Insert the correct word from the active vocabulary we each pay our

20×40 feet. 6. Though the operations of the first generation computers were very rapid in comparison with manual calculations, they were slow by today’s standards. 7. Programs for one model can be run on other models in the same family. 8. Because of its small size, ease of use, large capacities the

microcomputer is very popular today.

а) легкость использования; б) блестящий; в) быстрые по сравнению с вычислениями вручную; г) справедливо сказать; д) весил; е) имел размеры; ж) оставался единственным средством; з) у кого зародилась мысль; и) могут быть запущены на … .

GRAMMAR POINT

1.Put the words in brackets in the right form of the degrees of comparison:

1.Moscow is (old) than St. Petersburg. 2. February is (short) than March.

3.6 is (little) than 8. 4. An electronic computer is one of (great) achievements of man. 5. What is (important) unit in the computer? 6. To be late is (badly) than to be early. 7. The Sudan is (large) country in Africa. Its territory is (many) than 2,505,800 sq. km. 8. The Lena is (long) river in Russia. 9. PASCAL is (practical) than BASIC. 10. It is (easy) exercise in this lesson.

2.Change the following statements to questions beginning with the question-words given in brackets:

1.I studied English at school (where?) 2. My friend finished school last year (when?) 3. My sister does computer programs well (who?) 4. My father knows three foreign languages (how many?) 5. Our classes will begin at 10 o’clock tomorrow (when?) 6. We shall hold a seminar on this problem (what?) 7. He wants to help his friend to complete the experiment (whom?) 8. It took me two weeks to write a report (how long?) 9. My brother became a programmer last year (whose?) 10. He usually looks through foreign journals in the library (what?)

3.Read and translate the sentences. Mind the tense and the conjunctions of subordinate clauses:

1.Before he begins to read his report, he will look through it. 2. If you change the method of your experiment, you will get different results. 3. As soon as I get any news, I shall tell you about it. 4. We shall not hold the conference until our scientific supervisor comes back from London. 5. You will find it difficult to communicate with a computer unless you have more practice. 6. When he gets a book «Microcomputer Design», he’ll give it to you. 7. She will translate the text provided she knows this grammar rule. 8. They will finish the work after they get these data.

42

4.Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense (Future Indefinite or Present Indefinite):

1.I (to discuss) some problems with our system-engineer, as soon as I (to see) him. 2. She (to take) her exam in English before the term (to be) over. 3. He (to help) you if he (to know) all the facts. 4. You (to do) a computer program provided you (to know) programming. 5. When we (to complete) our experiment, we (to come) to see you. 6. If you (to add) these numbers, you (to get) the sum. 7. Before he (to carry out) complex calculations, he (to learn) how to operate the computer. 8. A teacher (not to make) the computer an integral part of his lessons until he (to be able) to select programs.

5.Translate the sentences paying attention to the possessive case:

1.My mother’s name is Ann.

2.The programmer’s job is difficult.

3.This student’s calculations are very precise.

4.These students’ calculations are naught.

READING

FROM THE HISTORY OF COMPUTER DEVELOPMENT

The oldest form of mechanical calculating devices was the abacus1. It remained the only аid to calculation until the 17th century After the invention of logarithms in 1614, W.Oughtred constructed the first slide-rule in 1630. B. Pascal built an adding machine in 1642 at the age of 19. Later he produced some others, one of them could add six-figure numbers. In 1671 Leibnitz invented the first machine, which performed multiplication by repeated addition.

