Л. М. Чучіліна Відповідальний за випуск
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Міністерство освіти і науки України
Сумський державний університет
До друку та в світ
дозволяю на підставі
“Єдиних правил”,
п.2.6.14
Заступник першого проректора –
Начальник організаційно-методичного
управління В.Б. Юскаєв
TECHNOLOGY
Збірник професійно-орієнтованих текстів
та завдань для студентів 1-2 курсів
технічних та економічних спеціальностей
денної форми навчання
Частина 1
Усі цитати, цифровий та
фактичний матеріал,
бібліографічні
відомості перевірені,
запис одиниць
відповідає стандартам
Укладачі: А.М.Дядечко
Л.М.Чучіліна
Відповідальний за випуск
Зав.кафедри іноземних мов Г.І.Литвиненко
Суми
Вид-во СумДУ
2007
Міністерство освіти і науки України
Сумський державний університет
TECHNOLOGY
Збірник професійно-орієнтованих текстів та завдань
для студентів 1-2 курсів технічних та економічних
спеціальностей денної форми навчання
Частина 1
Суми
Вид-во СумДУ
2007
TECHNOLOGY
Збірник професійно-орієнтованих текстів та завдань
для студентів 1-2 курсів технічних та економічних спеціальностей денної форми навчання. Частина 1 /
Укладачі: А.М. Дядечко, Л.М.Чучіліна – Суми:Вид-во СумДУ, 2007.- 30с.
Unit 1
1 What are the oldest tools people still use even in the information age we live today?
2 What tools do you use in the classroom, in your kitchen? What operations are performed with them?
3 Make up a list of tools people can use for different kinds of communication.
4 Read the text.
Prehistory of Technology
Technology is nothing more than the use of tools. When you use a screwdriver, a hammer, or an axe, you are using technology just as much as when you use an automobile, a television set, or a computer.
We often think of technology as a human invention. Stone tools found by archeologists show that our ape-like ancestors were already putting technology to use. Using tools may have helped them to transform into human beings.
Most of the tools invented have helped our bodies rather than our minds. They help us lift, move, cut and shape. Only quite recently we have developed tools to help our minds as well. The tools of communication, from pencil and paper to television, were designed to serve our minds. These devices transmit information or preserve it but they do not modify it. With time people’s interest went to the machines that classify and modify information. So we may say that the computers and calculators are mind tools. The widespread use of machines for information processing is a modern development.
Answer the questions:
1 What is the difference between body and mind tools?
2 What do we mean by classification and modification of information?
3 What machines process information and in what way?
4 Can mind tools change both our minds and body?
Unit 2
1 In what way is modern production controlled?
2 Can you explain such mechanical operations as turning, drilling, threading?
3 What kinds of measurements are you taught in your classes at university?
4 Read the text.
Machine Tools as a Measure of Man’s Progress
The variety of combinations of machine tools are unlimited. Some of them are very small and can be mounted on a work bench but others are so large that we have to construct special buildings to house them.
There are some basic operations at any work shop. They are turning, drilling, threading, etc.
Technological progress improves accuracy of machine tools. Todays’s equipment can produce parts with very high accuracy. One can find a number of machine tools that can measure and inspect their production themselves, they can handle the parts mechanically and automatically.
Since machine tools become faster and more complex, automatic measurements and inspection ought to be of greater importance. Automation is one of the main factors of engineering progress.
Answer the questions:
1What problems of modern production are touched in the text?
2 What “mechanical words” are given in the text?
3 Why is automation so important for engineering?
Unit 3
1 Try to remember at least three discoveries and the names of the people who made them.
2 Read the text paying special attention to the facts and names.
From History of Science
During the period of human history called Enlightenment (usually considered to extend from 1680 to 1800), writers, philosophers and statesmen struggled to create “perfect societies” in which unlimited improvements could be made in human capacities and human happiness..
Above all else, Enlightenment thinkers urged the progress of science. They talked about an ideal “republic of science” where reason, logic would be supreme, ideas would be freely examined and exchanged and useful knowledge would serve people.
