The World Wide Web turns 20

Rob: Hello, I'm Rob.
Yvonne: I'm Yvonne.
Rob: And this is 6 Minute English! Today we’re celebrating a very special
anniversary - the 20th anniversary of the World Wide Web.
Yvonne: Ah, the World Wide Web. That’s something that's really changed our lives -
and in such a short space of time.
Rob: Hmm - definitely. Well, we’ll talk more about that in a moment - but first I
have a question for you: on average, how long does someone spend surfing the
net each day in the UK? Is it:
a) 7 minutes
b) 27 minutes or
c) 57 minutes
Yvonne: Umm – I'm going to say 27 minutes Rob, because I think people spend much
more time on things like Facebook.
Rob: Hmm – that's true. Well, I’ll give you the right answer at the end of the
programme. But now, let’s find out more about the World Wide Web – or
'www' for short.
Yvonne: www – that’s an acronym¹! It was on Christmas Day, 20 years ago, that a
breakthrough was made in the development of the internet.
Rob: Yes, a breakthrough or a discovery. The man most associated with this
discovery is Sir Tim Berners-Lee. He’s been nicknamed² ‘The Father of the
Web’.
Yvonne: What an amazing thing to invent - but of course, other people were also
involved.
Rob: Yes, of course. Tim Berners-Lee has been quoted as saying: “the remarkable³
progress of the Web today has been quite gratifying to me”. 'Gratifying' – that
really means being satisfied - or pleased.
Yvonne: Mm... so he’s really pleased with what has happened to the web – and rightly
so! Rob, can you tell me a bit more about his achievement?
Rob: Well, Sir Tim Berners-Lee worked on the first web page in his spare time. He
was a computer scientist and a computer programmer.
Yvonne: And what did his groundbreaking web page say?
Rob: It was just information about the project that he was working on. The web
page had a very catchy⁴ address: nxoc01.cern.ch!
Yvonne: Ha ha! Yeah, really catchy!
Rob: C.E.R.N spells CERN, and that’s the European Organisation⁵ for Nuclear
Research, which is where he worked. But the page didn't actually go online
until August 1991.
Yvonne: But this really heralded⁶ the start of people communicating by computer?
Rob: Yes. It really showed how computers could talk to each other using a language
called Hyper Text Mark up Language.
Yvonne: Ah - that’s HTML for short!
Rob: Very good!
Yvonne: So, HTML is the language that computers use to talk to each other – to
communicate with each other.
Rob: It’s very clever isn’t it?
Yvonne: Hmmm.
Rob: And since then the internet has evolved at a rapid rate. Now, there are believed
to be around one trillion web pages.
Yvonne: Whew! And I’m sure almost everyone uses the internet now – but I wonder
how we'd cope without it?
Rob: Well, we've been asking people just that. Listen to what they said when we
asked: how would you cope without the World Wide Web?
Insert:
Man:
I'd just have to do without it, wouldn't I? If you remember all the scare stories of the
millennium⁷ that, you know, all the power stations would shut down and all that – it
didn't happen. As long as my central heating wasn't controlled by the internet, I'd just
have to manage.
Woman:
Probably not very well. Umm - I imagine that most of my social relationships would be a
lot more difficult. And also keeping in contact with people far away would also be
impossible.
Man:
Err⁸ – with great difficulty (laughs)! It would be the phone, I imagine, and lots more
writing, lots more paper. Umm – we'd need bigger file cabinets.
Rob: So the first man would cope without the internet, as long as the computers
which help provide power for his central heating – that's the system he uses to
keep warm – isn't affected⁹! He says he'd just have to 'do without it'.
Yvonne: The woman was most worried about her social relationships – keeping in
contact with her friends and family.
Rob: Yes, especially those who are far away. In fact, she thinks keeping in contact
with them would be impossible without the internet. But the last man we heard
from doesn't agree. Although he says he would cope with great difficulty, he
does have some alternatives – ideas about what we could do instead.
Yvonne: And he has a good point I think, Rob. We could write to each other - like we
used to before we had the internet. It would be lovely to get more hand-written
letters from friends and family rather than just e-mails, I think.
Rob: That's what we call 'snail-mail'. But of course, as that man pointed¹⁰ out, lots
more paper would mean that we'd need bigger file cabinets – the pieces of
furniture that are used to keep all those bits of paper safe.
Yvonne: It’s incredible¹¹ how the World Wide Web has expanded in twenty years, and
how much we now rely on it. I wonder what it will be like after another twenty
years.
Rob: Well, Sir Tim Berners-Lee has said: “we have only scratched the surface of
what could be realised with deeper scientific investigation¹² into the Web’s
design, operation and impact on society”.
Yvonne: It’s true. We've only just begun to understand how useful the World Wide Web
can really be, especially for people in developing countries.
Rob: So this technological¹³ breakthrough, twenty years ago, is something worth
celebrating! Now, Yvonne, earlier I asked you a question. On average, how
long does someone spend surfing the net each day in the UK?
Yvonne: And I said 27 minutes.
Rob: And you were wrong.
Yvonne: Oh no!
Rob: The average time people spend on the internet each day is a lot longer than that.
It's 57 minutes.
Yvonne: Oh - and without Sir Tim and his colleagues’ work, it wouldn’t be possible at
all.
Rob: That’s right. Well, we do hope you’ve enjoyed today’s 6 Minute English.
Both: Bye bye.

1 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

2 nicknamed   

vt.给…起绰号（nickname的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• 'The human sound-track' he nicknamed her in his own mind. 在心里他给她个绰号，就叫"人体录音带"。 来自英汉文学
• People said that he had jaundice and urchins nicknamed him "Yellow Fellow." 别人说他是黄胆病，孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

5 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

6 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

8 err   

vi.犯错误，出差错

参考例句：

• He did not err by a hair's breadth in his calculation.他的计算结果一丝不差。
• The arrows err not from their aim.箭无虚发。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。