Text b The Internet

The Internet is the worldwide network that links millions of computers together via copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other telecommunications channels. The origins of the Internet reach back to the 1960s. Now the Internet and the World Wide Web are everywhere. In 2008, there were close to 600 million people in the world wide web and in 2009, a quarter of Earth's population used the services of the Internet.

The Internet provides not only answers to different questions but hours of entertainment. The Internet allows people from all over the world to talk to each other. But what exactly are the Internet and the World Wide Web? 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.

The Internet enables or accelerates the creation of new forms of human interactions through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking sites. Internet "chat" allows colleagues to stay in touch in a very convenient way. Messages can be exchanged even more quickly and conveniently than via e-mail. The Internet allows people to work together more effectively.

The Internet allows computer users to remotely access other computers and information stores easily, wherever they may be across the world.

In normal use, web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Apple Safari, and Google Chrome, let users navigate from one web page to another via hyperlinks. Documents on the web may contain any combination of computer data, including graphics, sounds, text, video, multimedia and interactive content including games, office applications and scientific demonstrations.

The World Wide Web has the ability of extreme decentralization of information and data compared to printed encyclopedias and traditional libraries.

With the Web, it is also easier for individuals and organizations to present ideas and information to a potentially large audience. Many individuals use web logs or blogs, which are updatable online diaries.

E-mail is an important communications service available on the Internet. Pictures, documents and other files can be sent as e-mail attachments.

The prevalent language for communication on the Internet is English.

Задания к тексту B:

I. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты следующим русским выражениям:

инфраструктура из аппаратных средств и программного обеспечения; интернет и глобальная сеть; обновляемые onlineдневники; дистанционно получать доступ к другим компьютерам и устройствам хранения информации; часы развлечения; прикрепления к e-mail сообщениям; глобальная система передачи данных; медные провода, волоконно-оптические кабели, беспроводное соединение и другие каналы связи; чрезвычайная децентрализация информации и данных; не одно и то же; любое сочетание компьютерных данных, включая графику, звук, текс, видео; оставаться на связи.

II. Сформулируйте в нескольких словах содержание каждого абзаца.

III. Напишите резюме к тексту.

IV. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What is the Internet?

2. When did its origins appear?

3. How many users were there in the world wide web in 2009?

4. What does the Internet provide?

5. Are the terms Internet and World Wide Web the same?

6. What is their main distinction?

7. What new forms of human interactions does the Internet enable to provide?

8. What web browsers let users navigate from one web page to another via hyperlinks?

9. What data may documents on the web contain?

10. What advantages has the World Wide Web compared to traditional libraries?

11. What is the prevalent language for communication on the Internet?

V. Перескажите текст, используя в качестве плана вопросы предыдущего упражнения.