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93 Unit 9 Computers ● + ●● Input and output devices ..................... ........................... .............................. .......................... ........................ ............................... ................................ .............................. Exercise 1. Match the pictures with correct names of peripherals listed below. There are two more devices in the list than in the images. headphones speakers microphone mouse monitor web camera touch screen printer keyboard projector Exercise 2. Mark the above listed devices I (input) or O (output). ● Who’s in Control In the now classic movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", the computer in a spacecraft acted very much like a human. "Hal" could think, make calculations and make judgements and, towards the end of the movie, went completely out of control and murdered members of the spacecraft team. Is this movie a prediction of things to come? Can we expect human characteristics from computers in the future? Can computers become monsters? Can computers dominate man? Can computers rule the world? Can computers reproduce themselves? These and many similar questions have whirled around in the heads of many people when encountering that astonishing device for the first time. After learning a little about how the computer operates people find the computer much less fearsome. They realize that the computer can do some amazing work for man, but man remains in control.

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  • 93

    Unit 9

    Computers

    ● + ●● Input and output devices

    ..................... ........................... .............................. ..........................

    ........................ ............................... ................................ ..............................

    Exercise 1. Match the pictures with correct names of peripherals listed below. There are two more devices in the list than in the images.

    headphones speakers microphone mouse monitor

    web camera touch screen printer keyboard projector

    Exercise 2. Mark the above listed devices I (input) or O (output).

    ● Who’s in Control In the now classic movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", the computer in a spacecraft acted very much like a human. "Hal" could think, make calculations and make judgements and, towards the end of the movie, went completely out of control and murdered members of the spacecraft team. Is this movie a prediction of things to come? Can we expect human characteristics from computers in the future? Can computers become monsters? Can computers dominate man? Can computers rule the world? Can computers reproduce themselves? These and many similar questions have whirled around in the heads of many people when encountering that astonishing device for the first time. After learning a little about how the computer operates people find the computer much less fearsome. They realize that the computer can do some amazing work for man, but man remains in control.

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    Exercise 1. Fill one word into each gap. Refer to the text above.

    1. Hal acted ..................... a human.

    2. He ..............…….......... think.

    3. He ............……............ calculations and judgements.

    4. He went completely ...................... of control.

    5. Can computers .............................. man?

    6. Man learns how the computer ................................. .

    7. Man .............……........ in control.

    Exercise 2. Make nouns from the following verbs using suffixes -ion/-tion and -ment.

    -ion/-tion

    to calculate

    to predict

    to dominate

    to reproduce

    to operate

    ……………………

    ……………………

    ……………………

    ……………………

    ……………………

    -ment

    to judge

    to astonish

    to develop

    to state

    to improve

    ……………………

    ……………………

    ……………………

    ……………………

    ……………………

    ●● The Home PC

    Exercise 1. Fill the following adjectives into correct gaps in the text below:

    average, favourite, compatible, integrated, antisocial, next

    In the late 1970s, the adoption of .............................. circuit technology enabled computers to be produced at a low enough cost for the machines to be moved from the office into the ................................ home. In 1981, IBM brought out the first true PC and in 1983 Apple made the Mackintosh. These desktop computers were rapidly cloned by many companies such that by the late 1990s most western households had their own “IBM .......................................” computer system. At the turn of the 21st Century it was common for families to own more computers than cars.

    Once a computer has crept silently into a home, it isn’t long before members of the household are introduced to the Internet, sometimes through a modem. This quickly leads to the playing of games, or

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    other activities, when “surfing” the web – and a degree of ................................... behaviour. People find they could do their work from home, chat to other Internet users, pay their bills, do their shopping, choose their ................................. holiday, ask for advice, watch their .............................. television programmes and get their music from other computers. In fact, with a computer and access to the Internet, there is no longer the need to leave the house. Unless, of course, it is on fire.

    Exercise 2. In the text above, what

    1. was adopted?

    2. was sufficiently cheap?

    3. could be combined to work together?

    4. was usual?

    5. happened without any noise?

    6. is not necessary anymore?

    ●●● The Internet’s History and Development

    Exercise 1. Combine the following phrases with suitable expressions in the next page.

    into new technologies, at a conference, over telephone lines, to files

    of today’s development, of nuclear war

    the fear ............................................... to present ...............................................

    the roots ............................................. to have access ........................................

    research .............................................. to connect ...............................................