Ch. Babbage, the English mathematician of the 19th century, was the first who conceived the idea of the automatic machine for complex calculations. He designed his Analytical Engine to perform four arithmetic operations. It was to have three parts: a store, а mill2 and sequence mechanisms3. The store was to hold 1000 numbers, as well as intermidiate results and instructions. The mill called up numbers from arithmetic calculations with them. It corresponded to the modern processor. The sequence mechanisms, which we would call4 a program, decided which numbers to call up from the store and how to operate on them. A system of punched cards controlled the sequence of operations. Ch. Babbage couldn’t translate his ideas into reality because there were no reliable and accurate electrical equipment, but his Analytical Engine was a true prototype of the modern digital computer. Ch. Babbage and Lady Lovelace, Lord Byron’s daughter, worked out a coded program. Lady Lovelace was a brilliant mathematician. She believed and fully understood the potentialities of the Analytical Engine. She took an active part in Babbage’s experiments. So it is fair to say that she was the world’s first computer programmer.

43

About seventy years passed before the production of the first digital computer, which was similar to Babbage’s Analytical Engine. In 1937 Dr. H. Aiken of Harvard University began to work at the first completely automatic digital computer which he called the Mark 1. He completed it in 1944. The Mark 1 was mainly mechanical with some electro-magnetic devices. It was a very large computer, 51 feet long and 8 feet tall. The store had 72 counters. Each counter could hold 23 digits.

The first electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC), was constructed in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania. The machine used 18,000 vacuum tubes5 for storage and basic functions in arithmetic and logic. Though it was not as large as the Mark 1, it weighed 30 tons and measured 20 by 40 feet. Whereas the Mark 1 could add 2 numbers in one-third of a second, ENIAC could add 5000 numbers in one second.

In 1945 John von Neuman worked out the concept of the stored program. He recommended to store operational instructions and numbers in the same unit in the binary system. EDVAC, EDSAC, UNIVAC were the first computers which put these new ideas into practice.

The first generation computers (from 1940s till 1959) were very large in size and used thousands of vacuum tubes. Though their operations were very rapid in comparison with manual calculations, they were slow by today’s standards.

The second generation computers began in 1959. The use of transistors instead of vacuum tubes made these computers smaller, more powerful, and more reliable. The second generation also saw the development of programming languages.

The third generation computers started in 1964. There were silicon chips instead of transistors. This advance made possible the invention of the microcomputer in the 1970s, which, because of its low cost, small size, ease of use, large capabilities, is the computer most characteristic of the fourth generation.

All computers of the present time, from the microcomputer to the supercomputer, belong to the fourth generation. This fourth generation is the first in which there are a lot of computers for the application in business, science, medicine, education, or for general use.

The computer revolution is very dynamic. We are on the threshold of the fifth generation of computers. Today researchers in the USA, Western Europe, Japan work at the problems of artificial intelligence6, the application of natural languages, very large-scale integration (VLSI)7 technologies, etc.

Notes

1an abacus – абак, счеты

2a mill – зд. решающее устройство

44

3a sequence mechanism – устройство, определяющее порядок работы

4would call – назвали бы

5a vacuum tube – электронная лампа

6artificial intelligence – искусственный интеллект

7VLSI – сверхбольшая интегральная схема

READING COMPREHENSION

1.Read the text once again and fill in the blanks with the proper dates and names:

1.After the invention of logarithms in 1614, … constructed the first sliderule in …. 2. … built an adding machine in 1642. 3. In 1671 … produced the first machine capable of multiplication. 4. … was the first who conceived the idea of the automatic computer. 5. Ch. Babbage and … worked put a coded program.

6.In 1937 … began to work at the first completely automatic digital computer.

7.He completed his Mark 1 in …..8. The first electronic computer was constructed in … at … . 9. In 1945 … worked out the concept of the stored program, 10. The first generation computers began in … . 11. The second generation computers started in

… . 12. The third generation computer systems beginning in … made use of silicon chips. 13. The first microcomputer appeared in ….

2.Translate into English:

1. Лейбниц изобрел первую вычислительную машину, которая выполняла умножение. 2. Кто создал первую логарифмическую линейку?

3.Что вы знаете о емкости запоминающего устройства этого компьютера?