The period from 1810 through 1910 was a glorious 100 years for science in Western Europe. Major breakthroughs were made in understanding and, in some cases controlling events and systems in nature – from the structure of atoms to the movement of stars. Britain, France and Germany were the leading sources of new ideas in science and mathematics. These new ideas included: Dalton’s atomic theory; Humphrey Davy’s electrochemistry discoveries; Kelvin’s relationships between heat and electricity; Rutherford’s theory of the atomic nucleus; Lagrange’s celestial mechanics formulas; Marie and Pierre Curie’s studies of radioactivity; Roentgen’s discovery of x-rays; and Mendel’s ideas of heredity.
Scientific achievements in the United States during the same period seem pale in comparison to European developments. Isolated by the Atlantic Ocean from the mainstreams of scientific thought and research in Europe, American scientists often invented products and processes that already existed in Europe. The United States was a relatively poor nation at that time. However, thousands of products that make life easier, safer and more enjoyable for people were developed by Americans during the 19-th century.
In the early part of the century many developments in tool making, agriculture and construction were not based much on scientific knowledge and methods. Many later developments in electricity, magnetism, chemistry, biology and structural mechanics required a basic understanding of scientific discoveries and principles. This linking of scientific understanding and technological know-how led to a type of applied science for which Americans are known today. The biggest invention that created the computer age was barely noticed in 1948 but changed and is still changing the way millions of people work, study, do business and research.
1 Derive the nouns which mean the doers of the action (people) as in example:
science – scientist
physics – invent -
chemistry – discover -
biology- think -
astronomy – philosophy –
mechanics – research –
2 Complete the sentences matching the words on the left with those on the right from task I:
Radioactivity
Theory of heredity
Movement of stars
Heat and electricity is/are studied by . . .
Celestial bodies
Atomic nucleus
Magnetism
3 Chose the right variant:
1) During the Enlightenment period the focus was put mostly on a) technology
b) science
c) human capacities
2) Enlightenment was given its name because
a) electricity was discovered
b) people became more educated
c) theory of light was developed
4 Check your knowledge of the vocabulary from the text:
1) The word “supreme” in the second passage means
a) most important
b) quite possible
c) desirable
2 ) The word “breakthrough” in the third passage does not mean
a) progress
b) innovation
c) damage
3) The words “pale” in the forth passage means
a) having little color
b) bloodless
c) not very significant
4) The word “know-how” in the last passage means
a) knowledge of methods
b) high qualification
c) business plan
5) The word “applied’in the last passage if related to science
means
a) well developed
b) put to practical use
c) theoretically developed
5 Answer the questions:
1) Why is history of American science different from that in Europe?
2) What are specific features of American science?
3 )What were the biggest scientific discoveries of the 19th century?
4) Which of the discoveries mentioned in the text are related to your speciality? Can you add up any more?
5) Can you name any inventions made in the USA in the 20th century?
6) What countries are developing their science very rapidly? What are today’s priorities in research?
7) Can you predict the future of the world science?
Unit 4
1 Can you differentiate science, technology and engineering?
2 Which of the three mentioned above did you study at school mostly?
3 What are the main functions an engineer has to perform? Does he create/design/plan?
4 Read the text.
Science, Engineering and Technology
Technology and science are closely tied together, but they are different. Science is the study of facts, phenomena, etc. It usually gives you the theories ( ideas about how nature works ). Science deals with man’s understanding of the real world – the properties of space, matter, energy and their interaction. Technology is systematic knowledge and action, usually of industrial processes. Technology lets you use your knowledge and resources to solve different problems. It deals with the tools and techniques for carrying out the plans. Technology is the application of scientific and engineering knowledge to achieve a practical result. Engineering is the application of the knowledge learned to develop products. It uses the knowledge to create plans, designs and means for achieving desired goals.
Most people think that technology is related only to science and math. While this connection is easy to see, technology is just as much a part of social studies and other subjects.
Example: Flow of electrons produces current; this is a fact or concept of science. When current is passed through a semiconductor device such as silicon or germanium, the mechanism is known as electronics. The production of an electronic device using the concept of electronics is known as electronics engineering. Computers are developed using electronics engineering. Using the computer to store digital information, processing it and sending it from one place to
another through telecommunication equipment in a secure manner is information technology.
Advancements in technology have given us the quality of life we enjoy today. It is easy to see how the speed of technology has increased. Technology definitely has changed with times. Some technologies no longer exist because there is no use for them today. Other technologies have changed to better meet our needs. At each step in time, different technologies were important for what they could do to help us.
