Книги

Компьютеры и информационные технологии. Учебное пособие

Сухомлинова С.И.

Возрастное ограничение:

12+

Жанр:

Наука

Издательство:

Проспект

Дата размещения:

15.08.2015

ISBN:

9785392189557

Язык:

Объем текста:

101 стр.

Формат:

epub

PART I. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

UNIT 1. Introduction to Computers

Task 1. Go through a list of words that you will encounter in the reading of the unit and see if you are familiar with the words. This list is intended to give you some idea as to what the unit will discuss.

Device – устройство, машина, прибор;

component – составная часть;

transistor – транзистор;

integrated circuit – интегральная схема;

general-purpose – универсальный;

program – программа;

programmed – программируемый, запрограммированный;

chip – микросхема;

instruction – команда;

electronic circuit – электронная схема;

software – программные средства;

hardware – аппаратные средства;

mainframe – универсальная вычислительная машина;

minicomputer – миникомпьютер;

microcomputer – микрокомпьютер;

vacuum tube – электронная лампа;

generation – поколение.

Task 2. Discuss the following questions.

1. Visualize a computer and describe the image to students in your class.

2. What do you think the earliest computers looked like? What could they do? How are present-day computers different?

3. What generations of computers do you know? How many computer generations are there?

4. How is modern technology changing the world? How quickly is the world changing due to computers? How do you feel about the change?

5. What countries in the world are the most active in producing and improving computers?

Task 3. Read text 1 and check your answers to Task 2.

Text 1. From the History of Computers

1. What is a computer? Broadly speaking, a computer is any device that computes or calculates. Thus, an abacus or an adding machine is a computer.

2. The modern computer, however, is a device that is made up of electronic components, such as transistors or integrated circuits, and can be used for a variety of purposes. Modern electronic computers are much faster and are more accurate than earlier kinds of computers. Their most important characteristics, is that they can be “programmed”, that is, the instructions which tell the computer what to do can easily be changed. In this way, computers can do many different things. Thus, one moment a computer can be an adding machine, and the next it can be a typewriter.

3. The instructions, or programs, that tell the computer what to do are called computer software. The electronic and mechanical parts that are controlled by the software are called computer hardware.

4. Today there are three basic kinds of computers – mainframes, minicomputers, and microcomputers. Mainframes are large, extensive, general-purpose machines, which are used primarily by large businesses and government organizations. Minicomputers are smaller, less expensive machines, which are often used for specialized purposes in scientific and engineering laboratories. Microcomputers are small, often portable machines and are used in homes, small businesses, and the offices of large firms.

Kinds of Computers

Date available	1947	early 1960s	early 1970s
Type	Mainframe	minicomputers	microcomputers

5. Since the first computer, ENIAC, was built in 1947, the total number of computers has increased very rapidly. Over the years these large computers have become much more powerful, but the cost of a mainframe computer system is still quite expensive, often several million dollars. In addition to hardware, these computers require a lot of space, usually one or more rooms, and these rooms must be equipped with special air conditioning and wiring.

6. Minicomputers were not developed until the early 1960s. In addition to being cheaper and smaller than mainframe computers, minicomputers are also quite rugged and dependable. Today minicomputers cost between $5000 and $500,000 depending on the complexity of the system.

7. The first microcomputers, which became available in the mid1970s, had to be assembled by their owners. As a result, they did not become very popular. The Apple II, which came already assembled and was fairly easy to use, became very popular. Other companies – such as Tandy, Commodore, and eventually IBM – soon began competing with Apple for the small-business market. At the same time, such firms as Texas Instruments, Atari, and Commodore began selling computers for home and family use. These systems were small enough to fit on a desk top. At the heart of these systems was a chip (a large group of electronic circuits on a single piece of silicon) that is capable of performing all the necessary processing functions of a computer system.

8. The computer field is experiencing rapid growth and change. The change results from the decreasing cost of the basic components of computers. Computers are made up of electronic circuits. In the earliest computers these circuits consisted primarily of vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes were large and expensive to make. Later, in the 1950s, computers used transistors. Transistors were smaller and easier to make than vacuum tubes. In the late 1960s integrated circuits, often called Ics or chips, began to be used in computers.

