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ISEE Middle Level Reading Comprehension · Question of the Day

ISEE Middle Level Reading Comprehension Question of the Day

A fresh daily question to build accuracy, reinforce recall, and turn practice into a steady habit.
Friday, September 18, 2026

The invention of the electric telegraph in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and other pioneers marked a turning point in communication. For the first time, messages could travel faster than the swiftest horse or ship. The system relied on sending electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. Morse developed a code, now known as Morse Code, that assigned a set of dots and dashes to each letter of the English alphabet, allowing for the transmission of complex messages. The first official public message, "What hath God wrought," was sent from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore in 1844, heralding a new era. While land-based lines spread rapidly, spanning continents, the ultimate challenge was the ocean. Laying a transatlantic cable proved to be a monumental feat of engineering, plagued by failures. The immense pressure of the deep sea and the constant threat of damage from ship anchors or marine life made the task perilous. After several costly attempts, a lasting connection between North America and Europe was finally established in 1866, dramatically reducing the time it took for news and business correspondence to cross the Atlantic from weeks to mere minutes.

According to the passage, the successful completion of the transatlantic cable in 1866 had what major effect on communication?

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Question of the Day

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The invention of the electric telegraph in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and other pioneers marked a turning point in communication. For the first time, messages could travel faster than the swiftest horse or ship. The system relied on sending electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. Morse developed a code, now known as Morse Code, that assigned a set of dots and dashes to each letter of the English alphabet, allowing for the transmission of complex messages. The first official public message, "What hath God wrought," was sent from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore in 1844, heralding a new era. While land-based lines spread rapidly, spanning continents, the ultimate challenge was the ocean. Laying a transatlantic cable proved to be a monumental feat of engineering, plagued by failures. The immense pressure of the deep sea and the constant threat of damage from ship anchors or marine life made the task perilous. After several costly attempts, a lasting connection between North America and Europe was finally established in 1866, dramatically reducing the time it took for news and business correspondence to cross the Atlantic from weeks to mere minutes.

According to the passage, the successful completion of the transatlantic cable in 1866 had what major effect on communication?

  1. It allowed personal messages to be sent for the first time, as it was previously only for government use.
  2. It made communication between continents almost instantaneous, changing from weeks to minutes. (correct answer)
  3. It caused the price of sending a telegraph to drop significantly, making it accessible to the general public.
  4. It replaced all other forms of long-distance communication, such as letters sent by ship, overnight.

Explanation: The end of the passage states that the cable was established in 1866, 'dramatically reducing the time it took for news and business correspondence to cross the Atlantic from weeks to mere minutes.' This explicitly supports answer B. The passage does not mention restrictions on personal use (A), the cost of sending messages (C), or the immediate replacement of all other communication forms (D).