1.C.

The Web.

The Internet was not planned. In early 1960s, the USA and the former Soviet Union did not have a friendly relationship. The Americans feared a nuclear bomb could destroy their communication centre. So in 1960 they designed a new computer network. It could function if parts were destroyed. This was the basis of the modern Internet. In 1990, the Internet lost its military connections and everyone could use it. However, the Internet was difficult to use until a British computer scientist designed the Web.

The World-Wide Web is now the largest part of the Internet. The Web is the best way of exploring the Internet because it has pictures and sounds as well as a text. The Web started in 1990s, and it provides information about everything, from art to weather. There are hundred of thousands of Web  pages and this number is growing fast. By the mid-1990s, there were 23 million Web users in over 100 countries.

Today, the fast development of the World-Wide Web offers new possibilities to everyone. More and more schools are coming on-line. The Web gives students a chance to get up-to-date information. Many schools are creating their own Web pages. Some young people are maling good use of their computer knowledge. John Bridges is only 14 years old and is still at school. But in his free time, he runs his own company. He designs and creates Web sites for other companies. Some of his clients don’t know he is a schoolboy. Others know but they lare happy because they like his work. It will be easy for students with good IT skills to get a job when they leave school.

The Internet is changing the way we live. We can go shopping through the Internet. We can read newspapers, listen to the radio, even watch TV. There are more and more things you can do when you are connected.

1.D.

Roller Skating.

Roller skates are not a new invention. In fact, roller skating developed of the much older activity, ice – skating, which has existed in Scandinavia and other northern countries for centuries. The actual inventor of the first roller skates is not known, but it is generally thought that they originated in Holland in the early 1700s.

Roller skates first arrived in Britain in 1760, when the Belgian clockmaker John Merlin wore some to a formal ball in London. Merlin was known as something of a mad inventor, but he surprised every body at the ball when he whizzed past them on wheels, playing the violin at the same time. Unfortunately, Merlin did not manage to persuade people that roller skating was a good idea. His skates had no brakes and he ended up crashing into a large mirror. Merlin was seriously injured in the accident and, as a result, roller skating did not immediately become popular in Britain.

In Germany, however, roller skates made a better impression. They were used in a ballet with the name "Winter Pleasures”, which included a scene where the dancers skated on ice. Because they couldn’t produce the ice on the stage, the organizers decided to use

roller skates instead.

After this the sport became more popular. In 1863, an American named James Plimpton solved the problem of controlling direction when skating. He fitted the roller skates with rubber springs and even toe brakes.

The late 19^th century saw the beginning of speed contests, artistic displays and even the first team sport on roller skates – roller hockey.

During the first decades of the 20^th century, hundreds of indoor and out door roller skating rinks opened, especially in the USA. The sport established as a popular pastime. The first roller skating championships were held in Detroit in 1937.

The real development of the modern roller skate began in the second half of the 20^th century. The use of plastic led to improvements in design and performance of roller skates. Roller disco movies increased the popularity of the sport. The stage musical, "Starlight Express”, which features roller skating, ran for 17 years and was seen by 8 million people.

The sport of roller skating has gained a serious following in the countries of southern Europe and South America.

During the 1990s new materials, brakes and boot fastenings all combined to make skates both lighter and safer than they had ever been in the past. Nowadays one can see many roller skaters in the streets of towns all over the world.