Гвоздева Цомпутер сциенце 2011

Study the sentence.

By the yearend it will be clear whether the network computer models will require further work and more infrastructure.

IV. We use the infinitive To V as the subject of a sentence. Study the sentences.

1.To determine whether a machine is intelligent requires only that it fool a human into believing so.

2.“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old questions from a new angle require a creative imagination and mark real advances in science.” Einstein

V. Ving is a verbal noun. Verbal nouns express processes. We use Ving as the subject of the sentence or in combination with prepositions.

We use by + Ving to say how we do something.

Study the sentences.

1.Computer scientists make their programs by relying on know- ledge-based searches.

2.The main function of network computers is to access information by using Internet protocols.

VI. The participle

N + Ving (active) or N + Ved (passive)

The participle gives information about nouns.

The participle can be put together with other words to make adjectival participle clause (определительное придаточное предложение –

который).

Study the sentences.

1.A novice, with access to all of a Grandmaster’s games on the Internet, could defeat a Grandmaster by exploiting a weakness revealed during a computer simulation of such games.

2.Quantum computation is the greatest challenge facing computer science.

Give Russian correspondence:

N + that, as well as (and too), nonetheless (nevertheless, however), over (more than), under (less than), both …. and, a way (a method, a technique, a procedure), to exploit (to use), in spite of (despite), To-date (at present), specific (particular), though (although), therefore (so, thus, hence), beyond (outside), an effect on something (an influence)

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AN EXCELLENT PROBLEM SOLVER

Study the passage.

Today, computer chess programs that play as powerfully as Deep Blue run on personal computers as well as portable chess machines that fit into a pocket. Nonetheless, the quality of these programs is remarkable: they can defeat over 99% of all human players. Grandmasters and World Champions use them to train for play, both against machines and other humans. The way the game is taught and played is different: a 16- year-old novice, for example, with access to all of a Grandmaster’s games on the Internet, could defeat him by exploiting a weakness revealed during a computer simulation of such games.

In spite of the millions of positions per second being evaluated, computers and humans (at the highest level) are matched. To date, for example, there have been only two matches between a computer and a World Chess Champion and both have ended in ties.

Deep Blue defeated the best human chess player by using large amounts of calculation. But was it a thinking machine? As Murray Campbell, Deep Blue team member, pointed out, “I never considered Deep Blue intelligent. It’s just an excellent problem solver in this very specific domain.” Campbell’s remarks bring to mind Alan Turing’s observation that to determine whether a machine is intelligent requires only that it fool a human into believing so. In other words, there is no objective test for intelligence that lies outside of human perception. Though some argue that human thinking is simply a form of calculation and therefore amenable to computer simulation, many disagree.

Beyond extremely impressive achievements in specific domains – which will have far-reaching effects on our lives – a machine that can reason in general terms is still quite a few years and many startling breakthroughs away.

Vocabulary Notes

1.an access to information stored in a computer is its retrieval from a computer

2.to reveal – to disclose

3.a simulation – an imitation

4.if you match something, you are as good as it

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5.a tie – a result of a game in which two people do exactly as well as each other

6.a perception – the realization of things by using five senses

7.to argue – to state opinion

8.to be amenable to calculations – to be calculable

9.to reason – to think – to find out things for itself

10.a breakthrough – a remarkable achievement

POST-READING TASK

(To be done at home in writing)

I. Formulate sentences to cover the points.

1.The current quality of computer chess programs.

2.The way the chess game is taught and played.

3.A novice vs. a Grandmaster.

4.Your interpretation of the fact that the two recent matches between a computer and a World Chess Champion have ended in ties.

5.The advantages of a machine over a human being.

6.Human thinking & computer simulation.

III. Make up sentences with the expressions.

CLASS EXERCISES

Exercise 1 (in groups)

Discuss the passage covering the points (post -reading task I).

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UNIT 3

AN INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE MAGGS, VICE_PRESIDENT FOR R@ DEVELOPMENT AT AKAMAI TECH

PRE-READING TASK Study grammar points.

I. We use should when we give an opinion about something. Should is not as strong as must.

Study the sentences.

