U N I T 2 C o m p u t e r s & Te c hnology 1

The History of
the Internet
Pre-Reading Questions

Think about the following questions.

1. During which decade were computers first used in homes?
2. During which decade did lots of people start using the Internet?
3. Was the original use of the Internet for business or some other
purpose?

Vocabulary Preview
Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.
1. accelerate a. a set of operation instructions for a computer program

2. access b. easily carried by hand

3. cable c. to go faster

4. code d. a person skilled at programming, usually having

a mischievous purpose

5. hacker e. a cord made of strands of metal wire

6. portable f. to use by permission

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The History of the Internet Track 5

A
lmost everyone knows about the Internet. More than a billion people
around the world are now online. The Internet is a powerful tool for
information and communication.
The basic concept of the Internet was first thought of in the early 1960s. It
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began as a military research network, designed to be decentralized or spread out
over many locations. If one location was attacked, the military could communicate
from another location. The first small network went online in 1969. It connected
four universities in the United States.
This network was very successful from the beginning. Scientists could now
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share information about their research. In 1972, email was invented and quickly
became the most popular application. By the end of that year, the network
connected many universities and government research centers. The general
public became aware of the network in the late 70s. A new version allowed
anyone to get online. People from all over the world joined online groups to talk
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about thousands of different subjects.
The term Internet was used for the first time in 1982. New technology had
created a common language for the network computers. The Internet was now
recognized as an international
network. This was also at
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the time when privacy and
security started becoming
important issues. Hackers
and viruses began to
emerge.
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In 1990, the original
military network went
offline, and a year later the

2
online --- connected to the network
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decentralize --- to put in many different locations
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application --- a special purpose for which something is used
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aware of --- conscious of; informed about
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navigate --- to direct or manage its course
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search engine --- a computer program that searches the World Wide Web
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annual --- yearly
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approximately --- nearly
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consortium --- a group formed with the purpose to work together
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data --- information

World Wide Web was born. The World Wide Web is in fact a browser for the
Internet---a kind of software program that allows users to access and navigate
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within information on the net. With the introduction of the World Wide Web, the
development of the Internet accelerated at a rapid pace. The first computer code of
the web was created in 1991 allowing programmers to combine words, pictures, and
sounds on web pages.
In the early nineties, the first search engine, Gopher, and the first web
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browser, Mosaic, were developed, allowing easier and simpler access to the Net.
Traffic on the Internet started growing at an annual rate of approximately
340,000 percent.
At the end of the 1990s, Internet2 was born.
Internet2 uses fiber optic cables to link together a
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consortium of hundreds of high-speed networks
around the world. Instead of connecting to the
Internet solely through telephone lines, people
could now connect in a wide variety of ways, including
via satellite. These new methods have more data carrying capacity, or bandwidth,
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than telephone lines. This made the Internet faster and able to convey much more
information. People could soon watch TV shows and movies online.
In the future, people will not need a computer to access the Internet. The
browser will become a platform for the Web. Information will no longer need to
be stored in a computer hard drive. Instead, it will be stored in places around
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the world. People can retrieve it through cell phones, music players, and other
portable devices. This is called “cloud computing,” because it seems as if
information floats down from the sky. A 2008 study said that the Internet will
continue to grow. By 2020, a low-cost global network will allow people even in
remote areas to have Internet access. English will remain the primary Net language,
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but other languages, especially Mandarin, will increase. Also, a segment of society
will refuse to use the Net and live without modern technology.

Reading Time _______ minutes _______ seconds 562 words

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R eading Comprehension
A Mark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the
reading.
1. ____ The first small network went online in 1969.
2. ____ Gopher was the first Internet search browser.
3. ____ The Internet2 allowed people to watch TV online.
4. ____ By 2020, English will no longer be the primary language of the
Internet.

B Choose the best answer.

1. Which of the following is NOT an Internet-based technology?
a. Mosaic
b. Gopher
c. Hacker
d. World Wide Web

2. The first computer virus probably appeared in ____.

a. the early 70s
b. the late 70s
c. the early 80s
d. the early 90s

3. What was Gopher?

a. A computer company
b. A computer virus
c. A program application
d. A search engine

C For the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and
write them on the lines provided.
1. Why was the first small network useful for scientists?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

2. In the future, why will people no longer need computers to access the
Internet?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
S ummary
Fill in the blanks with the words from the list. Use each word only once.

portable code hackers

cables accelerated access

Although it has only a short history, the Internet has had a great impact on
modern society. The concept of the Internet came from military research in the
1960s. The military wanted to 1 _________________ its research and control
centers through connections to many locations by computers. As more and more
people began using the system during the 1980s, privacy and security became an
issue due to the threat of 2 _________________ and viruses. In the 1990s, the
development of the Internet 3 _________________ rapidly thanks to the World
Wide Web and the invention of the first computer 4 _________________ for web
pages. Soon after, fiber optic 5 _________________ made the Internet faster and
able to carry much more information. In decades to come, 6 _________________
devices will be used instead of computers to retrieve information from the Internet.

V ocabulary Extension
Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading.
Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only
once.

install downloaded idle crashed click frozen

1. I lost all of my homework when my computer __________.

2. Do you know how to __________ this program?
3. To open the file, just __________ on its name.
4. Casey has __________ over 400 MP3 files.
5. If your computer is __________ for a few minutes, the screensaver will start.
6. The computer screen is not responding to the mouse. I think your computer is
__________.

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