Practice Tests
IELTS Reading (AC) Task 1 #119

A. The Internet, a global network that has fundamentally reshaped modern society, did not emerge overnight but evolved over several decades through a series of technological breakthroughs and collaborative efforts. Its origins can be traced back to the Cold War era of the 1960s, when the United States Department of Defense sought to create a decentralised, robust communication network that could withstand a potential nuclear attack. This led to the creation of ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), which pioneered the revolutionary concept of packet switching.

B. Packet switching was the core innovation that made the Internet possible. Instead of requiring a dedicated, continuous circuit between two points like a traditional telephone call, this technology breaks data down into small blocks, or "packets." Each packet is independently routed through the network to its destination, where they are reassembled. This method was not only more efficient in its use of network capacity but also incredibly resilient; if one part of the network was damaged, packets could simply be rerouted through alternative paths.

C. The 1970s and 1980s saw the development of the fundamental protocols that still govern the Internet today. The Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was established as the standard for how data is transmitted and received across different networks, enabling the "network of networks" to connect and communicate seamlessly. During this period, the network expanded beyond its military origins to include universities and research institutions, primarily for academic collaboration and email, which quickly became its most popular application.

D. The transformation of the Internet from a specialist tool for academics and the military into a global public utility began in the early 1990s with the invention of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN. The Web, with its system of hypertext links, URLs, and browsers, provided a user-friendly graphical interface that made the vast resources of the network accessible to a non-technical audience. This innovation, combined with the subsequent rise of commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs), triggered an explosive growth in public use, leading to the interconnected, information-rich world we inhabit today.