Unitatea de învăţare 1, 2, 3:

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PC

Introduction:The present unit focuses on presenting the most important moments in the evolution of computer. It introduces a specific vocabulary, familiarizes the students with phrasal verbs and mathematical operations, and tackles with the following tricky words: zero, nought, nil/love, oh.

Contents:1.1. significant moments in the history of computers1.2. key words and phrases: brainchild, to herald, to outline, microelectronics, binary, forerunners, punch cards, slide rule, matrhematician, ’’to stretch back’’, ’’to be credited with’’, ’’to make a breakthrough’’, ’’to come up with an idea’’, ’’to lay down certain principles’’, ’’courtesy of’’, ’’to deal with a problem’’, ’’to make a decision’’1.3. phrasal verbs- generalities; 1.4. mathematical operations, mathematical signs, root, fractional numbers, decimal numbers; 1.5. tricky words: zero, nought, nil/love, oh.1.6. bibliography

Previous knowledge required:-general vocabulary on computers;-basic grammar knowledge;

Objectives:1. The students should be able to discuss upon the significant moments in the history of computers2.The students should be able to understand the meaning of the key words and phrases as well as to write and pronounce them correctly.3. The students should be able to translate, from English into Romanian and vieceversa, texts that focus on the newly introduced vocabulary. 4. The students should be able to understand the formation of phrasal verbs and to bear in mind examples of such phrasal verbs.5. The students should be able to deal with mathematical operations, mathematical signs, root, fractional numbers, decimal numbers;6. The students should be able to make the distinction among zero, nought, nil/love, oh.

List of necessary equipments:- computer;

Supplementary bibliography:English Phrasal Verbs, Cambridge University Press, 2004.Exercises on Phrasal Verbs, Oxford University press,1991.Fitikides, T.J., B.A., F.I.L., Common Mistakes in English with exercises, Longman, 2000.

Time: 12 hours

Topic 1

Brief History of Computers

The modern personal computer is not the brainchild of any one person – no single “Eureka!” heralded the beginning of its development. Instead its history is a tale of leaps, bounds and hold-ups stretching back five thousand years to the invention of the abacus in Mesopotamia. This brief history outlines some of the important people and events in the evolutionary passage from wooden bead-counter to multimedia workstation.

1. The mechanical eraIn this age of microelectronics, computer components are not only powerful but also

incomprehensibly small – it’s atoms, not inches, that count. But the forerunners of today’s computers were mechanical: they were made of cogs, shafts and sliders large enough to put together by hand, and were operated not by a keyboard and mouse but with dials and handles.

The earliest breakthroughs were made by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, who designed a simple mechanical calculator in 1500, and William Oughtred, who in the early 1600s came up with the slide rule, a handheld tool for speeding up arithmetic which was still being used in schools three and a half centuries later. By the 1640s the French mathematician Blaise Pascal had invented a machine capable of multiplication and division which was later improved by Gottfried Leibnitz, the same man who is credited with having laid down the principles of binary – the number system using only 0s and 1s that is the fundamental language spoken by all modern computers. The greatest achievements of the mechanical era, though, came courtesy of the eccentric British mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage, whose inventions included the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine of 1833. Though he died before it could be constructed, the Analytical Engine could not only cope with the complex mathematics, but it could be programmed to deal with various types of problem and make decisions based upon its own results – thus heralding the leap from calculator to “real” computer. Babbage’s partner in crime was none other than Ada Byron – aka Lady Lovelace, the daughter of the poet Lord Byron – who is now sometimes described as the first ever computer programmer.

2. Punch cards and vacuum tubesIt wasn’t until the end of the nineteenth century that computers actually started to

prove themselves useful. Just before the 1890 census of the US government held a design contest to find an efficient way of counting the records of its exploding population. It was won by a German immigrant named Herman Hollerith, whose electric tabulating machine read data from paper punch cards, saving many years of manual counting and marking a significant point at which computing became as much to do with data management as performing calculation. Hollerith’s Computing–Tabulating–Recording Company went from strength to strength, and in 1924 it merged with a rival to form International Business Machines – IBM – which grew into one of the most significant forces in computer design.

In the meantime the vacuum tube was being developed, from which a new generation of computers was to grow. The tubes did the same job as mechanical or electrical switches, but they were capable of switching on and off thousands of times faster, facilitating a whole

new level of computing speed. This technology reached its zenith in machines designed on both sides of the Atlantic during World War II. The British utilized it in their powerful code-breaking machine, Colossus, but more significant was the American ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), developed between 1943 and 1945 to calculate missile trajectories. Containing nearly 17500 vacuum tubes, ENIAC was the first multitasking computer, and it could add 5000 numbers or carry out fourteen ten-digit multiplication per second – making him about a hundred times faster than its closest rival.

