First, we have to learn the language and then we have to gain fluency in the language. Unless we have the fluency in English language, it would not be possible to work with the computer. If you do not know English, then you would be in need of a translator to do the job.
The first stage of learning this language would be very interesting. Once you are fluent with the alphabets, slowly you can learn many words. It would always be better to follow the method of reading first, then writing. You can use the picture books for this purpose. When you feel that you are familiar with the words, you can form sentences. This is the most interesting stage to learn. You just think of a sentence in your mother language, and try to write the same sentence in English. There could be some mistakes. But you should not bother about it. But, you have to write the same sentence using many different words till you are satisfied with your sentence. If you follow this way, very soon you can create sentences of your own.
The next step is learning the grammar of the language. It is quite simple and very systematic compared with other languages. There are certain rules and regulations for each and every topic in grammar of this language. As long as you follow the rules and regulations, it would be a difficult task to make mistakes. You would gain that much guidance from the grammar.
The presentation is the most important factor in communicating your feelings. So, naturally you must be sure while you are presenting what you really wish to say. At any point, do not try to write or speak, beyond your capability. Even if it is a small and simple sentence, it would reach the receiver perfectly. Slowly, you can improve the standard of your language by practice. If you know to form the sentences, it is more than enough to go deep into the subject.
Task 1. Find the English equivalents for the following Russian ones. Make your
own sentences using them:
1) |
бегло говорить по-английски |
10) |
следовать правилам и нормам |
2) |
честно говоря |
11) |
с этой целью |
3) |
язык для общения |
12) |
родной язык |
4) |
так сказать |
13) |
составлять предложения |
5) |
погрузиться в предмет |
14) |
по сравнению с другими языками |
6) |
выполнять работу |
15) |
как только |
7) |
более чем достаточно |
16) |
дойти до получателя |
8) |
необходимость |
17) |
улучшить уровень языка |
9) |
итак |
18) |
язык для выражения чувств |
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Task 2. Answer the following questions:
1)Why is it needed to learn English? Think of your own reasons.
2)What are main steps in the English language learning?
English on the Internet as a foreign language
If a gradual decline in English first-language users is inevitable, it does not necessarily follow that English will not continue to be the language of choice for those accessing the World Wide Web. There is an enormous pool of English second-language speakers who employ the language in technical, governmental and educational spheres and access the Internet in English.
A classic example of this scenario is India, the world's second most populated country. With economic growth, English has begun exploding as the emerging lingua franca in India. In 1995 it was thought that perhaps only 4% of the population was truly fluent in English (still an impressive 40 million). A decade later, by 2005, India had the world's largest English-speaking and understanding population and second largest "Fluent English" speaking population (led only by the U.S.). It is expected to have the world's largest number of English speakers within a decade.
Chinese is rarely employed as a lingua franca outside of China by non-ethnic Chinese; even countries bordering the country or with large Chinese minorities (Mongolia, South Korea, Malaysia) tend toward English as a commercial and educational language. Further, China is not truly monoglot: Standard Mandarin is official but different spoken variants of Chinese are often mutually unintelligible; the diaspora disproportionately speaks Cantonese. There is, however, an existing written standard that serves as a common written language.
In the future, then, English and Chinese may have roughly equal positions at the top of the overall web first-language users, but English will likely continue to dominate as the default choice for those accessing the World Wide Web in a second language.
Other world languages that could conceivably begin to challenge English include Spanish and Arabic, though it remains to be seen if these, too, will be largely isolated to first-language speakers on the Internet as is Chinese.
Task 1. Say if the following sentences are true or false, correct the false ones:
1)A gradual decline in English first-language users is inevitable.
2)There is a very small amount of English second-language speakers.
3)India is the most populated country in the world.
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4)China is a truly monoglot – Standard Mandarin is th e only language used in the country.
5)English and Chinese have same perspectives of development on the World Wide Web.
Task 2. Think over and make the list of reasons why English has become the most popular Internet language.
Interesting Language Facts
1)"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt"!
2)Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch procejt at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter b
3)Canada is an Indian word meaning 'Big Village'.
