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A) Make summary of the text.

Could the Internet collapse?

Here's __ good news ─ a total collapse of the Internet would be almost impossible. The Internet isn't __ magic box with an on/off switch. It's not even __ physical thing. It's __ collection of __ physical things and it's constantly changing. The Internet isn't __ same entity from one moment to __ next ─ machines are always joining or leaving __ Internet.

It's possible for parts of __ Internet to go __ offline. In fact, this happens all __ time. Whether it's __ particular server that crashes and needs to be rebooted or replaced or __ cable under __ ocean gets snagged by __ anchor, there are events that can disrupt Internet service. But __ effects tend to be isolated and temporary.

While there is such __ thing as the Internet backbone─ a collection of cables and servers that carry __ bulk of data across various networks ─ it's not centralized. There's no plug you could pull out from __ socket or a cable you could cut that would cripple __ Internet. For the Internet to experience __ global collapse, either __ protocols that allow machines to communicate would have to stop working for some reason or __ infrastructure itself would have to suffer massive damage.

Since __ protocols aren't likely to stop working spontaneously, we can rule out that eventuality. As for the massive damage scenario ─ that could happen. __ asteroid or comet could collide with __ Earth with enough force to destroy __ significant portion of the Internet's infrastructure. Overwhelming __ gamma radiation or electromagnetic fluctuations coming from __ sun might also do the trick. But in those scenarios, __ Earth itself would become __ lifeless hulk. At that stage it hardly matters whether or not you can log in to MySpace.

The positive way to look at this is to realize that __ men and women who helped design __ Internet created __ amazing tool that's remarkably stable. Even when sections of __ Internet have __ technical hiccup, __ rest carries on with __ business as usual. While __ collapse of __ Internet would be __ catastrophic event, it's not one you need to worry about.

(By Jonathan Strickland)

Read this e-mail.

Hi Tony Thanks for sending through that a/w so quickly. Just one problem ─ I couldn't open the attachment. I'm not sure why. My inbox is virtually empty, so there's plenty of room, and the attachment limit is 20MB, so there's no problem there. Perhaps there was a glitch somewhere. Anyway, rather than trying to figure out what went wrong, could you just send it again? Did we discuss file format? I don't know much about TIFFs, JPEGs etc, but I meant to tell you that if you have any queries on this, you could get in touch with Steve, our designer. His email address is steve@stevegreendesign.co.uk. One other thing. When you resend me the a/w, could you cc it to Angela? I've asked her to have a quick look at it before we put it in the brochure. I'm looking forward very much to seeing those pics ─ fingers crossed that they'll come through OK this time. However, if I still can't download them, I'll ask you to put them on a disk and mail them. All the best Jenny

a) Are these statements true or false?



1. Jenny didn't receive the a/w because her inbox is too small.

2. The attached files came to less than 20MB in total.

3. Jenny has resolved a technical problem, and the attachment will come through without any problems next time.

4. Tony will have to resend the a/w.

5. Jenny is a graphic design expert

6. Tony is also going to put the files onto a disk and mail them.

7. Angela has already seen the a/w.

8. The style is too informal ─ business emails should always be more formal than this.

b) Find words or expressions in the e-mail which mean the same as the phrases below:

1. artwork; 2. a small technical problem; 3. type of file; 4. questions about this; 5. send again; 6. e-mail a copy to; 7. communicate with; 8. with luck… .


Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1628


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