The Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fibre-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies.

The term “internet” was adopted in December 1974 as an abbreviation of the term internetworking and the two terms were used interchangeably.

The term the Internet, has traditionally been treated as a proper noun and written with an initial capital letter. There is a trend to regard it as a generic term or common noun and thus write it as “the internet”, without the capital.

The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities.

The Internet is at once a worldwide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location.

The Internet represents one of the most successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and commitment to research and development of information infrastructure.

The origins of the Internet reach back to the 1960s when the United States funded research projects of its military agencies to build robust, fault-tolerant and distributed computer networks. This research spawned worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies and led to the commercialization of an international network and the popularization of count-less applications in virtually every aspect of modern human life. At present, an estimated quarter of Earth’s population uses the services of the Internet.

The Internet carries a vast array of information resources and services, most notably, the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail, in addition to popular services such as online chat, file transfer and file sharing, online gaming, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) person-to-person communication via voice and video.

The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global data communications system. It is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides connectivity between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services communicated via the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs.

Vocabulary and Cultural Notes:

1. Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) [`ıntənet `prəutəukOl `swi:t] – стек протоколів IP (використовується також для об’єднання гетеро-генних мереж);

2. copper wire [`kOpə `waıə] – мідний дріт; мідний провід;

3. fibre-optic cable [`faıbə `keıb^əl] – волоконно-оптичний кабель, ВОК, оптокабель;

4. wireless connection [`waıələs kə`nek∫^ən] – бездротовий зв’язок;

5. proper noun [`prOpə] – власна назва;

6. generic term [Gə`nerık `tə:m] – родове найменування;

7. common noun [`kOmən `naun] – загальне ім’я; загальна назва;

8. capabilities [ֽkeıpə`bılətiz] – характеристики; можливість; здатність;

9. dissemination [dıֽsemı`neı∫^ən] – поширення, розповсюдження;

10. sustained investment [sə`steınd] – тривала, безперервна інвестиція;

11. commitment [kə`mıtmənt] – взяте зобов’язання; зобов’язання; прихильність; рішучість; зацікавленість;

12. research and development – науково-дослідні і дослідно-конструкторські роботи (НДІДКР);

13. robust [rəu`bAst] – міцний, здоровий; сильний, дужий; здоровий, ясний (про розум);

14. fault-tolerant [ֽfO:lt `tOlərənt] – стійкий до відмов, збоїв у роботі; такий, що зберігає працездатність при відмові окремих елементів;

15. distributed [dı`strıbjutıd] – розповсюджений; розподілений;

16. to spawn [spO:n] – породжувати, спричинювати; народжувати (у великих кількостях);

17. a vast array (of) [ֽvα:st ə`reı] – велика кількість, безліч, сила-силенна, сукупність;

18. the inter-linked hypertext [`haıpətekst] / [`haıp^ərtekst] – з внутрішніми каналами зв’язку; гіпертекст, узагальнений текст (багаторівневий спосіб представлення інформації за допомогою зв’язків між документами);

19. online chat – переговори в режимі онлайн;

20. file transfer [`træn^tsfə:] – передача (пересилка) файлів;

21. file sharing – спільне використання файлу; колективний доступ до файлів; поділ файлів;

22. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) [`prəutəukOl] – Інтернет-протокол, протокол IP, протокол мереженого рівня (частина набору протоколів TCP/IP), що відповідає за передачу та маршрутизацію повідомлень між вузлами Інтернет;

23. distinction – різниця; розбіжність; відмінність; розрізнення, розпізнавання; відзнака;

24. hardware infrastructure – інфраструктура апаратури (апаратного обладнання, апаратних засобів);

25. software infrastructure – інфраструктура програмного забезпечення;

26. connectivity [ֽkOnek`tıvəti] – здатність до підключення; можливість під’єднання;

27. hyperlinks [`haıpəlıŋks] – гіпертекстові зв’язки (засоби компонування електронного документу, який містить текстові, аудіо- та відео дані); гіперпосилання; гіперзв’язки;

28. URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [ֽju: α:r `el] – уніфікований покажчик (інформаційного) ресурсу; URL –адреса;

Task 12. Complete the sentences with the most appropriate items.

