С. И. Сухомлинова

Компьютеры и информационные технологии

Учебное пособие

ebooks@prospekt.org

Информация о книге

УДК 42(075)

ББК 32.81я73

С91

Рецензенты:

Губайдулина Т. А. — канд. пед. наук, профессор (ВГУЭС);

Макаренкова Л. И. — канд. филол. наук, профессор (МГУ им. Г. И. Невельского).

Автор: Сухомлинова С. И.

Целью учебного пособия является развитие коммуникативных навыков по английскому языку в устном и письменном виде речевой деятельности в области информационных технологий.

Содержит оригинальные технические тексты из английских источников, ключевые термины, проблемно-ориентированные задания, словарь технических слов и ключи к тестовым заданиям. Тексты включают общие сведения об истории компьютеров, компоненты вычислительной системы, типы аппаратных средств и языки программирования.

Предназначено для студентов технических и гуманитарных специальностей, специализирующихся в области технического перевода.

УДК 42(075)

ББК 32.81я73

© ДВФУ, 2007

© ООО «Проспект», электронная версия книги, 2015

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Целью учебного пособия является развитие коммуникативных навыков студентов по английскому языку, с одной стороны, и знакомство их с компьютерами и информационными технологиями, с другой стороны.

В пособии рассматриваются основные свойства компьютеров, вычислительные системы, информационные системы, искусственный интеллект, языки программирования, отношения между машинами и людьми, работа которых в той или мере связана с компьютерами. Задачей пособия является не детальное знакомство обучаемых с информационными технологиями, а демонстрация возможностей, которые даёт использование информационных технологий, и проблем, с которыми сталкиваются люди, использующие в своей работе компьютеры.

С точки зрения обучения английскому языку, данное пособие предназначено для студентов промежуточного или продвинутого уровня (старших курсов), уже владеющих аспектами языка и различными видами речевой деятельности, поэтому основная цель пособия – овладение терминологией и развитие коммуникативных навыков обучаемых в области информационных технологий.

Учебное пособие состоит из двух частей, ключей к упражнениям и англо-русского словаря технических терминов.

Первая часть состоит из разделов, каждый из которых начинается с ключевых терминов, определяющих тематику раздела в целом и текстов в частности, а также системы упражнений, направленных на формирование навыков поискового, ознакомительного и просмотрового чтения, развитие лексических навыков и навыков устной и письменной речи.

Ключи к упражнениям дают возможность самостоятельной проверки правильности ответов обучаемыми.

Вторая часть содержит оригинальные тексты из журналов «Computer Science», «Computer Bulletin», «Computing», «Communications of the ACM» и еженедельников «Computer Week», «PC Week», предназначенные для перевода со словарём.

Англо-русский словарь включает слова и выражения из области компьютеров и информационных технологий, встречающиеся в текстах первой и второй части.

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 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th
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.

В International User Rating Survey of PC's опубликован обзор результатов опроса пользователей, проведённый в 1996 г. Datapro Information Services Group, где ПК-блокноты и ПК-серверы НР названы наиболее надёжными вычислительными системами.

Недавно НР объявила о снижении на 7-23% цен на ПК семейства Vectra. Основываясь на данных о ценах корпорации IDC, HewlettPackard утверждает, что ПК НР Vectra VL и НР Vectra VА теперь дешевле сопоставимых моделей Compaq Deskpro 2000 на 6–9%. Стартовая цена полностью сконфигурированной модели начального уровня НР Vectra VE РС теперь составит 931 дол.

Notes:

розничная продажа – retail;

оптовая продажа – wholesale.

UNIT 3. Computer Systems

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.

Personnel – персонал;

data – данные;

input – ввод;

processing – обработка;

output – вывод;

information systems group – группа информационных систем;

computer operator – оператор вычислительной машины;

programmer – программист;

systems analyst – системный аналитик, специалист по системам;

user – пользователь;

machinery – машинное оборудование;

point-of-sale terminal – место продажи;

communications equipment – аппаратура связи;

computer system – вычислительная система;

modem – модем;

сontroller – контроллер, управляющее устройство;

coaxial cable – коаксиальный кабель;

batch system– пакетная система;

run a program – выполнять (прогонять) программу;

transactions – транзакции (групповые операции);

deductions – отчисления;

on-line system – неавтономная система; система, работающая в режиме онлайн;

transaction-driven system – система, управляемая транзакциями;

centralized – централизованный;

distributed – распределенный.

