Task 1. Read the text, title each part and retell in writing.

1. In 1948 due to the invention of transistors there appeared the possibility to replace vacuum tubes. The transistor occupied an important place on the way to computer development. The potential advantage of the transistor over the vacuum tube was almost as great as that of the vacuum tube over the relay. A tran­sistor can switch flows of electricity as fast as the vacuum tubes used in computers, but the transistors use much less power than equivalent vacuum tubes, and are considerably smaller. Transis­tors are less expensive and more reliable.They were mechani­cally rugged, had practically unlimited life and could do some jobs better than electronic tubes. Transistors were made of crystallic solid material called semiconductor.

With the transistor came the possibility of building computers with much greater complexity and speed.

2. The integrated circuit constituted another major step in the development of computer technology. Until 1959 the fundamental logical components of digital computers were the individual electrical switches, first in the form of relays, then vacuum tubes, then transistors. In the vacuum tubes and relay ^stages, additional discrete components, such as resistors, inductors, and capacitors were required in order to make the whole system work. These components were generally each ^about the same size as packaged transistors. Integrated circuit technology permitted the elimination of some of these components and integration of most of the others on the same chip of semiconductor that contains the transistor. Thus the basic logic element — the switch, or "flip-flop', which required two separate transistors and some resistors and capacitors in the early 1950s, could be packaged into a single small unit in 1960. The chip was an important achievement in the accelerating step of computer technology.

3. In 1974 a company in New Mexico, called Micro Instrumentation Telemetry System (MITS) developed the Altair 8800, a personal computer (PC) in a kit. The Altair had ho keyboard, but a panel of switches with which to enter the information. Its capacity was less than one per cent that of the 1991 Hewlett-Packard handheld computer. But the Altair led to a revolution in computer electronics that continues today. Hardware manufacturers soon introduced personal computers, and software manufacturers began developing software to allow the computers to process words, manipulate data, and draw. During the 1980s computers became progressively smaller, better and cheaper.

Today the personal computer can serve as a work station for the individual. A wide array of computer functions are now accessible to people with no technical background.

 

 

Task 2. Change your retellings and translate them.

 

 

Tests

Test 1.

1. Computers and their_____ equipment are designed by a computer system architect.

a) engineering; b) accessory; c) specific.

2. Digital computers use numbers instead of analogous physical.

a) symbols; b) equipment; c) quantities.

3. Systems______ are usually stored in read-only memory.

a) hardware; b) software; c) firmware.

4. A computer is a machine with a complex network of electronic … that operate switches.

a) circuits; b) cores; c) characters.

5. In modern electronic computers the____ is the device that acts as a switch.

a) integrated circuit; b) diode; c) transistor.

6. A number of actions that convert data into useful information is defined as ….

a) data; b) processing; c) data processing.

7. Computers can store, organize and retrieve great amounts of information, far beyond the … of humans.

a) capacities; b) capabilities; c) accuracy.

8. The analyst -_____ a computer for solving problems, while the computer system architect computers.

a) requires; b) designs; c) uses.

9. The use of______ computers will continue to increase with the growth in applications of microprocessors and minicomputers.

a) analog; b) digital; c) hybrid.

10. The development of third generation computers became possible due to the invention of ….

a) integrated circuits; b) electronic tubes; c) transistors.

 

 

Test 2.

1. Computer a) a combination of interconnected circuit elements produced in a chip to

perform a definite func­tion;

2. Analog computer b) a sequence of instructions enabling the computer to solve a giv­en task;

3. Digital computer c) a tiny piece of silicon containing complex electronic circuits used inside all

computers;

4. Hardware d) a system which processes and stores great amount of data solv­ing problems

of numerical com­putation;

5. Software e) a device which can carry out routine mental tasks by performing simple

operations at high speed;

6. Program f) electronic and mechanical equipment in a computer system;

7. Programming g) a set of programs, procedures and associated documentation;

8. Integrated circuit h) the process of preparation a set of coded instructions for a computer;

9. Chip i) a device that has input and output represented in the form of physical

quantities;
10. Transistor j) a small piece of a semiconductor that greatly reduced power con­sumption of

a circuit.

 

 

Test 3.