II. The following sentences define some important words related to radio. What are they?

1. The magnitude of change in the oscillating variable with each oscillation within an oscillating system.

A pulse

B peak

C amplitude

 

2. A substance that allows heat or electricity to pass through it.

A insulator

B conductor

C capacitor

3. An electromagnetic wave that radio signals can be sent on.

A microwave

B radio wave

C infrared radiation

4. An electrical device, which converts electric power into radio waves, and vice versa.

A antenna (aerial)

B transformer

C amplifier

5. A periodic current whose average value over a period is zero.

A direct current

B oscillating current

C alternating current

6. A piece of electronic equipment used for generating and amplifying a radio-frequency carrier, modulating the carrier with information and feeding it to an aerial for transmission.

A transmitter

B transducer

C generator

7. The process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with respect to a modulating signal.

A variation

B modulation

C demodulation

8. An electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form.

A receiver

B resistor

C regulator

9. The process of extracting the original information-bearing signal from a modulated carrier wave.

A reception

B recovery

C demodulation

10. A device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver, which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing.

A modem

B transceiver

C converter

 

III.  Read the extract about the etymology of radio and use the words in the box to complete the text.

to radiate,  networking, transceiver, transmission, broadcasts,  mobile communication

Referring to radio etymology, the prefix “radio” in the sense of wireless

1)…..was first used in the term “radio-conductor”. This word was coined by Edouard Branly, the French physicist, in 1897. It is based on the verb

2)…..(in Latin “radius” means “spoke of a wheel, beam of light, ray”

The United States Navy adopted the word “radio” in 1912 to distinguish it from several other wireless

3)….. technologies in use at that time.

The term had become common by the time of the first commercial

4) ….in the United States in the 1920s. (The noun “broadcasting” itself comes from the area of agriculture where it means “scattering seeds widely”.)

Later, the term was introduced to other languages in Europe and Asia. In recent years, the term “wireless” has gained renewed popularity due to the rapid growth of short-range computer

5)…., e.g. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as

6) ……telephony such as GSM and UMTS.

Today, the term “radio” often refers to the actual

7)…..device or chip, whereas “wireless” matches the system and/or method used for radio communication.

 

IV. Read the text to check if your predictions were right. While reading match each statement with the paragraph in which it is discussed. Some statements do not fit.