Task 2. Read through the text 1 for general information. Then answer the following (you may refer to the reading).

1. Identify the four major parts of a large computer system.

2. Name the two groups that make up the personnel of a computer system.

3. Name the newest element of a computer system.

4. Name the four types of computer systems.

Task 3. Read the text for details.

Text 1. The Components of a Computer System

1. Today large computer systems usually have four major parts, or components. These are hardware, software, personnel, and communications. The hardware of the system consists of the electronic machines for data input, processing, and output. Software is made up of the various sets of instructions (programs). These programs are used to process data, control the movement of data into and out of the computer, and develop further sets of instructions.

2. The personnel in the system is composed of various groups. One group, the data processing or information systems group, operates the computer system and tries to improve it. This group consists of computer operators, programmers, system analysts, and their managers. Another important group, the users, does such activities as putting data into the computer system, reading the reports made by the systems, and asking for changes and additions for it. This group usually includes such people as clerks, salespeople, and managers.

3. The last element of a modern large system is communications. In a large modern system, the users and the machinery of the system are often spread out over a large area. For example, a sales clerk at a department store might register a sale on a point-of-sale terminal. That sale would be immediately sent to the department store’s main computer somewhere else in the city over telephone lines. Various kinds of communications equipment connect the machinery and the users together into a well-organized computer system. This equipment is usually made up of three parts: cables of line, modems, and controllers. Coaxial cables or telephone lines carry the data. Modems (MOdulators/DEModulators) translate telephone signals into computer signals, and vice versa. Communications controllers control the sending and receiving of data.

4. Forty years ago computer systems consisted only of the first three elements: hardware, software, and personnel. Since that time, however, new kinds of systems, which require communications equipment as well as the other three components, have been developed. This change has occurred for two reasons. First, computer hardware has become more powerful and hence can support more users at one time. Second, software for controlling the input and output of data for many users has been developed.

Batch Systems

5. One way of looking at computer systems is to divide them into batch and on-line systems. In a batch system all transactions in a business are periodically gathered together and fed into the machine for processing all at once. As an example, let’s consider a payroll system for a factory. At the beginning of each workday, workers record the time they start work on a timecard; they put their cards into a time clock and “punch in”. At the end of the day, they “punch out”. At the end of the week, all the cards are collected and taken to the data entry room of the factory’s computer center. Here all the data for all the workers is put into a file on a disk. Later that day a computer operator runs the payroll program, using the information contained on the disk file. The payroll program calculates each worker’s total pay along with any deductions, for example, taxes, payments to retirement funds, and so on. It also calculates the worker’s net pay. Finally, checks and a report listing all the checks are printed. Such systems usually consist of just three main components: hardware, software, and personnel. Until the late 1960s, almost all computer systems were this kind of batch system.

On-line systems

6. Recently, however, many on-line systems have been built. In an on-line system transactions are entered into the machine one at a time for processing. Such a system is called a transaction-driven system, because each new transaction causes a complete input/processing/output cycle to occur*. Consider for example an airline reservation system. When you call a travel agent to make an airplane reservation, the agent types your request into a terminal (an input/output device). The airline reservation program then searches a large file, which contains lists of all available seats on the upcoming flights, and responds with the answer in a short time – usually less than five seconds. If there is a seat available, the agent then types in your name, address, and telephone number, and the program assigns you a seat on the flight you’ve chosen. At the same time, it reduces the number of available seats by one.

Centralized and Distributed Systems

7. Another way of thinking about computer systems is to divide them into centralized and distributed systems. A centralized system is located in one place. A distributed system is located in several places. Distributed systems require elaborate communications equipment, whereas centralized systems do not.

8. The payroll system described above is a centralized system. All the computers and data processing personnel are located in one place, the computer center. Personal computers can also be classified as centralized systems. All the necessary hardware, software, and personnel for the system are located at the user’s desk.