4)China has more English speakers than the United States.
5)Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel, "Gadsby", which contains over 50,000 words - none of them with the letter E!
6)French was the official language of England for over 600 years.
7)In England, in the 1880's, "Pants" was considered adirty word!
8)Pinocchio is Italian for "pine eye"!
9)Q is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the United States!
10)The Chinese ideogram for 'trouble' depicts two women living under one roof.
11)The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.
12)The longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses!
13)The longest word in the English language with no vowels is Rhythms!
14)The most popular first name in the world is Muhammad!
15)The most used letter in the English alphabet is 'E', and 'Q' is the least used!
16)The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable"!
17)The phrase 'rule of thumb' is derived from and oldEnglish law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
18)The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." uses every letter of the alphabet!
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19)The word 'gymnasium' comes from the Greek word gymnazein which means 'to exercise naked.'
20)The word 'Indiana' is Native American for 'Land ofthe Indians', yet less than 16,000 Native Americans live there.
21)The word 'News' is actually an acronym standing forthe 4 cardinal compass points - North, East, West, and South!
22)The word 'set' has more definitions than any other word in the English language.
23)The word taxi is spelled the same in English, German, French, Swedish, Spanish and Portuguese.
24)The word Tips is actually an acronym standing for 'To Insure Prompt Service'.
25)There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and month! There was no punctuation until the 15th century.
Part 3
New Technologies
Robots in our everyday life
Robots have got to be one of the coolest new consumer gadgets. A lot of them aim to make our lives easier by doing the chores we all hate doing whilst other consumer are just plain entertaining.
New technologies that imitate the worm
Worms are taking over technology! The first is a cleaning robot that you see in this picture here. It is developed by Panasonic, and it is known as the Fukitorimushi. It is translated as “cleaning worm”. It can somehow sense dirty spots on the floor and clean them up.
It does it in an odd way, as it moves across the floor like an inchworm. It does this to imitate the human motion of scrubbing the floor, and captures the dust and grit in its nanocloth sleeve.
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Robot spiders prepare to explore the sea
Every once in a while, somebody envisions a robot that feels plucked from a science-fiction movie or novel. Take this undersea robot concept from the Fraunhofer Institute, for example. Believe it or not, this robot is designed to work independently and
underwater. As you can see, the apparatus has four propellers for stabilization, and some arms too. Deep sea exploration would be a good job for such robots, if it wasn’t for the pressures of deep water.
ApriAttenda Robot Assistant
The ApriAttenda robot is intended to assist the elderly. This little one-meter tall robot has the astromech droid appearance of R2D2, but with the arms of C3PO. Its arms are versatile, and can open doors and refrigerators, as well as handle things that senior citizens might not be able to lift anymore. You have to wonder if you are looking at an age where the elderly are being cared for by robots.
Robo-Q Tiny R/C Robot
When the word ‘robot’ is mentioned, most people would think of huge, warring machines that are able to level
a city in no time with its array of missiles and lasers. Well, here’s some news - not all robots are marauding technological monsters who love nothing better than wipe out an entire city for no good reason. There are some small and cute ones like the Robo-Q Tiny R/C Robot which are fully walking models, they are also equipped with fully autonomous modes in order to prevent bumping into obstacles as well as chase after the included soccer ball. For folks who are control freaks, you’ll be pleased to know these $39.99 robots will come with a remote. Bear in mind this imported toy comes with an all-Japanese manual, but you ought to figure out how to insert the AA batteries, don’t you?
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Honda lets your mind do the work
All of you have heard of Asimo, Honda’s robot that moves with surprising grace. It would appear that Honda Research Institute are working together to make the human mind work together with this artificial body.
Yes, Honda has finally created the world’s first Brain Machine Interface. All a user needs to do is sit with some skull cap interface on,
and EEG (electroencephalography) and NIRS (near-infrared spectroscopy) sensors can detect your thoughts and transmit them into action for Asimo. They really hyped it up by introducing a world where we can open our trunk with a thought, or turn on our heater when it gets too cold.
