INTRODUCTION OF THE WWW AND THE INTERNET

Millions of people around the world use the Internet to search for and retrieve information on all sorts of top­ics in a wide variety of areas including the arts, business, government, humanities, news, politics and recreation. People communicate through electronic mail (e-mail), discussion groups, chat channels and other means of in­formational exchange. They share information and make commercial and business transactions. All this activity is possible because tens of thousands of networks are con­nected to the Internet and exchange information in the same basic ways.

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a part of the Internet. But it's not a collection of networks. Rather, it is information that is connected or linked together like a web. You access this information through one interface or tool called a Web browser. The number of resources and serv­ices that are part of the World Wide Web is growing ex­tremely fast. In 1996 there were more than 20 million users of the WWW, and more than half the information that is transferred across the Internet is accessed through the WWW. By using a computer terminal (hard­ware) connected to a network that is a part of the Internet, and by using a program (software) to browse or retrieve information that is a part of the World Wide Web, the people connected to the Internet and World Wide Web through the local providers have access to a variety of information. Each browser provides a graphi­cal interface. You move from place to place, from site to site on the Web by using a mouse to click on a portion of text, icon or region of a map. These items are called hyperlinks or links. Each link you select represents a document, an image, a video clip or an audio file some­where on the Internet. The user doesn't need to know where it is, the browser follows the link.

All sorts of things are available on the WWW. One can use Internet for recreational purposes. Many TV and radio stations broadcast live on the WWW. Essentially, if something can be put into digital format and stored in a computer, then it's available on the WWW. You can even visit museums, gardens, cities throughout the world, learn foreign languages and meet new friends. And, of course, you can play computer games through WWW, competing with partners from other countries and continents.

Just a little bit of exploring the World Wide Web will show you what a lot of use and fun it is.

Завдання 1. Дайте відповіді на запитання.

1. Why do millions of people use the Internet?

2. What is the World Wide Web?

3. What does the word browser mean?

4. What are hyperlinks?

5. For what purposes can you use the Internet?

Завдання 2. Доповніть речення згідно зі змістом тексту.

1. People share information and make commercial and…

2. The number of resources and services that are part of the World Wide Web is….

3. Each browser provides a …

4. Each link you select represents…

5. All sorts of things are…

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