The Pros and Cons of Using the Internet

1. Do you use the Internet? If not, would you like to? Which of these things do you (or would you like to) use the Internet for?

finding information playing games joining chat groups

on-line shopping sending e-mail joining newsgroups

2. Read the list of points about the Internet advantages and mark them A (advantage) or D (disadvantage). Then act out short dialogues in pairs, as in the example.

1. Web pages with photographs, music and video make downloading slow and boring.

2. The latest information is available to you at any time, quickly and easily.

3. On-line shopping can save you time and money.

4. With so much information, finding what you want can take hours.

5. You can share your hobbies and special interests with newsgroups and chat groups.

6. There is too much advertising instead of real information.

7. You can make new friends in chat groups.

8. Making ‘chat friends’ is not the same as actually meeting people.

9. You can send mail fast and cheaply.

1. One of the disadvantages of using the internet is that web pages with photographs, music and video make downloading slow and boring.

2. I agree, but on the other hand, the latest information is available to you at any time, quickly and easily.

3. Read the article and fill in the gaps with words and phrases from the list.

but, Finally, Firstly, For Example, However, in conclusion, Also, What is more, On the other hand

Text 2

The Pros and Cons of Using the Internet

Advertisements for the Internet promise you a world of information, entertainment, on-line shopping and e-mail services. _____________ , the real world of the Internet may not be as perfect as the advertisements suggest.

Using the Internet offers many advantages. _____________, all of the latest information is available to you, in your home, at any hour of the day or night. It is much faster and easier to surf the net in search of information from all over the world than to travel to libraries in dozens of countries. _____________, on line shopping makes it possible to search through catalogues to find exactly what you want at the best price, saving both time and money. By joining a newsgroup or chat group, you can share your hobbies and special interests, and perhaps make friends all over the world. _____________, e-mail is popular because it is faster than sending a letter and cheaper than a telephone conversation.

_____________, the Internet has several disadvantages. _____________, with so much information available, finding what you want can take you hours. Multimedia web pages with photographs, music and video are attractive, but they make downloading slow and boring. _____________, there is too much advertising instead of real information. As for Internet friendships, sitting at home in front of a computer making “chat friends” is not the same as actually meeting people.

_____________, the Internet obviously has both good and bad points. Fortunately, the system is improving all the time, and any problems which still exist can be solved. Whether we like it or not, the Internet is here to stay, so we have to make the best possible use of it.

4. Read the article again and answer the questions.

1. Which paragraph is about the advantages of using the Internet?

2. Which paragraph is about the disadvantages of using the Internet?

3. In which paragraph does the writer sum up the pros and cons? How does this paragraph start?

4. Which paragraph introduces the topic?

5. Is the article for or against using the Internet?

5. Read the article again and make notes about the Pros and Cons of using the internet. Then use your notes to talk about the topic.

Enterprise-2 Workbook

Text 3

Online services

1. Discuss the following questions:

1. What online services are available in your country?

2. What kind of facilities do online services provide?

2. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) in relation to the information in the text which follows. If you think a statement is false, change it to make it true.

   1. Most people choose an online service because of the price or the number of available files.

   2. Everybody has one service which he/she likes more than all the others.

   3. You should judge each service according to whether it is better or worse overall than the service you are currently using.

   4. Eventually, all services will be accessible from the service you are using.

   5. McGraw-Hill is owned by BIX.

   6. Tammy Ray and Jeanette Shearer think the BIX service is average.

   7. French Minitel users have free access to an English-language version of CompuServe, although they cannot use the e-mail facility.

   8. delphi's Hobby Shop now has two special-interest areas: one on classic vehicles, and one on new cars and technology.

I'm frequently asked which online service is “best”, but the answer is there is no best. Rating a particular service over another is entirely subjective. Price is important to some people, while the number of files available for download is important to others. Because of these and so many other different judgments, there can be no absolute. It all comes down to individual needs and preferences. Still, users tend to be fiercely loyal to their “home” on line service-which is usually the first online service they ever used. They tend to judge all other online services based on this first service ― often preventing themselves from seeing the advantages of a specific service. For my part, I like all the services I use and I'm on two dozen.

Each offers one or more products or features that either do not exist elsewhere or are superior to the same features on other services. And I've a really subjective reason for being on one service ― I use it to send monthly articles to magazines in Japan. So, the real answer to the question is simple: the best online service is the service that has what you want and is easy for you to use. The point? Keep an open mind when checking out an online service. Judge it based on what it offers and how it meets your needs ― not in comparison to what you're used to using. (It takes a couple of sessions to shake preconceived notions of what an online service “'should'” be.)

Eventually, we're all going to be interlinked, no matter which service we use, in what dialog's Richard Ream calls a “network of networks”. Until then, most of us have to go to more than one service to find everything we need.