14. My Life with Computer

Since I bought a computer last month, a new world has opened up before me, a world that reaches far beyond my 1) immediate surroundings.

Every morning, the first thing I do after opening my eyes is to 2) access the Internet to look at the top news stories of the day. In the evening, I will again sit by my computer and roam the world. The Internet brings me 3) live World Cup football games and the terrorist 4) attack on the World Trade Center. It also enables me to 5) communicate with my friends 6) via email. The other day I got a message from an old classmate whom I hadn’t heard from for years. She got my email 7) address just by searching the 8) website of my university! In addition to helping us keep up old ties, it also brings me new friends with whom I meet 9) virtually in chat rooms. We exchange views on topics of internet and pour our hearts out to one another like intimate friend.

So, instead of isolating us from one another, the Internet 10) serves to shorten or eliminate distance and helps to bring friends closer.

Notes:

1. roam: walk or travel without any definite aim or destination （漫游，闲逛）

2. eliminate: remove, take or put away, get rid of （剔除，淘汰）