Twenty years ago, kids in school had never even heard of the Internet. Now, I’ll bet you can’t find a single person in your school who hasn’t at least heard of it. (76) In fact, many of us use it on a regular basis and even have access to it from our homes! The “net” in Internet really stands for network. A network is two or more computers connected together so that information can be shared, or sent from one computer to another. The Internet is a vast resource for all types of information. (77) You may enjoy using it to do research for a school project, downloading your favorite songs or communicating with friends and family. Information is accessed through web pages that companies, organizations and individuals create and post. It’s kind of like a giant bulletin board (布告牌) that the whole world uses! (78) But since anyone can put anything on the Internet, you also have to be careful and use your best judgment and a little common sense. Just because you read something on a piece of paper someone sticks on a bulletin board doesn’t mean it’s good information, or even correct, for that matter. So you have to be sure that whoever posted the information knows what they’re talking about, especially if you’re doing research! But what if you’re just emailing people You still have to be very careful. (79) If you’ve never met the person that you’re communicating with online, you could be on erous ground! You should never give out any personal information to someone you don’t know, not even your name! And just like you can’t believe the information on every website out there, you can’t rely on what strangers you “meet” on the Internet tell you either. (80) Just like you could make up things about yourself to tell someone, someone else could do the same to you! 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. If you’ve never met the person that you’re communicating with online, you could be on erous ground!