9. Integrated circuit technology improved rapidly throughout the 1970s and 1980s; as a result, engineers were able to squeeze many thousands of circuits onto a chip. For example, during the early 1980s many small computers used chips which squeezed 64,000 circuits onto one piece of silicon; and by 1983 companies were already planning to use chips with four times as many circuits – 256K chips (K = kilo = thousand). Thus, by the late 1970s people had begun to speak of an entirely new kind, or generation, of computer technology: VLSI, Very-Large-Scale Integration.

10. We now usually speak of four generations of computer technology. In each new generation a new – and cheaper – kind of component was the basic building block of computer circuits.

Computer Technology

Generation	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th
Date of appearance	1947-mid 1950s	late 1950	late 1960s	mid 1970s
Circuit	vacuum tube	transistors	integrated circuit	VLSI

Today the cost of a computer circuit is many thousands of times less than it was when ENIAC was built. Thus, more and more organizations and individuals can afford to own and use computers.

Task 4. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Be prepared to explain your answers.

1. Small businesses began using computers when these devices were first introduced in 1947.

2. The history of computers is a history of rapidly changing technology.

3. Mainframes used transistors as their basic technology.

4. Any device which calculates or computes is a modern computer.

5. Microprocessors are huge machines that fill up entire rooms.

6. A minicomputer is one example of a computer that is often used for special purposes.

7. The mechanical and electronic parts of the computer give the computer its instructions.

8. Third-generation computers are not only smaller than firstand second-generation computers, but they are also cheaper and more reliable.

Task 5. Using the line references given, look back in the text and find the words with a similar meaning to:

generally speaking (paragraph 1)

count (paragraph 1)

target (paragraph 2)

exact (paragraph 2)

universal (paragraph 4)

raised (paragraph 5)

besides (paragraph 5)

Task 6. Translate paragraphs 6 and 7 into Russian.

Task 7. Fill in the blanks in the paragraphs using the following words. You should use each word just once. You may need to change the form of some of the words.

a) artificial intelligence;	e) programs;	i) microcomputer;
b) hardware;	f) vacuum tubes;	j) integrated circuits;
c) transistors;	g) computers;	k) minicomputers.
d) mainframes;	h) software;

The history of _____1_____ is the history of changing technology. The first computers used _____2_____. In the 1950s cheaper and smaller circuits were made from _____3_____. The current technology, _____4_____ is even smaller and cheaper.

Because of the change in technology, today’s small computers, called _____5_____, are as powerful as the big computers of the 1950s. The biggest computers called _____6_____, are even more powerful and versatile than before, as is the next largest class of computers, _____7_____.

These classes refer to kinds of computer _____8_____. But in order to operate, a computer also needs _____9_____ or _____10_____. These give the computer its instructions. At the moment it is fairly complicated and time consuming to write instructions for a computer, but in the future _____11_____ will make it easier and quicker to use computers.

Task 8. Give a brief written answer for each of the following:

1. What is the main reason that computers have become smaller, cheaper, and more reliable?

2. What are the three basic operations of a modern computer? Give examples.

3. What is the difference between hardware and software?

4. What basic building blocks of computer circuits are used in each generation computers?

Task 9. Read quickly through text 2 to find:

1) the overall purpose of NCET;

2) another expression meaning "educational technology";

3) whether NCET produces learning materials;

4) how many priorities NCET's Schooling Directorate has;

5) three groups of people helped by NCET's Vocational Training programme;

6) three examples of new and developing technologies that the Council gives advice about.

Task 10. Translate the text into Russian. Check the meaning of any unfamiliar technical words in the vocabulary at the back of this book.

Text 2. Computers in Education

National Council for Educational Technology

The Council's purpose is to bring beneficial change to the processes of learning in education and training through the development and application of educational technology.

Educational technology – or learning technology, as it is sometimes known – embraces everything from the way computers, satellites, and interactive video are used in schools, colleges, and industry to issues of copyright and flexible learning. Focusing on the learner, our purpose is to support change in the ways we learn by applying the benefits of educational technology – especially the new information technologies – to the process of learning.