The rapid growth of technology has caused our society to change rapidly too. The study of technology is a study process that includes both technical and social processes. It has to do with designing, making, and doing things. It is enhanced by discoveries in science and shaped by the designs of engineers. Technology is the way that things are introduced into society.
Technology has changed the way we work, the way we study and play. It affects the whole world, but the effects have been both good and bad. People see some of technologies as being positive and some as being negative.
Some people just do not like any change at all. But one thing is for sure: change keeps happening. We cannot always predict accurately how a change will affect us or our world.
Our task is to constantly evaluate how technology can be used with the most benefits to people and the environment.
1 Say whether statements below are TRUE or FALSE:
a) We use technology to solve practical problems.
b) To use technology means to practice science and math.
c) Even science about our society includes technology.
d) The higher is the level of technology, the higher our
standards of living are.
e) The speed of technology is hard to see.
f) Changes will never stop.
g) People can predict changes easily.
h) Technology needs control.
2 Answer the questions:
a) Why do some technologies disappear?
b) Are all technologies positive?
c) In what way do we depend on technologies?
d) Why do some people ignore modern technologies?
f) What newest technologies have entered your life
recently?
3 Fill in the gaps with proper prepositions:
a) Technology deals . . . tools and techniques to carry out plans.
b) Technology is not related . . .science and math only.
c) It is shaped . . . the designs of engineers.
d) Technology introduces new things . . . society.
e) We should use technology . . . the best benefits . . . people and the environment.
4 Topics for discussion in the class:
a) Being professional means to master technologies.
b) Any technology can be used for both the good and the bad. Give examples.
c) High technologies and students’ life.
d) Possible ways to control technology.
e) The newest technologies in language learning.
f) Changes in technology cause changes in mentality.
Unit 5
1 What do we mean by humanoids?
2 Where can humanoids be seen today?
3 Is it important for robots to look like human beings?
4 Would you like to have humanoid robots at home, in the class or some other place? What for?
5 Make sure that you know the words below:
Decade, costly, emerge, battlefield, gesture.
6 Read the text.
Humanoid Robotics
Like never before, technology can bring imagination to life. For decades we have been informed about robots that look like humans. We are promised by films, fiction and television that humanoids will cook for us, clean for us, become our best friends, teach our children, and even fall in love with us. Recently a surprising number of new humanoid robots have emerged on the commercial market. The first generations of humanoids were costly and used mostly for entertainment. In time they will perform a wide variety of tasks at homes, battlefields, nuclear plants, government installations, factories and even space stations. Already humanoid robots can carry out complex commands given through gesture and speech.
Humanoids may prove to be the ideal robot design to interact with people. The humans have already adapted to the high level modality of the monitor and keyboard. In future technology will adapt to us.
Humanoid robotics also offers a unique research tool for understanding the human brain and body.
1 Answer the questions:
a) Why did people start producing robots?
b) What can robots do at battlefields, nuclear plants, space stations?
2 Comment on the last two passages of the text.
Unit 6
1 What do you happen to know about nanotechnology?
What does the word “nano” mean? From what sources
have you taken the information?
2 What field of science does nanotechnology belong to?
What problems which people are facing today may
nanotechnology help solve?
3 Read the text.
Nanotechnology
Manufactured products are made from atoms. The properties of those products depend on how those atoms are arranged. If we rearrange the atoms in coal we can make diamonds. If we rearrange the atoms in sand and add a few other elements we can make computer chips.
You can put the LEGO blocks into great heaps and pile them up, but you can’t really snap them together the way you’d like. With nanotechnology we will be able to snap together the fundamental building blocks of nature easily, inexpensively and in most of the ways permitted by the laws of physics. This will be essential if we continue the revolution in computer hardware and also let us fabricate a new generation of products that are cleaner, stronger, lighter, and more precise.
It is worth pointing out that the word “nanotechnology” has become very popular and is used to describe many types of research where the characteristic dimensions are less than about 1,000 nanometers.
