Read the Story & Answer the questions

READ A STORY

THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

“Let’s go to the library,” I say to my friend Hetty, but she

doesn’t want to come. I ask her why.

“I can get all the stories I want off the Internet,” she says.

“I don’t want to walk to the library. You get Internet, Sibyl.

We can send each other e-mails.”

I want the Internet. I ask my next door neighbor, Jake. He

is thirteen. He knows a lot about technology.

The next day, Jake comes to my house.

“Get a computer, then get connected,” he says.

“OK. I wouldto buy a computer and I want to get

connected,” I reply.

“How much do you want to spend?” asks Jake.

“However much it costs,” I answer.

“How many RAMS do you want?”

What is he talking about?

We go to Tech Time. “Let me do the talking,” says Jake.

“So, how many RAMS do you want?”

“Look,” I say. I just want Internet. I would like the biggest

and best.”

“What’s a RAM?” I ask.

“It’s where information is stored when a program is

working. How many bytes would you like?”

“What’s a byte?” I ask.

“It’s a unit of information. You know, gigabyte, kilobyte,
megabyte . . . .”

“Look,” I say. I just want Internet. I would like the biggest

and best.”

Jake smiles. He likes that answer. He talks to the sales

assistant in a language I don’t understand. Ten minutes

later I give my credit card to the cashier. (shocked) How

much?

We leave the computer store with the computer, mouse,

hard drive, flash drive, software, and other things I don’t

know about. When we get home, Jake starts plugging

things into other things. He explains about RAMs and

bytes, servers and routers, Mac and Windows, and a guy

called Bill Gates.

“When are you going to teach me how to send an email?”

I ask.

“As soon as you are ready,” Jake replies.

One week later, I send my first e-mail to Hetty. I write,

“Hah! You’re not the only one with e-mail! Send me a

picture of your garden. Your friend, Sibyl.”

Jake spends another two weeks teaching me the World

Wide Web, www for short. I sign up for a knitting

newsletter so I get two e-mails a day, one from Hetty, and

one from knitting. Then I sign up for more newsletters,

one on bird watching, one on astrology, one on exercise

and one on old age.

That makes six e-mails a day. It takes

nearly all morning to read them all. I like this computer

and Internet stuff. Not bad for an eighty-one year old!

Let's write answers

Why does Sibyl want a computer and Internet?

How do you think Jake knows what she needs?

What kind of computer does Sibyl want?

Who does she send her first e-mail to?

What interests does Sibyl have?

Predict what Sibyl does next with her new computer.