2. Прочитайте текст и заполните пропуски 1-6 частями предложений a-g. Одна из частей в списке лишняя. Перенесите ответы в таблицу.

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Britain has more than 90 universities. British universities can be divided into several categories. The foremost universities are the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, both founded in the Middle Ages. England’s oldest institution of higher learning, Oxford University, is a federation of 35 colleges, 1__________. The University of Cambridge is a system of faculties, departments, and 31 independent colleges.

Another type of university is the so-called redbrick variety – old and solid schools built in the 19^th century when bricks were the standard building material. An education act in 1992 changed the status of these colleges to universities. The large numbers of ultramodern universities 2____________ are often called cement block and plateglass universities.

London has its own great schools, the enormous University of London 3___________.

Students interested in advanced education can also attend polytechnics, 4____________.

An education act in 1992 changed the status of these colleges to universities.

Higher education can also be obtain through the open University 5__________. They are taught through correspondence, television and radio programs, and videocassettes. The Open University also sponsors local study centres and residential summer schools. The purpose of the Open University is to reach people 6_________.

1. and its world-famous college, the London School of Economics

2. who may not ordinarily be qualified for university study

3. that appeared in the last half of the 20^th century

4. which are schools dedicated to the sciences and applied technology

5. which was founded in 1909

6. each with its own structure and activities

7. which offers extension courses

Unite II Computers in the modern world

Discussion:

• Do you have a computer?

• What type of computer do you have?

• How often do you use your computer?

• What for do you usually use your computer?

• Can you imagine your life without computers?

KEY VOCABULARY

1. extensively – широко

2. efficient – результативный, эффективный

3. calculations- вычисления

4. mouse -мышь

5. input device – устройство ввода

6. output device – устройство вывода

7. peripherals - периферийные устройства

8. button – кнопка, клавиша

9. machine code – машинный код, кодирование

10. binary – бинарный, двоичный

11. low-level language – низкоуровневый язык

12. higher-level language – язык высокого уровня

13. sequence - последовательность

14. intercommunication - совместимость

15. software – программное обеспечение

16. network – работа в сети

17. web - сеть

18. browser - браузер

19. keyboard - клавиатура

20. up-to-date - современный

21. bits of data – биты информации

22. interactive services – интерактивные услуги

23. fiber-optic cable – оптоволоконный кабель

24. to download – загрузить, скачать из сети

25. to upload – загрузить из компьютера в сеть

26. screen - экран

27. pixel - пиксель

28. resolution - разрешение

29. display- монитор

30. density - плотность

31. cathode ray tube – катодно-лучевая трубка

32. electron beam – электронный луч

33. quality - качество

34. flat liquid-crystal display – плоский жидкокристаллический дисплей

35. simultaneously - одновременно

36. mainframe – большая ЭВМ коллективного пользования

37. workstation – рабочая станция

38. desktop – настольный компьютер

39. laptop – портативный компьютер

40. palmtop – портативный миникомпьютер

41. site – сайт, место на сервере с определенным адресом

42. Web page – веб-страница

43. link - ссылка

44. domain –домен, область

Text I: Types of Computers

Read the texts A-G.

Answer the questions:

Which computers

1. are the smallest?

2. are widespread models?

3. can fulfill several tasks simultaneously?

4. are the most expensive?

5. may be used separately or joined to a network?

6. were called at first microcomputers?

Занесите свои ответы в таблицу. В задании один текст лишний.

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A

A supercomputer is extremely powerful. It can be used for very complex tasks, such as computer modeling of weather systems. These computers are extremely expensive, and are generally used by educational or scientific institutions, rather than individual ones.

B

A mainframe is a powerful computer which is capable of processing large amounts of data, often enabling many people to use it, and carry out many tasks, at the same time. A network of smaller computers or terminals is used to access the files and programs on the mainframe. Mainframes are therefore described as multi-user, multitasking machines.

C

A smaller computer in a network connected to a mainframe, or other more powerful computer, is often called a workstation. A workstation may also be a relatively powerful computer, usually with good graphic capabilities, that may be either attached to a network or used as a standalone machine.

D

A small computer designed to be used to by an individual, for example at home or in an office, is sometimes called a PC, or personal computer. This kind of machine used to be called a microcomputer.

