The computer
1. Read the text quickly and match the headings (a-d) with the paragraph(1-4) a. Memory c. PCs and Notebooks b. Speed d. Hardware/Software
2. The CPU controls how fast the computer processes data, or information. We measure its speed in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). The higher the speed of the CPU is, the faster the computer will run. You can type letters and play computer games with a 500 MHz CPU. Watching movies on the Internet needs a faster CPU and a modem. 3. We measure the Random Access Memory (RAM) of the computer in megabytes (MB). RAM controls the performance of the computer when it is working and moves data to and from the CPU. Programs with a lot of graphics need a large RAM to run well. The hard disk stores data and software programs. We measure the size of the hard disk in gigabytes (GS). 4. Computer technology changes fast, but a desktop PC (Personal Computer) usually has a tower, a separate monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. The CPU, modem, CD-ROM and floppy disk drivers are usually inside the tower. A notebook is a portable computer with all these components inside one small unit. Notebooks have a screen, not a monitor, and are usually more expensive than desktops with similar specifications.
As with any problem-solving tool, you must understand the purposes for which computers can and cannot be used. What is the value of computers for you? Over the last decade, computers have become more powerful, easier to use, and less expensive. Thus, the effort required to apply computers in personal and professional pursuits is much simpler than it was a decade ago. Like all revolutionary technologies, such as electricity, telephones, and automobiles, computers have been embraced by individuals and organizations rather quickly. Thus, a certain amount of computer literacy is necessary to keep pace with rapid technological advances. Computers, although important, are not an end in themselves. They are simply tools. They are really nothing more than unusually fast and precise machines with an extraordinary ability to remember massive amount of details. The computer’s speciality is data processing, performing specific operations on data: adding, substracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers and comparing them and remembering them.These fundamental operations, conducted in countless combinations at tremendous speed, are the essence of all the computer’s enormously varied applications. The computer can thus answer some highly complex questions, although the human being must tell it what to do and how to do it. A computer is an electronic device that can accept input, process it according to a set of instructions, store the instructions and the results of processing, and produce results as its output. The facts, numbers, letters, and images input to a computer are called data. The instructions that carry out the processing are called computer programs of software. The output, intended for use and interpretation by people, is called information.
2. Answer the questions a. What is a computer? b. What do we call facts, numbers, letters, and images input to a computer? c. What do we call software? d. In what spheres are computers being used now? e. What is the computer’s speciality? f. What is the difference between data and information?
3. Translate into English a. Кульковий маніпулятор вбудовується в клавіатуру. b. Перехід у режим введення великих літер здійснюється натискуванням клавіші Shift. c. Натискування клавіші сприймається комп’ютером як вказівка приступити до виконання введеної команди. d. Принцип дії сканера ґрунтується на перетворенні зображення в електричні сигнали. e. У текстовому режимі на екран виводяться тільки символи, які закодовані кодами.
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1. The parts of a computer you can touch, such as the monitor or the Central Processing Unit (CPU) are hardware. All hardware except the CPU and the working memory are called peripherals. Computer programs are software. The operating system (OS) is software that controls the hardware. Most computers run the Microsoft Windows OS. MacOs and Linux are other operating systems.
What is a computer?
