The History of the Internet

张惠如

We are all busy talking about and using the Internet， but how many of us know the history of the Internet？

Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time， computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didnt work well. If one computer in the network broke down， then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working， information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time.

At first the Internet was only used by the government， but， in the early 1970s， universities， hospitals and banks were allowed to use it too. However， computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s， computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.

Today it is easy to use the Internet and it is said that millions of people use the Internet everyday. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students.

The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of peoples life.

Choose the best answer.

1. What time was the Internet set up？

A. In the 1940s.    B. In the 1950s. C. In the 1960s.    D. In the 1970s.

2. What was the Internet used by at first？

A. Universities. B. Hospitals.      C. Banks.            D. Governments.

3. When did computers become cheaper？

A. By the start of the 1890s. B. By the end of the 1890s.

C. By the start of the 1990s.    D. By the end of the 1990s.

4. Which of the following is True？

A. The Internet has a history of less than thirty years.

B. In the 1970s computer networks went wrong easily.

C. Computers become cheaper so that many hospitals and banks could afford to use them.

D. People didnt have enough software to get online conveniently until the early 1990s.