Text b. History and future of the internet.

The Internet technology was created by Vinton Cerf in early 1973 as part of a project headed by Robert Kahn and conducted by the Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the United States Department of Defence. Later Cerf made many efforts to build and stand­ardise the Internet. In 1984 the technology and the net­work were turned over to the private sector and to gov­ernment scientific agencies for further development. The growth has continued exponentially. Service-provider companies that make «gateways* to the Internet avail­able to home and business users enter the market in ever-increasing numbers. By early 1995, access was available in 180 countries and more than 30 million users used the Internet. The Internet and its technology continue to have a profound effect in promoting the exchange of in­formation, making possible rapid transactions among businesses, and supporting global collaboration among individuals and organisations. More than 100 million computers are connected via the global Internet in 2000, and even more are attached to enterprise internets. The development of the World Wide Web leads to the rapid introduction of new business tools and activities that may lead to annual business transactions on the Internet worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Text c. A lot of knowledge is a dangerous thing for addicts of the internet.

Information is becoming the drug of the Nineties.

The research, conducted among 1,000 managers in Britain, America, Europe and the Far East shows that, as information sources such as the Internet and cable news channels proliferate, we are witnessing the rise of a generation of dataholics.

The quest for information can lead to stress. Almost two-thirds said their leisure timehad been curtailed as a result of having to work late to cope with vast amounts of information; 70 per cent reported loss of job satisfaction and tension with colleaguesbecause of information overload.

The study also investigated the habits of the children of 300 managers and found 55per cent of parents were concerned their children would become information junkies.

Forty-six per cent of parents believed their children spent more time on their PCs thaninteracting with friends. In one case a child had to be wheeled with his computer to thedinner table.

Sue Feldman, mother of Alexander, 13, a self-confessed В Internet-addict, said she

had not yet been forced to d wheeling her son and computer to the table, but said sheoften served him sandwiches and crisps at his bedroom computer.

Alexander switches on his computer every day when he returns from Latymer schoolin Hammersmith to his home at Ealing, west London. "I'd confess to spending up to fourhours a day on the Internet looking for information and speaking to friends. It's like anaddiction," Alexander said:

"If I can't get on to my computer or the Internet, I do get really frustrated." He spendsmost of his time finding out the latest information on pop groups and facts for hishomework.

"My parents have to tell me to get off the computer, and they complain a lot, but theyalso see it as a good thing. Practically everyone in my class has a PC with Internet accessso all my friends are also on-line. It's the way forward."

From "The Daily Telegraph "