The History of the Internet
因特网的历史
A research team in the United States first developed the concept of linking computers together in the 1960s.
美国的一个研究小组首次在1960年提出相连计算机的概念。
They wanted to have a system that would enable universities, research departments and the army to share resources with each other.
他们想做一个系统可以让大学，研究院和军队之间资源共享。
Computers at this time were as large as refrigerators and could not be transported easily.
这个时期的计算机和一个冰箱差不多大，而且运输很不方便。
Another problem was that they were often complicated and not compatible with each other.
另外一个问题就是它们一般是很复杂的，而且彼此之间兼容性不是很强。
The research team had to overcome these difficulties to create a network that could share computing power.
研究小组得克服这些困难来创建一个可以共享资源的网络。
Gradually, more and more scholars came online.
渐渐地，越来越多的学者也加入进来了。
Years later, businessmen began using the Internet too.
许多年后，商人也开始使用互联网了。
The number of users using it is increasing all the time and it is becoming more widely available across the world.
使用互联网的用户一直在增加而且世界上互联网被使用得更广泛了。
In fact, it is possible to use the Internet somewhere in every continent in the world.
事实上，在世界上任何地方，使用因特网都是有可能的。
At the same time, the comuters are becoming smaller and smaller, and more convenient to carry around.
与此同时，计算机越来越小，并且更便于携带了。
There is a wide range of services available on the Internet.
因特网上有广泛可用的服务。
This means that there are many different ways to communicate.
这就意味着有很多种不同的通信方式。
One of the most popular way is undoubtedly electronic mail -- more commonly called 'e-mail'.
其中，最为流行的一种方式无疑就是电子邮件了，更为通俗的叫法就是'电邮'。
Another popular is browsing on the World Wide Web (WWW).
另一种最受欢迎的就是浏览万维网(WWW).
The WWW is a very big series of connected pages containing various forms of multimedia.
万维网是一系列相联系的网页，包括了各种形式的多媒体。
It is quite popular to use online messenger services to sent instant messages to people all over the world.
相当受欢迎的方式是全世界的人们可以即时对话，基于在线的消息服务器来发送即时消息。