4.Мой младший брат хорошо умножает и складывает числа. 5. Эта фирма создаст новую марку микрокомпьютера в следующем году. 6. Мы не будем пользоваться перфокартами для ввода данных. 7. Вы работаете в дисплей— классе каждый день? 8. Он не закончил работу, так как не было надежного электрического оборудования. 9. Сколько экзаменов мы будем сдавать в этом семестре? 10. Он читает журналы на английском языке? 11. Вы не будете хорошо говорить по—английски, если не будете знать грамматику.

12.Мы не применяем этот метод вычисления.

INTERACTION

Ask your classmates:

1) about the oldest form of mechanical calculating devices; 2) about the calculating devices of the 17th century; 3) about the main components of Babbage’s machine; 4) what he/she knows about the Mark 1; 5) what he/she can say about the first electronic computer; 6) what J. Neuman’s concept was; 7) what computers belong to the first generation; about the difference

45

between the 2nd and 3rd generation computers; 9) when the fourth generation computers began; 10) what problems of the fifth generation computers researchers work at.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

Arrange the items of the given outline in the order according to the text:

1.Ch. Babbage’s contribution to the automatic computer development.

2.The abacus, the oldest form of mechanical calculating devices.

3.The first generation computers.

4.Calculating devices of the 17th century.

5.Thе first electronic computer (ЕNIAC).

6.The fourth generation computers.

7.The first completely automatic digital computer.

8.Future computer development.

9.The second and third generation computer systems.

SPEAKING

1.Tell the group about the scientists who contributed to the development of computers.

2.Compare the main characteristics of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations computer systems.

POST-READING ACTIVITIES

1.Read the text “What was ENIAC?” Translate it wit h the dictionary.

2.Comment on the future computer development.

3.Read the text “The Fifth Generation Computer Sys tem”. (Apendix-1) and say what is the difference between the 4th and 5th generation computer systems.

4.Discuss with you friends the information you’ve got from both the texts

(question – answer).

5.Make sure that you know the history of computer development.

6.Get ready to speak about the history of computer development.

Вернитесь к учебным целям УБ-4 и сопоставьте их с вашими новыми

знаниями и умениями – насколько вы достигли этих целей.

46

Учебный блок – 5 ( УБ-5)

“WHAT IS A COMPUTER?”

Цели:

Инструкция к работе:

Последовательно выполняйте все задания, следуя указаниям блока. В случае затруднений сначала попробуйте выяснить все вопросы у

друзей. Если они не помогут, обратитесь к преподавателю. Уровни понимания при чтении и переводе:

–основного текста – III, IV, V.

–дополнительного – III.

LEAD IN

Discuss in the group what you already know about types of computers.

PRE-READING

Read the text quickly and ask your groupmates:

1)what hardware is; 2) what constituent parts the computer consists of;

3)what the function of the CPU is; 4) what a controller is; 5) where the computer stores and manipulates binary representations; 6) where the computer records results; 7) what typical recording devices are; what data types include; 9) what input and output devices your friend knows.

Before you start reading for detail, do the following lexical and grammar exercises:

WORDSTUDY

1. Read and translate the following international words. Mind the part of speech:

hybrid n, a; symbol n; hydrodynamics n; aerodynamics n; binary a; abbreviation n; location n; command n; manipulate v; alphabetize v; synthesizer n; test- n, v; permanent a.

47

2.Master the active vocabulary:

1.represent v – представлять, изображать

representation n – представление, изображение

2.character n – символ; цифра; буква

3.string n – строка

4.integer n – целое число

5.hardware n – аппаратное обеспечение ЭВМ

6. fetch n, v – вызов, выборка; вызывать, выбирать (например, коман— ду или данные из памяти)

7.link n, v – звено; связь; команда возврата; связывать; linkage n – связь; возврат; согласующее устройство

8.file n – 1) файл; 2) картотека, архив; data fife – файл данных

9.access n – 1) выборка (из памяти); 2) обращение (к памяти); access time – время обращения

10.tape n – лента; punched paper tape – бумажная перфолента

11.plotter n – графопостроитель

12.load n, v – загрузка; нагрузка; загружать; нагружать; loader – программа загрузки; loading – нагрузка; загрузка

13.switch n, v – переключатель; переключать; to switch on – включать; to switch off – выключать

14.message n – сообщение; error message – сообщение об ошибке

3. Give English equivalents for the words in brackets:

1.Through binary arithmetic, in which all numbers are (строки) of Os and Is, the computer can (представить) any letter, number or symbol in a binary code.

