Texts for additional reading

Text 1. Computers in Education

Task 1. Read and translate the text

First it was the movie, then the radio receiver and then the television. Each was once seen as magical technology that would transform education. Now it is the computer. Many governments have equipped schools with computers, convinced that their presence would improve the pace and efficiency of learning.

Some thought that installing computers was a good way to teach children and to fit them for the 21^st century.

Studies of children whose teachers use and do not use computers in the classroom suggest that the hopes for computers are just as wrong as those for classroom movies, radio and television.

The researchers found no evidence that the use of computers improved children’s test scores. In fact, they found the reverse. There are signs that computers may even impede learning. It’s obvious that young children, in particular, learn best when they face the teacher. Educational software is one-size-fits-all; it is not tailored to the varied abilities of pupils in a class.

Money should be spent to cut class size and to improve teacher training.

Words you may need

magical – волшебный

transform – преобразовывать

pace – темп, скорость

install – устанавливать

evidence – свидетельство, доказательство

the reverse – обратное

impede – затруднять

tailor – специально приспосабливать для какой-либо цели

Task 2. Decide, if these statements are true or false.

1. First it was the radio, then the television and then the movie.

2. Many governments have equipped schools with computers.

3. The researchers found a lot of evidence that the use of computers improved children’s test scores.

4. It’s obvious that young children learn best when they face the computer.

Text 2. The origin of the Internet

Task 1. Read and translate the text.

Internet is being used now to gather information, to shop or just for entertainment. You’re probably familiar with the process of dialing in and moving from website to website. But do you really understand how you’re doing what you’re doing as you move from web location to web location? How did Internet get started?

The Internet began in the late 1960s as an experiment by the U.S Department of Defense to see if a non-centralized network could be built to withstand the destruction of one or more of its parts. Unlike previous networks, this new network did not have a single central point. Instead, all sites on the network were interconnected.

Out of this network came a protocol for linking computers together. A protocol is a set of standards for how network communication takes place. The protocol is called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). This protocol is the standard that makes it possible for different computers all over the globe to talk to each other. The TCP/IP protocol is the foundation of the Internet.

At first, the Internet was used solely by the US government but soon universities and other institutions connected themselves to the Internet to communicate with one another and collaborate on projects. The Internet grew to connect hundreds of different sites all across the world. Each organization on the Internet was responsible for maintaining its part of the network, so the Internet was not owned or controlled by any one organization.

Today, the Internet connects up to 40 million people around the globe and is growing by as much as 10% per month.

Task 2.Answer the questions.

1. When and how did Internet get started?

2. What happened in the late 1960s?

3. What was the difference between previous network and a new one?

4. What is the TCP/IP protocol?

5. Who was the first user of Internet?

Text 3. Getting connected

Task 1.Read the text.

The Internet is like a system of roads, freeways and bridges. The term “Information Superhighway” describes how the Internet works. From any road in any city you can get to almost any other road in any other city. From your country you can send an electronic mail message to someone sitting at a computer in Helsinki, Warsaw or Moscow.

Internet access companies or Internet Service Providers (ISP) provide physical connections that allow you to access the Internet. These connections are called “POPs”, which stands for “points of presence”.

Your computer uses a modem to dial into a POP which connects you to the Internet. Once connected to a POP, you have access to all the resources of the Internet. Most ISP’s will also supply you with software available for work in the Internet: a Web browser.

Task 2. Correct the following statements.

1. The Internet is like a mixture of roads, freeways and bridges.

2. The term “Information Superhighway” describes how the Internet appears.

3. You can send an electronic mail message to someone sitting at a computer only in Helsinki, Warsaw or Moscow.

4. Internet access companies or Internet Service Providers are different organizations.

Text 4. The Birth of Domain Names

In the 1980’s a major change occurred as a result of the increase in scale of the Internet and its associated management issues. To make it easy for people to use the network, hosts were assigned names, so that it was not necessary to remember the numeric addresses. Originally, there were a fairly limited number of hosts so it was feasible to maintain a single table of all the hosts and their names and addresses. The shift to having a large number of independently managed networks or so called Local Area Networks (LANs) meant that having a single table of hosts was no longer feasible and the Domain Name System (DNS) was established. A domain name is the letters or words that visitors must type in to come to your website. The DNS permitted the conversion of a numeric host address (i.e. 215.72.87.66) to a simpler, easier to remember name address (e.g.www.prospekt.org).