Unit 1 History of Computers

Section AThe alphabet, telephone numbers, money and dates

A. You are phoning someone in England. It’s a bad line and they can’t hear you very well. They ask you to spell:

• your name

• your company’s name

• your address

Then they ask you for your telephone numbers (home and work).

Alphabet pronunciation

1. Which letters rhyme with A?

2. Which letters rhyme with B?

3. Which letters start with the sound [ e ]?

These letters are commonly confused. Make sure you know them.

A E G H I J Q R U Y

B. Someone is querying some invoices. Give them the information on the list below.

e.g. invoice number thirteen, dated December the seventeenth nineteen eighty seven, is for five hundred and twenty six pounds, seventeen pence

Invoice №	Date	Amount
013	December 17th 1987	£ 526.17
106	12th July 1999	£ 214.95
119	Aug. 30th 2004	$ 1,387.86
286	21.11.07	€ 2,406.05

Section BLanguage Focus. To be. There is / are

I. Put the following sentences into interrogative and negative forms:

a) Computer technology is a fast growing discipline.

b) They were in the computer class last Monday.

II. Insert the correct personal forms of the verb to be:

1. I … specialized in integrated sensor systems but my friend … fond of intelligent systems.

2. Mathematics … my favourite subject but the knowledge of computers … very important today.

3. In a year my brother … a programmer.

4. Programs … not hardware as they have no electrical or mechanical components.

5. In 1956 transistors … invented.

III. Ask as many special questions as you can:

1. All the operations of the ALU are under the direction of the control unit.

2. A fourth-generation language is a software facility designed to speed up application development.

3. Many of Babbage’s ideas were the basis for building today’s computers.

IV. Explain the function of the verb to be in the following sentences. Translate the sentences into Russian:

1. Second generation computers were smaller than first generation ones.

2. The adding machine was built by B. Pascal in 1642.

3. Modern computers are of three types: analog, digital and hybrid.

4. They were working in the computer centre all the evening yesterday.

5. The program is still under development.

6. The students are to work in the computer class every Monday.

7. The goal of my graduation paper is to create a simple network for a small business.

V. Change the following sentences into interrogative and negative forms:

1. There are four computer classes at our faculty.

3. There was a minicomputer on the desk of my friend.

VI. Fill in is, are:

1. There … many laboratories in our University.

2. … there any printer in the computer room?

3. There … three general types of a computer: analog, digital and hybrid.

4. There … something on the screen.

5. … there any interesting article about the central processor?

6. There … a lot of educational opportunities for those who are interested in pursuing computer careers.