Writing
Instructions and advice
Get an adjustable chair Don't put your monitor in front of a window
You should look down at the monitor, not up. You shouldn't use a monitor that's fuzzy or distorts the image. |
Exercise 20. Write down instructions of how to use a printer and how to print a page in a word processing application. Be sure you follow the rules mentioned in the box below.
Unit 6 Input devices reading and comprehension
Exercise 1. Read the text. Answer the questions.
Text 1
Input devices
Input devices, as the name suggests, are used to put in, or enter, data. One of the most important input devices is the keyboard. Users can type in text using the keyboard, or can enter keyboard commands .
Like the mouse, the keyboard is a means of interacting with your computer. You really only need to use the keyboard when you're typing text. Most of the keys on the keyboard are laid out like the keys on a typewriter. But there are some special keys like Esc (Escape), Ctrl (Control), and Alt (Alternate). There are also some keys across the top of the keyboard labeled F1, F2, F3, and so forth. Those are called the function keys, and the exact role they play depends on which program you happen to be using at the moment.
M
ost
keyboards also have a numeric
keypad
with the keys laid out like the keys on a typical adding machine. If
you're accustomed to using an adding machine, you might want to use
the numeric keypad, rather than the numbers across the top of the
keyboard, to type numbers. It doesn't really matter which keys you
use. The numeric keypad is just there as a convenience to people who
are accustomed to adding machines.
Figure 1
Most keyboards also contain a set of navigation keys. You can use the navigation keys to move around through text on the screen. The navigation keys won't move the mouse pointer. Only the mouse moves the mouse pointer.
On smaller keyboards where space is limited, such as on a notebook computer, the navigation keys and numeric keypad might be one in the same. There will be a Num Lock key on the keypad. When the Num Lock key is "on", the numeric keypad keys type numbers. When the Num Lock key is "off", the navigation keys come into play. The Num Lock key acts as a toggle. Which is to say, when you tap it, it switches to the opposite state. For example, if Num Lock is on, tapping that key turns it off. If Num Lock is off, tapping that key turns Num Lock on.
Those mysterious Ctrl and Alt keys are often used in combination with other keys to perform some tasks. We often refer to these combination keystrokes as shortcut keys, because they provide an alternative to using the mouse to select menu options in programs. Shortcut keys are always expressed as: key1+key2 where the idea is to hold down key1, tap key2, then release key1. For example, to press Ctrl+Esc hold down the Ctrl key (usually with your pinkie), tap the Esc key, then release the Ctrl key. To press Alt+F you hold down the Alt key, tap the letter F, then release the Alt key.
Another device which can be used to input data is a scanner. This electronic device is used to transfer an image such as text, or pictures, into the computer. It is possible to scan in any image, store it and view it on the screen.
A scanner is a peripheral that reads images and converts them into electronic codes which can be understood by a computer. There are different types.
A flatbed is built like a photocopier and is for use on a desktop; it can capture text, colour images and even small 3D objects.
A film scanner is used to scan film negatives or 35 mm slides - pictures on photographic film, mounted in a frame.
A hand-held scanner is small and T-shaped, ideal to capture small pictures and logos. Barcode scanners read barcodes on the products sold in shops and send the price to the computer in the cash register. Barcodes consist of a series of black and white stripes used to give products a unique identification number
A pen scanner looks like a pen; you can scan text, figures, barcodes and handwritten numbers.
The resolution of a scanner is measured in dpi or dots per inch. For example, a 1,200 dpi scanner gives clearer, more detailed images than a 300 dpi scanner.
Most scanners come with Optical Character Recognition software. OCR allows you to scan pages of text and save them into your word processor; they can then be edited.
Another way to input data is to use a microphone (in the case of audio data, such as speech or music), or when using voice recognition software to dictate to a word-processing program, for example. Digital cameras and MP3 players are also commonly used to input data.
A digital camera doesn't use film. Photos are stored as digital data (bits made up of 1s and 0s), usually on a flash memory card. You can connect the camera or memory card to a PC and then alter the images using a program like Adobe Photoshop, or you can view the images on a TV set. Many printers have a special socket so that you can print images directly from a memory card or camera.
A camcorder, or digital video camera, records moving pictures and converts them into digital data that can be stored and edited by a computer with special video editing software. Digital video cameras are used by home users to create their own movies or by professionals in computer art or video conferencing. They are also used to send life video images via the Internet. In this case they are called web cameras or webcams.
/Alan Simpson “English for IT and the Internet’/
What input devices do you know?
What is a keyboard? What do we use it for?
What types of keys can you name? What do we use them for?
Can we use the keyboard instead of mouse?
How can we use the shortcut keys?
What is a scanner? What types of scanners do you know?
What are the characteristics of a scanner?
What is a microphone can be used for?
What is the difference between a digital camera and a camcorder?
What is web camera? When can we use it?
Exercise 2. Give Russian equivalents for the words and word combinations from the text.
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Exercise 3. Complete the sentences using the information from the text
Input devices are used to …
The keyboard is …
There are some special keys…
The Function keys are the keys laid … .
The exact role that the function keys play depends … .
Most keyboards also have a numeric … .
You can use the navigation … .
When the Num Lock key is “on”, … .
When the Num Lock is off… .
Shortcut keys are always expressed as: … .
A scanner is an electronic device used to … .
There are different types of scanners. They are … .
The resolution of the scanner is … .
OCR stands … .
A digital camera is used to … .
A camcorder can be used to… .
Exercise 4. Read the text. Answer the questions.