Unit eight

• Grammar: Participle II (§ 14).

Degrees of Comparison.

• Word-formation: Prefixes de-, re-

• Individual Work: Lab Work "Participle II".

LESSON ONE

Pre-text Exercises

I. Practise the reading of the following words:

device [dɪ'vaɪs], to devise [dI'vaIz], digital ['dɪʤɪtl] , precision [prI'sɪʒn], design [dI'zaɪn], equation [I'kweɪZn], mainframe ['meɪnfreɪm], bubble [bʌbl], hardware ['ha:dweə(r)], tremendous [trq'mendəs], software ['sPftweq(r)]

II. Make sure if you can read these words correctly and say what words in the Russian language help you to guess their meaning:

computer, mathematician, mechanical, algebra, logician, coded, formulating, symbolically, differential, analyzer, program, cylindrically, transistor, production, electronic, miniaturization, technology, integrated, efficient, magnetic, information, packed, scale.

III. a) Give the initial forms of the following words:

scientists, invented, calculating, devices, developed, formulating, advances, introduced, units, stores, computing, shaped, circuits, names, capacities, devised, machines, designing;

b) Give the initial words of the following derivatives:

invention, development, mechanical, notable, digital, symbolically, faster, production, electronic, researcher, earlier, storage, magnetic, densely, equipment.

IV. a) Form verbs adding the prefixes a) de– and b) re– to the given verbs and translate them:

Example: a) to code – кодировать b) to colour – красить

to decode – декодировать to recolour – перекрашивать

a ) to compose, to couple, to generate, to activate, to tune, to magnetize, to polarize, to energize, to excite, to clutch, to camp, to carbonize, to frost, to control, to mount, to form;

b) to arm, to arrange, to consider, to count, to cover, to model, to construct, to name, to equip, to build, to make, to move, to organize, to place, to produce, to distribute, to measure, to create, to use.

V. Make sure if you remember the meaning of the following verbs. Consult a dictionary:

to calculate, to invent, to continue, to provide, to propose, to result (in), to enable, to design, to store, to contain, to undertake, to complete, to need, to prove, to expect.

VI. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying attention to the degrees of comparison.

A. 1. This classroom is larger and lighter than other classrooms. It is the largest and the lightest room here. 2. Mathematics is more important for technical students than many other subjects. 3. Lesson 3 is much easier than lesson 4. 4. This article is much more interesting than that one. 5. Exercise 10 is the most difficult one. 6. This instrument is more efficient than the other one. 7. This town is as large as that one. 8. These engines are not so powerful as those motors. 9. The speed of our first sputniks was as big as 11 kilometres per second.

B. 1. The nearer the earth, the denser the atmosphere. 2. The higher the voltage, the higher is the electron velocity. 3. The bigger the mass, the bigger the weight of the body. 4. The higher the temperature, the more rapid is the motion of the molecules. 5. The greater the number of free electrons in a substance, the better this substance conducts electricity.

VII. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the functions of Participle II:

1. The discovery mentioned remained unknown to most scientists for a long time. 2. The equipment tested required further improvement. 3. When passed through a motor, electric current can do work. 4. The students have conducted all the experiments. 5. These instruments recorded the cosmic rays and the information obtained was sent back by the radar to the ground. 6. When heated, a magnet loses some of its magnetism. 7. The results received changed with material used. 8. Unless repaired, this part cannot be used in the radio set. 9. The substances investigated showed quite interesting properties. 10. When developed, the device was used for amplification of radio signals. 11. The developed technology enables us to improve the quality of articles produced. 12. The first laser was developed in 1960. 13. The methods introduced received general recognition. 14. If frozen, water becomes ice. 15. The device used in our work is up-to-date. 16. The apparatus tested is looked upon as an experimental one. 17. When required, these data will be applied in our practical work. 18. The investigation analyzed resulted in an interesting discovery.

VIII.Match up the words which are opposite in meaning:

1. fast, expensive, early, high, tremendous;

2. low, late, tiny, cheap, slow.

