9. Dramatize the dialogue. And say what you have learned from it.
Today I’ve learned very interesting information.
What is it?
It is the science of museum.
-Really? Where is it? I have never heard about it?
It is in Great Britain. I saw it on TV.
And what is it famous for?
The first computer invented by Charles Babbage in 1833 is still in the museum. It is very big. It occupies the whole room. It was necessary to use a ladder in order to operate it. Do you know the size of the first computer?
I do not remember exactly but I know that it was huge.
Surely. It was 2 meters tall and 3 meters wide.
Oh, it is really interesting. Nothing in common with modern computer.
10. Speak on the development of electronics in our country.
Unit 4.
COMMUNICATION with COMPUTER.
Read the dialogue and discuss with your friends the main parts of electronic computers and their designation. A talk
Pete: This time we’ll talk about computing machines.
A n n: Again about electronic instruments?
Pete: Yes, Ann, electronics, indeed, penetrates into every branch of the national economy. Don’t you know, Ann, that the first automatic electronic train driver in the world has been constructed in Moscow?
Ann: Who doesn’t know about it, Pete. Electronic instruments are widely used in metallurgy too. They help investigators to reveal the mysteries of the structure of matter.
Pete: The Soviet industry manufactures a variety of computing machines to assist doctors, economists, geologists and others.
A n n: I heard that electronic machines can calculate designs of planes, help fishermen to have a big catch.
Pete: Right you are, Ann, we have a variety of computing machines capable to accomplish a wide range of operations.
Ann: Pete, what are the main parts the electronic computer consist of?
Pete: I don't know much about it. But still I can name the main parts of a computer. Any computer consists of five main parts.
A n n: What are they?
Pete: The first part is an arithmetic unit.
Ann: How fast can it operate, Pete?
Pete: Thousands of mathematical operations per second.
A n n: I see. It can operate at a very high speed.
P e t e: The second part of a computer is the store of “memory".
Ann: Memory?
Pete: Yes, Ann, it can hold large amounts of data and instructions and they must be automatically extracted from memory as they are needed. -
Ann: It means that the “memory” holds the numbers which form the initial data.
Pete: Well, and instructions too. The third part of a computer is a “control" unit.
A n n: What does this unit perform?
Pete: It takes the coded instructions in the correct sequence and
causes them to be obeyed. There are many different types of codes. Inside the machine the numbers and instructions are stored as electronic pulses, small magnetic dipoles in magnetic materials or in some similar manner. A problem must be fed into the machine. Ann: And what is the fourth part?
Pete: The fourth is the unit which does this and is called the "input”. It consists of a reader which can convert information. Information may be punched either on cards or on paper tape into the pulse form. The fifth part of the machine is an output unit by means of which final answers are communicated.
Ann: Thank you very much, Pete.