English Language Learner Resource for IT Students with Exercises
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Daniela Lucia Ene English Language Learner Resource for IT students with exercises Contents Everyday Uses of Computer…………………………………………………3 Early History of Computers………………………………………………...13 Computer Architecture……………………………………………………..23 Computer Software………………………………………………………...36 Computer Hardware………………………………………………………...46 Computer Memory……………………………………………………….....63 Central Processing Unit (CPU)……………………………………………..73 Key to Exercises...........................................................................................82 List of Irregular Verbs…………………………………………………....88 Dictionary of Computing Terms………………………………………..97 Bibliography……………………………………………………………...109 2 Everyday Uses of computers 1. We use computers in many different areas of life. Think about different situations we use computers. 2. Read the following text: Computers are part of our everyday lives and they have an effect on almost everything we do. It is often pointed out that computers, like hammers, saws or washing machines are just tools; they are not interesting as such, but rather what you can do with them. This seems like a fair and reasonable statement to make, and it is probably also the case for those of us who use computers in our everyday life for tasks such as writing documents, calculate budgets, or any kind of ‘slave’-labor that the computer can help us with. There are many uses of computers in everyday life. The following outline some of them. Computers make all modern communication possible. They operate telephone switching systems, coordinate satellite launches and operations, help generate special effects for movies, and control the equipment in all phases of television and radio broadcasts. Local-area networks (LANs) link the computers in separate departments of businesses or universities, and larger networks, such as the Internet, permit modems telecommunication devices that transmit data through telephone lines to link individual computers to other computers anywhere in the world. Journalists and writers 3 now use word processors to write books and articles, which they then submit to publishers on magnetic disks or through telephone lines. The data may then be sent directly to computer-controlled typesetters, some of which actually design the layout of printed pages on computer screens. Computers are used by scientists and researchers in many ways to collect, store, manipulate, and analyze data. Running simulations is one of the most important applications. Data representing a real-life system is entered into the computer, and the computer manipulates the data in order to show how the natural system is likely to behave under a variety of conditions. In this way scientists can test new theories and designs or can examine a problem that does not lend itself to direct experimentation. Computer-aided design, or CAD programs enable engineers and architects to design three-dimensional models on a computer screen. Chemists may use computer simulation to design and test molecular models of new drugs. Some simulation programs can generate models of weather conditions to help meteorologists make predictions. Flight simulators are valuable training tools for pilots. Computers have opened a new era in manufacturing and consumer- product development. In the factory, computer-assisted manufacturing, or CAM programs help people plan complex production schedules, keep track of inventories and accounts, run automated assembly lines, and control robots. Dedicated computers are routinely used in thousands of products ranging from calculators to airplanes. Government agencies are the largest users of mainframes and supercomputers. They use computers for hundreds of tasks, including research, breaking codes and interpreting data from satellites. Computers are also essential for taking the census, maintaining criminal records, and other tasks. 4 Computers have proved to be valuable educational tools. Computer- assisted instruction, or CAI, uses computerized lessons that range from simple drills and practice sessions to complex interactive tutorials. These programs have become essential teaching tools in medical schools and military training centers, where the topics are complex and the cost of human teachers is extremely high. Educational aids, such as some encyclopedias and other major reference works, are available to personal-computer users either on magnetic disks or optical discs or through various telecommunication networks. Video games are one of the most popular applications of personal computers. The constantly improving graphics and sound capabilities of personal computers have made them popular tools for artists and musicians. Personal computers can display millions of colors, can produce images