Academic Reading
Lighthouses and the sea
AFor thousands of years, lighthouses have warned ships of dangerous coastlines and guided them safely into harbour. The earliest were simply fires lit on hilltops, but later engineers built tall stone towers topped with powerful lamps and mirrors to project a beam far out to sea.
BEach lighthouse flashes in its own pattern, so that sailors can tell one from another. Although satellite navigation now does much of this work, many lighthouses are still maintained, both as a backup for ships and as treasured landmarks along the coast.