16．
The idea of using radio or wireless to broadcast to audiences was formed in 1916 by a president of the American Marconi Company，David Sarnoff．His superiors were doubtful about his idea to"make radio a household cause，so that by purchase of a‘radio music box'，the audience could enjoy lectures，music performance，etc．"
Four years later the American engineer Frank Conrad，an employee at W E Corp，attracted considerable attention when a local newspaper reported on the growing audience listening on crystal radio sets to his evening and weekend amateur broadcasts．A local music store had provided records to play on the Victoria，and Conrad and his family served as disc jockeys（唱片音樂播音員）．Westinghouse vice president Harry Davis asked Conrad to build a more powerful transmitter（發(fā)射臺）in time to announce the outcome of the next US presidential election．Conrad completed his assignment，and on November 2，1920，station KDKA in Pittsburgh，Pennsylvania，broadcast the announcement that Warren G．Harding had been elected president．About 1000 people heard this first news broadcast．
Radio communicated news much faster than did newspapers，and because crystal sets were easy to build and inexpensive，radio expanded rapidly in the following years．To stimulate the sale of radio sets，equipment manufactures provided transmitting facilities．Singers，comedians，and entire orchestras volunteered their services for publicity．The eventual financial basis of the new industry，however，was still unclear．One group in New York City tried to seek contributions from listeners while others urged that private foundations support radio stations as a public service．In August 1922 the first commercial radio advertisement was broadcast on WEAF（now WNBC） in New York City．In 1926，when about 5 million homes had radios，the Radio Corporation of America （RCA），in cooperation with the American Telephone & Telegraph Company，established the first commercial radio network．In the 1920s radio was established as a new mass medium had a practicable industry，and it became a national forum（論壇）for news and popular culture．
59．The passage is mainly concerned withD．
A．the contribution of radio to popular culture
B．the invention and uses of radio
C．early radio programs for a mass audience
D．the history of radio broadcasting
60．Who started broadcasting radio programs to mass audience？A
A．Frank Conrad B．David Sarnoff C．Harry Davis D．Warren Harding
61．After 1920，radio expanded rapidly becauseC．
A．people could easily get it in stores
B．it was cheaper than newspapers
C．it had advantages over newspapers
D．people were interested in anything new
62．By saying that"the eventual financial basis of the new industry was still unclear"，the author means thatB．
A．the private foundations were unwilling to support the stations
B．the stations were not sure yet where to get the operational money
C．a(chǎn)dvertising and commercial programs could not raise enough money
D．the listeners would not pay for the broadcasting stations．