Vocal controlled mouse: now you have a good reason to talk to your computer
The problem with using a traditional mouse is that we’ve been told that continued use will lead to repeated wrist syndrome. Fortunately, people at the University of Washington are developing
a vocally controlled mouse, or a vocal joystick. It is designed for people with disabilities. So how does one operate the vocally controlled mouse? Saying “ahh” will cause the cursor to zip to the northeast corner of the computer screen, and saying “ohh” sends it to the southeast corner. For specific directions, other vowel sounds are needed.
Robot Money Box guards your savings!
Considering the fragile state of the economy these days, it is probably good to start saving money. Sure, you could use an old-fashioned piggy bank, but technology always gives us an electrical alternative.
This is where the Robot Money Box comes in. When you put money in the bank, it can actually keep track of how much you put in.
Another feature that makes the Robot Money box different from your average piggy bank is that it praises you for saving money. Not only that, but you can make target goals for saving, and it will encourage you for making them.
There is one other feature that my source and the Product Page are very vague about. Apparently, the Robot Money Box “may even tr y to stop you if you try to take anything out”.
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Anybot Telepresence Robot
The Anybot telepresence robot is a videophone with a bit of a difference. The screen and phone are incorporated into a 2 wheeled human sized robot.
The Anybot uses the sort of technology to always remain upright even when bending. It has a top speed of 6 MPH, a built in laser pointer (maybe a gun in later versions), 2 cameras and full duplex audio. It’s a cool idea but somewhat big brotherish IMO.
All-in-one desktop computers
Laptops have become popular replacements for desktops. But that doesn't mean you should give up on desktop computers. All-in-one models are sleek replacements for desktop towers. All-in-ones combine all the components in a single case. They're not much bigger than a flat-panel monitor. Of course, there's still a keyboard and mouse. Let's look at three on the market, and one promised:
oApple iMac. Apple's iMac can be credited with making all-in-ones popular. This aluminum-clad machine comes in two screen sizes: 20-inch and 24-inch. At the low end ($1,199), you'll get 1 gigabyte of memory. There's a 250GB hard drive and a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The graphics card has 128 megabytes of dedicated memory. There's also a dual-layer DVD writer. Like any Mac, the iMac can be customized. You can get up to 1 terabyte of storage and 4GB of memory. The processor and video card also can be upgraded. All iMacs include 802.11n wireless and Bluetooth. There's also a built-in webcam and remote controls for iTunes and Front Row. A suite of applications will help you make movies and music. There are also tools for managing your contacts and calendar. All new Macs include the OS X version 10.5 Leopard operating system and Bootcamp software that lets you run
Windows programs on a Mac.
oGateway One. Want to stick with Windows? Gateway's One comes in three configurations that run Microsoft's Windows Vista Home Premium. Each sports a 19-inch display. It is clad in black plastic and rests directly on the desktop. It looks a lot like the iMac. At the low end ($1,300),
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you'll get 2GB of RAM, which can be expanded to 4GB, and video that uses shared memory. There's a 1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Also included are a 320GB hard drive and a dual-layer DVD writer. There's a snap-on webcam and slots for popular memory card formats. It comes with 802.11n wireless networking. The high-end model ($1,800) includes a 2GHz Core 2 Duo. You also get a 500GB hard drive and 3GB of RAM. There's a dedicated video card and a TV tuner with remote. All models include a wireless keyboard and mouse. The high-end and low-end models are available only from Best Buy. The mid-range model can be ordered exclusively from Gateway.
oSony LT and LS series. Sony offers a variety of Windows-based all-in- one computers. The LS series features a 19-inch screen. Models start at $1,800. The LS series offers Intel Core 2 Duo processors in 1.7GHz and 2GHz flavors. The 2G of RAM cannot be expanded. You can opt for a graphics card or shared graphics. You can choose a 250GB or 320GB hard drive. There's a dual-layer DVD writer and 802.11b/g wireless. They run Windows Vista Home Premium and include TV tuners with a remote. There's also a built-in webcam. The keyboard and mouse are wireless. The LT series ranges from $1,900 to $2,900. The 22-inch screen is wall mountable. They include Core 2 Duo processors at varying speeds. The 2GB RAM can be upgraded to 4GB. Hard drive sizes start at 320 gigabytes. There's a dual-layer DVD writer and 802.11n wireless.
