Telephone, television, radio, and the Internet help people communicate with each other. Be

cause of these devices, ideas and news of events spread quickly all over the world. For example, with in seconds, people can know the results of an election in another country. An international football match comes into the homes of everyone with a television set. News of a disaster, such as a flood, can bring help from distant countries. Within hours, help is on the way. This is because modern technology information travels fast.

How has this speed of communication changed the world？ To many people, the world has become smaller. Of course, this does not mean that the world is actually physically smaller. It means that the world seems smaller. Two hundred years ago, communication between the continents took a long time. All news was carried on ships that took weeks or even months to cross the oceans. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it took six weeks for news from Europe to reach the Americas. This time difference influenced people's actions. For example, a few battles in the war of 1812 between England and the United States could have been avoided. A peace agreement had already been signed. Peace was made in England, but the news of peace took six weeks to reach America. During these six weeks, the large and serious Battle of New Orleans was fought. Many people lost their lives after a peace treaty had been signed. They would not have died if news had come in time. In the past, communication took much more time than it does now. There was a good reason why the world seemed so much larger than it does today.

News spreads fast because of______.

A．modern transportation

B．new technology

C．the changes of the world

D．a peace agreement