far clearer than those of a television set, and can connect to various musical instruments and synthesizers. Painting and drawing programs enable artists to create realistic images and animated displays much more easily than they could with more traditional tools. Different programs allow photographers and filmmakers to transform photographic images into any size and shape they can imagine. High-speed supercomputers can insert life-like animated images into frames of a film so smoothly that movie-goers cannot distinguish real actors from computer-generated images. Musicians can use computers to create multiple-voice compositions and to play back music with hundreds of variations. Speech processors even give a computer the ability to talk and sing. (Based on Everyday uses of computers, http://www.citycol.com) 5 Vocabulary switching systems (s) = schemă de conexiune; sistem de comutare operation (s) = operaţie, calcul; acţiune definită de o singură instrucţiune/de un singur element logic equipment (s) = echipament, echipare, înzestrare, utilaj, aparatură, instalaţie broadcast (s, vb) = emisiune (radiofonică, televizată); a difuza (programe radiofonice etc.) local-area network (LAN) (s) = reţea de calculatoare locală network (s) = reţea; plasă; schemă; circuit; grătar; zăbrele modem (s) = modem, adaptor de linie; dispozitiv care permite transmiterea datelor la distanţe mari fără erori data (s) = date, informaţii; indici processor (s) = processor; parte a unui calculator care execută instrucţiuni, formează şi citeşte adrese; aparatură/instalaţie de prelucrare submit (vb) = a supune o chestiune spre cercetare; a prezenta; a invoca; a înainta o cerere; a propune; a se resemna; a se supune magnetic disk (s) = disc magnetic, placă de oţel acoperită cu material magnetizabil typeset (vb) = a dactilografia; a culege caractere design (s, vb) = plan; proiect; desen; schiţă; schemă; proiectare; construcţie; sinteză; concepţie; model; a proiecta; a executa un proiect/plan, a desena; a calcula layout (s) = aşezare, organizare în pagină; trasare, amplasare print (s, vb) = înregistrare; fotografie; copie, gravură, tipar; literă de tipar, publicaţie tipărită; urmă, amprentă; a copia, a imprima, a tipări screen (s) = display, ecran 6 running (s) = rulare/prelucrare a unui program într-un sistem de calcul simulation (s) = modelare; simulare, tehnică de realizare a experimentelor cu ajutorul calculatorului application (s) = aplicaţie, aplicare, folosire, utilizare; cerere, solicitare; domeniu de aplicare to lend oneself (vb) = a se preta la computer-aided design (CAD) = proiectare asistată de calculator enable (vb) = a face capabil să; a autoriza, a împuternici computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) = prelucrare/fabricaţie asistată de calculator keep track of (expr) = a se menţine informat, la curent cu assembly line (s) = line/bandă rulantă de asamblare/de montaj mainframe (s) = calculator de mare viteză şi capacitate de stocare, deservind pe rând mai mulţi utilizatori census (s) = recensământ computer-assisted instruction (CAI) = instruire/învăţare cu ajutorul calculatorului drill (s) = exerciţiu, fomare, instruire tutorial (s) = tutorial, program care ofera instrucţiuni pentru folosirea unui program sau a softului display (s, vb) = reproducere, indicator, afişare; reprezentare, expunere; imagine, indicator panoramic; a expune, a prezenta, a arăta synthesizer (s) = dispozitiv de sintetizare, sintetizator insert (s) = a insera, a introduce 7 3. Match each word with the correct definition: 1. processor a) a task which a computer performs or a problem which a computer solves 2. local-area network (LAN) b) a flat circular piece of material coated with a substance, allowing signals and data to be stored magnetically 3. magnetic disk c) a hardware or software device that is able to manipulate or modify data according to instructions 4. application d) a device that allows data to be sent over telephone lines by converting binary signals from a computer into analog sound signals which can be transmitted over a telephone line. 5. mainframe e) a network where the various terminals and equipment are all within a short distance of one another, e.g. in the same 8 building, and can be interconnected by cables. 6. display f) large-scale high-power computer system that can handle high-capacity memory and backing storage devices as well as a number of operators simultaneously 7. modem g) a device on which information or images can be presented visually 4. Make sentences putting the given words into a correct order: 1. It is like hammers, saws tools or washing often pointed out that computers, machines are just. 2. Computers are writing documents, calculating budgets used for tasks such as, or any kind of ‘in our everyday life slave’-labor. 3. They operate coordinate satellite launches and operations