1.What should the general structure of a parallel computer be?

2.What should the network look like?

II. N + Ving (active) or N + Ved (passive) The participles give information about nouns.

The participles can be put together with other words to make adjectival participle clause (определительное придаточное предложение –

который).

Study the sentences.

1.You have many independent processors connected with some sort of communication network.

2.The customers use Akamai for the actual delivery of the bits making up the images or the video streams transmitted on the end user workstation

III. Would is used to talk about the natural course and behavior of things and events as a result of some action. It is the less definite form of will.

Study the sentence.

According to Gordon Moore the number of transistors contained on a computer chip would double every year.

Give Russian correspondence:

engineering efforts, in particular (ant. in general), to make use of (to use), somewhat (a bit), actual (real), say (for example), close to (near), to consider (to analyze), in the thorough fashion (carefully), yet (but), a

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number of (a range of, a set of), although (though), both … and, a way (a method), close to (near)

Terminology

1.parallel computing – параллельная обработка данных

2.networking – передача данных по сети

3.communication network

4.content delivery – доставка данных

5.the end user workstation

6.a master Web server − центральный компьютер в сети

Study the interview.

I: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

B: Sure. I am a computer scientist. I am a professor at Carnegie Mellon (CMU). I went to the university at MIT, in Boston; I received my undergraduate degree and my PhD there. After that I served as a postdoc at MIT and then I went to NEC labs, a big research institute, established by the Japanese company. After spending three and a half years there I came to CMU. I have been here for seven years. I took three semesters off to a company called Akamai that started. While at Akamai I was the vice-president for research and development and I was in charge of managing all engineering efforts.

Note

to be in charge of – to be responsible for

a. Discuss the passage (in pairs).

One of you is an interviewer, the other is Bruce Maggs.

1.What is your field?

2.What is your position in Carnegie Mellon?

3.What university did you go to?

4.What did you do after that?

5.What are NEC labs?

6.What company is it established by?

7.How long did you spend there?

8.What did you do then?

9.How long have you been here?

10.How did you come to Akamai?

11.What was your position at Akamai?

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I: Can you tell us about your research interests?

B: I worked in the general area of parallel computing. In particular I studied the problem of what should the general structure of a parallel computer be. You have many independent processors connected with some sort of communication network: how should the network look like, and how should the processors make use of it? I have become interested in networking after my stay at Akamai and I’ve shifted my focus. I was mostly a theoretician before, but now am working on problems that are somewhat more intermediate.

b. Discuss the passage (in groups).

One of you is Bruce Maggs, the others are computer scientists from MEPHI.

1.In what area did you work there?

2.What is the general structure of a parallel computer?

3.What problems did you study?

4.You are mostly a theoretician, aren’t you?

5.Why have you shifted your focus after your stay at Akamai?

6.What problems are you working on now?

I: Say some words about Akamai.

B; Akamai is the leader in Internet content delivery. What that means is that Akamai serves the images that appear on the most popular web sites in the world. Akamai has 1400 customers. The customers use Akamai for the actual delivery of the bits making up the images or the video streams transmitted on the end user workstation. Akamai has a lot of high-profile customers, such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple and CNN. Akamai has established servers all over the world; over 8000 servers in more than 50 countries at 500 locations. When the end user goes to visit, say, Yahoo, the pictures will be sent to the user not from the central location, where Yahoo has its master Web servers, but from one of Akamai’s locations, which is much closer to the end user than the central location.

Discuss the passage (in groups).

One of you is Bruce Maggs, the others are computer scientists.

1.How many customers does Akamai have?

2.What do the customers use Akamai for?

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3.What high-profile customers does Akamai have?

4.How many servers has Akamai established?