While ENIAC was still being built, its designers J. Presper Eckert and John V. Mauchly joined forces with another key figure, mathematician John von Neumann, to work on a new machine. What they came up with was EDVAC, the first computer to have a stored program. This was a real breakthrough: instead of spending hours or even days turning knobs and pressing buttons to instruct a computer to carry out a particular task. The commands could be written as numerical code and stored inside the machine. This made everything much faster, but more significantly it paved the way for the programming languages of the 1950s – which in turn led to the development of modern software.

3. Transistors and microchipsFor all its speed, ENIAC highlighted the shortcomings of vacuum tube technology: it

was 150 feet wide, weighed 30 tons, produced so much heat that it regularly burnt out and guzzled electricity in such quantities that the lights in the neighbouring towns dimmed each time it was switch on. These problems were soon to be overcome with the advent of the silicon transistor, which was better that the vacuum tube at controlling the flow of electricity while being much smaller and generating considerably less heat. Transistors were invented back in 1920s, but it wasn’t until 1954 that reliable silicon model were manufactured commercially, bringing small, reliable and affordable computers a significant step closer.

The ensuing years saw the birth of the microchip or chip – a single piece of board containing many transistors. As time went by, chips became increasingly powerful and ever more tiny until 1971 a company called Intel (Integrated Electronics) released their 4004 chip, the first microprocessor. The 4004 combined 2300 transistors and all the essential elements of a computer on a single chip, and in the space of a few square inch provided roughly the same computational power as the 17500 vacuum tubes of ENIAC. These developments, combined with great advances in programming languages and other breakthroughs such as the invention of the floppy disk, made it possible to produce smaller and faster computers which were more flexible and less difficult to use.

4. Computers get personalDespite all these advances, computers remained in the realm of academics,

governments and big business, and it wasn’t until 1975 that a vaguely personal computer – something that individuals could actually afford to buy – came onto the market. It arrived in the form of the MITS Altair 8800, which shipped with an Intel processor and 256 bytes of memory, around one millionth of the amount found in a decent modern PC. And it wasn’t just in the memory department that the Altair was lacking: it had neither a keyboard nor a monitor. Instructions were fed in by small switches and results displayed by a pattern of little red lights – great for discos, but not a lot else.

But this was soon to change. In 1977 Stephen Jobs and Steve Wozniak produced the Apple II, which, with its neat plastic case and video out socket (allowing you to use your TV as a monitor), was an instant success. While the Altair was primarily of interest to hobbyist and enthusiasts the Apple II was actually useful for business, and programs began to appear

which could save hours of manual number – crunching – such as VisiCalc, the first ever spreadsheet program.

During this time the price of components plummeted, and various bargain computers started appearing on the market. By the end of 1970s, a variety of machines were available for a few hundred dollars – like the Radio Shack TRS – 80, which became incredibly popular in homes and schools.

5. The PC is bornThe next big turning point came in 1981, when IBM released their Personal Computer

– the IBM PC – which was the blueprint of the modern PC. Though the design was strong, it was not just the computer that made IBM’s new machine so popular: it was the company’s decision to tell the world, in near –complete detail, how the PC worked and how it was built. IBM did this in the hope that other developers would produce extra pieces of hardware that will be compatible with the PC – which they did. However it soon occurred to these developers that they weren’t limited to manufacturing add-ons; they could produce their own versions of the whole machine and sell them cheaper. This was possible because IBM only held a patent for the BIOS (basic input/output system), and because most of the internal components of the PC had been bought off-the-shelf from other manufactures. Very soon computer companies everywhere where manufacturing their own copies of the IBM design: they could run all the same programs and data could easily be moved from one machine to the next. These computers were collectively known as IBM – compatible PCs, but it wasn’t long before PC became a generic term used to describe any computer based on IBM’s original.

6. The rise of MicrosoftWhen IBM designed the PC they commissioned the young Micro-soft company (later

Microsoft) to provide the all important operating system or OS: the underlying software that bridges the gap between a computer and the application software running on it. It was called Micro-soft Disk Operating System – MS-DOS – and though it had been developed for IBM, Microsoft shrewdly retained the copyright. As PC clones began to spring up everywhere, nearly all were installed with MS-DOS, and though Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates didn’t know it at that time, this was soon to make him the world’s richest man.

