The Internet

Today, almost every company in the world has got a website on the Internet. Each site has got a special name (a web address) and you use this to visit the site. In the early 1990s, before most companies had really thought about the Internet, people got web addresses with the names of famous companies – for example, Panasonic and Hertz. These people were not part of the companies; they were hoping to sell the web addresses to the companies for a lot of money one day in the future. This was called 'cyber-squatting'. Since 1999, new international laws have made cyber-squatting impossible.

Internet users can be anywhere in the world; they just need a computer and a telephone. For this reason, it is often difficult to control what happens on the Internet. In January 1999, an American University student called Shawn Fanning invented a piece of software that could copy music. In May of the same year, he started a company called Napster. Internet users could visit Napster and copy their favourite music. Suddenly, they did not need to buy CDs. Of course, the music companies were not very happy about this. A lot of musicians were also unhappy, because people could get their music free. In the end, Napster agreed to pay money to the music companies and musicians.

The Internet is not only important for business. It is also a cheap way to make contact with people from all over the world. A lot of people visit 'chat rooms': in a chat room, you can 'talk' to other Internet users and read their answers on your computer immediately. There is even a special kind of language which people use to save time. For example, they write 'HAND' to mean 'Have A Nice Day'; or they write “LOL” (laughing out loud) when they find something funny. There are also special ways to show feelings: for example, :-) means 'I'm happy', and :-( means 'I'm sad'.

As computers become more powerful, the Internet becomes easier to use. Some people now do most of their shopping at websites. But there are still a lot of people who like to go into town and visit real shops. They want to look before they buy — and they prefer to talk to a person than to a computer.

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Ex.1 Put the following facts into the correct chronological order:

1. An American University student invented a piece of software that could copy music.
2. New international laws made cyber-squatting impossible.
3. Some people use web addresses with the names of famous companies hoping to sell them and get much money.
4. At last Shawn Fanning agreed to pay money to the musical companies.
5. Today almost every company in the world has got the website on the Internet.
6. This was called “cyber-squatting”.
7. People did not need to buy CDs, they could copy any music from the Internet.
8. He started a company called Napster.
9. There is a special language which people use to save time.
10. Computers become more powerful and the Internet becomes easier to use.

Ex.2 Put the following adjectives into necessary degree of comparison:

Ex.3 Choose the Present Perfect or Past Simple form and make up the sentences:

Ex.4 Explain the meanings of the following words:

website, web address, cyber-squatting, law, Napster, chat room, to sell, to control, to copy, to agree, to laugh, to prefer

Ex.5 Agree or disagree and correct:

1. Only few companies have got their websites.
2. Panasonic and Hertz are names which most companies use for their web addresses.
3. People who made cyber-squatting got a lot of money from the famous companies.
4. There is no way to stop cyber-squatting.
5. The are a lot of things that are necessary for using the Internet.
6. Shawn Fanning invented a piece of software that could compose music.
7. He called his company Napster.
8. Many musical companies and musicians were very happy because of Napster.
9. The Internet is very expensive way to communicate.
10. Though there are a lot of shopping websites many people prefer real shopping and talking to a person than to a computer.

Ex.6 Find in the text the answers to the following questions. Make up 5 your own questions to the sentences in the text.

1. What was called “cyber-squatting”?
2. When did new international laws make cyber-squatting impossible?
3. What did Shawn Fanning invent?
4. What feelings did musical companies have because of Napster?
5. Why did not the people who had the Internet need to buy CDs?
6. Is the Internet a comfortable and cheap way for business and friendly communication?
7. What do you prefer, to go to a shop or to buу the things in the Internet?
8. What does “LOL” mean?

Ex.8 Write down all the necessary words and read the key-word:

1. The 1^st letter from the word изобретатель _________
2. The 2^nd letter from the word несчастливый _________
3. The 2^nd and the last letter from the word начало ___________
4. The 4^th letter from the word деньги ____________
5. The 5^th letter from the word мощный ____________
6. The 3^rd letter from the word язык ___________
7. The 3^rd letter from the word пользователь ____________
8. The 6^th letter from the word ___________

Make up your own story using these words.

Text 10

Ex.1.a) 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

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1173