Until a few decades ago news travelled very slowly. It took several days to know what was happening in places only a few miles away. But today news travels at a speed much greater than ever before.

In the past, men had to travel on root to get information, even about the most unimportant thing. There were no motor vehicles and travel was slow and difficult. As a result, news too travelled very slowly. If one's relative died in some distant place, one received the news of the death several days later. Sometimes there was no news at all. The difficulty in getting news and information about people in other places made life dull and miserable. There was little communication among those whom we would regard as neighbours today. News was therefore difficult to send and in times of need, it was hard to obtain help.

But all this has changed today. The invention of the means of communication such as the telephone, the wireless and several others has made it possible to send and receive news within a matter of hours and minutes. Even the newspaper and the post office help to spread news and information quickly. As a result, we know what is happening today in all parts of the world. If a great man dies or a war breaks out in some corner or the earth. we receive news about it almost immediately. The ease and speed with which news travels today have helped greatly in promoting better understanding and co-operation among the peoples of the world. When the people of one place or country suffer a sudden calamity, news is at once sent to all parts of the world and help comes from many countries within a very short time. This is not possible in the past when news travelled slowly.

That news travels fast can also be known from our own personal affairs. If we are ill or if something unfortunate happens to us, our friends and relatives come to know about it very quickly. It is therefore true to say that today. "news travels fast".

NEW WORDS:

1. decade (n): thờikỳ mười năm, thập kỷ

2. motor vehicle (n): xe máy

3. miserable (adj): nghèo nàn

4. wireless (n): radio, máy thu thanh, vô tuyến

5. promote (v) xúc tiến, đẩy mạnh; thăng chức

6. co-operation (n): sự hợp tác, cộng tác

7. calamity (n): tai họa, tai ương, thiên tai