There are two concepts commonly associated with nanotechnology: positional assembly and massive parallelism
Positional assembly implies an interest in molecular robotics, e.g. robotic devices that are molecular both in size and precision. It is frequently used in macroscopic manufacturing today, and provides great advantages. Massive parallelism is considered as some form of convergent assembly. In this process vast numbers of small parts are assembled by vast numbers of small robotic arms into larger parts, those larger parts are assembled by larger robotic arms into still larger parts, and so forth.
1 Agree or disagree with the statements:
a) It is not easy to rearrange atoms.
b) Coal and diamond are related.
c) Nanotechnology might lead us to a new quality of living we have never had before.
d) Precision is not so important in nanotechnology.
2 Answer the questions:
a) What do properties of the products depend on?
b) Why is it necessary to rearrange atoms?
c) What do the LEGO blocks have in common with nanotechnology?
d) Can you explain what molecular robotics is?
e) What is your idea of the two concepts of nanotechnology?
3 Give synonyms of the words below:
vast, dimensions, frequently, essential, concept, permit.
4 Share your views on the future of nanotechnology.
Unit 7
1 Brainstorm as many computer words in the class as you can.
2 Make a list of functions that your mobile phone can perform. Share it with your classmates.
3 What can you say about Silicon Valley?
4 Explain in English the words and word combinations, translate if necessary:
artificial intelligence, computer architecture, simple calculus devices, arithmetic operations, chip, neural networks.
5 Read the text.
Computer Revolution
Rapid computer science development and scientific principles of its formation began in the 40s of the 20th century. As the electronics and then microelectronics became the technical basis of computer science and the achievements in the field of artificial intelligence were put into basis of computer architecture development. Before this time for almost 500 years only simple calculus devices were used for arithmetic operations.
Today computer technology is the fastest growing industry in the world. While the first computer was the size of minibus and weighed a ton, today its job can be done by a chip the size of a pin head. The revolution is still going on.
The so called “wearable” computers are being developed to be installed then on wrists, glasses and earrings. Mobile-phone companies produce mobile phones that allow you to stuff the Internet as well as make calls. People use their phones to check the news headlines, follow the stock market or download the latest jokes. Soon they will be able to buy cinema tickets and to check their bank accounts.
The next generation of computers will be able to talk and even think for themselves. They will contain electronic “neural networks”. They will be still simpler than human brains, but it will be a great step forward. “Intelelectronics” which is focused on artificial intelligence, is being developed to assist human intellectual activities.
As for pure information scope, computers not only can, but also must overcome human ability. But in social scope computers will always remain no more, than human tools and assistants.
Computer revolution is changing our life and our language. We are constantly making up new words or giving new meanings to old ones. Most of computer terms are born
in Silicon Valley, the world’s top computer-science center.
1 Agree or disagree:
a) The very first computer was very heavy.
b) Computer development means human abilities modeling.
c) Human mental activities need no electronic help.
d) Computers must not be more perfect than people as for information processing.
e) People can wear computes.
2 Answer the questions:
a) What are the key problems of the text?
b) What numerical information is given in the text?
c) Do basic computer functions change with time?
d) In what ways are computer words created?
e) Why do most of computer terms come from Silicon Valley?
3 Comment on the statements from the text:
a) In social scope computers will always remain no more than human assistants.
b) The next generation of computers will be able to talk and even think for themselves.
Unit 8
1 Do you remember when you were given electronic services at the library for the first time? How many years ago was it?
2 Has the situation changed a lot ?
3 What is the list of computer services that students can have at Sumy state university library? Are students satisfied with them?
4 Is it easier to find the information you need just staying at home with your computer attached to the Internet?
5 Read the text about Electronic libraries.
Electronic Libraries
Prompt and efficient provision of documents or information is the most important function of the library. Librarians have worked for a long time towards performing this function more effectively and satisfactory in the service of users.
Recent developments in information technology, which could be defined as a sophisticated technology related to the production, transfer, processing, and presentation of information based on a combination of computer and telecommunications technologies, opened a new way for librarianship. Save for some small libraries, it is difficult now to find one not equipped with a computer. The computer has come to be used for almost all tasks carried out in the library: acquisition, cataloguing, searching, circulation and for reference services.