1. The Internet is …

1. a network of workers;

2. a network of networks;

3. a network of copper wires;

4. a network of integrated works;

2. The Internet consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by …

1. copper wires;

2. fibre-optic cables;

3. wireless connections;

4. all the above.

2. The term “internet” was adopted in …

1. November 1970;

2. December 1974;

3. March 1974;

4. July 1970;

2. Initially “internet” was used as an abbreviation of the term …

1. international working;

2. interactive work;

3. internetworking;

4. internal work;

2. The term “the Internet”, can be treated as a …

1. proper noun;

2. generic term;

3. common noun;

4. all the above;

2. The origins of the Internet reach back to the …

1. 1960s;

2. 1970s;

3. 1980s;

4. 1990s;

2. At present an estimated … of Earth’s population uses the services of the Internet.

1. quarter;

2. third;

3. fifth;

4. half;

Task 13. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. The Internet is a local system of interconnected computer networks.

2. The term “internet” is an abbreviation.

3. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer has nothing to do with creation of the Internet.

4. The Internet is one of the most successful examples of commitment to research and development of information infrastructure.

5. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used interchangeably.

6. World Wide Web is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides connectivity between computers.

7. The Internet is one of the services communicated via the Web.

Task 14. а) Match the terms in column A with their definitions in column B.

A	B
URL	a characteristic that may be developed; potential aptitude;
LAN	a small inexpensive computer used in word processing, playing computer games, etc;
personal computer	a group of personal computers and associated equipment that are linked by cable, for example in an office building, and that share a communications line; it is an abbreviation for “local area network.”
hypertext	a document format used in multimedia and on the Internet in which a page of text contains links, usually in the form of highlighted words or icons;
capability	uniform resource locator; a standardized address of a location on the internet, especially on the World Wide Web;

b) Which of the above words means:

• локальна мережа, ЛОМ (поєднані разом швидкісним каналом комп’ютери, розташовані на незначній відстані один від одного – в межах кімнати, приміщення, підприємства);

• уніфікований покажчик інформаційного ресурсу;

• характеристики; можливість; здатність;

• персональний комп’ютер, ПК ( термін походить від IBM PC, випущених у 1981 р. корпорацією IBM перших 16-розрядних персональних комп’ютерів;

• гіпертекст; узагальнений текст?

Task 15. Translate into Ukrainian paying attention to the words in italics.

1. You can take part in multiplayer games either on a LAN network or via the internet. 2. The Uniform Resource Locator was created in 1994. 3. A personal computer may be a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet PC or a handheld PC (also called palmtop). 4. Hypertext is the underlying concept defining the structure of the World Wide Web, making it an easy-to-use and flexible format to share information over the Internet. 5. The company produces modems with added networking capability.

Task 16. a) Read and translate the passage.

The prevalent language for communication on the Internet is English. This may be a result of the origin of the Internet, as well as English’s role as a lingua franca. It may also be related to the poor capability of early computers, largely originating in the United States, to handle characters other than those in the English variant of the Latin alphabet.

After English (28.6% of Web visitors) the most requested languages on the World Wide Web are Chinese [ֽt∫aı`ni:z] (20.3%), Spanish [`spænı∫] (8.2%), Japanese [ֽGæpə`ni:z] (5.9%), French [frent∫] and Portuguese [ֽpO:t∫u`gi:z] (4.6%), German [`Gə:mən] (4.1%), Arabic [`ærəbık] (2.6%), Russian [`rA∫<sup>ə</sup>n] (2.4%), and Korean [kə`rıən] (2.3%).

By region, 41% of the world’s Internet users are based in Asia [`eıჳə], 25% in Europe, 16% in North America, 11% in Latin America and the Caribbean [ֽkærə`bi:ən], 3% in Africa, 3% in the Middle East and 1% in Australia.