9. A distributed system usually has a computer center, where the company’s largest computers and important corporate information are kept. In addition, there are additional machines in different places. These machines can be simple machines for just input and output, or they can be smaller computers. An airline reservation system is an example of a distributed system.

Notes:

*…каждая новая транзакция вызывает появление полного цикла…

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

1. Users of computers, such as clerks, salespeople, and managers, are part of the computer system.

2. Communications is a major component of centralized systems.

3. A point-of-sale terminal is usually very near the main computer.

4. Computer hardware in new systems can support more users because it has become more powerful.

5. In on-line system transactions are periodically gathered and fed into the machine at once.

6. A batch system can be centralized or distributed.

7. An on-line system is the best for department stores because sales results can be seen immediately.

8. Centralized systems require elaborate communications equipment.

9. Systems used for airline reservations are usually distributed, online systems.

10. Most personal computers are batch, centralized systems.

Task 5. Answer the questions about the text.

1. Why is communications a major component of most systems today?

2. What is the major difference between batch and on-line systems in the processing of transactions?

3. What two groups make up the personnel of the computer system? Briefly describe each group.

4. What is the main purpose of this chapter?

Task 6. Using the line references given, look back in the text and find the words with a similar meaning to:

comprise (paragraph 1)

sellers (paragraph 2)

simultaneously (paragraph 4)

assignments (paragraph 5)

appoint (paragraph 6)

diminish (paragraph 6)

developed in detail (paragraph 6)

common (paragraph 9)

Task 7. Fill in the blanks in the sentences using the following verbs. (Bear in mind that most of them are interchangeable.) You will need to change the form of some of the verbs.

a) to be composed of;

b) to consist of;

c) to comprise;

d) to be made up of;

e) to be made of;

f) to make up;

g) to constitute;

h) to form;

i) to comprise.

1. A centralized computer _____1_____ hardware, software, and personnel.

2. A distributed computer system _____2_____ hardware, software, personnel, and communications.

3. Usually the communications equipment for a computer system _____3_____ cables or phone lines, modems, and controllers.

4. Hardware, software, and personnel _____4_____ the typical computer system 40 years ago.

5. A system group _____5_____ programmers, operators, and managers.

6. Hardware, software, personnel, and communications _____6_____ the large, distributed systems today.

7. The mainframe business still _____7_____ the largest part of the computer industry. The microcomputer business, however, _____8_____ the fastestgrowing part of the industry.

8. An integrated circuit _____9_____ silicon or germanium.

Task 8. Make up sentences which express the relationship of the parts given in columns. You may use the verbs given in Task 7.

1) second-generation computer

2) distributed computer systems

3) programs

4) inputting data and making

5) communications equipment

6) first-generation circuits

7) computer systems (forty years ago)

8) operating the computer and writing new programs

9) third-generation circuits

a) integrated circuits circuits

b) groups of instructions

c) user group activities

d) cables, modems, and controllers

e) hardware, software, and requests for changes personnel

f) solid-state transistors

g) systems group activities (the major part)

h) hardware, software, personnel and communications

i) vacuum tubes

Task 9. Use most (but not all) of the following words to fill in the blanks in the paragraph.

a) personnel

b) electronic machine

c) modem

d) personal computers

e) information systems group

f) hardware

g) computer operator

h) software

i) on-line

j) programmer

Lucchesi Brothers, a wholesale cosmetics firm, recently bought a small minicomputer system. The _____1_____ for the system consisted of a used PDP-11 minicomputer. _____2_____ for the system included inventory, payroll, and other accounting programs. Mr. Frank Lucchesi, the president of the company, wants to modify the programs to make them more suitable to his firm. He doesn’t have a big enough company for an _____3_____, so he wants to hire a _____4_____ to change the programs. He plans to train his nephew Buddie as a _____5_____ to run the machines.

Task 10. Work in pairs, A and B, using the information in the advertisement given below.

Student A: You are a customer interested in the Netplan Eazy Kit. Before deciding whether to buy it, ask questions to find out:

a) what you need in order to use the Netplan Eazy Kit.

b) the total number of PCs you can run on.

c) the cost of adding additional PCs.

d) how difficult it is to install.

e) what software it runs.

f) the other features offered.

