Computers in our life

Nowadays, we cannot imagine our life without computers and the fact is that they have become so important that nothing can replace them. They seem to be everywhere today. Since 1948 when the first real computer has been invented our life has changed so much that we can call it real digital revolution.

First computers differed from today's ones. They were so big that they occupied whole rooms or buildings being relatively slow. They were not faster than modern simple watches or calculators. Nowadays they are also used by scientist and they may also be as big as the old ones but they are millions times faster. They can perform many complex operations simultaneously and scientist practically can't do without them. Thanks to them people have an access to various information. Gathering data has never been simpler than now. They are not only used in laboratories but also in factories to control production. Sometimes computers make other computers.

But not only in science and industry computers are being used. Thanks to them modern medicine can diagnose diseases faster and more thoroughly. Also in banking system computers have become irreplaceable. Furthermore, architects, designers and engineers can't imagine their work without computers. These machines are really everywhere and we depend on them also in such fields as criminology.

Moreover, computers are wide-spread in education. Except their classic tasks such as administration and accountancy they are used in process of learning. Firstly, they store data which help students to gain information. Secondly, thanks to special teaching techniques and programs they improve ours skills of gaining knowledge. They have become so popular that not knowing how to use them means to be illiterate.

Of course there is also dark side of computer technology because every invention brings us not only benefits but also threats.

Advantages:

1. Computers save storage place. Imagine how much paper would have to be used, how many trees would have to be cut just to store information which is today on hard disks, CDs, and memory cards.

2. Computers can calculate and process information faster and more accurate than a human.

3. Computers improve our office work

4. We can communicate with whole world very fast and cheap using the Internet.

5. Computers are user-friendly. We can watch videos and listen to the music having only a PC. We can also buy a laptop which is smaller, and use it outside anywhere we want.

Disadvantages:

1. Computers are dangerous to our health. Very often parents want to have a rest and don't draw enough attention to how long their children use computer.

2. Computers sometimes break down and you can lose your data. If you have the Internet connection you have to be particularly careful and download anti-virus programs.

3. Violence and sex. The main threat to younger users of computers is the Internet pornography and bloody games.

4. Another threat is that you can be computer addict.

Computers are practically irreplaceable and we can't make without them any more. They are everywhere: at our homes, schools, at work, in our cars.

TEXT 8

Read the text and decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. Hardware is known as something you can actually touch.

2. The pages and the ink of a book are the hardware analogy.

3. The main memory refers to physical memory that is internal to the computer.

4. There are two different types of memory: the main memory and the random access memory.

5. Devices which can be connected to the CPU are known as peripherals.

6. A keyboard is the most commonly used output device.

7. To display the processed data an input device is used.

8. Mass storage devices retain data even when the computer is turned off.