As time went by, it became increasingly difficult for new types of computer to get a decent foothold in the market. Inexpensive machines like the Commodore 64 were very popular among home users, but any new system that set out to complete with the PC was faced with the problem of not being able to run all the software that had written for use with MS-DOS. Other PC operating systems were proposed by IBM and others, but they never really got off the ground or failed to gain the popularity of the Microsoft option. The MS-DOS PC still faced serious competition from established manufactures such as Apple, however, who introduced LISA and the Macintosh (the Mac) in 1983 and 1984 respectively. These were the first personal computers to use an operating system with a Graphic User Interface (GUI), meaning that the user, instead of typing encrypted instructions into the machine, could run programs and organize files by using a mouse to click on windows, icons and dropdown menus.

Soon afterwards, Microsoft released their own GUI operating system: a reworking of MS-DOS called Windows. Many of the features were very similar to those of the Apple system, and Apple promptly threatened to take Microsoft to court, claiming they had ripped of their design. In the end, Microsoft agreed to license certain elements of the Apple design to avoid court proceedings, and they managed to arrange it so that the features could be used in all future Microsoft programs. But when Windows 2.0 came out in 1987, Apple thought

Microsoft had overstepped the mark and this time actually took them to court for breach of copyright. Microsoft won the case, in part because of the previous licensing deal and in part because many of the original ideas for the Apple system had originally been developed by Xerox for non – personal computers. This made it easy for Gates and Co to say, “Well, we may not have invented it, but neither did you …”

Self-checkAnswer the following questions:

1. Who is the inventor of the computer?2. What invention marks the beginning of computer’s history?3. Who were the forerunners of today’s computers?4. What are the earliest breakthroughs?5. Who laid down the principles of binary?6. Name the greatest achievements of the mechanical era. 7. Who is considered to be the first computer programmer?8. When and on what occasion did computers prove to be useful for the first time?9. What can you say about vacuum tubes?10. What were the advantages of the silicon transistor over the vacuum tube?11. Define the microchip.12. When was the first microprocessor released and by whom?13. What was the first personal computer? What can you say about it?

Self-check Answers1. No one can be considered the inventor of the computer because the computer is a tale of

events lasting for about five thousand years.2. The beginning of computer’s history is marked by the invention of abacus in

Mesopotamia.3. The forerunners of today’s computer were mechanical, made of cogs, shafts and

sliders and operated with dials and handles.4. The earliest breakthroughs were the mechanical calculator and the slide rule.5. The principles of binary were laid down by Gottfried Leibnitz.6. The greatest achievements of the mechanical era were the Difference Engine and the

Analytical Engine.7. Ada Byron is considered the first computer programmer.8. Computers proved to be useful for the first time at the end of the nineteenth century, in

the 1890 census.9. Vacuum tubes could switch on and off very fast, facilitating a new level of computing

speed.10. The advantages of the silicon transistor over the vacuum tube were: a better control of

the flow of electricity, a smaller size, a diminished production of heat.11. The microchip is a single piece of board containing manz transistors.12. The first microprocessor was released in 1971by Intel.13. The first personal computer was MITS Altair 8800. It had an Intel processor and 256

bytes of memory. It had neither a keyboard nor a monitor.

Topic 2:

Activities:1. Try to define ’’brainchild’’, ’’to outline’’, ’’binary’’ and ’’microelectronics’’.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Give a synonym of ’’to herald’’, ’’forerunner’’, ’’breakthrough’’.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. Give an antonym of ’’modern’’, ’’eccentric’’.……………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. Write down the words pronounced in the Audio File 1:a)………………………………..b)………………………………..c)……………………………..….d)………………………………...

5. Write down the English words for:a) aritmetic (adj.);b) programatorc) realizared) rigla de calcule) înmulţire;f) împărţire

6. Make up a sentence of your own with: ’’to stretch back’’, ’’to be credited with’’, ’’to make a breakthrough’’, ’’to come up with an idea’’, ’’to lay down certain principles’’, ’’courtesy of’’, ’’to deal with a problem’’, ’’to make a decision’’.

Answers to Activities:1. see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brainchild

see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outlinesee http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/binary?show=0&t=1302636580see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microelectronics

2. see http://www.synonym.com/synonyms/herald/see ’’ancestor’’see ’’discovery’’

3. see http://www.synonym.com/antonym/modern/see http://www.synonym.com/antonym/eccentric/

4. a) abacus; b) wooden; c) bead-counter; d) multimedia-workstation;

5. arithmetic, programmer, achievement; slide rule; multiplication; division.

