- •Unit 8 storage
- •II. Find the synonyms to the following words:
- •III. Read the text again and answer the following questions:
- •I. Read the text and complete it with the phrases below.
- •Main memory: ram and rom
- •II. So, there are three types of memory used by computers: ram, rom and secondary storage. Look through this list of features and decide which type of memory they refer to.
- •III. Put the statements into the right order.
- •IV. Read the text and find the following:
- •V. Read the text again and make notes about the features of cDs, dvDs and Blu-ray discs.
- •Optical discs and drives
- •VI. In pairs, look at the products in the computer catalogue and choose the most suitable device for the purposes (1-6). Give reasons for your choices.
- •Iomega portable hard drive
- •I. Flash memory is used in many handheld devices. Read the descriptions (1-6) of some of them.
- •II. Look at the title of the text. Why is it a suitable title for an article about flash memory? Read the first paragraph of the text to find out.
- •III. Read the whole text and answer these questions.
- •Memory in a flash!
- •I. Read the description of magnetic storage devices and find the following:
- •I. Read the text and decide whether these sentences are true or false.
- •II. Match these words (1-5) with the definitions (a-e).
- •I. Fill in the blanks with the suitable words.
- •II. Match the terms with their definitions.
- •IV. Match terms with their definitions:
- •V. Complete these sentences with words from the box.
- •VI. Say it one word.
II. Find the synonyms to the following words:
Memory; element; information; command; examination; character; quantity; number; place; computer architect; likeness.
To apply; to form; to move; to hold; to demand; to connect; to supply; to place; to name; to start; to examine.
Continuous; significant; consecutive; usual; enough; main; initial; general.
III. Read the text again and answer the following questions:
1. How is computer system organized?
2. What are the two main types of storage units?
3. What do they contain?
4. What is the function of a primary storage?
5. Why is primary storage often called memory?
6. In what respect does computer memory differ from human memory?
7. What are codes based on?
8. What is secondary storage and what is it used for?
Part 2 RAM and ROM
Exercises to the subject:
I. Read the text and complete it with the phrases below.
All the information stored in the RAM is temporary.
Microcomputers make use of two types of main memory.
ROM chips have “constant” information.
the size of RAM is very important.
Main memory: ram and rom
The main memory of a computer is also called the “immediate access store”, as distinct from any storage memory available on disks. (1) …
RAM and ROM, both contained in electronic chips connected to the main board of the computer.
RAM stands for “random access memory” and is the working area of the computer, that is, the basic location where the microprocessor stores the required information. It is called “random access” because the processor can find information in any cell or memory address with equal speed, instead of looking for the data in sequential order.
(2) … , so it is lost when the machine is turned off. Therefore, if we want to use this information later on, we have to save it and store it on a disk. When running an application, the microprocessor finds its location in the storage device (the floppy or hard disk) and transfers a temporary copy of the application to the RAM area. Consequently, (3) … if we want to increase the performance of a computer when several applications are open at the same time or when a document is very complex.
The RAM capacity can sometimes be expanded by adding extra chips. These are usually contained in single in-line memory modules or SIMMs, which are installed in the motherboard of the computer.
We can design a certain amount of RAM space as a cache in order to store information that an application uses repeatedly. A RAM cache may speed up our work, but it means that we need enough internal memory or a special cache card.
ROM is an acronym for “read only memory”, which implies that the processor can read and use the information stored in the ROM chip, but cannot put information into it. (4) …, including instructions and routines for the basic operations of the CPU. These instructions are used to start up the computer, to read the information from the keyboard, to send characters to the screen, etc. they cannot be changed and are not erased when the power is turned off. For this reason, the ROM section is also referred to as firmware.