23
THE INTERNET
3.1
2
b
Answer these questions.
1
When and where was the first email message sent?
2
Why was that message so important?
3
What led to the popularity of email in the 1990s?
2
c
What do these words refer to?
1
it (line 4)
3
it (line 7)
2
they (line 13)
4
their (line 27)
2
d
Work with a partner. Take turns to retell the story
without looking at your book.
LISTENING
3
a
3.1
Listen to three people talking about the
early days of the internet. Which of these topics – an
internet café, a social networking site, a radio station,
an ISP (Internet Service Provider), a computer game or
a blog – do they talk about?
3
b
Which speaker(s):
1
started his/her own business?
2
didn’t talk to customers face to face?
3
enjoyed what he/she did?
4
mentions the different names things had in the ‘90s?
5
tells us about his/her conversations in those times?
6
mentions an important visit?
3
c
Analysing the topic
How do you think people
felt at the time about these new developments in the
internet? Which of the developments do you think was
the most important for the future of the internet?
GRAMMAR
PAST CONTINUOUS
4
a
Use the past continuous to talk about a longer
background action in the past, when a shorter action
interrupts it or happens during it. Use the past simple
for the shorter action. Match the time lines below with
these sentences.
1
What was the inventor hoping for when the first
successful message came across on a computer?
2
While Tomlinson was making improvements to this
program, he got the idea.
GRAMMAR TIP
Use the past continuous on its own to talk about
actions in progress in the past. You often use a time
expression when you do this.
In 1992
, I was working for an ISP.
What were you doing
at 11 o’clock last night
?
¬
Language reference and extra practice, pages 106–107
5
Complete these sentences, using a past continuous
or past simple form of the verb.
1
I
(send) an email to my sister when my
computer
(crash).
2
Sir Tim Berners-Lee
(invent) the world
wide web while he
(work) in Geneva,
Switzerland.
3
In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg
(study)
at Harvard University when he and three other
students
(create) a social network site.
4
I
(finish) my homework,
(turn off) the computer and
(go) to bed.
5
‘Where
(work) when they
(make) that discovery?’
‘I don’t know exactly. They
(not work)
in Europe – I’m sure of that.’
6
‘What
(do) at ten o’clock last night?’
‘I
(write) my blog.’
PRONUNCIATION
6
a
3.2
was/were
Listen to
was
and
were
in these
sentences. How do you pronounce them?
1
I was living in a large house.
2
They stopped what they were doing.
3
‘Was he working at a research company?’ ‘Yes, he
was.’
4
‘Were you using the new computers?’ ‘Yes, we were.’
5
What were you doing at four o’clock yesterday
afternoon?
6
b
Listen again and repeat the sentences above.
7
Choose a time (e.g. ten o’clock last night) and ask
your classmates what they were doing at that time.
Make a note of their answers. Then report to the class.
At ten o’clock last night, Kristina and Marina were doing
their homework. Roman was doing online research.
SPEAKING
8
Interview your partner about how he/she uses the
internet. Ask about these things and make notes of the
answers. Do you use the internet in a similar way?
•
when he/she first used the internet
•
how long he/she spends on the internet every day –
and at what times
•
what he/she does on the internet – favourite
websites / own blogs or website
•
how he/she used the internet two years ago – is it the
same as now?
Now
a
b
4
b
Find two more examples in Audio script 3.1 on
page 150. How do we make sentences in the past
continuous (affirmative, negative and questions)?