Student B: You represent the makers of the Netplan Eazy Kit. Make notes about the features of the product. Answer any questions and try to encourage the customer to buy it.

Advertisement:

Netplan Eazy Kit for as little as $1060

If your idea of sharing software is looking over a colleague’s shoulder, then Netplan may have the ideal solution. To benefit from a network you only need two PCs.

The Netplan Eazy Kit costs just $1060 and gives you all the hardware, software, and cabling you need to link two PCs. And for $400 per PC you can extend the network to up to six users. With Netplan Eazy even the smallest business can save time, money, and effort.

Extra efficiency

The Netplan Eazy Kit allows PCs to share the same data and software without having to copy and transfer disks. So whether you’re dealing with customer enquiries or updating accounts, you can do it from the same machine. You can even send messages from one PC to another by e-mail.

Netplan Eazy will also save you money on expensive resources like printers.

It’s so easy

If you can use a screwdriver, you can install Netplan Eazy yourself. That’s all it takes. And once installed, it runs on all popular software.

We also offer our customers unlimited access to our Freephone Helpline as part of the package. So why wait? Contact your nearest Netplan dealer today. Details are on the back cover of this magazine.

Task 11. Translate text 2 into Russian.

Text 2. Online Services

I'm frequently asked which online service is "best", but the answer is there no best. Rating a particular service over another is entirely subjective. Price is important to some people, while the number of files available for download is important for others. Because of these and so many other different judgments, there can be no absolute. It all comes down to individual needs and preferences.

Still, users tend to be fiercely loyal to their "home" online service – which is usually the first online service they ever used. They tend to charge all other online services based on their first service – often preventing themselves from seeing the advantages of a specific service. For my part, I like all the services I use and I'm on two dozen.

Each offers one or more products or features that either do not exit elsewhere or are superior to the same features on other services. And I've a really subjective reason for being on one service – I use it to send monthly articles to magazines in Japan.

So, the real answer to the question is simple: the best online service is the service that has what you want and is easy for you to use. The point? Keep an open mind* when checking out** an online service. Judge is based on what it offers and how it meets your needs – not in comparison to what you're used to using. (It takes a couple of sessions to shake preconceived notions of what an online service should be.)

Eventually, we're all going to be interlinked, no matter which service we use, in what DIALOG's Richard Ream calls a "network of networks".

Until then, most of us have to go to more than one service to find everything we need.

And now the news ...

What's new on-line

BIX

NAB Book Online: You've probably seen magazine ads for The Computer Book Club and The Computer Professionals' Book Society. These are sponsored by TAB Books. This division of McGraw-Hill (BIX's parent company) is now online on BIX, taking orders and answering questions from members and prospective members. The club conference is moderated*** by typing JOIN TAB.BOOK.CLUBS.

CompuServe

Dell Computer Forum: Dell Computer Corporation has opened a product support area on CompuServe. The Dell area is part of the PC Vendor D Forum. Type GO DELL or GO PCVEND to take a look.

Minitel Link to CompuServe

CompuServe bolstered its position in Europe by making some of its services available via France's national Minitel system in July. French Minitel users have access to an extra-cost service that is essentially a "limited edition", English-language version of CompuServe. Among the services available are software and database downloads. E-mail and message-base posting are not available to Minitel users.

Notes:

* Keep an open mind. – зд. Будьте начеку.

** when examining – при изучении

*** is moderated – управляется

Task 12. Fill in the gaps in this summary of the first part of text 2. Each clue is an anagram. The first and last letters are correct.

In my opinion, there is no single "best" online service. The choice depends on your _____1_____ (prltacuair) needs and preferences. Most users have their own _____2_____ (ftrvaioue), but this can prevent them from seeing the _____3_____ (agtvndaaes) of other services. Each one offers something which is either _____4_____ (uqinue) to that service, or which is _____5_____ (bteetr) than the same features on other services. So, when considering an online service, decide whether its features _____6_____ (cosrernopd) to what you need. Until all services are_____7_____(iiktneernd), most of us will need to _____8_____(cunoitne) using more than one.

