Lesson 4 further steps of evolution of the computer (part 2)

1. Read and memorize the following words and word-combinations:

to collaborate– співробітничати

sequence - послідовність

to arise (arose, arisen) - виникати

to adapt - пристосовувати

to explore - досліджувати, вивчати

valve - лампа

to design - проектувати

to consume - споживати

to circulate - циркулювати

loop - цикл; рівень

to come (came, come) tofruition - здійснитися

storage - запам'ятовуючий пристрій, пам'ять

to hold (held, held) - (тут) проводити

to apply - застосувати

significant feature- важлива риса

title - титул, (тут) назва

1. Read and translate the following text:

In 1937 the International Business Machine Cor­poration in America collaborated with Howard Aiken, of Howard University, in the construction of an automatic sequence controlled calculator.

This arose from Aiken's idea that the techniques and components used in business machines could be adapted to the construction of an automatic type of cal­culator controlled by a sequence of instructions.

About the same time the Bell Telephone labora­tories began to explore the possibilities of electromag­netic relays for computing and since then a number of machines have been built on these principles.

The first digital computer to make use of valves was the «Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calcula­tor” or ENIAC, designed by Eckert and Mauchley in America. It used about 18.000 valves and consumed vast quantities of electricity.

One idea was to keep the information continually circulating in a loop consisting of an acoustic delay-line with its output connected back to its input. This first came to fruition in 1949 in a machine called the “Electronic Digital Storage Automatic Computer” or EDSAC, which was built at Cambridge University un­der the direction of M.V. Wilkes and had only about 3.000 valves. A significant feature of these machines was that the instruction for controlling the sequence of operations were represented by a code of numbers.

The first electronic computer exhibition was held in Britain in 1958 - actually the first of its kind in Europe

After many years of separate development, the two main types of computing machines - commercial and academic - are coming together again on the com­mon ground of electronic technique and already the title of “computer engineer” is being applied to people working on them

EXERCISES: I. Answer the questions:

1. What corporation collaborated with Howard Aiken, of Howard University, in the construction of an auto­matic sequence controlled calculator?

2. What laboratories began to explore the possibilities of electromagnetic relays for computing?

3. How many valves did ENIAC use?

4. Why did it consume vast quantities of electricity?

5. What was a significant feature of the machines built at Cambridge University?

6. When was the first electronic computer exhibition held in Britain?

II. Translate into Ukrainian:

• an automatic sequence controlled calculator

• techniques and components used in business ma­chines could be adapted;

• a number of machines have been built on his princi­ples;

• an idea was to keep;

• a loop consisting of an acoustic delay-line;

• is represented by a code of numbers.

IIL Retell the text.