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Speaking Question 4

Now listen to part of a lecture from a sociology class.

(male professor)

Now, the invention of the telephone was revolutionary. It was a much easier and faster way of communicating than anything else available at the time.

However, when the telephone first became widely available, towards the end of the 19th century, only businesses used telephones because businesses realized how the telephone could benefit them, how it could help them be more productive.

But, a lot of people in the general public didn’t think the phone should be used for personal communication. Some people didn’t like to listen to someone’s voice without being able to see them. Also, a lot of people thought that it was rude to call someone on the telephone instead of visit them in person. They missed the sense of personal connection they got from meeting someone.

However, as we all know, people gradually changed their minds about the telephone. It took about 30 years but eventually most homes came to have telephones and everyone came to depend on them.

Talking to someone you couldn’t see began to seem more normal. Friends began to call each other just to chat, just for fun. And after everyone agreed on certain rules of politeness, such as not calling someone late at night, no one considered it rude anymore to make personal phone calls.