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.

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: 1551