Page 34 - Grasp English C1+ (Student Book)
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History The invention of the Internet
A. Discuss with a partner. It may surprise you, but there was talk of a
global network of computers back in 1962 when
1. How often do you use the Internet? What do
a former MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of
you use it for?
Technology) professor envisioned a “Galactic
2. How do you imagine the Internet has made Network”. J.C.R. Licklider talked of a network
life easier? which would allow people from around the
3. In what ways do you think the Internet may world to access information at any time of the
have had a negative effect on society? day. A few months later, when Licklider started
working for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency), he shared this idea with
more colleagues. This led to the creation of the
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency
Network), the technology of which became the
foundation of today’s Internet.
Skipping ahead to the late eighties, we find Tim
Berners-Lee, an English scientist, creating the
World Wide Web – an information database,
accessible to users around the world through
web browsers. In August 1991, the first web
browser became available to the public, and
since then, we have entered the Digital Age.
However, although we may think that we are
globally connected, in fact only 56% of the
network – a series of connected world population are Internet users, according
to a 2018 survey from Internet World Stats.
computers which can share Unsurprisingly, North America and Europe are
documents and programmes the most connected regions with 94% and 81%
the Digital Age – a historical period, of their respective populations being users.
starting in the 21 century However, despite some Asian nations being
st
web browser – an online programme famed for their technological developments,
allowing you to look at the information only 51% of the Asian population is online.
on the World Wide Web So, what does the future of the Digital Age hold
for us?
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