Feed in English, print out in French

 

Once upon a time, according to a much told story, a computer was set a task of translating “traffic jam” into French and back into English. The machine buzzed, clicked, blinked its lights and eventually came up with “car-flavored marmalade”.

Machine translation has come a long way since then. Computer translation systems are now widely used for various purposes. But although the efficiency of machine translation is rapidly improving, there is no question of human translators being made redundant. On the contrary, people and machines work together in harmony.

Today’s computers are of little value in translating literary works, where subtlety is vital; or the spoken language, which tends to be ungrammatical; or important texts, where absolute accuracy is essential. But for routine technical reports, working papers, and the like, which take up so much of the translation workload of the international organizations, computers are likely to play an increasing role. The method of operation will probably be for the machines to make a rough version, which the translator will then edit, correcting obvious errors, and where necessary referring back to the original.

If machines can translate languages, could they teach languages? Yes, say enthusiasts, although they doubt that the teacher could ever be totally replaced by a machine in the classroom. Good old teachers know best!

 

Ex.23. Answer the following questions and give the reason why you answer in this way, using words and word combinations given in the box.

What would you prefer (what would you rather do):

1) Communicate with a person or a computer? 2) Learn a foreign language with the help of a computer or a teacher? 3) Have a diagnosis stated by a computer or a doctor? 4) Have your marriage arranged by your friend or by a computer? 5) Play chess (games) with a person or a computer?

Heartless unfeeling soulless indifferent inhuman liable to error/ subject to error to provide an enormous variety of choice to reduce the element of risk it depends

TEXT C

Read and translate the following text using a dictionary.

VIRUSES AND VACCINES

The terms viruses and vaccines have entered the jargon of the computer industry to describe some of the bad things that can happen to computer systems and programs. Unpleasant occurrences like the March 6, 1991, attack of the Michelangelo virus will be with us for years to come. In fact, you need to check your IBM or IBM-compatible personal computer for the presence of Michelangelo before March 6 every year – or risk losing all the data on your hard disk when you turn on your machine that day. And Macintosh users need to do the same for another intruder, the Jerusalem virus, before each Friday the 13^th, or risk a similar fate for their data.

A virus as its name suggests, is contagious. It is a set of illicit instructions that infects other programs and may spread rapidly. The Michelangelo virus went worldwide within a year. Some types of viruses include the worm, a program that spreads by replicating itself; the bomb, the program intended to sabotage a computer; and the Trojan horse, a program that covertly places illegal, destructive instructions in the middle of a legitimate program.

Although viruses can be destructive, some are quite benign; one simply displays a peace message on the screen on a given data. Others may merely be a nuisance, like the Ping-pong virus that bounces a “Ping-pong ball” around your screen while you are working. But a few could result in disaster for your disk, as in the case of Michelangelo.

There have been occasions when commercial software was released with a virus, but these situations are rare. Viruses tend to show up most often on free software acquired from friends. So before any diskette can be used with a computer system, it should be scanned for infection.

A virus may be dealt with by means of a vaccine, or antivirus, program that stops the spread of the virus and often eradicates it. The drawback of the antivirus program is that once you buy this type of software, you must continuously pay the price for upgrades as new viruses are discovered.

Ex.24. True or false?

1) The terms viruses and vaccines are used only in the language of medical officers. 2) These terms are used to describe some unpleasant occurrences that can happen to programmers. 3) The Michelangelo virus attacked the computer systems in March 1991 and went worldwide within a month. 4) You need to check your PC for the presence of the Michelangelo before March 6 every year. 5) The Jerusalem virus is known to appear on Monday the 13^th. 6) A virus is a set of instructions that infects other programs. 7) The worm, the bomb, the Trojan horse are the names of computer games for children. 8) The Ping-pong virus is said to be the most dangerous and destructive one. 9) Commercial software is always released with various viruses. 10) Any diskette should be scanned for infection. 11) A virus may be dealt with by means of another virus. 12) The antivirus programs must be often updated because new viruses are discovered.

 

TEXT D

Read the text given below and guess the idea. Think about the title of the text.

