Although it may be difficult to remember, but life did exist before "The Internet" and "e-mail" were invented. The Internet began as a Cold War experiment in the late 1960s. It was first developed by the United States Department of Defence to explore the possibility of a communication network that could survive a nuclear attack. In subsequent years, universities believed that the Internet could provide a convenient way to communicate between various institutions.

During the 1970s the Internet was primarily used to send e-mail and to access large government databases. The final stumbling block to the Internet’s development was removed in the early 1980s. Until this time, it had been difficult to connect all of the ‘separate’ computer networks because each network used its own specific language to transfer data. By the end of 1983, most networks converted to the TCP/IP protocol; and the Internet as we know it "was born". In the 1990s two new computer languages, HTML and JAVA allowed Internet users to add colours and images to their websites. With its flashy images and colourful graphics, the Internet became the World Wide Web and the "wired generation" had begun!

As we enter the new millennium we see how the Internet has significantly affected our lives. According to recent statistics, 1 in 6 North Americans use the Internet daily. In 1999, 17 million American households shopped online, and online retail sales reached almost 20.2 billion (US) dollars. Recent data indicates that approximately 6 million Canadians will use the Internet on a weekly basis. Of all the provinces, British Columbia is the "most wired" and Internet reliant province. The Internet is slowly eliminating the barriers between children and adults, as children now have almost unlimited access to information. Not only are kids and teenagers accessing information, but also they are becoming valuable online consumers. It is estimated that by the year 2002, this age group will account for a total of 1.3 billion (US) dollars in electronic commerce. One thing is certain: the Internet will continue to grow and affect our lives in ways that we can only imagine.

Instructions: Select one response for each question.

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1. What is the main topic of the passage? (a) How the Internet affects our lives. (b) The History of the Internet(c) Computer Languages (d) Use of the Internet in universities.

2. According to the passage, which of the following is not true: (a) The U.S. Department of Defence was important in the development of the Internet. (b) People appear to enjoy shopping online. (c) The Internet was initially destroyed by a nuclear attack. (d) JAVA is a computer language.

3. The expression "stumbling block" (in paragraph 2) probably means: (a) obstacle (b) falling hazard (c) building material (d) government involvement.

4. The expression "wired generation" (in paragraph 2) refers to: (a) computer language (b) the colourful graphics (c) the new computer users (d) the Cold War

5. From the passage we can infer that: (a) The Internet is expensive. (b) Children purchase more products online than adults do. (c) The number of Internet users will continue to grow. (d) HTML was designed by the U.S. Department of Defence.

6. What is the main message of this text? In your own words, write a 3 or 4 sentence summary of the passage.
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