IX. Listen to the following tape-recorded lexical programme. Try to memorize all word-groups:

■ mechanical calculating machine – механическая счетная машина ■ digital computer – цифровой компьютер ■ analog computer – аналоговый компьютер ■ analytical engine – аналитическая машина ■ sequence of instructions – последовательность инструкций (команд) ■ logical statement – логическое утверждение ■ in a way similar to – способом, подобным чему-л. ■ differential analyzer – дифференциальный анализатор ■ to make an important contribution to – внести важный вклад в ■ solid-state device – твердотельное устройство ■ the continued miniaturization – продолжавшаяся миниатюризация ■ integrated circuit – интегральная схема ■ high-speed mainframe – быстродействующая (универсальная) вычислительная машина ■ tremendous memory capacities – огромные емкости памяти ■ auxiliary storage equipment – вспомогательное запоминающее оборудование (устройство) ■ bubble – цилиндрический магнитный домен (ЦМД) ■ magnetic bubble unit – устройство на цилиндрических магнитных доменах ■ semiconductorlike chip – кристалл полупроводникового типа ■ a very large-scale integrated circuit (VLSI) – сверхбольшая интегральная схема (СБИС) ■ to devise hardware and software – изобретать аппаратные и программные средства (обеспечение).

LESSON TWO

I. Before reading text A say what you know about computers.

II. Study text A. Try to understand all details. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Text A

The Development of the Computer

1. The inventions and ideas of many mathematicians and scientists led to the development of the computer. The first mechanical calculating machines were invented during the 1600's. One of the more notable of these devices was built in 1642 by the French mathematician and scientist Blaise Pascal.

2. During the 1830's, an English mathematician named Charles Babbage developed the idea of a mechanical digital computer. He tried to construct a machine called an analytical engine. The machine contained the basic elements of an automatic computer and was designed to perform complicated calculations according to a sequence of instructions. However, the technology of Babbage's time was not advanced enough to provide the precision parts needed to complete the machine.

3. Another important contribution to the development of the computer was made in the mid-1800's by George Boole, an English logician and mathematician. Boole devised a system of formulating logical statements symbolically so that they could be written and proved in a way similar to that of ordinary algebra.

4. In 1930 the first reliable analog computer was built. This machine, called a differential analyzer, solved differential equations.

5. During the 1940's, John Von Neumann, an American mathematician, introduced an idea that improved computer design. He proposed that programs could be coded as numbers and stored with data in a computer's memory.

6. The invention of the transistor in 1947 and of related solid-state devices during the 1950's and 1960's resulted in the production of faster and more reliable electronic computers. The new machines also were smaller and less expensive than earlier models.

7. The continued miniaturization of electronic equipment during the late 1960's and 1970's led to further advances in computer technology. The development of the integrated circuit enabled engineers to design both minicomputers and high-speed mainframes with tremendous memory capacities.

8. Researchers are seeking ways to improve memories and auxiliary storage equipment. They expect to produce an efficient magnetic bubble unit, which is faster and cheaper to operate than mechanical tape or disk units. A magnetic bubble unit is a semiconductorlike chip that stores data in tiny, cylindrically shaped areas called bubbles. Up to a million bits of information can be stored in one bubble unit.

9. Scientists are also working to increase computing speed by designing circuits that are even more densely packed and closer together. One proposed device, called a very large-scale integrated circuit (VLSI), contains hundreds of thousands of transistors and other parts. Projects also are being undertaken to devise hardware and software enabling a computer to understand ordinary speech.

III. Say whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Charles Babbage developed the idea of an electronic digital computer. 2. George Boole devised a system of formulating logical statements symbolically. 3. The invention of the transistor in 1947 resulted in the production of faster and more reliable electronic computers. 4. Scientists are also working to decrease computing speed.

IV. Answer the following questions on paragraphs 1 and 2:

1. What did the inventions and ideas of many mathematicians and scientists lead to? 2. When were the first mechanical calculating machines invented? 3. Who developed the idea of a mechanical digital computer? 4. The technology of Babbage's time was not advanced enough, was it?

V. Find the place in paragraph 3 containing the information about Boole's invention. Share this information with your group-mate.

VI. In paragraphs 5 and 6 find the English equivalents of the following words:

вводить; улучшать (усовершенствовать); конструкция (проект); предлагать; хранить; данные (информация); изобретение; устройство (прибор); кончаться, иметь (своим) результатом; производство; надежный; дорогой (дорогостоящий).

VII. Translate paragraphs 7 and 8 into Russian.

VIII. Read paragraph 9 and say how scientists are working to increase computing speed.

IX. Write out of the text the words and word combinations for describing advances in computer technology.

10. Fill in the boxes of the logical diagram with the Russian equivalents of the following words:

to be designed

mechanical calculating machine

electronic computer

minicomputers and high-speed mainframes

mechanical digital computer

a system of formulating logical statements symbolically

magnetic bubble unit

a very large – scale integrated circuit

analog computer

XI. Divide text A into logical parts and find the topical sentences in each part.

XII. Speak about the development of computers using the topical sentences and words from the logical diagram.