Currently with the development of computer technology, there have also been the development of communications technology and the construction of extensive communication networks. The library community has been working to exploit this technology as well. As a result, library networks, large and small, have been built in many parts of the world. At present, many libraries, having completed the first phase of computerization and networking, are trying to make the systems more intelligent and easier to access and to make use of extensive information resources distributed at many places. The libraries resulting from these efforts are sometimes called electronic libraries.
By the term “electronic library”, however, different people mean different things. Besides the problem of the definition, the distinction between the electronic library and certain other concepts is not clear. In fact, there have been a variety of approaches to the electronic library:
- library automation and networking
- electronic publishing
- computer networks
- hypermedia systems
- more intelligent systems
Actual systems usually adopt some combinations of these approaches.
1 Answer the questions:
a) What is the main function of any library?
b) What new technologies have come to librarianship?
c) What tasks are performed by computers at the library?
d) Why is it so difficult to define what electronic library is?
e) What is your personal concept of the electronic library?
2 Complete the sentences:
a) The computer has come to be used for almost . . . . . . . . . .
b) Library networks have been built . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c) By the term “electronic library” different people . . . . . . . .
d) In fact, there have been a variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 Give some practical advice to electronic libraries users from your own experience.
Unit 9
1 What can people use for their communication? Make a list of communication instruments.
2 In what ways did primitive people communicate?
3 Do you practice body language? When and why? Give examples to explain.
4 Enumerate all possible ways to send written messages.
5 Have a partner in the class and use your mobile telephone to send him/her a message that your teacher will dictate. Check the time to find out the fastest sender of the same message. Who is the most mobile in the class?
6 Make sure you understand easily the word combinations from the text. Translate them whenever necessary:
face-to-face speech, simple text messages, global mobile communications market, personal communication systems, wireless digital systems, transportable communications systems, technical challenges, additional channels, mobile communications industry, traditional service industry supply chains.
7 Build up derivatives of the words below:
Speech, humanity, variety, invention, written, deliver, additional, exchange, mobile, digital, explosion, image, accessible, enrich.
8 Pay special attention to the following verbs:
to magnify to cover
to provide to overcome
to reflect to remove
to enhance to outline
to distribute to lead (to)
to interact
9 Give synonyms:
desire, increase, rapid, growth, global, humanity.
10 Give antonyms:
simple, to magnify, rapid, traditional.
11 What ideas about the text do you have after practicing some vocabulary from it?
12 Read the text.
Mobile Communications
Until a few thousand years ago, the only way people could communicate was through face-to-face speech and sometimes looking at a simple drawing. Then humanity learnt how to write. Over centuries we developed a variety of ways to send written messages between people. A major leap forward came with the invention of the telegraph, which enables us to send simple text messages around the world in minutes. A hundred and thirty years ago the telephone came on to the scene and changed the world forever. It magnified our ability to communicate by speech. Then came the fax, which allowed us to deliver written messages and images to each other within seconds. More recently, we have seen the explosion in the use of communications technology through the mass take up of mobile phones, the Internet, e-mail, videoconferencing and so on. Each of these provides us with an additional channel through which we can exchange ideas and information.
There is an increased desire for communications systems to be more mobile. This is reflected by the rapid growth in the global mobile telecommunications market. People have a need to communicate with each other both for practical and personal reasons. In the future we are likely to see enhanced mobility as personal communication systems become more widely distributed. Society will never be out of touch. We will be able to communicate using a variety of voice, data and images ( eventually 3-D ) anywhere via wireless digital systems 24 hours a day.
Communications technology will be more personalized and will grow more user friendly and accessible as customers become more technologically aware. Such advances will lead to the development of a host of services that could be delivered via these more transportable communications systems. These services would not only enrich our personal lives, they could also improve the way in which we work and interact at a professional level. They could provide a channel for all the information we use, covering every aspect of daily life.
There are of course technical challenges to overcome
before such dreams become a reality. However, developments in the mobile communications industry, like those outlined above, will carry implications for many other industries as they begin to remove stages of the traditional service industry supply chains.
1 Translate into English:
протягом кількох століть,безліч шляхів, потужний прорив, з’явитися, змінити світ назавжди, спілкуватися за допомогою мови, письмові повідомлення, за лічені секунди, обмінюватися ідеями та інформацією, швидке зростання, ставати більш поширеними, бути поза межами дотику, ставати більш обізнаним технічно, низка послуг,
спілкуватися на професійному рівні, охоплювати усі аспекти повсякденного життя, мрії збуваються, як і ті, що були вказані раніше.
