20 A2+ Life online

CHAPTER 1 The Birth of the Internet PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE CONNECTED BY THE INTERNET. HOW DID IT ALL START? The Information Superhighway, The World Wide Web, The Web, The Net... The Internet has been called many things since it was created. But it doesn't matter what it's called, the Internet is a wonderful invention that connects people all around the world. It is the key to the digital age. Like the telegraph and the telephone, the Internet heads a long line of inventions that have changed the way people communicate with each other.

第一章互联网的诞生世界各地的人们通过互联网联系在一起。 这一切是怎么开始的？信息高速公路、万维网、网络、网络…… 自从互联网被创建以来，它被称为很多东西。 但不管它叫什么，互联网是一项伟大的发明，它将世界各地的人们联系在一起。 它是数字时代的关键。 就像电报和电话一样，互联网引领了一长串改变人们彼此交流方式的发明。

The Internet lets people communicate in many ways— through email, video, and social networking sites, for example. People use the Internet on computers, tablets, and smartphones. But how did the Internet start? It was partly thanks to a man named J. C. R. Licklider. In 1962, this American scientist had the idea that computers around the world could be connected to each other and share information. After several years of research, people working for the US government had a plan for a network called ARPANET. By 1969, four computers were connected to ARPANET.

互联网让人们以多种方式进行交流——例如，通过电子邮件、视频和社交网站。 人们在电脑、平板电脑和智能手机上使用互联网。 但是互联网是如何开始的呢？ 这在一定程度上要归功于一个名叫J。 c.r.l icklider。1962年，这位美国科学家提出了世界各地的计算机可以相互连接并共享信息的想法。 经过几年的研究，为美国政府工作的人有了一个名为阿帕网的网络计划。 到1969年，有4台计算机连接到了阿帕网。

More and more computers were connected to ARPANET, and in 1972, it was shown to the public. The first emails were sent around the same time. At first, only researchers and the government used computers connected to networks. But the use of the Internet to bring computers into networks was a great idea. And like most good ideas, it quickly spread. By the 1980s, many people had personal computers in their homes, and the World Wide Web, the Internet as we know it today, began in 1990. Now, it is hard to imagine a world that is not connected by the Internet.

越来越多的计算机连接到阿帕网，并于1972年向公众展示。 第一封邮件大约是在同一时间发出的。 起初，只有研究人员和政府使用联网的电脑。 但是利用因特网把计算机带入网络是一个伟大的想法。 像大多数好主意一样，它迅速传播开来。 到20世纪80年代，许多人家里都有了个人电脑，而万维网，即我们今天所知道的互联网，于1990年开始出现。 现在，很难想象一个没有互联网的世界。

When the Internet first became available to the public, it was mostly for companies that sold things online. Later, people began using the web to find and share information. With the invention of sites like YouTube and Facebook, people began using the Internet to communicate with each other in new ways. Now, the Internet is mobile with people using it on smartphones, tablets, and other devices.

当互联网首次向公众开放时，它主要是面向在线销售商品的公司。 后来，人们开始使用网络来查找和分享信息。 随着YouTube和Facebook等网站的发明，人们开始使用互联网以新的方式相互交流。 现在，互联网是移动的，人们在智能手机、平板电脑和其他设备上使用互联网。

CHAPTER 2 Liking, Tweeting, Trending THE INTERNET CONNECTS PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. IT ALSO LETS PEOPLE DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO READ, SEE, AND SHARE. Many people use the Internet to reconnect with family and old friends. For example, when Frances Simpson was 18, she started looking for her father. She hadn't seen him since she was three years old. But it wasn't easy. She couldn't find him for a long time. Then, after looking for 33 years, she finally found him through Facebook. After connecting on the Internet, they talked on the phone, and then they met face-to-face. They hadn't seen each other in almost 50 years. Social networking is the most popular reason people use the Internet. And Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular social networking sites.

喜欢，推特，流行互联网连接世界各地的人们。 它还可以让人们决定他们想要阅读、查看和分享的内容。 许多人使用互联网与家人和老朋友重新联系。 例如，当弗朗西斯·辛普森18岁时，她开始寻找她的父亲。 她从三岁起就没见过他。 但这并不容易。她找了很长时间都找不到他。 然后，经过33年的寻找，她终于在Facebook上找到了他。 在网上联系后，他们通过电话交谈，然后他们见面了。 他们几乎有50年没见面了。 社交网络是人们使用互联网最普遍的原因。 Facebook和Twitter是最受欢迎的两个社交网站。

Twitter is a site where people post, or put, short personal messages online. These "tweets" can be no more than 140 characters long. It's very popular. In 2012, there were over one billion tweets per day! Facebook is even more popular. In 2013, there were over 664 million Facebook users. If Facebook were a country, it would have the third largest population in the world after China and India! Instagram, a photo-sharing site, is also really popular. In January 2013, over 100 million photographs were posted on the site.

Twitter是一个人们在线发布或发布简短个人信息的网站。 这些“推文”的长度不能超过140个字符。 它很受欢迎。2012年，每天有超过10亿条推文！Facebook甚至更受欢迎。 2013年，Facebook有超过6.64亿用户。 如果Facebook是一个国家，它将拥有仅次于中国和印度的世界第三大人口！照片分享网站Instagram也很受欢迎。 2013年1月，该网站上发布了超过1亿张照片。