We design and produce learning materials in all subjects to support education and training. We carry out research and manage projects, offer consultancy on technical matters, support training for trainers and teachers, and offer expertise in areas such as open and flexible learning, resource management, and educational software. We provide a comprehensive information and enquiry service.

Information Technology in Schools

Through its I.T. in Schools Programme, NCET's Schooling Directorate is expertise four priorities:

• to identify and promote and spread good practice in the use of new technologies;

• to provide professional guidance to teacher trainers so that they can help teachers and schools in managing I.T. and applying it to all areas of study;

• to develop high-quality curriculum materials and encourage other publishers to do the same;

• to give particular support for those concerned with children and young adults with special educational needs, including the handicapped.

Learning after School and Work

NCET's Training Directorate focuses on the needs of those wishing to learn after the school-leaving age. Projects under the Vocational Training programme include looking into the training needs of women, older workers, and those who use information technology to work from home. In further education, lecturers and senior managers are being helped to plan for I.T. and changing client needs. For industry, our work has included language training in the run-up to 1992, and the application of artificial intelligence systems to training. This directorate also takes the lead in important trans-sectoral issues such as open and flexible learning, copyright, and the use of computers in careers guidance.

Technical Expertise

Keeping abreast of developments in technology and maintaining a national expertise on standards and specifications is the work of NCET's Technical Consultancy Directorate. Through links with other organizations, it identifies issues associated with the adoption of new technologies and, where appropriate, carries out projects to assess or develop their potential in education and training. It has a watching brief and provides consultancy on new and developing technologies such as satellites, CD-ROM, and interactive video. Current projects involve the examination of the use of educational software in schools, the use of massive storage systems, and the use of satellites in education and training. The Directorate also produces guidance to users on a wide range of technology, from desk-top publishing and remote sensing to teleconferencing and audio-visual systems.

Task 11. Speaking.

You represent the National Council for Educational Technology. You have been asked to talk to a group of teachers about the work of the Council. Make brief notes from the text, then prepare a short presentation.

In pairs or small groups, take turns to make your presentation. If you are listening to a presentation, check that it is accurate and that it covers the main points mentioned in the text.

UNIT 2. The Development of Personal Computers

Task 1. Read the text and decide on a suitable title for it. The following words will help you understand the common meaning of the text.

IBM (International Business Machines) – компания IBM;

reverse – отменять;

set up – учреждать, зд. создавать;

compatibility – совместимость;

challenge – бросать вызов;

commodity items – предметы широкого потребления;

proprietary – патентованный;

capitalize on – превращать в капитал;

operating system – операционная система;

graphical interface – графический интерфейс;

click – щелкнуть, нажать;

icon – пиктограмма, изображение;

badge – эмблема;

DOS (disk operating system) – дисковая операционная система;

endorsement – передаточная надпись, подтверждение;

network – сеть;

networking – организация сетей;

K (kilobyte) – килобайт;

upgrade – поднимать;

MHz (MegaHertz) – мегагерц;

Mb (megabyte) – мегабайт;

run – зд. быстро распространяться;

databases – базы данных.

Text 1. The History of Personal Computing

1. In 1952, a major computing company took a decision to get out of the business of making mainframe computers. They believed that there was only a market for four mainframes in the whole world. That company was IBM. The following year they reversed their decision.

2. In 1980, IBM decided that there was a market for 250,000 PCs, so they set up a special team to develop the first IBM PC. It went on sale in 1981 and set a world-wide standard for IBM-compatibility which, over the next ten years, was only seriously challenged by one other company, Apple Computers. Since then, over seventy million PCs made by IBM and other manufacturers have been sold. Over this period, PCs have become commodity items. Since IBM made the design non-proprietary, anyone can make them.

3. The history of the multi-billion dollar PC industry has been one of mistakes. Xerox Corporation funded the initial research on personal computers in their Palo Alto laboratory in California. However, the company failed to capitalize on this work, and the ideas that they put together went into the operating system developed for Apple’s computers. This was a graphical interface: using a mouse, the user clicks on icons which represent the function to be performed.