    The Internet we use today is one of the few positive legacies of Cold War paranoia. The fear of nuclear attack led to the development of a new scheme of military and post-nuclear communication. The roots of today’s Internet come from the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). In the 1960s ARPA became interested in developing a way for computers to communicate with each other and began to fund programs at universities and corporations and to support research into building an effective network. ARPAnet made its first public appearance flashily at the International Conference on Computers and Communication in Washington D.C. in 1972. Terminals were set up at over 40 locations and more than 1000 people witnessed a new technological revolution, as remote access to files became possible. Immediately, technologies to help develop the network began to sprout. By 1973, a satellite link to Hawaii was running and by the end of the year, more distant hosts were connected over telephone lines. During 1980s, several large networks and some small networks for specific purposes appeared, building gateways between one another and within several years supercomputers were used in networking. From 1989 until 1995, there were few changes in the structure, but a mass explosion of interest. Since then, new ideas have been appearing, new networks, connected through gateways, new programs to

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    bring the world into networking. Scientists developing networking technology in the 1960s knew that what they were building would be far bigger than themselves; nobody, however, could have predicted the explosion in Internet access and interest in the past several years. The original designers didn’t even think email would be something people would want! It is important for us to remember that the real revolution took place two decades ago – today’s technology is just riding on the wave of yesterday.

    Exercise 2. Complete the following phrases with verb as are used in the text above.

    1. The fear of nuclear war .............................. to new technological development.

    2. ARPA began to ............................... programs and ............................. research.

    3. The first net ................................. its appearance in 1972.

    4. Terminals were ...................................... at over 40 locations.

    5. More than 1000 people .................................... new technological revolution.

    6. New technologies began to .......................................... .

    7. During 1980s, more networks ........................................ .

    8. Nobody ......................................... the explosion in Internet access.

    Grammar

    ● + ●● Future and Present Conditionals

    General conditional: If you mix blue and yellow, you get green. (always happens)

    Future conditional: If you mix red and white, you will get pink. (may happen in the future)

    Present conditional: If you mixed red and yellow, you would get orange. (doesn't happen at present)

    Exercise 1. Answer the questions. Use the words suggested in the brackets.

    1. What happens if you boil water? (evaporate quickly)

    2. What happens if you drop a glass? (break into tiny pieces)

    3. What happens if iron is stored in a wet place? (corrode)

    4. What happens if you ring a bell in vacuum? (hear no sound)

    5. What happens to an object if it falls down? (accelerate)

    6. What happens if you add sugar to water? (dissolve)

    7. What happens if you apply a high pressure on a gas enclosed in a vessel? (become liquid)

    Exercise 2. Answer the questions.

    1. What will you do if you fail the English test?

    2. What will happen to you if you don't wear sunglasses in summer?

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    3. What will happen to your health if you play computer games too much?

    4. What will happen to rain if temperature drops below 0° C?

    5. What will happen if we don't stop pollution?

    Exercise 3. Fill in will or would.

    1. You ...................... understand computers better if you learn how they operate.

    2. If you don't revise, you ..................... forget what you have learnt.

    3. As you grow older, your memory ................…....... get worse.

    4. If you took notes, you ....................... remember better.

    5. I ........................ help you if I could.

    6. If we keep all these data, we ........................... gradually overload the disc.

    7. The team .................................. never work properly if you don't give them clear instructions.

    8. If you don't learn harder, you .......................... fail.

    9. You ...................... manage better if you planned.

    10. I ..............….......... lend you my book if you promise to bring it back on time.

    11. If I were you, I .....................……......... risk it.

    12. If you tried, I'm sure you ...................... find a way.

    13. You …………….. pass the exam, if you worked harder.

    Exercise 4. Complete the sentences.

    1. If computers were more like humans, .………..............

    2. If computers could reproduce, ........…………...............

    3. People would be healthier if ....………….....................

    4. If I could travel in time, ............……………................

    5. If I could predict future, .......……………….................

    6. If I could fly, ...................……………………………......

    7. School would be fun if ............…………………..........

    8. If people could control the weather, .....……….............

    9. The air would be cleaner if .........………………...........

    10. I would be awarded the Nobel Prize if .........................

    ●●● Past and Mixed Conditionals

    Past conditional: If I had learnt, I would have passed the exam.

    Mixed conditional: If I had learnt, I would know better now.