2 Say if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE:
a) It took humanity long to learn to write.
b) The telephone was invented in the 20th century.
c) People still need faster communication.
d) Personal communication systems will not take priority in the future.
e) Progress in mobile communications needs no additional education of their users.
f) The developments in communications will bring radical changes into industry.
3 Have a discussion of the text point by point:
a) evolution of means of communication, its biggest inventions;
b) communication technologies that appeared recently;
c) global mobile communications market today;
d) never out of touch, wireless digital communication systems 24 hours a day;
e) future technologies and education;
f) communication technologies and customers’ way of life.
4 Share your personal experience on using mobile telephone, e-mail, the Internet, videoconferencing, etc.
Unit 10
1 How many computer and the Internet words can your enlist? Do they have equivalents in your native language?
2 When did you get your last email? How often do your check your email box?
3 Do you chat a lot? What for?
4 Can you guess what the word ‘weblish’ might mean?
5 Read the text.
Welcome to Weblish!
New technology always brings changes and new additions to the language, but the telecommunications revolution of the last years has caused some of the most rapid and widespread changes yet seen.
New words are entering the language all the time to put a name to concepts that have never existed before, and existing words are being used in a new way. For example the word access and text, previously used only as nouns, are now commonly used as verbs in phrases such as to access the Internet and to text someone. Other words, such as chat, which used to mean “casual verbal communication’ but now means ‘live email communication’, have taken on entire new meanings.
In addition, many of these English words- the most obvious being computer itself- have spread outside of the English-speaking world and become part of a global language of technology. Thanks to the influence of the American computer industry, users of British English have abandoned some British spellings in favour of their American equivalents, such as program instead of programme and disk instead of disc.
Finally, the style and the tone of the language itself is changing. Although they are written forms of communication, the immediacy of emails and text messages mean that their language is usually much more informal than a letter would be, even in a business context. And, to the concern of many people, spelling and punctuation are becoming much more unconventional.
The senders of text messages have invented a unique language of shortcuts (abbreviations). Here are some of them:
CU see you
GR8 great
L8R later
MSG message
NE any-
R are
THX thanks
TXT ME BAC text me back
U you
UR your/you’re
WANT2. . .? do you want to. . .?
Y why?
2DAY today
2MORO tomorrow
1What is said in the text about
the spread of American English
huge changes for English
changing style and tone
changing words and meanings?
2 Say the Internet words defined below. Use hints in the brackets if necessary:
a)Unwanted email sent to you by commercial companies.
b) A personal on-line diary or journal that anyone can access.
c) The imaginary ‘space’ through which Internet messages travel.
d) A videocamera that can transmit images live over the Internet.
e) An Internet business.
( webcam, blog, cyberspace, dotcom, spam )
3 Share your personal ideas and experiences on the Internet use.
Unit 11
Masters of Invention
Their Computers Have Changed the Way We Work and Play
Read the introduction to the magazine article and answer the following questions:
Computers are everywhere. You can use a computer to write a letter, design a house, draw a picture or exchange messages with someone around the world. But it wasn't too long ago that computers could only work math problems. Those machines cost millions of dollars, and only a few huge companies had them. Now, more than a third of all U.S. families have a computer at home.
1 Do you have a computer at home ? If so, what is it?
2 How often do you use it?
3 What do you use your computer for more often?
4 Is your PC interfaced to the Internet?
5 Are you a ‘computer nerd’?
6 Do your parents like your being stuck to the computer for long hours?
7 Do you have any cyber buddies?
8 Do you know anything about the inventors of the first computers?
Computers have changed the way we live. The Information Age has jumped on Information Super-highway. Meet some of the men who made it possible.
Vocabulary
digital computer - цифрова обчислювальна машина
to store - зберігати, містити
digit number - однозначне число
to take apart - розбирати на частини
eventually - згодом
to yell - кричати
forerunner - попередник
flashing light - сигнальне світло
lighthouse - маяк
fortune-teller - провісник
binary - подвійний
to click on (off) - вмикатися (вимикатися) з клацанням
to compute - обчислювати
knitting needle - спиця (в'язальна)
prickly - колючий
equation - рівняння
Reading
1 Divide into two groups.
Group A Read about Charles Babbage.