The LT series includes a TV tuner and remote. The keyboard and mouse are also wireless. The high-end model includes a Blu-ray Disc writer and Vista Ultimate. Lower-end configurations include Vista Home Premium.
oDell XPS One. Dell has also announced an all-in-one machine. Dell hadn't released any specifications yet. However, Dell uses the name XPS to designate its more powerful machines.
by Kim Komando Task 1. What does the term “all-in-one computer” me an? Give your own definition and enumerate its basic components and features. Think of its advantages and disadvantages. Name the models existing on the market nowadays.
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Task 2. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text, translate them into Russian, make your own sentences using them:
1) |
replacement |
10) remote |
2) |
to give up |
11) suite of applications |
3) |
sleek |
12) to stick with |
4) |
flat-panel monitor |
13) shared memory |
5) |
low end |
14) dual-layer |
6) |
dedicated memory |
15) snap-on webcam |
7) |
customized |
16) high-end model |
8) |
wireless |
17) to opt |
9) |
built-in |
18) wall mountable |
Web Conferencing
Web conferencing is used to conduct live meetings or presentations via the Internet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the Internet. This can be either a downloaded application on each of the attendees computers or a web-based application where the attendees will simply enter a URL (website address) to enter the conference.
A webinar is a neologism to describe a specific type of web conference. It is typically one-way, from the speaker to the audience with limited audience interaction, such as in a webcast. A webinar can be collaborative and include polling and question & answer sessions to allow full participation between the audience and the presenter. In some cases, the presenter may speak over a standard telephone line, pointing out information being presented on screen and the audience can respond over their own telephones, preferably a speaker phone. There are web conferencing technologies on the market that have incorporated the use of VoIP audio technology, to allow for a truly web-based communication. Webinars may (depending upon the provider) provide hidden or anonymous participant functionality, enabling participants to be unaware of other participants in the same meeting.
In the early years of the Internet, the terms “web conferencing” was often used to describe a group discussion in a message board and therefore not live. The term has evolved to refer specifically to live or “synch ronous” meetings.
Real-time text chat facilities such as IRC appeared early in the Internet’s history, in the late 1980s. Web-based chat and instant messaging software appeared
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in the mid-1990s. In the late 1990s, the first true web conferencing capability became available and dozens of other web conferencing venues followed thereafter.
A trademark for the term “webinar” was register ed in 1998 by Eric R. Korb (Serial Number 75478683, USPTO) but was difficult to defend; it is currently assigned to InterCall.
Task 1. Write out the definitions for “web conferen cing” and “webinar”. Are they synonyms? Make a list of webinar features.
Task 2. In the text find the synonyms to the following words:
1) |
by means of |
6) |
reply |
2) |
sharer |
7) |
included |
3) |
new word |
8) |
simultaneous |
4) |
public |
9) |
opportunities |
5) |
cooperation |
10) immediate |
|
Part 4
Stories of success
Microsoft
Bill Gates is a co-founder, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft, the most successful software company in the world, renowned for making software that is powerful and innovative while still being user friendly. Microsoft now employs more than 55,000 people in 85 countries.
William H Gates III commonly known as Bill Gates was born on 28th October 1955 and raised in Seattle along with his two sisters. Bill became interested in programming at an early age while attending one of Seattle’s most exclusive schools. Gates soon became friends with a student named Paul Allen and together using the schools minicomputer, they practiced their skills.
They turned to a computing company, in exchange for free use of a more powerful computer they searched for bugs in the computers system while also learning new languages. Bill went on to Harvard University and while there teamed up with Paul to write a new version of Basic programming language for the first personnel computer the Altair 8800. The company was impressed with Gates and Allen’s work and licensed the software resulting in Gates and Allen forming the company Microsoft to develop software for other companies. Bill dropped out of Harvard to spend more time on the new business.
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