Table 9.4

9.25.Change the following sentences into the past and future simple passive, as in the model.

Model: – Some interesting facts are generally reported at conferences.

–Some interesting facts were reported at our last conference.

–Some interesting facts will be reported at our next conference

Iexpect.

1.Some slides are generally shown during the discussions.

2.Some conclusions are generally given at the end of the paper.

3.Some conference papers are often followed by the discussions.

4.Some panel discussions are often organized.

5.Some outstanding scientists are usually invited to give review papers (or invited papers).

Table 9.5

Progressive Tenses (Passive)

be + being + Ved/3

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9.26.Translate the following sentences.

1.Much attention is being given at present to the development of international scientific cooperation.

2.The idea of conducting researches on the international level was being widely discussed at the scientific meeting when Mr. Brown came.

3.Some improvements are being introduced in the organization of research work in this country and abroad.

4.Much is being done to improve the conditions of the experiment.

5.The problem of training of college and university students for laboratory research is being discussed in numerous articles.

6.Intensive investigation is being carried out in the field of nuclear physics.

9.27.Change the following statements using passive structures, as in the model.

Model: – We have carried out a few experiments this week.

–A few experiments have been carried out this week.

1.We have recently undertaken a new program.

2.They had put forward a new idea by the end of the meeting.

3.They will have made an analysis of the data by next Monday.

4.They had held an important meeting by the end of the last week.

5.They had done an interesting research before they got the better results.

6.We have lately published a few papers on this problem.

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7.They have recently given some useful recommendations.

8.We have just given a few illustrative examples.

9.He has lately ignored this important fact.

10.They will have introduced some new measuring instruments by the beginning of the presentation of the new method.

9.28.Choose the right variant.

1.Этот дом строился, когда я вернулся в город.

9.29. Choose the correct variant.

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9.30. Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1.The latest surgical instruments were used during this unique operation.

2.Before the experiment the substances are mixed in a large cup.

3.The commission will consider this offer carefully.

4.This airplane crosses the Atlantic in 10 hours’ time.

5.My friend entered the University last year.

6.The letter will be sent in a day.

1.Next Monday we will be working only 5 hours.

2.The construction of the road was being completed when the commission arrived.

3.The new device is being tested in the laboratory.

4.I was doing my homework at 7 o’clock in the evening.

5.‘Where is John?’ ‘He is repairing his car.’

6.When I saw them, they were discussing the principal conclusions from the work.

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1.By that time we had already changed our plans.

2.The street has been widened.

3.He decided to become a writer when his first story had been published.

4.I have already done my report.

5.They will have finished their new project by the end of May.

6.The theatre will have been built by the beginning of the year.

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Unit 10. COMPUTERS

10.1.Read the following words and expressions and pay attention to their meanings.

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“the first digital electronic computer” is difficult (Shannon 1940). Notable achievements include:

·Konrad Zuse’s electromechanical “Z machines”. The Z3 (1941) was the first working machine featuring binary arithmetic, including floating point arithmetic and a measure of programmability. In 1998, the Z3 was proved to be Turing complete, therefore being the world’s first operational computer.

·The non-programmable Atanasoff–Berry Computer (1941) which used vacuum tube based computation, binary numbers, and regenerative capacitor memory.

·The secret British Colossus computer (1944), which had limited programmability but demonstrated that a device using thousands of tubes could be reasonably reliable and electronically reprogrammable. It was used for breaking German wartime codes.

·The Harvard Mark I (1944), a large-scale electromechanical computer with limited programmability.

·The US Army’s Ballistics Research Laboratory ENIAC (1946), which used decimal arithmetic and is sometimes called the first general purpose electronic computer (since Konrad Zuse’s Z3 of 1941 used electromagnets instead of electronics). Initially, however, ENIAC had an inflexible architecture which essentially required rewiring to change its programming.

Vacuum tube-based computers were in use throughout the 1950s, but were largely replaced in the 1960s by transistor-based devices, which were smaller, faster, and cheaper, used less power and were more reliable. These factors allowed computers to be produced on an unprecedented commercial scale. By the 1970s, the adoption of integrated circuit technology and the subsequent creation of microprocessors such as the Intel 4004 caused another leap in size, speed, cost and reliability. By the 1980s, computers had become sufficiently small and cheap to replace simple mechanical controls in domestic appliances such as washing machines. Around the same time, computers became widely accessible for personal use by individuals in the form of personal computers. In conjunction with the widespread growth of the Internet since the 1990s, personal computers are becoming as common as the television and the telephone and almost all modern electronic devices contain a computer of some kind.

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

1.It is difficult to define any device as the earliest computer.

2.Originally, the term “computer” referred to a machine which performed numerical calculations.

3.Joseph Marie Jacquard invented the first calculating machine.

4.In 1837, Charles Babbage actually built his Analytical Engine.

5.By the end of the 19th century the punched card, Boolean algebra, the vacuum tube and the teleprinter had begun to appear.

6.Analog computers didn’t use a direct electronical model of the problem.

7.Digital electronics was invented by Claude Shannon in 1937.

8.The US Army’s Ballistics Research Laboratory ENIAC used decimal arithmetic and is sometimes called the first general purpose electronic computer.

9.Vacuum tube-based computers were in use throughout the 1950s, but were largely replaced in the 1960s by transistor-based devices.

10.In conjunction with the widespread growth of the Internet since the 1990s, personal computers are becoming as common as the teletype.

10.4.Match the beginnings and ends of the following sentences.

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10.5.Fill in the gaps with the words from the text.

1.Examples of early mechanical computing devices included the …, the … … and arguably the … and the … … .

2.In 1801, Joseph Marie … made an improvement to the textile loom that used a series of … … … as a … to allow his loom to weave intricate patterns automatically.

3.… … was the first to conceptualize and design a fully programmable mechanical computer that he called “The … …”.

4.Large-scale … … … of punched cards was performed for the US Census in 1890 by … … designed by Herman Hollerith.

5.Many scientific computing needs were met by increasingly sophisticated … … , which used a direct … or … model of the problem as a basis for … .

6.The Z3 was the first working machine featuring … …, including … … arithmetic and a measure of programmability.

7.… tube-based … were in use throughout the 1950s, but were largely replaced in the 1960s by … … devices.

8.The adoption of … … … and the subsequent creation of … such as the Intel 4004 caused another leap in size, …, cost and … .

Participle I

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