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    Computer Virus in the International Space Station

    Probably embarked on a USB drive or memory card of an astronaut, a computer virus took the path of space. Sent by a website, information has led to a certain degree of concern and was confirmed by NASA, which adds that this is not the first time. The ISS, indeed, is not directly linked to the Internet but only the control centres by secure connections. The virus was detected on laptops in the ISS, NASA con-

    firmed without giving its name and the spokesman said that other infections of this kind had occurred. According to NASA, the infected computers are not connected to the computer system controlling the Station and the virus represents no risk. However, the laptops sent to the ISS are not always well protected by antivirus software.

    Exercise 1. Decide, whether the following sentences refer to present or past time. Put the verbs in brackets into correct form. Which sentences are examples of a mixed conditional?

    1. If the event ..................................... (be) confirmed by NASA, nobody .....................................

    (believe) it.

    2. If the information ....................................... ( not be) published on a website, NASA

    ................................... (not comment) on it.

    3. If the infected laptops ....................................... (be) connected to the Station’s control system,

    viruses ...................................... (can) cause a disaster.

    4. If the ISS ................................... (not use) secure connections, it ................................ (be) too

    vulnerable.

    5. If the laptops sent to the ISS ............................... (be) checked properly, nobody

    ................................ (need) to worry.

    Exercise 2. Reformulate the sentences below into mixed conditionals.

    Example: You didn’t have time for backup and the data is lost now.

    If you had had time for backup, the data wouldn’t be lost now.

    1. I am working for the company because I didn’t know about its difficulties when I applied for

    the job.

    2. We made some mistakes in planning and therefore the project isn’t as successful as we

    expected.

    3. You opened the insecure file and the computer is infected now.

    4. You make a lot of mistakes, therefore your program failed.

    5. We feel quite safe because last year we switched to more secure operating system.

    6. People find thrill in vandalism, therefore they started creating computer viruses.

    7. You didn’t get the job as you don’t have required qualification.

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    Exercise 3. Use one of the conditional link words below to complete sentences. Use each link word once only.

    as long as, provided, even if, unless, if

    1. ...................................... you had lost all files, what would you have done ?

    2. I don’t think you should leave the company ................................... you have a better offer.

    3. I wouldn’t open a mail from an unknown source ............................... I was you.

    4. You won’t be promoted ................................. you work harder.

    5. You may listen to music ................................. it is not too loud.

    ●●● Grammar

    Participles

    Unconscious inferences

    Exercise 1. The following words appear in the text below. Match them with their meanings.

    assumption to recede to favour unconscious cognition inductive to infer

    mental action of acquiring knowledge to deduce and conclude from evidence and reasoning drawing general conclusions from particular instances to show approval or preference done or existing without one realizing to move away from previous position, or to diminish a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof

    Exercise 2. Revise the basics: present (active) participle: doing, analysing, calculating past (passive) participle: done, analysed, calculated Fill the gaps with participle forms of the verbs in brackets. Optical illusions are a pleasure to look at, puzzling and impressive. Even if you know better, you still are ……………………………. (catch) in the illusion. Why do they exist? The physicist and physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821 – 1894) provided us with a beautiful explanation of the nature of perception and perceptual illusion of depth, space and other properties ……………………………. (generate) by our brains. Perception requires smart bets called unconscious inferences. Information available from the retina is not sufficient to reconstruct the world. Size, distance and other properties need to be inferred from uncertain cues, which in turn have to be learnt by experience. …………………………….. (Base) on this experience, the brain draws a conclusion about what the sensation means. In other words, perception is a kind of bet about what´s really out there. But how exactly does this inference work? Consider the “dots illusion” :

    Which diagonal line is longer, the one bisecting the larger, left-hand parallelogram or the diagonal line bisecting the smaller, right-hand parallelogram? (by Friedrich Sander)

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    The dots in the upper part of the picture appear concave, …………………………. (recede) into the surface away from the observer, while those in the bottom part appear convex, ……………………….. (curve) toward the observer. If you turn the page upside down, the inward dots will pop out and vice versa. In fact, the two pictures are identical, except …………………………….. (rotate) by 180 degrees. The illusion of concave and convex dots occurs because our brain makes unconscious inferences ………………………….. (base) on the premise that the shade on the upper part of a dot is nearly always associated with a concave shape. Our brain assumes a three-dimensional world ………………………………. (guess) the third dimension from two ecological structures:

    1. Light comes from above 2. There is only one source of light.

    These two structures dominated most of human history in which the sun and the moon were the only sources of light, and the first also holds approximately for artificial light today. Visual illusions are seen as the product of unconscious inferences based on evidence that is usually reliable but can be ………………………….. (mislead) in special circumstances. Helmholtz´s concept has given us a new perspective on perception in particular and cognition in general:

    1. Cognition is inductive inference. 2. Illusions are necessary consequences of intelligence. Cognition requires going beyond the

    information given, ……………………………. (make) bets and thus ………………………….. (risk) errors. Without illusions we would in fact be worse off – like a person who never says anything to avoid making any mistakes. A system ……………………….. ( make) no errors is not intelligent.