6. The history of this wine streches back 100 years. He is credited with having invented the steam engine.They made an increadibly breakthrough!My friend came up with a rather strange idea.My teacher laid down certain principles.I’ve got that book courtesy of her uncle.I can’t deal with this problem!It is hard for me to make a decision in this matter!

Topic 3

Activities:1. Translate into Romanian:Webster’s Dictionary defines "computer" as any programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data. The basic idea of computing develops in the 1200”s when a Moslem cleric proposes solving problems with a series of written procedures. As early as the 1640”s mechanical calculators are manufactured for sale. Records exist of earlier machines, but Blaise Pascal invents the first commercial calculator, a hand powered adding machine. Although attempts to multiply mechanically were made by Gottfried Liebnitz in the 1670s the first true multiplying calculator appears in Germany shortly before the American Revolution. In 1801 a Frenchman, Joseph-Marie Jacquard builds a loom that weaves by reading punched holes stored on small sheets of hardwood. These plates are then inserted into the loom which reads (retrieves) the pattern and creates (process) the weave. Powered by water, this "machine" came 140 years before the development of the modern computer. Shortly after the first mass-produced calculator (1820), Charles Babbage begins his lifelong quest for a programmable machine. Although Babbage was a poor communicator and record-keeper, his difference engine is sufficiently developed by 1842 that Ada Lovelace uses it to mechanically translate a short written work. She is generally regarded as the first programmer. Twelve years later George Boole, while professor of Mathematics at Cork University, writes An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854), and is generally recognized as the father of computer science.

The 1890 census is tabulated on punch cards similar to the ones used 90 years earlier to create weaves. Developed by Herman Hollerith of MIT, the system uses electric power(non-mechanical). The Hollerith Tabulating Company is a forerunner of today”s IBM. Just prior to the introduction of Hollerith”s machine the first printing calculator is introduced. In 1892 William Burroughs, a sickly ex-teller, introduces a commercially successful printing calculator. Although hand-powered, Burroughs quickly introduces an electronic model.

In 1925, unaware of the work of Charles Babbage, Vannevar Bush of MIT builds a machine he calls the differential analyzer. Using a set of gears and shafts, much like Babbage, the machine can handle simple calculus problems, but accuracy is a problem.

The period from 1935 through 1952 gets murky with claims and counterclaims of who invents what and when. Part of the problem lies in the international situation that makes much of the research secret. Other problems include poor record-keeping, deception and lack of definition.

In 1935, Konrad Zuse, a German construction engineer, builds a mechanical calculator to handle the math involved in his profession. Shortly after completion, Zuse starts on a programmable electronic device which he completes in 1938.

John Vincent Atanasoff begins work on a digital computer in 1936 in the basement of the Physics building on the campus of Iowa State. A graduate student, Clifford (John) Berry assists. The "ABC" is designed to solve linear equations common in physics. It displays some early features of later computers including electronic calculations. He shows it to others in 1939 and leaves the patent application with attorneys for the school when he leaves for a job in Washington during World War Unimpressed, the school never files and ABC is cannibalized by studen.

The Enigma, a complex mechanical encoder is used by the Germans and they believe it to be unbreakable. Several people involved, most notably Alan Turing, conceive machines to handle the problem, but none are technically feasible. Turing proposes a "Universal Machine" capable of "computing" any algorithm in 1937. That same year George Steblitz creates his Model K(itchen), a conglomeration of otherwise useless and leftover material, to solve complex calculations. He improves the design while working at Bell Labs and on September 11, 1940, Steblitz uses a teletype machine at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire to transmit a problem to his Complex Number Calculator in New York and receives the results. It is the first example of a network.

First in Poland, and later in Great Britain and the United States, the Enigma code is broken. Information gained by this shortens the war. To break the code, the British, led by Touring, build the Colossus Mark I. The existence of this machine is a closely guarded secret of the British Government until 1970. The United States Navy, aided to some extent by the British, builds a machine capable of breaking not only the German code but the Japanese code as well. (http://goldenink.com/computersandnetworks.shtml)

2. Translate into English:Deşi sistemele de calcul au o istorie bogată, majoritatea descoperirilor şi facilităţilor care au

condus la construirea PC-ului datează din ultimii 50 de ani.În 1951, John Mauchly şi John Eckert construiesc primul calculator comercial- UNIVAC I.

