The Internet is without doubt one of the most important inventions in history. It was started in 1968 by the US government, but at first it was used mainly by scientists. Since 1990, when the World Wide Web was created, it has changed the world and its uses are growing every day.

The main use of the Internet is to find infor­mation — for your schoolwork or job, or just to find out more about your hobbies, sports or cur­rent events.

All of the latest information is available to you, in your home, at any hour of the day and night. It's much faster and easier to surf the net in search of information from all over the world than to travel to libraries in dozens of countries.

You can also use the Internet to read news­papers and magazines, play games, plan your holiday or buy from your favourite shop.

E-mail makes it possible to send electronic messages anywhere in the world in seconds, and you can use the Internet to 'chat' with peo­ple and make new friends.

However, the real world of the Internet may not be as perfect as it seems.

With so much information available, finding what you want can take you hours. Multimedia web pages with photographs, music and video are attractive, but they make downloading slow and boring. Besides, there is too much advertis­ing instead of real information.

As for Internet friendships, sitting at home in front of a computer making 'chat friends' is not the same as actually meeting people.

(1178 знаков)

1)    When was the Internet started?

2)    What is the main use of the Internet?

3)    How can you  use the Internet?

4)    How long can it take to find what you want?

5)    Why isn’t the world of the Intenet perfect?