    Exercise 3. Compare two sentences:

    1. Finished, the formulation required modification. Being finished, the formulation required modification.

    2. Publishing his book „On the Sensation of Tone“ Helmholtz initiated a dispute in the field of

    physiology. Having published his book „On the Sensation of Tone“ Helmholtz initiated a dispute in the field

    of physiology.

    3. Helmholtz cooperated with Max Planck, known as the inventor of the quantum theory. Known as the inventor of the quantum theory, Helmholtz cooperated with Max Planck.

    4. Helmholtz is best known for his theories in thermodynamics, contributing to several areas of

    science. Contributing to several areas of science, Helmholtz is best known for his theories in

    thermodynamics.

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    Exercise 4. Link the sentences using a correct participle structure.

    1. Helmholtz was a physiologist. Therefore he was interested in how human brain works.

    2. He made significant contributions in several scientific fields. The fields included physics,

    psychology, philosophy.

    3. He made successful research in conservation of energy. Then he turned to the study of human

    vision and audition.

    4. Optical illusions come in wide variety. They are difficult to classify.

    5. The dot illusion is defined as a cognitive illusion. It results from our assumption about the

    world.

    Reading Comprehension

    ● Early Development

    1

    5

    10

    15

    In the early days, man performed calculations using fingers, pen and paper, or abacus. The

    printing press and the typewriter enabled man to duplicate and distribute great amounts of

    information. The mechanical, and later electronic calculator permitted man to speed up and

    become more accurate in his calculations. Along with these developments was the development

    of a differential machine which could calculate at more sophisticated level than an ordinary

    calculator and a punched card which could control weaving machines. The holes in the punched

    card controlled the pattern in the cloth as it was woven. These developments were the early

    beginnings of modern computing devices.

    Charles Babbage in 1812 devised a machine to calculate certain types of complex

    mathematical tables. His concept of an "analytic engine" planted the seed of the modern

    programmable computers. At Harvard University in 1937, Howard Aiken designed a device he

    called Mark I which could execute changeable instructions as Babbage had envisaged. The

    device was mechanical rather than electronic and was the forerunner of the modern electronic

    stored-program computer. In 1945 Echert and Mauchly of the University of Pennsylvania

    improved Mark I by using electronic components instead of mechanical ones.

    The early computers are called first generation computers. They were packed with rows and

    rows of vacuum tubes. These tubes generated tremendous amounts of heat and frequently burned

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    20

    out. The second generation computer contained transistors. The new technology decreased the

    physical size of the computer, lowered the heat generated by it, and increased its computing

    speed and reliability. The third generation computer contained miniaturized circuits engraved on

    suitable materials which conduct electricity.

    Exercise 1. Comprehension check.

    1. "amounts of information" (line 2 and 3) means: a) quantities of information b) pieces of information

    2. "permitted" (line 3) means:

    a) helped b) allowed

    3. "sophisticated" (line 5) means: a) complicated and difficult b) intelligent and clever

    4. "certain types" (line 9) means:

    a) well-known types b) some special types

    5. "planted the seed" (line 10) means: a) gave the beginning b) continued

    6. "envisaged" (line 12) means:

    a) observed b) imagined

    7. "packed" (line 16) means: a) divided b) full

    8. "tremendous" (line 17) means:

    a) noisy b) big

    Exercise 2. Complete the words with their meanings. The first two have been done for you.

    1. it is programmable it can be programmed

    2. it is changeable it can be changed

    3. it is observable ………………………

    4. it is understandable ………………………

    5. it is comparable ………………………

    6. it is predictable ………………………

    7. it is controllable ………………………

    8. it is manageable ………………………

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    Exercise 3. Match the following words and phrases with their opposites:

    early

    to speed up

    accurate

    ordinary

    beginning

    complex

    forerunner

    to decrease

    frequently

    to increase

    simple

    late

    seldom

    to slow down

    follower

    approximate

    end

    special

    Exercise 4. The development described in the introductory text stopped in the early 70ties of the last century. Write one more paragraph about the progress since then.

