Internet

is a network connecting many computer networks and based on a common addressing system and communications protocol called TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Inter­net Protocol). From its creation in 1983 it grew rapidly beyond its largely academic origin into an increasingly com­mercial and popular medium. By the mid-1990s the Internet connected millions of computers throughout the world. Many commercial computer network and data services also provided at least indirect connection to the Internet.

The Internet had its origin in a U. S. Department of De­fense program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects) Agency Network), established in 1969 to provide a secure and survivable communications network for organizations engaged in defense-related research Researchers and academics in other fields began to make use of the network, and at length the National Science Foundation (NSF), which had created a similar and parallel network called NSFNet, took over much of the TCP/IP technology from ARPANET and established a distributed network of networks capable of handling far greater traffic.

Amateur radio, cable television wires, spread spectrum radio, satellite, and fibre optics all have been used to deliver Internet services. Networked games, networked monetary transactions, and virtual museums are among applications being developed that both extend the network's utility and test the limits of its technology.

Electronic mail, abbreviation E-MAIL, are messages trans­mitted and received by digital computers through a network. An efectronic-mail, or E-mail, system allows computer users on

a network to send text, graphics, and sometimes sounds and animated images to other users.

On most networks, data can be simultaneously sent to a universe of users or to a select group or individual. Network users typically have an electronic mailbox that receives, stores, and manages their correspondence. Recipients can elect to view, print, save, edit, answer, or otherwise react to communi­cations. Many E-mail systems have advanced features that alert users to incoming messages or permit them to employ special privacy features. Large corporations and institutions use E-mail systems as an important communication link among employees and other people allowed on their networks. E-mail is also available on major public on-line and bulletin board systems, many of which maintain free or low-cost global communication networks.

(From 1997 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.)

5. a) Present brief information on Russian broadcasting. Consider the fol­lowing:

1. the main functions of television irrpur country (informa­tional, educational, entertainment); 2. news coverage; 3. kinds of programmes.

b) What evening's viewing would you recommend for a foreign visitor who is very interested in learning more about our country and its people?

6. " Children and television" is an issue about which teachers and parents are naturally very concerned.

a) The two extracts by American authors given below present rather con­troversial views on the problem. Read them attentively for further discussion:

a) There have been more than 2, 300 studies and reports on the effects of television on American society. Most of them show that these effects are mainly negative. Researchers have been especially concerned about children. In the past decade, researchers have had children participate in numerous studies. They had children watch television intensively for three weeks. The results showed a drop in the children's creativity. The re-

searchers concluded that television makes the children lose some of their creativity.

Teachers can't get children to pay attention for any length of time because today's children want everything to be as fast and entertaining as TV. Dr Benjamin Spock, an expert in child raising, once complained that he couldn't get his grandchildren to leave the TV set when he wanted to take them to the zoo. Some of today's children are so addicted to TV that nothing else interests them. Parents have to make them turn off the TV and go out to play or read a book. They can't get them to do these traditional childhood activities without having an argu­ment over the TV.

Although most of these studies have shown the negative effects of television, some sociologists argue that television has become a part of our lives. They do not think that parents should make their children limit the amount of TV that they watch to one or two hours a day. They believe that parents should let their children decide for themselves what and how much they want to watch.

b) Although most studies show the negative effects of televi­sion, there are also some important positive influences. There are many excellent educational programs, especially for child­ren. Some schools have children watch certain programs in the classroom. They often get them to watch worthwhile programs at home by encouraging them to discuss what they have seen the next day in class. " Sesame Street" is a program that is watched by millions of children around the world. It uses bright colors, fast timing, and humour in order to get children to pay attention. It makes children enjoy learning about the alphabet, reading, and numbers.

Television also exposes children to different people and places. A little girl who had never seen a ballet before watched a famous ballerina on TV. This program got her to decide to become a ballerina herself. TV also increases young people's understanding of other people's views of life. Many people feel that " Roots", a program on the history of black people in the United States, is an example of this. Because viewers of this program became emotionally involved with the characters, " Roots" got some people to think more compassionately about the difficulties of black people in the United States.

b) Pair work. Team up with another student, work out pros and cons of children's television as they are presented in the extracts and discuss the extracts in pairs.

c) Speak about the effects of television on children. Consider the following:

1. Does television have a negative or bad influence on child­ren? If you think it does, tell how. 2. What are the effects upon the vulnerable and developing human organism of spending a significant proportion of each day engaged in this particular experience (watching TV)? 3. How does the television experience affect a child's language development, for instance? 4. What good or positive influences does television have on children? 5. How does television stimulate children's curiosity? 6. How does the availability of television affect the ways parents bring up their children? 7. Are new child-rearing strategies being adopted and old ones discarded because the television set is available to parents for relief? 8. How does watching television for several hours each day affect the child's abilities to form human relationships? 9. What happens to family lif£ as a result of family members' involvement with television?

(There may never be clear-cut and final answers to these questions.)

7. Below are four different opinions on the same controversial issue " Child­ren and Television".

a) Work in groups of 3 or 4 and assign one of the opinions to each member of the group:

1. Primary and secondary education have improved out of all recognition since the arrival of TV in the home and this is not only because of programmes designed for schools. Through TV a child can extend his knowledge and it provides vital food for his imagination. 2. We aire dealing with a culture of TV babies. They can watch, do their homework and listen to music at the same time. What kids can't do today is follow things too long. Today's TV babies get bored and distracted easily. 3. You can blame TV for the fact that children take longer to learn to read these days and barely see the point any more of acquiring the skill. Watching TV should be strictly confined to " treats". 4. Tele­vision provides outlet for creative talents. The programmes done with good taste and imagination actually stimulate a child's own creativity.