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The letters on the left of each line indicate the tuning/string. If none are present, the tuning may have been indicated in the header above the tab. If not, assume standard tuning.
Tab reads like a book from left to right. Notes vertically aligned are intervals or chords that should be played simultaneously. Otherwise, you play the notes in left to right order. Spacing is roughly used to indicate rhythm; however, it should be assumed to be imprecise. Sometimes each note's duration or numbered beat markings are placed above or below the tab. Each line indicates a string. Each number indicates a note. The number indicates the fret number to hold on that string to give the note the appropriate pitch (but this gets confusing for bending, which is described below). If a number is surrounded by ()'s, this indicates to let the note ring, even if a note is being sounded simultaneously on another string. The |'s indicate the end of a measure.
Let's analyze each string.
Pluck the 5th fret and bend it up a whole step to match the normal pitch of the unbent 7th fret. Hold the bend and pluck the bent string again, then release the bend and sustain the unbent 5th fret note. The second set of notes is the exact same thing but uses a different notation.
Note: we never fret the 7th fret in this example. The 7's indicate the normal unbent pitch of the 7th fret, not the fret to hold.
g--/5/7t12p7\5\--5s7--