words per minute. They were able to do this while handling press traffic. Slow, inexperienced rural operators, many of whom operated the wires part-time, were at the bottom of the heap. However, as they became more proficient at Morse code, rural operators discovered that their brand-new talent was a ticket to better money. Metropolitan countries are the best places for their career to get flourished. Hence, the statement is a False one.

Question 12: Morse died from overwork

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: No pertinent information in order to prove the validation of this statement has been provided in the passage.Therefore, we can consider the statement to be an invalid one.

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