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Is there an End to the Computer Race?

Today the word «electronics» is in general usage. Millions of people have electron watches. There are a lot of various radio and TV sets, video cassette recorders and CD players in our houses. In factories and plants we are surrounded with electronically con­trolled machines and instruments, we are carried by airplanes, ships, trains and cars with built-in electronic devices, and satellites circle the globe. In other words, we are living in an electronic world.

And the center of this world is a tiny silicon plate¹ of a few square millimetres, an integrated circuit², or a chip³, as it is more commonly known. The integrated circuit is undoubtedly one of the most sophisticated⁴ inventions of man, science and technology. It is in the heart of every electronic device and the more cassette re­corders, TV sets and computers we need, the more integrated cir­cuits are required.

When we speak about a further development of computers we mean not only quantity, but also high technology⁵ and high speed. As the operation of an integrated circuit depends on microscopic «components», the purity of all materials and the cleanness at the plant they are produced at must be of the highest quality. A con­tinuous search is going on in laboratories throughout the world for more perfect, reliable and high speed electronic circuits.

In the past it took⁶ scientists and researchers a whole lifetime to make a few thousand calculations, whereas for a modern computer this task is a matter of a few seconds. At present computers capable of performing billions of operations a second are required. Super­computers are different from ordinary computers. The ordinary computer does the computations operation by operation, while the

supercomputer operates like a brain: all operations are being done simultaneously.

In the next few years engineers will complete the work on com­puters of above 2 billion operations a second. It will take a few more years to produce a 10-billion operations computer. The fifth-generation computers performing 100 billion operations a second will become available in the near future. Is there an end to this race?

According to some researchers, we are close to what can be re­garded as a true physical limit. But other specialists think that pho­tons will make the operation a thousand times faster. This means that in the future it will be possible to expect the appearance of photon computers and that computations will be done by means of light. Light has several advantages over electronics: light beams are faster, travel in parallel lines and can pass through one another without interference⁷. Already, the optical equivalent of a transis­tor has been produced, and intensive research on optical-electronic computers is being carried out in a number of countries around the world. In a few decades a new age of light may replace the still youthful electronic age. The race is going on.

Notes to the Text

1. silicon plate — кремниевая пластина

2. integrated circuit — интегральная схема

3. chip — кристалл

4. sophisticated — сложный

5. high technology — передовая технология

6. it takes... (one year) — требуется

7. interference — взаимное влияние, помехи

УПРАЖНЕНИЯ

Упражнение 13. Просмотрите текст 5А и ответьте на вопросы.

1. What is this text about? 2. What new things appeared in peo­ple's everyday life after World War II? 3. What is at the center of all these things? 4. What applications of computers do you know? 5.Where else (еще) may computers be used? 6. How does an ordi­nary computer (a supercomputer) operate? 7. What is the speed of a new supercomputer? 8. What is the task of engineers in the field of computer development? 9. What types of computers do you know? 10. What are the prospects in the development of computers?

Упражнение 14. Укажите, какие из следующих утверждений соответству­ют содержанию текста 5А.

1. Nowadays an integrated circuit is the main component of everyday device. 2. Supercomputers are in general usage now. 3. The operation of integrated circuits depends on their micro­scopic component quality. 4. Some researchers think that we are close to a physical limit in increasing computer operation speed. 5. Supercomputers are similar to ordinary computers. 6. By the be­ginning of the 21st century the electronic age may replace the light age. 7. It is possible to expect the appearance of optical-electronic computers in the future.

Упражнение 15. Найдите в тексте 5А цепочки существительных-опреде­лений, состоящих не менее чем из трех компонентов, выделите основное слово и переведите.

Упражнение 16. Найдите в третьем абзаце текста 5А бессоюзное опреде­лительное придаточное предложение и переведите его.

Упражнение 17. Укажите, чем выражено определение в предложениях.

A. 1. Yesterday we watched a very late TV programme of a foot­
ball match. 2. Y.Gagarin made the world's first space flight on
April 12, 1961. 3. It was announced that 1000 well-equipped sport
clubs could be opened in this country. 4. Our electronics and radio
electronics industry have developed from the country's only radio
laboratory in Nizny Novgorod. 5. This country has powerful energy
systems with the world's largest hydro and thermal power stations
and nuclear plants. 6. How can architects solve the problem of liv­
ing in a region where night lasts for several months and where the
temperature may be between 40 °C and 50 °C?

B. 1. The experiments carried out by Bell and Watson didn't
give any positive results for a long time. 2. D.K. Chernov laid the
foundation of the science dealing with metals. 3. In many countries
scientists interested in electricity wanted to find out whether it
could be used for a long distance communication. 4. Articles pub­
lished by Franklin in 1752 dealt with electricity. 5. Communication
satellites used by all countries make intercontinental television
transmission possible.

C. 1. Nowadays computers capable of performing billions of op­
erations a second are required. 2. People present at the demonstra­
tion of Popov's invention were sure of its great future. 3. Wind and
solar energies available throughout the earth must be used for useful
purposes. 4. Russian engineers have developed the cargo airplane

«Ruslan» capable of carrying load up to 150 tons. 5. Computers available everywhere nowadays make our life easier.

D. 1. Polzunov was the first to construct a steam engine. 2. Men­
deleev was the first to make a classification of chemical elements.
3. The thermometer is a device to measure temperature. 4. Faraday
was the first to invent a dynamo. 5. A telephone set is a device to
reproduce sounds.

E. 1. Materials new computers depend on must be of the best
quality. 2. The number of components supercomputers consist of is
great. 3. The plants computer components are produced at must be
superclean. 4. The laboratory the Curies worked in was very primi­
tive. 5. The space laboratory the Russian cosmonauts live and work
in is in the orbit for a long time. 6. Satellites our communication
goes through are sent into space regularly. 7. The problem Bell
was interested in was not an easy one and it took several years to
solve it. 8. The problem this article deals with is connected with
the subject we study. 9. The changes and movements of the air we
are surrounded with influence our lives. 10. This is an article that
deals with some environmental problems we face.

УПРАЖНЕНИЯ ДЛЯ САМОСТОЯТЕЛЬНОЙ РАБОТЫ

Упражнение 18. Образуйте слова с префиксом super- и переведите их. man, power, genius, hot, hard, natural, conductor.

Упражнение 19. Найдите слова с отрицательным значением.

true, unusual, important, disappearance, incapable, informa­tion, undiscovered, capable, untrue, changing, usual, undetected, unimportant, appearance, detected, discovered, intention, possi­ble, include, impossible, disadvantages, imagine, unchanging.

Упражнение 20. Определите, к каким частям речи относятся слова.

superconductivity, superconductive, quality, qualitative, quali­tatively, quantity, quantitative, quantitatively, pure, purity, manu­facture.

Упражнение 21. Назовите производные от следующих слов, переведите их.

electron, operate, compute, calculate.

Упражнение 22. Расположите слова в алфавитном порядке.

still, start, specialist, speed, speak, second, search, science, so­phisticated, surround, supercomputer, ship, simultaneously.

Упражнение 23. Назовите исходную форму слов.

factories, carried, living, more, depends, components, highest, took, qualitatively.