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english & technology:
Emergence of the Internet
Source: Olhar Digital
The Internet was created in 1969 under the name “ARPANET” in the USA.
This is the first of many technology-related English lesson that we be posting. It’s no surprise that technology is an everyday part of our globalized culture. Technology is an ally that is present in so many aspects of our daily life. The majority of people use technology at work, at school, and in everyday social interactions online.
This is why it’s so important to know technological terms in English, since most of the terms related to technology originate in English.
We have several articles dealing with the topic of technology here on our website. So if you are interested in this subject, follow our articles, and we’ll keep sharing relevant content with you. Don’t forget to make suggestions for future articles in the comments or talk to us on Instagram. We will be happy to talk to you.
The Internet is such a common technology today that it’s hard to imagine how previous generations lived without it. Think about this: people even landed on the moon before the Internet was created! That’s mind-blowing to me. The Internet, like every technological process, has a history, a moment that marks its emergence, and that’s what we’re going to talk about in today’s article.
The internet emerged from military research at the height of the Cold War. This was a period in which any mechanism, any innovation, any new tool could contribute to this dispute led by the Soviet Union and the United States. The two superpowers understood the effectiveness and absolute necessity of the media.
The U.S. government feared a Russian attack on military bases. An attack could make sensitive information public, making the U.S. vulnerable. So a model for exchanging and sharing information was devised. So if the Pentagon were hit, the information stored there wouldn’t be completely lost. For this to become possible, it was necessary to create a network, which was called ARPANET, created by ARPA, which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency.
ARPANET worked through a system known as packet switching, which is a data transmission system in a computer network in which information is divided into small packets, which in turn contain a portion of the data, the recipient’s address and information that allowed the reassembly of the original message. The enemy attack never happened, but what the United States Department of Defense did not know was that it was the beginning of the greatest media phenomenon of the 20th century, the only means of communication that in just four years could reach about 50 million people. It is important to mention in this context that in 1962, J. C. R. Licklider, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was already speaking in terms of the creation of an Intergalactic Computer Network (Intergalactic Computer Network, in English).
The first e-mail in history dates from October 29, 1969, a few months after man landed on the moon. The text of this first e-mail was “LOGIN”, as written by Professor Leonard Kleinrock of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), but the computer at the Stanford Research Institute that received the message stopped working after receiving the letter “O”. The first ARPANET connection was established between the University of California at Los Angeles and the Stanford Research Institute at 10:30 pm on October 29, 1969.
Arpanet became the technical core of what could become the Internet, and a primary tool in the development of technologies used at the time. Arpanet’s development was centered around RFC (Request for Comments) processes, still used today to offer and distribute Internet Protocols and systems.
Let’s take a look at vocabulary related to technology, so you have the tools you need to succeed in English.
English Vocabulary to Know Section
10 Vocabulary Words
1) Emergence: the fact of something becoming known or starting to exist.
2) Technology: the study and knowledge of the practical, especially industrial, use of scientific discoveries.
3) Research: a detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover new information or reach a new understanding.
4) Innovation: the use of a new idea or method.
5) Media: the internet, newspapers, magazines, television, etc., considered as a group.
6) Information: used in advertisements, news articles, etc. when giving something such as a website or phone number where someone can find more information about something.
7) Sharing: to put something on a social media website so that other people can see it, or to let other people see something that someone else has put on a website.
8) Network: a large system consisting of many similar parts that are connected together to allow movement or communication between or along the parts, or between the parts and a control centre.
9) Message: a short piece of information that you give to a person when you cannot speak to them directly.
10) Email: the system for using computers to send messages over the internet.
Did I miss any technology-related vocabulary that you want to know? Comment below to request more tech-related acronyms or terms to be added to the list.
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Sources:
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist%C3%B3ria_da_Internet
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/
Until next time, Happy Learning!
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Jhessika Nascimento
Director of International Partnerships
Jhessika Nascimento is the Director of International Partnerships for Study With Andrea and lives in Brasilia, Brazil.
Jhessika is a bilingual teacher of English and Portuguese, studying for a Master's Degree in Strategic Management in Information Technologies at the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana.
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The following is a TOEFL Reading practice test to help you prepare for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
Instructions: Read the sample passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
TOEFL Reading Practice Passage
Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
(#1) Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. (#2) A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). (#3) Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population. (#4)
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017.
Questions
1. According to the passage, gorillas can live in
a. a variety of altitudes.
b. several different countries in Africa.
c. thick forests.
d. lowland forests only.
2. All of the following is true about gorillas EXCEPT
a. they primarily eat smaller animals.
b. they live in a forest habitat.
c. their genetics are similar to humans.
d. their diet consists of vegetation.
3. Look at the word predominantly in paragraph 1. The word predominantly in this passage refers to
a. impulsively
b. unfortunately
c. mainly
d. lastly
4. Look at the word inhabits in paragraph 2. The word inhabits in this passage refers to
a. lives in
b. protects
c. goes
d. works
5. The author implies that
a. most gorillas prefer using their left hand over their right.
b. gorillas rarely walk on their knuckles.
c. gorillas regularly walk upright for long distances.
d. studies haven't solidly proven which hand gorillas prefer using.
6. Why does the writer mention that the eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla?
a. To validate the importance a broad chest in western gorillas
b. To define the meaning of "broad"
c. To highlight a physical difference between types of gorillas
d. To demonstrate that most gorillas are identical in physical build
7. Which of the following statements is true for BOTH eastern and western gorillas.
a. Both eastern and western gorrilas are brown with red foreheads.
b. Both eastern and western gorrilas have unique fingerprints.
c. Both eastern and western gorrilas have thin hair.
d. Both eastern and western gorrilas have light brown eyes.
8. In Paragraph 3, look at the four numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4) that indicate where the following sentence would be added to the passage.
Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans.
Where would the sentence best fit?
(View all the correct answers below.)
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Answers: 1. d 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d 6. c 7. b 8. #3
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