    ●● How Computer Viruses Work

    Exercise 1. Match each phrase on the left with its interpretation on the right:

    If a story is incredible it causes damage. If a process is disrupted you can easily harm or damage it. If a device or an organism is vulnerable you guess an approximate value. If an effect is devastating you can’t believe it. If you estimate a result it is disturbed or broken.

    Exercise 2. Put the following phrases into correct gaps in the text below:

    a) many viruses are incredibly simple b) to add the virus’s code into the program c) a biological virus passes from person to person d) disrupting productivity and doing damage e) and appeared due to several factors

    Strange as it may sound, the computer virus is a kind of Information Age marvel. On one hand, viruses show us how vulnerable we are – a properly designed virus can have a devastating effect (1).............................................................................................. . On the other hand, they show us how sophisticated and interconnected human beings have become. For example, experts estimate that the Mydoom worm infected approximately a quarter-million computers in a single day in January 2004. In January 2007, a worm called Storm appeared – by October, experts believed up to 50 million computers were infected. That’s very impressive when you consider that (2) ................................................................................ . Computer viruses are called viruses because they share some traits of their biological counterparts. A computer virus passes from computer to computer like (3) ............................................................................ . A computer virus must be placed on top of another program or a document in order to launch. Once it is running, it can infect other programs or documents. Traditional computer viruses were first widely observed in the late 1980s (4) ……………………………………................................ , like the spread of personal computers, bulletin boards and floppy disks. Early viruses were pieces of code attached to a common program like

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    a popular game or a word processor. A person downloaded an infected game from a bulletin board and ran it. A virus of this kind is a small piece of code embedded in a larger, legitimate program. When the user runs the legitimate program, the virus loads itself into memory and looks around to see if it can find another program on the disk. If it can find one, it modifies it (5) ........................................ . Then the virus launches the “real program”. The user really has no way to know that the virus ever ran. Unfortunately, the virus has now reproduced itself, so two programs are infected. The next time the user launches either of those programs, they infect other programs, and the cycle continues.

    ●●● Game Violence

    Exercise 1. Below are jumbled paragraphs of three articles on similar topics. These are their headings. Match the paragraphs with respective headings:

    Researchers say parents should be more careful: ......, ......., Programmed to kill: ....., ......., Video games to lure more casual players: ....., ..... , ..... ,

    1. In recent research study at Indiana University, adolescents played two different types of video games for 30 minutes, one of the games being non-violent racing game, the second an ultra-violent first-person shooter game. Teens that played the violence game showed increased activity in the brain centre which is involved in emotional arousal and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control and attention.

    2. The very same video games which were originally designed to train soldiers to kill, are those being mass marketed today – to children! This is the shocking fact documented by D. Grossman, an army psychologist, who has specialized in the training of troops for combat and who published a book called Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill.

    3. Game developers in France and Canada are shifting their focus after conducting hundreds of interviews to determine why some people were reluctant to play video games.

    4. The book reveals how the techniques used by the military and police to teach their soldiers to fire at a realistic man-shaped silhouettes that pop up in their field of vision, have become the basis for the increasingly lucrative point-and-shoot video game industry.

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    5. Software developers are starting introducing offerings aimed at encouraging players to balance their hormones and eat their peas. A popular French manufacturer is betting on a vocabulary-building exercise game. Another game will be packaged with a pedometer and a portable DS player that analyzes walking and rewards exercise and a hearty breakfast with a game play.

    6. “The reason is always the same,” says P. Jacquey, the head of a popular company’s division. “They think they are losing their time because the game doesn’t give them any value.” As a result, games with purpose are being introduced, which advise players on nutrition, beauty and antismoking strategies.

    7. V. Mathews, the principal investigator says that the study should encourage parents to look more closely at the types of games their kids are playing. “Based on our results,” he added,” I think parents should be aware of the relationship between violent video-game playing and brain function.”

    Exercise 2. Are the following statements true or false?

    1. The research in Canada tried to find out why some people don’t want to play video games. 2. Mathews believes parents shouldn’t let their children play video games. 3. Playing violent video games affects the behaviour. 4. Some people believe playing video games is a waste of time. 5. Players will be rewarded with prizes and bonuses for exercise and healthy diet. 6. Developers are interested in healthy life-style of the players. 7. Grossman blames the army for the violence in the video games.