4. The first IBM PC was developed using existing available electrical components. With IBM’s badge on the box it became the standard machine for large corporations to purchase. When IBM were looking for an operating system, they went initially to Digital Research, who were market leaders in command-based operating systems (these are operating systems in which the users type in commands to perform a function). When the collaboration between IBM and Digital Research failed, IBM turned to Bill Gates to write their operating system.

5. Bill Gates founded Microsoft on the basis of the development of MS/DOS, the initial operating system for the IBM PC. Digital Research have continued to develop their operating system, DR/DOS, and it is considered by many people to be a better product than Microsoft’s. However, without an endorsement from IBM, it has become a minor player in the market. Novell, the leaders in PC networking, now own Digital Research, so things may change.

6. The original IBM PC had a minimum of 16K of memory, but this could be upgraded to 512K if necessary, and ran with a processor speed of 4.77MHz. Ten years later, in 1991, IBM were making PCs with 16Mb of memory, expandable to 64Mb, running with a processor speed of 33MHz. The cost of buying the hardware has come down considerably as the machines have become commodity items. Large companies are considering running major applications on PCs, something which, ten years ago, no one would have believed possible of a PC. In contrast, many computers in people’s homes are just used to play computer games.

7. The widespread availability of computers has in all probability changed the world for ever. The microchip technology which made the PC possible has put chips not only into computers, but also into washingmachines and cars. Some books may never be published in paper form, but may only be made available as part of databases. Networks of computers are already being used to make information available on a world-wide scale.

Task 2. Answer the questions about the text.

1. How many mainframes did IBM think it was possible to sell in 1952?

2. How many PCs have now been sold?

3. Who paid for the initial research into PCs?

4. Which company later used the results of this research to develop their operating system?

5. What are command-based operating systems?

6. Since the invention of the IBM PC, many of its features have been improved. Which of the following features does the text not mention in this respect? a) memory, b) speed, c) size, d) cost

7. Give three examples from the text of how the availability of computers has “in all probability changed the world for ever”.

Task 3. What do the following acronyms (слова, сформироваююые из первых букв словосочетаюий) stand for?

IBM, PC, DR, DOS, K, MHz, Mb

Task 4. Using the line references given, look back in the text and find the words with a similar meaning to:

international (paragraph 2)

errors (paragraph 3)

paid for (paragraph 3)

buy (paragraph 4)

first (paragraph 5)

recommendation lines (paragraph 5)

improved (paragraph 6)

Task 5. Translate the sentences given in thick print in a written form.

Task 6. Translate the sixth paragraph into Russian. Look carefully at the tenses before you start.

Task 7. Match each word with the correct definition:

1) mainframe

2) mouse

3) icon

4) operating system

5) software

6) hardware

7) microchip

a) the set of software that controls a computer system

b) a very small piece of silicon carrying a complex electrical circuit

c) a big computer system used for large-scale operations

d) the physical portion of a computer system

e) a device moved by hand to indicate position on the screen

f) a visual symbol used in a menu instead of natural language

g) data, programs, etc. not forming part of a computer, but used when operating it.

Task 8. The article states that “many computers in people’s homes are just used to play computer games”.

Discuss the following questions:

1. In what other ways are computers used at home, or outside work?

2. If you already have a PC, how do you use it? (If not, how would you use one?)

Task 9. Decide whether the following statements are true or false in relation to the information in the text given below.

1. The Americans and the Japanese are working together to produce user-friendlier computers.

2. The clipboard computer was first sold twenty years ago.

3. On a clipboard, an electronic pen replaces the traditional keyboard.

4. In the GRIDPad system, when the pen touches the screen, it informs the computer and a liquid crystal pixel appears at that point.

5. The software decides that one character or number is complete if the tip of the stylus is not in contact with the screen for more than half a second.

6. The whole process of recognizing letters or numbers and printing them on the screen takes very little time.

7. There are many clipboard computers sold today which are all available everywhere in the world.

8. Clipboard systems can be made to understand any kind of writing.

Task 10. Translate text 2 into Russian. Check the meaning of any unfamiliar technical words in the dictionary at the back of this book.