***

The first computers appeared right after World War II, and since that time they have changed not only the lives of Americans. They have been changing the lives of people all over the world. At present wherever the man turns, he finds a computer working.

Computers in banks can transfer money from one account to another. Computers are used to launch, guide and track spacecrafts and satellites; they help predict weather and earthquakes. They help people make long-distance and local telephone calls. Computers are also used when one reserves space on an airplane or a train. In medical labs computers have reduced the errors in testing, and they have saved doctors’ countless hours of work.

Many stores use computers to keep track of sales and orders. Also, many stores use optical scanners to record purchases and total prices. A tiny computer chip controls your washing machine. Computers linked to TV, telephone and satellite networks spread information throughout the world.

Without special training it is impossible to understand exactly how a computer works. Nevertheless, many people use computers in their daily lives. Computers are everywhere. They are so much a part of our lives that we usually don’t even know they are here.

Computers have become the foundation of the modern working world. Today, virtually all types of jobs use them to some degree and all the countries are affected by the “computer revolution”.

In the future computers will be a million times faster than they are today. They will become easier to use, but anyone who has not learnt how to use the new technology will be seriously disadvantaged, particularly in the field of employment.

 

Ex.25. Answer the questions to the text you have read..

1) When did the first computers appear? 2) Was it in England that the first computers began to be used? 3) Computers are used everywhere, aren’t they? 4) Is it hardly possible for people to use computers in their everyday life? 5) What can computers do in banks? 6) What are the other spheres where computers may be used? 7) It is impossible to understand exactly how a computer works without special training, is it? 8) Do many people use computers in their daily lives? 9) Have computers become the foundation of the modern working world? 10) What countries are affected by the “computer revolution”? 11) Will computers be a million times slower in the future than they are today? 12) The problem is that in the near future computers will become more and more complicated to use, isn’t it?

☻TEXT E

Read and translate the text using a dictionary if necessary

MOTHER SHOULD HAVE WARNED YOU!

 

If you can count on one person in this life, it is your mother. Particularly, you can rely on any mom anywhere to find the perils inherent in any situation. Indeed, no self-respecting mom ever missed an opportunity to caution her children about the dangers of everything from comics to swimming pools. What would mom say about PCs?

We have tried to find an answer to this question, and after months of exhaustive polling of computer savvy moms around the country (there are more than you think), we’ve assembled the following list of ten PC perils your mom should have warned you about. Take them seriously. Mom knows what she is talking about.

1) Playing too much computer games will make you go blind. Go outside, get some fresh air. Do you want to look like a ghost all your life?

2) Never dial into strange bulletin board systems. Who knows what kind of riff-raff you will find there? Just last week, I saw a show about the kind of trash that hangs out on these systems.

3) If you are so interested in information, why don’t you go to the library?

4) You don’t have to rush out and buy every trendy new product. So what if all your friends are buying it. You wouldn’t jump off a bridge just because everyone else did, would you?

5) Be sure to write your name and phone number on all your floppy disk sleeves. That way, if they ever get mixed up with someone else’s, you can tell which one is yours.

6) Never put a disk into your drive if you don’t know where it has been. Your computer might catch a disease or something. Don’t laugh, it is not funny. That’s what happened to the Kelly boy, and his PC hasn’t been the same since.

7) Sit up straight, and for heaven’s sake, not so close to that monitor screen. What do you want to do, go blind and look like a pretzel? Exercise at your desk occasionally rotating your wrist, rolling your shoulders, and stretching. Better yet, get up and walk around.

8) Always keep your icons and windows neatly arranged. A cluttered desktop is the sign of a cluttered mind.

9) Mind your language. It is very rude, and frankly speaking, I don’t like your language when the computer doesn’t work the way you think it should.

10) Always eat your vegetables. Okay, so it doesn’t have anything to do with computers, it’s good advice anyway. And who said mothers had to be consistent?

