Question

Traveling on the Information Superhighway

In the early 1990s, few people outside of governments and universities had ever heard the term internet. The World Wide Web was in its infancy（初期）, Back then if you said to someone, “Send me an e-mail with directions to your house.” All you would have received is a puzzled look . Technology has come a long way since those days. Today, the Internet connects millions of computers around the globe, making a worldwide exchange of information possible.

The Internet is often called the “information superhighway.” That’s because vast amounts of information travel over it. If you searched the word grasshopper, for instance, you would have thousands of sites to look at. Some sites would give information on these insects. Other sites would be companies with “grasshopper” in their names. Still other sites might want to sell you books about grasshoppers.

In addition to information, the Internet also offers one of the greatest inventions in communications, electronic mail, or e-mail for short. E-mail is the brainchild of a shrewd（精明的）man named Ray Tomlison. He developed the program and sent himself the first e-mail in 194. He isn’t sure, but he thinks his first message was QWERTYUIOP （ the top row of letters on a key-board）. As a result of Tomlinson’s invention of e-mail, the way in which the world communicates has changed.

　 Thanks to e-mail, you can communicate with a student in London and find out how his weather experiment is going. E-mail has also changed the speed with which we exchange information. In minutes, you can contact another person who shares your love of kites or stamps. Your aunt and uncle can send you pictures of their new puppy without ever leaving their home. If you are sick and can’t attend school, your teacher can e-mail you the assignments you have missed. You can even send e-mail to a grasshopper expert and ask questions for a research paper.

However, there is one big disadvantage when you use e-mail. Unlike a letter you send through the mail, e-mail is NOT private. It can be reviewed by anyone with access to your receiver’s computer. Your receiver could also forward it to other people—so be careful. Do not say anything in an e-mail that you wouldn’t say in front of crowd!

 

The internet
The internet offers information to us.		The internet enables us to （1） 　　 in a new way.
We can （2） 　　　 information throughout the world, because the internet can connect millions of computers.	The internet is often called the “information super high-way”, because vast amount of information travel over it.	Thanks to （3） 　　 , we can keep in touch with others wherever we are.
		It has changed （4）　 of talking. Through it, we can talk with our students in London about the weather experiment.	It has also enables us to exchange information at （5）　　 speed than traditional communicative methods. Within a short time, it lets us （6）　　 mother person who has internet in （7）　　 . It also helps us to send information without leaving home.	（8）　 the advantages, we should （9） 　 when using it. Because it may not be （10）　 if someone has access to our receivers’ computer.

 

Answer 1

1. communicate　 2. exchange　 3. e-mail　 4. way　 5. higher　

6. contact　　 7. common　　 8. Despite　　 9. careful　 10. private