Search Engines and Directories

When you surf on the Internet，you may want to look up a particular topic，or just have a general look around an area，rather than look for a specific site．Probably the easiest way to look for information in the Web is to use a search engine．A search engine is a facility which works by building up a huge database of information extracted from websites，enabling you to find information by searching for keywords，which you type in．When entering keywords，you can use the words AND，OR or NOT to clarify your search．These words used in this context are called Boolean operators．Some wellknown search engines are Alta Vista and Lycos．

Search engines present you with the results of a search in the form of a list of links on a new page called a results page，with the sites which contain most examples of the keyword or keywords nearer the top．You can then click on the links of the sites or pages you would like to visit．

Directories are similar to search engines，but have categories within which you can search，for example，education，or sport．Yahoo!is a popular directory．It is also possible to use a search facility to look for information within a Web page，using the edit menu of the browser．In that menu you can click on Find in Page and enter a keyword．

Practical Task

1．The following Web page(Figure 1)is of AOL(American Online)，one of the bestknown Web sites in the world，read the Web pages carefully and then make a list of the new words and check their meanings in the dictionary．

Figure 1:www.aol.com

2．The following search engines are world famous:

www.google.com(Figure 2)

www.yahoo.com(Figure 3)

www.excite.com(Figure 4)

www.zensearch.com(Figure 5)

Examine each of them，use them to search for information you need and then write a report of 200 words to introduce your favorite one and explain why you like it the best．

Figure 2:www.google.com

Figure 3:www.yahoo.com

Figure 4:www.excite.com

Figure 5:www.zensearch.com