POST-READING TASK

(To be done at home in writing)

I. You are looking for a job. Write your resume using the key words.

1.a computer scientist

2.to go to a university

3.to be a …. graduate of

4.to go to … after graduation

5.to serve as

6.I have shifted my focus

7.I have been here for

8.I am

9.to perform the duties

10.I am in charge of managing engineering efforts

II. Add some words about your research interests using the key words.

1.to work in

2.to do research

3.under the guidance of

4.to study a problem

5.to consider a problem

6.to be interested in

7.to have (a lot of, no, little) experience of working with

8.to deal with a problem

III. Prepare a short talk concerning the Internet using the key

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CLASS EXERCISES

Exercise 1 (in pairs)

Of the above suggested questions (a, b, p. 15, 16) write out the ones you would like to ask your partner and make up a dialogue.

UNIT 4

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

PREREADING TASK

Study some grammar points.

I.S + proves + to V = Russian – оказывается, что S + turns out + to V = Russian – оказывается, что

Study the sentence.

1.Moore’s law has proved to be somewhat accurate.

2.Sun’s Java OS development could prove (to be) more important than Solaris.

3.Time will tell which of these products will turn out to be favou-

rites.

II. Ving is a verbal noun. Verbal nouns express processes.

We use by + Ving to say how we do something.

Study the sentences.

1.We are trying to solve ethical problems by developing better computer security and by passing regulatory laws.

2.When Turing was 23 years old, he impressed his peers at the University of Cambridge by inventing the mathematical characterization of the machine that became one of the most important contributions in the history of computing.

III. We use to V to talk about the purpose of doing something (why someone does something.)

Study the sentences.

1.Individuals, companies and governments are working to solve ethical problems

2.The distinction between PCs and workstations will dissolve, to be replaced by a range of client systems.

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Give Russian correspondence:

somewhat (partially), currently (at present), such as, a range of (a set of, a number of), specific (particular)

Terminology

1.a human and computer interface

2.virtual reality program languages

3.Virtual Reality Modeling Language – язык моделирования

виртуальной реальности

4.a broadband communication system – широкополосная сис-

тема связи

5.an application-specific supercomputer – суперкомпьютер спе-

циального назначения

6.a desktop supercomputer – настольный

7.an information appliance – an application specific computer

8.a local area network (LAN) server – сервер локальной сети

9.a legacy mainframe – традиционное базовое вычислительное устройство

10.data mining – поиск данных

11.speech recognition – распознавание речи

COMPUTERS WILL BECOME MORE ADVANCED

AND EASIER TO USE

FYI

Ethics – moral beliefs and rules about right and wrong

Study the passage.

In 1965 semiconductor pioneer Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors would double every year. This is now known as Moore s Law, and it has proved to be somewhat accurate. The number of transistors and the computational speed of microprocessors currently double approximately every 18 months. Components continue to shrink in size and are becoming faster, cheaper and more versatile.

New ethical issues have arisen, such as how to regulate material on the Internet and World Wide Web. Individuals, companies and govern-

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ments are working to solve these problems by developing better computer security and by passing regulatory laws.

Computers will become more advanced and they will also become easier to use. Reliable speech recognition will make the operation of a computer easier. Virtual reality, the technology of interacting with a computer using the human senses, will also contribute to better human and computer interfaces. Standards for virtual reality program languages, called Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), are currently being developed for the World Wide Web.

Communication between computer users and networks will benefit from new technologies, such as broadband communication systems that carry much more data and carry it faster, to and from the vast interconnected data bases that continue to grow in number and size.

Over the next years, computers will move toward a client-server segmentation of products. The distinction between PCs and workstations will dissolve, to be replaced by a range of client systems ranging from application-specific to desktop supercomputers. PC and workstation servers will give way to a wider range of servers, from home servers – a new class for the needs of home offices and information appliances – through Web and local-area network (LAN) servers to legacy mainframes and supercomputers.

The new servers will include specialized servers for a variety of new applications, such as video-on-demand and data mining.

Vocabulary Notes

1.a development – an innovation – the process of making a basic design more advanced

2.versatile – used for many different purposes

3.an issue – an important subject that people are discussing

4.reliable – something you can be sure of

5.to contribute to – to help to make better

6.to benefit from – to profit from

7.vast – very large

8.operation of something – control

9.a distinction – a difference

10.to dissolve – (here) -to disappear

11.to range from …. to – to vary from …. to

12.If something gives way to something it is replaced by it

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