2.The computer immediately translates (целое число) into its binary (представление).

3.The computer can join (символьные строки).

4.The terms «byte» and («символ«) are sometimes used synonymously.

5.We shall discuss (аппаратное обеспечение) of this computer at the next

seminar.

6.What must a user do (вызвать) the necessary data from memory?

7.(Связь) of the central processor to input devices may be through a very

small specialized processor, a channel.

8. There are two important factors about the memory unit: an (обращение) time and a capacity.

9.Storage units may use magnetic (ленты) and disks.

10.One of the forms of computer output is output on paper with the help of printers and (графопостроителей).

11.When the process of (загрузки) is over, we shall see a special (сообщение) on the screen.

48

12. The command «MODE» of the operational system MS DOS allows (переключать) the screen for the demonstration of graphic or text information.

4. Choose the synonyms of the following words from the right hand column:

5. Give the initial forms of the following words:

symbolic, unthinkable, inactive, wonderful, friendless, unhappy, indifferent, illogical, irregular, needless, convertible, rainy, unreadable, arithmetical, mechanical.

6. Match the parts of the sentences from the left and right columns:

7. Read and translate the following sentences. Pay attention to the

meaning of the words combinations given below:

a) mean – средний; среднее число (значение) means – средство

to mean – значить, означать meaning – значение

by means of – посредством

1. This is a mean line. 2. Printers, plotters, music and speech synthesizers are means of output. 3. The symbol < means «is less than». 4. The meaning of the word «voltage» is «электрическое напряжение«. 5. A joystick is an input device by means of which we can control the position of a letter, word or picture on the screen. 6. Let’s find the arithmetic mean of thesenumbers.

49

b) a record – 1) запись; 2) пластинка; З) данные (о чем—либо) a recorder – записывающее устройство

to record – записывать

1. In science computers do calculations and keep records of the results of experiments. 2. He has a large collection of musical records. 3. We may use cassette recorders as input and output devices. 4. A computer must have a special equipment, which records each bit of information. 5. This computer can store

students’ records.

c) a type – тип

to type – печатать.

a typewriter – пишущая машинка

1. Modern computers are of three types: analog, digital, and hybrid. 2. A computer keyboard looks like a typewriter keyboard. 3. Our computer centre has several types of printers. 4. My friend types on the keyboard of this computer very well.

GRAMMAR POINT

a) Translate the following word combinations paying attention to modal

verbs:

You must know, you may come, you should understand, you should be familiar with;

b) Translate the following sentences paying attention to Present, Past and Future Continuous (Active)

1. He is making a report on data types now. 2. The controller is running the disk drive at the present moment. 3. We are writing a precis on the microcomputer’s organization. 4. Our teacher was speaking on the history of computers at his lecture yesterday. 5. We were constructing this electronic device all day long yesterday. 6. He was writing a report on the binary system when we came. 7. We shall be discussing computer’s architecture problems at this time tomorrow. 8. He will be reading up for his exam all day long tomorrow.

READING

What is A Computer?

A computer is a general purpose machine which represents and processes information.

1. Modern computers are of three types: analog, digital, and hybrid1. An analog computer uses physical analogs of numerical measurements, such as length, rotation, voltage, etc. People design analog computers for specialized fields (hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, industrial control, etc.). A digital computer is a binary machine, which represents 0 and 1 electrically. Through binary

50