Task 13. Translate text 3 from Russian into English.

Text 3. IBM берёт на себя заботу об электронной коммерции

В мае корпорация IBM представила единую платформу для проведения транзакций по кредитным карточкам через Internet. Она использует новый протокол защиты данных, разработанный ведущими компаниями в области компьютеров и операций с кредитными карточками.

"Пользователи опасаются передавать информацию о кредитных карточках через World-Wide Web, поэтому нужно найти способ защитить её, заявил Террилл Джонс, президент Sabre Interactive, отделения Sabre Group компании AMR (Даллас). – На наш взгляд, SET является наилучшим решением. Чем скорее будет внедрена эта технология и создано ПО на её основе, тем лучше".

По словам представителей IBM, система NetCommerce включает клиентские приложения на базе программы просмотра и два сервера: один для торговых компаний, другой – для банков.

Одно клиентское приложение выполняет роль "бумажника" для хранения нескольких форм электронных цифровых кредитных карточек. Как сообщил Марк Грин, вице-президент по электронной коммерции отделения Internet Division корпорации IBM, "бумажник", основанный на протоколе SET и продукте Joint Electronic Payment Initiative, будет функционировать как дополнение к программе просмотра.

Сервер для торговых компаний работает на верхнем уровне нового защищённого Web-сервера, также выпущенного IBM в начале мая и входящего в комплект приложений Software Servers.

NetCommerceServer включает средства для построения, развёртывания, обслуживания, управления и составления каталогов электронного магазина.

Это ПО будет также маршрутизировать в банки поступающие SET-транзакции для их обработки и оплаты.

Предназначенный для обслуживания платежей сервер Gateway из комплекта NetCommerce обеспечит связь банков с торговыми системами через Internet.

Коммерческий выпуск NetCommerce начнётся сразу же после принятия стандарта SET, по-видимому, к третьему кварталу этого года. В мае началось бета-тестирование этого продукта.

На выставке Internet World корпорация IBM представила также

• коммерческую версию службы InfoMarket, предназначенной для распределения содержимого и осуществления платежей, в которой применена технология защиты данных под названием Cryptolopes;

• новые функции, включённые в онлайновую бизнес-службу infoSage;

• планы выпуска коммерческой версии Web Object Manager, который уже использовался в работе Web-узла летних Олимпийских игр в Атланте.

Notes:

кредитные карточки – bank cards;

приложения – applications;

программа просмотра – viewer;

бумажник – wallet;

развёртывание – deployment.

UNIT 4. Computer Hardware

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.

Storage – запоминающее устройство (ЗУ);

secondary storage – второстепенное ЗУ;

processing cycle – цикл обработки;

memory – память;

terminal – терминал, оконечное устройство;

central processing unit (CPU) – центральный процессор;

video display terminal (VDT) – видеотерминал;

keypunch machine – перфоратор;

card reader – устройство считывания (ввода) с перфокарт;

card punch – карточный перфоратор;

keyboard – клавишный пульт, клавиатура;

store, v – запоминать, хранить;

file – файл;

control unit – блок управления;

logic – логический узел;

core memory – оперативная память (память на магнитных сердечниках);

tape drive – накопитель на (магнитной) ленте;

disk drive – дисковод, накопитель на дисках;

hard disk – жесткий диск;

floppy disk – гибкий диск;

access – доступ;

mode – режим;

random mode – произвольный режим;

line printer – построчно-печатающее устройство;

peripheral devices – периферийные устройства.

Task 2. Discuss the following questions.

1. A computer works by taking input, processing it, and giving output. You might compare this to using a calculator or putting a key in a lock. (What are the input, processing, and output steps for these two examples?) Can you think of other common examples of processing cycle?

2. A CRT is a television screen which receives information from a computer. In the near future CRTs will be common office equipment. Suppose you were a manager or a professional (for example, an engineer). Would you prefer to have your own CRT or to have someone else in the office – for example, a secretary – use it for you?

3. Very soon banks will probably start offering “debit cards” to their customers. These cards allow you to buy things without checks and cash. When you use one, the amount of your purchase is immediately taken from your bank account. In a sense, the output of the system is out of your sight and out of your control. Would you participate in such a system?

