Английский язык: Сборник текстов и упражнений. Иваненко Т.И. - 61 стр.

       The mistake people make is to assume that wars are caused simply by the failure of differ-
ent peoples to understand each other adequately. Indeed, even if that were true, the Internet can
also be used to advocate conflict. Hate speech and intolerance flourish in its murkier comers
where governments find it hard to intervene. Although the Internet undeniably fosters communi-
cation, it will not put an end to war.
       But might it reduce energy consumption and pollution? The Center for Energy and Climate
Solutions (CECS), a Washington thinktank, has advanced just such a case, based largely on
energy consumption figures for 1997 and 1998. While the American economy grew by 9 % over
those two years, energy demand was almost unchanged because, the CECS ventures, the Internet
“can turn paper and CDs into electrons, and replace trucks with fibre-optic cable”. No wonder
one enthusiastic newspaper headline begged, “Shop online – save the earth”.
       Sadly, earth – saving is harder than that. Certainly, shopping on-line from home is far less
polluting than driving to a shopping mail. Ordering groceries online, and having them delivered,
means that, if the logistics are handled efficiently, one truck journey can replace dozens of fami-
lies’ separate car trips. Reading newspapers, magazines and other documents online is more effi-
cient than printing and transporting them physically. Yet doing things online is more energy-
efficient only if it genuinely displaces real – world activities. If people shop online as well as vi-
siting the bricks-and-mortar store, the result is an overall increase in energy consumption.
Thanks to the Internet, it is now easy for Europeans to order books and have them extravagantly
air-freighted from America before they are available in Europe. And it is more efficient to read
documents online if doing so replaces, rather than adds to, the amount of printed bumf.
       Furthermore, as more and more offices and homes connect to the Internet, millions of PCs,
printers, servers and other devices gobble significant quantities of energy. Home computers are
becoming part of the fabric of everyday life, and are increasingly left switched on all the time.
One controversial assessment concluded that fully 8% of electricity consumption in America is
due to Internet-connected computers. The construction of vast “server farms” warehouses full of
computers and their attendant cooling systems has contributed to the overloading of the electrical
power network that has caused brown-outs in Silicon Valley.

      NOTES

     1. A whole industry of cyber gurus has enthralled audiences (and made a fine living) with
exuberant claims – Целая промышленность кибергуру (кибернетических учителей) очаро-
вала публику (…) полными воодушевления заявлениями…
     2. Stave off future flare-ups of ethic hatred and national break-ups – предотвратить бу-
дущие обострения конфликтов этнической направленности и распад государств
     3. Alas – увы
     4. In its murkier comers – в своих более мрачных пришельцах
     5. Thinktank –мыслительный центр
     6. And replace trucks with fibre-optic cable – и заменить грузовые перевозки переда-
чей по кабелю из оптического волокна
     7.The bricks-and-mortar store – склад кирпича и строительного раствора
     8. Bumf – бумажки
     9. Brown-outs in Silicon Valley – понижение напряжения в сети в Силиконовой Долине


                       ELECTRONIC MAGAZINES [E-MAGAZINES]

       The Internet is the host to a variety of magazines that are published electronically. That is,
the articles are stored as text files that are accessible to one and all. Some e-Magazines are scho-
larly journals of interest mainly to specialists. Other magazines are of general interest.
       Two ways in which e-Magazines are distributed are available. Some maintain a mailing
list. When a new issue comes out, it is sent to you as a mail message. Other magazines are stored
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