Group B Read about Howard Aiken
Charles Babbage (1792-1871)
The Englishman designed the first modern digital computer, but he never built it. He did build other useful devices, though, including a submarine.
Charles Babbage, Master Inventor
English mathematician Charles Babbage designed the first modern computer in the 1830's. He called it an analytical engine.
Babbage had been able to get enough money to build the computer, the analytical engine would have been as big as a locomotive. It would have been able to store 1.000 50-digit numbers. That was unheard of back then - even though today's machines can store millions of times more information.
Charles Babbage was born the day after Christmas in 1792. As a child, he liked to take toys apart to see how they were made. He loved to work with math problems. He eventually became a professor at Cambridge University in England.
Babbage could be mean and he sometimes yelled at people who disagreed with him. But he had a brilliant mind. In addition to designing , the forerunner of today's digital computer. Babbage invented a railroad signal system, a device for examining eyes, a submarine and a system of flashing lights for lighthouses.
During the 70 years following Babbage's death in 1871, computer scientists improved on Babbage's original idea.
Howard Aiken (1900-1973)
He built the Mark I, the first working digital computer. A brilliant inventor, he was not a good fortune-teller. Said Aiken in 1947: "There will never be enough problems, enough work for more than one or two of there computers."
Howard Aiken,A Step Toward Today
In 1944, Harvard University physicist Howard Aiken built the forerunner of today's computer.
Aiken's Mark I was the first working digital binary computer. It used thousands of electrical switchers that clicked on and off to compute data. When it was running, the switches sounded like the clicking of knitting needles.
Howard Aiken drew up poor in Indianapolis, Ind. He had to work his way though school, but he made it though Harvard.
Aiken, like Charles Babbage, had a prickly personality. While his computer, the Mark I, was being built, he drove the workers like slaves.
For 16 years the Mark I was used to solve the complex equations needed to aim the U.S. Navy's big guns. But it was much slower than later computers, which use electronic components instead of switches.
2 Answer the questions:
1) Where did the scientist come from ?
2) What have you learned about his childhood?
3) What was his job?
4) What university did he teach at?
5) Did he design his computer?
6) Did he manage to built it?
7) What was his computer like?
8) What kind of man was the scientist?
9) What do you know about his other inventions?
3 When you have answered the questions, find a partner from the other group. Compare your answers and swap information.
4 Tell about one of the Masters of Invention.
5 Find out if you are a ‘computer nerd’ or a ‘technophobe’. Match each word or word-combination in the left-hand column with the best meaning in the right –hand column. Put a letter to indicate your choice.
| ___1. a modem ___2. a computer nerd ___3.a disk ___4.a mouse ___5.the Internet ___6.cyberspace ___7.a technophobe ___8.a cyber buddy | a) a person who doesn’t like modern machines, especially computers. b) a computer system which allows millions of computer users to exchange information. c) a piece of electronic equipment that allows information to be sent along telephone wires from one computer to another. d) a friend who you only ever communicate with through computers. e) a small object which you move with your hands to give instructions to a computer. f) a flat piece of plastic you use for storing computer information. g) the imaginary place where electronic messages, information, pictures, etc. exist when they are sent from one computer to another. h) someone whose life is dominated by computers. |
Навчальне видання
TECHNOLOGY
Збірник професійно-орієнтованих текстів
та завдань для студентів 1-2 курсів
технічних та економічних спеціальностей
денної форми навчання
Частина 1
Відповідальна за випуск Г.І.Литвиненко
Редактор Н.В.Лисогуб
Комп’ютерне верстання Л.П.Іванової
Підп. до друку .07.2007, поз.
Формат 60х48/16.Папір офс.Гарнітура Times New Roman Суг.Друк.офс.
Ум. друк.арк. Обл.-вид.арк.
Тираж 500 пр. Собівартість вид.
Зам. №
Видавництво СумДУ при Сумському державному університеті
40007, м.Суми, вул.Р.-Корсакова,2
Свідоцтво про внесення суб’єкта видавничої справи до Державного реєстру
ДК №2365 від 08.12.2005.
Надруковано у друкарні СумДУ
40007, вул. Р.-Корсакова,2