E

Another type of personal computer is a desktop or desktop computer. This is a very common model, which as the name suggests fits on a desk. Many users have desktop computers either at home, at work or in educational institutions. A desktop is not designed to be portable, which means it does not have an independent power supply, and is too big and heavy to be carried easily.

F

A laptop is smaller than a desktop. Laptops are portable and can use batteries. As the name suggests, a laptop is small and light enough to fit on the user’s lap. A notebook is like a laptop, but is smaller.

G

A handheld computer, sometimes called a palmtop, a PDA (personal digital assistant), or a pocket computer, is small enough to be held in the user’s hand.

Text II: Computers in the modern world

Almost everything in the modern world is done with the help of computers. Today, computers are used more and more extensively, because they are far more efficient than human beings. They have much better memories and can store great amount of information and they can do calculations very quickly. No man alive can do 500,000 sums in a second, but a modern computer can.

They can control machines, work out tomorrow’s weather, play chess, write poetry or compose music. They help students to find a book or article in many subjects. They can translate articles from foreign languages and make up many lists of information which are needed in a modern library.

Computers influence our life and our language. Today even a 5 years old child knows that a mouse is not only a type of small animal that has long front teeth, but also an input device, on top of which there are one or more buttons for communicating with the computer. But the only language computers can understand directly is called machine code. It consists of the binary code (1s and 0s). Machine code as means of communication is very difficult to write, so you need a special program to understand this language.

Basic languages, in which the program is similar to the machine code version, are known as low-level languages. To make the program easier to write and to overcome the problem of intercommunication between different types of machines, higher-level languages were developed such as BASIC, COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal, Ada, C, Java and others. A higher-level language is a problem oriented programming language, whereas a low-level language is machine oriented. At present there is a tendency towards an even higher level of programming languages, which might be called specification languages, and an increasing use of software development tools. Scientists report to be already working on artificial intelligence and the next generation of computers will be able to understand human languages.

Another great achievement of the computer world is the Internet. It is a magnificent global network with millions of people and computers connected together. There they exchange an immeasurable amount of information, e-mails, news, resources and ideas. With a few touches of a keyboard a person can get access to materials in almost everywhere. The web is one of the best resources for the up-to-date information. It is a hypertext-based system by which you can navigate through the Internet. Hypertext is the text that contains links to other documents. A special program known as browser can help you to find news, pictures, virtual museums, electronic magazines and print Web pages. You can also click on keyboard or buttons that take you to other pages or other Web sites. This is possible because browsers understand hypertext markup language or code, a set of commands to indicate how a web page is formatted and displayed.

The Internet allows Video conferencing programs and television for home communications, shopping, banking and other interactive services. For example, e-commerce offers convenience to the buyers. They can visit the World Wide Web sites 24 hours a day and seven days a week to compare prices and make purchases, without having to leave their homes or offices. In some cases, consumers can immediately obtain a product or service, such as an electronic book, a music file, or computer software by downloading it over the Internet.

For long-distance or worldwide communications, computers are usually connected into a wide area network to form a single integrated network. Networks can be linked together by telephone lines or fibre-optic cables. Modern telecommunication systems use fibre-optic cables which require little physical space. They are safe as they don’t carry electricity, and they avoid electromagnetic interference.

Network on different continents can also be connected via satellites. Computers are connected by means of a modem to ordinary telephone lines or fibre-optic cables, which are linked to a dish aerial. Communication satellites receive and send signals on a transcontinental scale.

We interact with computers by entering instructions and data into them. After the information has been processed, we can see the result on the visual display unit or the monitor. The picture and the characters we see on the screen are made up of picture elements which are called pixels. The total number of pixels the display is divided in (both horizontally and vertically) is known as resolution. Sharp image and high resolution are obtained with large number of pixels, and when the number of pixels is small, the resolution is low. Thus, pixel density affects the quality of the image. The cathode ray tube of the monitor is similar to that of TV set. An electron beam inside the tube scans the screen and turns on or off the pixels that make up the image. In a color monitor the screen surface is coated with substances called phosphor materials are – one each for red, green and blue. A beam of electrons causes phosphor materials to give coloured light from which the picture is formed. Colour monitors are capable to display many different colours at the same time. Portable computers use a flat liquid-crystal display (LCD) instead of a picture tube.