We are all busy talking about and using the In-ternet (因特网), but how many of us know the his-tory of the Internet?

Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks (网络) didn't work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system (系统) had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information（信息）could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time.

At first the Internet was only used by the gov-ernment (iEfeJ^), but in the early 1970s, universities (大学), hospitals and banks (银行) were allowed (允许) to use it too. However, computers were still very expen-sive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software (软件) that made "surfing" (浏览) the Internet more convenient (方便).

Today it is easy to get on-line (上网) and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail (电子邮件) is more and more popular among students.

The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people's life.

1. The Internet has a history of more than ___ years.

A. sixty    B. ten    C. thirty    D. twenty

2. A new network system was set up to ____.

A. make computers cheaper

B. make itself keep on working all the time

C. break down the whole network

D. make computers large and expensive

3. At first the Internet was only used by ______.

A. the government         B. universities

C. hospitals and banks    D. schools

4. ______ made "surfing" the Internet more conve-nient.

A. Computers   B. Scientists    C. Software    D. Information

5. Which of the following is true?

A. In the 1960s, computer networks worked well.

B. In the early 1970s, the Internet was easy to use.

C. Sending e-mail is now more popular among students than before.

D. Today it's still not easy to get on-line.

KEY: 1-5 CBACC