Ex.26. Go back to the text and find the English equivalents to the following Russian phrases:

присущий; упустить возможность; действительно; “кумекающие” в компьютерах (жарг.); ослепнуть; мусор; электронная доска объявлений; модный; наклейка на дискете; рабочий стол; честно говоря; хороший совет; в любом случае; последовательный.

Ex.27. Answer the questions.

1) What do all moms usually warn their children about? 2) What were you warned about when a child? 3) What advice did you take seriously? 4) What are the top three PC perils in your opinion? 5) What of them would you warn your children about?

TEXT F

The students of different Moscow technical higher schools were asked to write the compositions in English on the following topics: 1) Hackers of today. 2) Pluses and minuses of computers. 3) Internet. Read them and choose the best composition in your opinion. Explain your choice.

HACKERS OF TODAY

Hackers, having started as toy railroad circuitry designers in the late fifties, are completely new people now. Once turned to computers, they became gods and devils. Nowadays holders and users of the World Wide Web hide their PCs under passwords when the keyword “hacker” is heard. When and how did this change take place? Why are we so frightened of Hacker The Mighty and The Elusive?

One of the legends says that hackers have changed under the influence of “crackers” – the people who liked to talk on the phone at somebody else’s expense. Those people hooked up to any number and enjoyed the pleasure of telephone conversation, leaving the most fun – bills – for the victim. Another legend tells us that modern hackers were born when a new computer game concept was invented. Rules were very simple: two computer programs were fighting for the reign on the computer. The results of this game are two in number and are well known: hackers and computer viruses. One more story tells that the “new” hackers came to existence when the two students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found an error in a network program. They informed people, responsible for the network, about this mistake but with no result. The offended students wrote a code that completely paralyzed the network and only after that the error was fixed. By the way, those students founded The Motorola Company later.

Today, when the Internet has entered everyone’s house there is no shield between a hacker and your PC. You can password yourself up, but then either a hacker will crack your PC anyway or nobody will enter your site, because passwords kill accessibility. If your PC is easy to access no one can guarantee what will happen to your computer – hackers, you know them.

Monster? Chimeras? No! Every hacker is a human being and every hacker has his soft spots: good food, pretty girls or boys, classical music, hot chocolate at the fireplace, apple pie on Sunday. First of all, hacker is a connoisseur, a professional with no computer secret out of his experience. And how he uses his skill and knowledge depends on him, God, and Holy Spirit.

 

KEEP CLICKING!

Computers spoil your eyes, computers are bad for your nerves, computers – oh, these computers! Don’t believe it! Why don’t people criticize guns that kill much more people? “That is life”, you say. Yes, but how can you blame such wonderful thing like a computer, when you can’t even use it properly? All evils imputed to computers are the results of our inexperience.

How can you blame computers for spoiling your eyes if you play GTA Vice City for hours? How can a computer be bad for your nerves if you cry out: “Damn, stupid piece of…” (you know what) every time it hangs because of your being not too smart to tell it what you want to be done.

Come on, lighten up, computer is just a piece of hardware and software mixed. And if you don’t know or can’t decide how to make this explosive cocktail, ask yourself just one question: “Who is more stupid of you two?” Of course, I’m not a computer maniac beating everyone blaming an innocent machine. But there is one little thing people can’t or don’t want to understand: computers are not able to realize ideas you don’t have and undertake the projects you haven’t mentioned. They are just tools in your hands. And the results of using them are the results of your being patient to tell in a really simple binary way: “Come on, old man, do it!” Computers are of metal and plastic but if you don’t scare them by your aggression, they do what should be done.

 

SURFING THE NET

What is more impressive than the pyramids, more beautiful than Michelangelo’s David and more important to mankind than the wondrous inventions of the Industrial Revolution? To the converted, there can be only one answer: the Internet. It is entering every area of our life – college, work and home. The electronic superhighway provides an entry to libraries, research institutions, databases, art galleries, census bureaus, etc. For those of us interested in intercultural communications Cyberspace is a universal community, with instant access not only to information to anywhere, but also to friend old and new around the globe.

