3 . Drums
When we think of a drum we usually think of a musical instrument. The drum has also been used for years as an important tool for communication. The human voice is very good for communication, but it cannot be heard very far. As early humans began to live in groups, runners were sent from village to village with important messages, but that took a lot of time. It was discovered that beating on hollow logs could be heard for greater distances, and so a new form of communication called “talking drums” was born.
In many early communities, a large drum was set in the middle of the village to help send messages to nearby tribes. The drums could be hit with hands and sticks. Some of the larger drums could be heard up to sixteen miles away!
A group in West Africa made an amazing talking drum system. Their drums were made of round pieces of wood that were four to five feet long. A skin (often an elephant ear) was stretched over one end of the wood and was held in place by a rope. The skin was tightened or loosened to make higher and lower sounds. They had learned to use the drums so well that they could actually copy the language that they spoke! The drums sounded like a person speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard far away.
Most systems of drum communication used a series of beats that meant something. The messages usually told of danger, death, war, or other news of great importance. The message could be sent very far by a relay system. That is, one village would send a message and a nearby village would hear it. They would then repeat the message on their drums, sending it to their neighbors. Some relay systems worked so well that they could send a message about 200 miles very quickly.
Although “talking drums” became a good system of communicating over distances, it had one very big problem. Their enemies could understand the drum messages, so they would know what was being said or planned. Communication by drums certainly wasn’t perfect!
Question 1-4
True or False. Decide the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. The main idea of the passage is that drums can be heard over great distances.
2. Drums are only used as a musical instrument.
3. People in West Africa tightened the skin over the drum to make a lower sound.
4. Drums made by people in West Africa could speak.
Question 5-7
Select the meaning which most closely matches the word, as it is used in the text. Circle the correct letter.
5. communication
| A．traffic | B．speech | C．intercourse |
| A．extend | B．bounce | C．run |
| A．delay | B．pass | C．beat |
Question 8-10
Passive and active verb forms
These sentences are in the passive form and are adapted from the text. Rewrite the sentences below using the active form.
8. It was discovered that beating on hollow logs could be heard for greater distances, and so a new form of communication called “talking drums” was born.
9. A skin (often an elephant ear) was stretched over one end of the wood and was held in place by a rope.
10. The message could be sent very far by a relay system.
