1 . Remote controls are one of the most common symbols of our modern technologies. In fact, remote controls are an invention born in the 1800s. Famous inventor Nikola Tesla created one of the world’s first wireless remote controls, which he exhibited in public at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1898.

Tesla called his system a “teleautomaton”, which could be used to control a mechanical device. For his demonstration, Tesla employed a minitype boat, which had a metal air wire that could receive exactly one radio frequency. He showed how his remote-controlled boat worked and whole process attracted many people. However, financially, Tesla’s remote-controlled boat was a failure. His intended client, the U.S. Navy, thought the technology was too easily damaged during use. But the concept of remote control caught on and quickly spread to many other types of equipment.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a new consumer electronics, such as garage door openers and model airplanes, arrived with remote controls. In the mid-1950s, Zenith engineer Eugene Polley designed his Flashmatic TV remote control, which used directional flashes of light to control the television. In 1956, Polley’s colleague, Robert Adler, created the Space Command control, which employed high-frequency, ultrasonic (超声的) sounds instead of light. This style of remote control increased the price of a new TV by a third, but that didn’t stop people from buying in mass quantities. Remote controls kept evolving, too. Ultrasonic sound remote controls were the standard for TVs until the 1980s, when remote controls began using the infrared (红外线) light signals that are very common today.

These days, you can find remote control capability built into a huge array of products such as toy cars and helicopters, video game consoles (控制台), ceiling fans, etc. There’s a good chance you can find a version that’s controlled by remote control. You can even buy a remote-controlled toilet.

Remote controls have allowed humans to perform many tasks that would be difficult, if not impossible. And although remote controls have a long history, they are anything but over. As we continue to introduce technology to every aspect of our lives, it’s very likely that we’ll need remote controls to keep things under control.

4 . Britons are well known for the amount of tea that they drink. The average person in the UK consumes around 1.9 kg of tea yearly. That’s around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all sections of society. But tea is not native to Britain. Most tea is grown in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?

Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, British ships were exploring the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea was available to buy. However, this was only available to the richer sections of society.

At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount of tea arriving in Britain increased gradually. Black tea arrived at this time. At first people drank this tea exactly as it was in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar, giving the drink a special British characteristic.

In the 1800s tea was still a product enjoyed only by people with money. At this time they began to have “afternoon tea”. This involves drinking tea with a snack around 4 pm to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. It is a tradition that is still going today but has become less popular in recent times.

In the late 1800s, the price of tea decreased sharply as more tea began to arrive on ships from India and China. It was no longer a drink just for rich people. Tearooms — shops where you could buy and drink tea — started to appear across the country. People enjoyed drinking tea and socialising in these places. At the start of the 20th century, Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it. Kettles became necessary in every kitchen.

7 . China is a country of many resources. Among its resources are many great rivers, which provide useful transport routes. Water transport is an efficient way to carry heavy loads, such as grain. In ancient times, a waterway was needed between China’s rich farmlands and the capital city. This need inspired engineers to build a canal. According to writings by the ancient thinker Confucius, work on a canal linking the Yangze River with the city of Huai-in began about 486 B.C. For many centuries afterward, Chinese emperors worked on extending this ancient canal.

This canal is now known as China’s Grand Canal. One thousand years after the original canal was begun, it was in extreme need of repair. This was in the year 607, during the Sui Dynasty. By 610 the emperor had had the canal extended. The Grand Canal formed a northeast-southwest link between the Yellow River in the north and the Huai River in the south. The canal remained the main waterway in this part of China for the next five hundred years.

In the thirteenth century, the Mongols had conquered China. The Yuan Dynasty established Beijing as the capital. The city’s growing population needed food, so a new canal was built to extend shipping. Building this part of the Grand Canal required enormous effort and cost. Neither the first attempt nor the second one was successful, so the builders chose another route. Finally this link in the Grand Canal was finished.

By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Canal had six sections. These were busy with goods until the nineteenth century. Then a series of severe floods struck China. Parts of the Grand Canal were badly damaged. By 1868 it had been largely abandoned as a means of northern route.

The Grand Canal was mostly restored in the twentieth century. It was widened and deepened, and a new section was constructed. Today the canal, which is about 1,200 miles in length, has new locks(运河的水闸). It is busy with ships and barges(驳船) carrying goods to and from cities along its banks.