Task 3. Read the text for details.

Text 1. The Types of Computer Hardware

1. Computer hardware can be divided into several types: input, processing, output, and secondary storage. The first three are related to the basic functions in the processing cycle. The fourth is used to increase the memory of the central processing unit. The following table summarizes the kinds of computer hardware and their use in batch and on-line systems.

Computer Hardware

| Input | Processing | Output | Secondary Storage
Batch | Keypunch and Card Reader Terminal | CPU | Line Printer (Card Punch) | Tape Drive Disk Drive
On-line | Terminal (CRT, VDT) | CPU | Terminal Line Printer | Disk Drive (Hard and Floppy Disks)

Input Devices

2. Input hardware is used to put data into the computer. Originally in a batch system there were two main types of input devices, keypunch machines and card readers. Keypunch machines were used for punching holes, which represent data, in computer cards. After cards were punched, they were placed in a card reader which translated the information in the punches into electrical signals and sent these signals to the central processing unit (CPU). Although keypunch machines and card readers are still sometimes used, the main input device in a batch system as well as an online system is the terminal. There are many different kinds of terminals, but the one we see most often, which has a typewriterlike keyboard and televisionlike screen, is called a cathode ray tube (CRT) or video display terminal (VDT). Information is sent directly from the terminal’s keyboard to the CPU. In an on-line system, the information is processed immediately. In a batch system, information is stored in a data file for later processing.

Central Processing Unit

3. The CPU, the heart of the computer system, is divided into three parts, or units: control, logic, and memory. The control unit is the part of the CPU which handles the movement of data into and out of the CPU. It also assigns places, or addresses, for the data while it is in the CPU. The logic unit, which is also called the arithmetic unit, handles such things as calculations (addition, subtraction, and so on) and comparisons (greater than, less than, equal to). The memory or storage unit holds data and programs which the computer system needs during its operations. The power and usefulness of a computer is usually determined by the size of its core memory, that is, its CPU memory.

Secondary Storage Devices

4. Secondary storage devices increase the usefulness of the system by increasing the memory of the system. Secondary storage devices are not as fast as core memory, but they are cheaper. There are two main kinds of secondary storage devices – tape drives and disk drives. Tape drives resemble reel-to-reel tape recorders in their design and operation. They are the cheapest, but also the slowest, form of computer memory. Disk drives are faster but also more expensive. Disks somewhat resemble phonograph records.

5. Tape drives can only read, or access, data sequentially; that is, in order to find a particular item in a file, each item in the file must be examined in order until the desired item is found. Disk drives, however, can access data in either a sequential or a random mode. In a random search the computer goes directly to the one record it wants. Thus, a disk drive is much faster than a tape drive. It is for this reason that the disk drives are used in an on-line system.*

6. The one key disadvantage of disk storage is cost. It is considerably more expensive than tape. Fortunately, disk technology has become much cheaper in the last years. There are two types of disks being applied: hard disks, which are more expensive and which are used primarily in large computer systems; and floppy disks or diskettes, which are quite cheap (under $500 for a disk drive, and about $5 for an empty diskette) and which are quite common with microcomputer systems.

7. Another form of secondary storage which may become important in computer systems is the optical disk. An optical disk stores data in the form of tiny holes on its surface; these holes are then read by a laser. An optical disk can store much more information than disk memory, and it is particularly useful for storing visual images.

Output Devices

8. There are several kinds of output devices. In batch systems the chief output device is the line printer, a machine which prints typewriter characters (for example, numbers and letters) onto paper. In some specialized batch systems, for example, a billing system, you might also find a card punch serving as an output device. In an on-line system there are two important output devices – the terminal screen and the printer. The terminal screen can give users information they have requested; if they need a paper copy (a “hard copy”) of that information, they can have the information output on the printer. Recently printers have been developed which can draw pictures. These graphics printers are part of systems which have been developed to handle data visually.

9. Input, secondary storage, and output devices form a general class of hardware called peripheral devices. These devices are called peripheral because they usually surround and serve CPU, the main device. Input and output devices are also more generally