The Internet is an amorphous global network of thousands of linked computers that pass information back and forth. While the Internet has no government, no owners, no time, no place, no country, it definitely has a culture, which frequently approaches anarchy; and it has a language, which is more or less English. Like all new worlds, Cyberspace has its own lingo, for example: online, modem, free net, web page, freeware, browser. There are words to describe people who roam the net: netters, internet surfers, spiders, geeks…

Large-scale use of computer-to-computer transfer of information was implemented by the US military in the late 60s – part of the superpower competition of the cold war and the arms race. The US military created an electronic network (Arpanet) to use computers for handling the transfer of large amounts of data over long distances at incredible speed. Computer-to-computer virtual connections, using satellites have distinct advantages over telephone or radio communications in the event of a nuclear attack. Mathematicians and scientists have been linked and electronically exchanging information over the Internet since the mid-70s. Now the Internet is being expanded and improved so that every home, every school, every institution can be linked to share data, information, music, video and other resources. So, if you have a computer or a computer terminal, some kind of connection (probably, modem and telephone line) to the Internet, and some kind of Internet service provider, you can participate in electronic communication and become a citizen of the global village.

☻Ex.28. Can you do a better translation?

a) 10 PROGRAMMERS

Ten young programmers began to work online,

One didn’t pay for Internet, and then there were nine.

 

Nine young programmers used copies that they made,

But one was caught by FBI, and then there were eight.

 

Eight young programmers discussed about heaven,

One said: “It’s Windows 95!”, and then there were seven.

 

Seven young programmers found bugs they want to fix,

But one was fixed by the bug, and then there were six.

 

Six young programmers were testing the hard drive,

One got the string “Format complete”, and then there were five.

 

Five young programmers were running the Front Door,

The BBS of one was hacked, and then there were four.

 

Four young programmers worked using only C,

One said some good about Pascal, and then there were three.

 

Three young programmers didn’t know what to do,

One tried to call the on-line help, and then there were two.

 

Two young programmers were testing what they’ve done,

One got a virus in his brain, and then there was one.

 

One young programmer was as mighty as a hero,

But tried to speak with user, and then there was zero.

Boss cried: “Oh, where is the program we must have?!”

And fired one programmer, and then there wereFF.

 

ПРОГРАММИСТОВ

10 программистов продукт решили сделать.

Один спросил: «А деньги где?» и их осталось девять.

 

Девять программистов предстали перед боссом.

Один из них не знал FoxPro и их осталось восемь.

 

Восемь программистов купили IBM.

Один из них сказал: «Mac – класс!» и их осталось семь.

Семь программистов решили Help прочесть.

У одного накрылся винт и их осталось шесть.

 

Шесть программистов пытались код понять.

Один из них сошёл с ума и их осталось пять.

 

Пять программистов купили CD-ROM.

Один принёс китайский диск – остались вчетвером.

 

Четыре программиста работали на «С».

Один из них хвалил PASCAL и их осталось три.

 

Три программиста играли в сетке в «DOOM».

Один чуть-чуть замешкался и счёт стал равен двум.

 

Два программиста набрали дружно «Win».

Один устал загрузки ждать – остался лишь один.

 

Один программист всё взял под свой контроль,

Но встретился с заказчиком и их осталось ноль.

 

Ноль программистов ругал сердитый шеф,

Потом уволил одного и стало их FF.

b) WHAT IF DR. SUESS WROTE A MANUAL?

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,

And the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,

And the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,

Then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.

 

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash,

And the double-clicking icon puts your window in a trash,

And your data is corrupted ’cause the index doesn’t hash,

Then your situation’s hopeless and your system’s gonna crash!

 

If the label on the cable on the table at your house,

Says the network is connected to the button of your mouse,

But your packets want to tunnel on another protocol,

That’s repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,

 

And your screen is all distorted by the side effect of Gauss,

So your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse,

Then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang,

’Cause as sure as I’m a poet, the sucker’s gonna hang!

 

When the copy of your floppy’s getting sloppy on the disk,

And the microcode instructions cause unnecessary risk,

Then you have to flash your memory and you’ll want to RAM your ROM.

Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your mom.