2. Find English equivalents in the text:

Програма, сучасні можливості, винахід, взаємодія, сприймати команди, введення і виведення даних, встановлений, частка секунди, задачі можуть розв’язуватися, унікальні та виняткові характеристики, відігравати життєво важливу і ключову роль, значне джерело інформації, освіти і розваг, для банківських операцій, наглядати за залізницями, керувати літаками, управляти телекомунікаційною системою, ефективно, точно та зручно, для виконання складних операцій, зупинятися, на кінчиках наших пальців, відкрити для себе нові небесні тіла, найкраще інноваційне утворення.

3. Complete the table, using the information from the text above and other resources. How can be computers used in different spheres of social life?

Spheres of social life	The purpose of application
Army and defense	to conduct trainings, to detect enemy’s objects
Banking
Business
Education
Government affairs
Medicine
Science
Shopping
Transportation
Travelling

4. Use collocations from the box to complete these sentences:

transfer money give presentations make calls access the Internet store information perform operations make a backup display data

1. Thanks to Wi-Fi it’s now easy to __________ from restaurants, bus stations and other public places.

2. Online banking lets you __________ between your accounts easily and securely.

3. Skype is a technology that enables users to__________over the Internet for free.

4. In many universities, students are encouraged to_________ using PowerPoint in order to make their talks more visually attractive.

5. Cookies allow a website to __________ on a user's machine and later retrieve it; when you visit the website again, it remembers your preferences.

6. The arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)________ arithmetic and logical ________.

7. The first rule of data storage is to _________ of all important files.

8. A monitor accepts video signals from a computer and ________ on a screen.

5. Read and translate the text: The evolution of computers

It is very hard to believe but computer's era begins in ancient times. The first mechanical devices that somewhat can be called a limited function computers appeared in 2500 BC. Well, Sumerian abacus cannot be called a real computer, but its goal was helping in various calculations. The slide rule that can be called a mechanical analog computer appeared in 1620. Looking deeply in the ancient history many interesting and useful machines, that can be referred as primitive computers can be found. There were machines which calculated the astronomical positions of stellar bodies.

The main idea is that the human is such a creature, whose aim is to create some devices to help him solving various problems. The main aim of every computer is to help us in calculations. The definition of the "computer" says that a computer is a programmable machine designed to automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The history of computer generations is very interesting field to explore, because since the 1946, when first real computers were created, they have evolved very rapidly.

The First Generation: Vacuum Tubes

The first computer generation appeared in 1946-1958. It is the era of vacuum tubes. The computers of this era were huge, very expensive, slow and had limited application capabilities. The first computer that had vacuum tubes was constructed in 1946 by J. P. Eckert and J. Mauchly. Their machine was called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). ENIAC had thousands of vacuum tubes.

The Second Generation: Transistors

The second generation of computers lasted from 1959-1964. It was a very short era. The vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors. Actually, the invention of a transistor had a huge influence on the development of electronics.

The invention of transistor allowed computer to become smaller, faster and cheaper. These computer also were more efficient and more reliable that the computers of the first generation. The first symbolic (assembly) programming languages appeared in this generation. Also, the backgrounds of high level programming languages were developed. The first versions of COBOL and FORTRAN appeared. The computer instructions storage also changed. The step from magnetic drum to magnetic core technology was made.

The Third Generation: Integrated Circuits

The invention of integrated circuits was another great step in developing semiconductor technologies. The third computer generation appeared. The third generation lasted from 1964 to 1971. The appearance of integrated circuits allowed placing miniaturized transistors on silicon chips. This technological invention allowed computers to increase speed and to become more efficient.

The human interaction with the computer had changed much in this generation. The keyboards and monitors appeared instead of punched cards and printouts. In this generation computers had first operating systems that allowed running multiple applications on the computer. It was the first time when computer became accessible to a mass audience. They become much smaller and cheaper, so the usual customer could afford them.

The Fourth Generation: Microprocessors

The appearance of a microprocessor allowed the fourth generation of computers to appear. Microprocessor is a device that has thousands of integrated circuits (millions of transistors) built in one silicon chip. The fourth generation was started by Intel 4004 chip that was developed in 1971. In 1981 IBM introduced the first computer that was dedicated to a home user. Three years later Apple introduced Macintosh. The era of mass usage of computers began. The use of microprocessors has expanded and in our days mostly all electronic devices use microprocessors or micro-controllers.

In the fourth generation the development of computer networks began. This led to invention of the Internet. Many other great things were developed during these years. Now it is very hard to imagine using computer without a mouse, GUI or other features.

The Fifth Generation - Present and Beyond: Artificial Intelligence

The fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

(based on: http://silwen.hubpages.com)