Ex. 8 Say what is the first thing you think of when you hear the word computer.

Ex. 9 Explain the meaning of the computer’s memory.

Ex. 10 Prove that computer helps us to solve different problems.

Ex. 11  Discuss the text according to the points:

1. The images of computer.

2. The meaning of the word data.

 3. Data processing.

4. Computer’s memory.

5. A microprocessor brain and memory.

IV Reading and comprehension.

Ex. 12 Read the text and translate it.

New words:

Electronics - електроніка

general usage – загальне використання

to be surrounded with – бути оточеним

built-in electronic devices – вбудовані електронні пристрої

purity - чистота

reliable - надійний

complete – завершити, доповнити

researcher - дослідник

 interference – втручання

silicon plate - кремнієва пластина

integrated circuit – інтегральна схема

 chip – кристалл

Computer Race

1. Today the word «electronics» is in general usage. Millions of people have electron watches. There are a lot of various radio and TV sets, video cassette recorders and CD players in our houses. In factories and plants we are surrounded with electronically controlled machines and instruments, we are carried by airplanes, ships, trains and cars with built-in electronic devices, and satellites circle the globe. In other words, we are living in an electronic world.

2. And the center of this world is a tiny silicon plate of a few square millimetres, an integrated circuit or a chip as it is more commonly known. The integrated circuit is undoubtedly one of the most sophisticated inventions of man, science and technology. It is in the heart of every electronic device and the more cassette recorders, TV sets and computers we need, the more integrated circuits are required.

3. When we speak about a further development of computers we mean not only quantity, but also high technology and high speed. As the operation of an integrated circuit depends on microscopic «components», the purity of all materials and the cleanness at the plant they are produced at must be of the highest quality. A continuous search is going on in laboratories throughout the world for more perfect, reliable and high speed electronic circuits.

4. In the past it took scientists and researchers a whole lifetime to make a few thousand calculations, whereas for a modern computer this task is a matter of a few seconds. At present computers capable of performing billions of operations a second are required. Supercomputers are different from ordinary computers. The ordinary computer does the computations operation by operation, while the supercomputer operates like a brain: all operations are being done simultaneously.

5. In the next few years engineers will complete the work on computers of above 2 billion operations a second. It will take a few more years to produce a 10-billion operations computer. The fifth-generation computers performing 100 billion operations a second will become available in the near future. Is there an end to this race? According to some researchers, we are close to what can be regarded as a true physical limit. But other specialists think that photons will make the operation a thousand times faster. This means that in the future it will be possible to expect the appearance of photon computers and that computations will be done by means of light. Light has several advantages over electronics: light beams are faster, travel in parallel lines and can pass through one another without interference.

 

Ex. 13  Find where the text describes the following. Put down the number of the paragraph:

1. Super computers are different from ordinary computers.

2. The heart of every electronic device.

3. The appearance of photon computers

4. General usage of the word “electronics”

Ex. 14 Find the synonyms to the following words in the text:

1. timepiece (1)

2. systematic knowledge (2)

3. be conditional (2)

4. the unit in the microelectronics (2)

5. carry out (4)

6. make (5)

7. process (4)

8. verify (1)

9. instrument (2)

Ex 15 Say if the following statements are true or false. Find them in the text:

1. The integrated circuit is undoubtedly one of the most sophisticated inventions of man, science and technology.

2. When we speak about a further development of computers we mean only quantity.

3. At present computers capable of performing millions of operations a second are required.

4. The ordinary computer does the computations simultaneously.

5. The supercomputer does the computations operation by operation.

Ex 16 Answer the following questions. Find answers in the text. Put down the number of the paragraph:

1. What circles the globe?

2. What is the difference between ordinary computers and supercomputers?

3. How many operations a second will the computer of the 5 th generation perform?

4. What are the advantages of light?

5. Is there an end to the computer race?

V Oral practice