Text 2. Portable Computers

For the last generation, Silicon Valley and Tokyo have been working to design computers that are ever easier to use. There is one thing, however, that has prevented the machines from becoming their user-friendliest: you still have to input data with a keyboard, and that can require you to do a lot of typing and to memorize a lot of elaborate commands.

Enter the clipboard computer, a technology that has been in development for the last 20 years but took hold in the mass market only this year. Clipboard PC's – which, as their name suggests, are not much bigger than an actual clipboard – replace the keyboard with a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and electronic stylus. Users input data by printing individual letters directly on the screen.

There are two technologies at work in a clipboard PC: one allows raw data to get into the computer and the other allows the computer to figure out what that data means. The first technology relies principally on hardware and varies depending on the particular computer. In one system, marketed under the name GRIDPad, the computer's LCD screen is covered by a sheet of glass with transparent conductive coating. Voltage is sent across the glass in horizontal and vertical lines forming a fine grid; the voltage is slightly different. When the stylus – which is essentially a voltmeter – touches the screen, it informs the computer of the voltage at that point.

The computer uses this information to determine where the stylus is and *causes a liquid crystal pixel to appear at those coordinates. The position of the stylus is monitored several hundred times a second, so as the stylus moves across the glass, whole strings of pixels are activated.

"What we do is sort of connecting the dots," says Jeff Hawkins, the creator of GRIDPad. "Users can then write whatever they want on the screen with a kind of electronic ink".

Making that writing comprehensible to the computer, however, requires the help of some powerful software. When the stylus is being used, the computer is programmed to look for moments when the tip does not touch the screen for a third of a second or more. Every time it happens – and it happens a lot when somebody is printing – the software assumes that one letter or number has been written. The pixel positions of this fresh character are then passed on to the computer's pattern recognition software, which instantly identifies the letter or number written.

The software does this by first cleaning up the character – smoothing out crooked lines and removing errant dots. The remaining lines and curves are then compared with a series of templates in the computer's memory that represent hundreds of thousands of different versions of every letter in the English alphabet and all ten numerals. When the computer finds the closest match, it encodes the character in memory and displays it on the screen as if it had been typed. The entire process takes just a fraction of a second. To delete a word, you simply draw a line through it. To move to the next page, you flick the stylus at the bottom of the screen as if you're flicking the page of a book.

There are a handful of clipboard computers now on the market, including GRIDPad, which is sold in the US; Penvision, manufactured by NCR and sold around the world; and Sony's Palmtop and Canon's AI Note, both sold only in Japan. IBM and Apple are also pouring millions of dollars into the technology.

In addition to this hardware, a variety of software is also making its way to the market. Depending on the power of the computer and the sophistication of the software, clipboard systems can be programmed to understand the particular quirks of a particular user's printing; this is an especially useful feature in Japan, where elaborate * kanji characters make up most of the written language. Improvements in software may soon allow machines sold in the US to understand not only printing but continuous script as well.

Given such flexibility, the designers of clipboard computers are predicting big things – and a big market – for their products. "There's no doubt about it," says an optimistic Hawkins. "You're going to own one of these things in the not-too-distant future".

Notes:

* causes a liquid crystal pixel to appear at those coordinates – вызывает появление жидкокристаллического пикселя в этих координатах

** kanji Japanese script which uses Chinese characters

Task 11. Translate text 3 into English.

Text 3. Компьютеры HP Vectra – самые продаваемые на американском рынке

Согласно данным отчёта Audits and Surveys Worldwide, где приводятся показатели розничных и оптовых продаж ПК, персональные компьютеры Vectra компании Hewlett-Packard с процессорами Pentium Pro заняли в 1996 г. первое место в США по объёму поставок через бизнес-партнёров. Их доля в этом сегменте рынка составила 44%, ПК Compaq – 39%, Dell – 7% и Gateway 2000 – 3%. Отмечается, что у корпоративных заказчиков наибольшей популярностью пользовались двухпроцессорные модели HP Vectra XU, оптимизированные для Windows NT и других 32-разрядных операционных систем, а также HP Vectra VL Pentium.

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Компьютеры и информационные технологии. Учебное пособие

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