Acesta este prezentat la televiziunea naţională americană în ziua alegerilor din 1952. Pe măsura primirii rezultatelor competiţiei prezidenţiale americane, salariaţii firmei Remington Rand, producătoarea calculatorului UNIVAC I, introduceau rezultatele în calculatorul care era programat să anticipeze câştigătorul pe baza rezultatelor parţiale. UNIVAC a anticipat corect rezultatele şi astfel a câştigat imediat credibilitatea publicului american.

Începând cu UNIVAC şi alte calculatoare similare, dezvoltarea sistemelor decalcul comerciale a cuprins patru etape distincte, numite generaţii. Astăzi ne aflăm la graniţa celei de-a cincea.

Generaţia tuburilor cu vid (1942-1956)Calculatoarele din prima generaţie, cum a fost UNIVAC, prelucrau datele utilizând

tehnologiile tuburilor cu vid, experimentate pentru sistemele ABC, ENIAC şi EDVAC. Aceste calculatoare erau numite sisteme mainframe (cadrul principal), datorită scheletului de metal utilizat pentru susţinerea tuburilor cu vid. Dacă s-ar utiliza şi astăzi tehnologia tuburilor cu vid, un sistem mainframe modern ar avea dimensiunile unui zgârie-nori.

Stocarea datelor în calculatoarele din prima generaţie se realiza pe tamburi metalici. Programele stocate erau scrise în limbaj-maşină, adică în secvenţe de 0 şi 1 care reflectau

direct contribuţiile lui George Boole. Fiecare producător crea propriul său limbaj-maşină.Către sfârşitul anului 1944, John von Neumann, membru al proiectului Manhattan care a creat

bomba atomică şi consultant al multor lucrări ştiinţifice în timpul războiului, a vizat proiectul ENIAC. În urma discuţiilor avute, von Neumann a conceput o tehnică de stocare a programelor şi a scris lucrarea ,,Prima schiţă raport despre EDVAC’’, care descria structura unui calculator digital.

Calculatorul conceput de von Neumann conţinea cinci părţi:- o unitate de intrare asemănătoare unei tastaturi ce permitea introducerea informaţiilor în

calculator;- o zonă de memorie pentru stocarea programelor şi datelor;- o unitate aritmetică pentru efectuarea calculelor;- o unitate de control care realiza transferul instrucţiunilor programului şi a datelor între

memorie şi unitatea aritmetică;- un dispozitiv de ieşire, cum ar fi o imprimantă.Lucrarea unui von Neumann a fost publicată pe scară largă şi a schimbat definitiv modul de

proiectare al calculatoarelor. (Aproape toate calculatoarele construite după ENIAC au fost calculatoare von Neumann).

Grace Hopper, care a lucrat în anii 40 la calculatorul MARK, a realizat în 1952 primul compilator- un program care traduce limbajul de programare în limbaj-maşină. Compilatoarele au schimbat modul de programare, permiţând programatorilor să introducă numere şi litere în locul secvenţelor de 0 şi 1.

Topic 4

I. Phrasal verbs = a verb + a particle (a preposition or an adverb)

Examples:Verb Particle Meaning Examplebreak down to become mentally or physically ill

because of an unpleasant experienceAfter hearing the bad news, his cousin broke down.

call in to visit a place or person for a short time, usually while you are going somewhere else

While visiting London, we called in Sophia.

come off to happen successfully or as planned Congratulations! Your plan has come off!

cut down to eat or drink less of a particular thing, to diminish prices, etc.

They cut down the price for bread last year.

get over to begin to feel better after an experience that has made you unhappy

My friend tries to get over the argument she had with her boss.

give in yield, cease to resist You should never give in!go under to fail financially They are poor now because

their business went under.keep away to prevent someone/something from

doing somethingHis grandmother told us to keep away from the fire.

look into to examine a situation, a problem I admit I have been rather busy lately, but I am going

to look into this matter till is not too late.

make for to go in the direction of a place When I met Tom, he was making for home.

pass out to faint Seeing the snake, the old woman passed out.

pull over to drive a car to the side of the road I fell sick, pull over for a moment, please!

put up to build a structure My grandfather is busy now: he is pulling up a wall.

run out to use all of something so that there is none left

We ran out of sugar when we had guests.

set up to start a company They set up this company when they were not married.

take on to employ someone They took her on, though she was not qualified for that job.

turn out to happen in a particular way, to have a particular result

It turned out that they were wrong.

Activity:Fill in the blanks using the appropriate phrasal verbs given below. Note that some of them may not be used at all whereas there are cases when there can be used two particles with the same verb.

back up; key in; log in (on); log off (out); hack into; pick up; print out; scroll up/ down; zoom in/out

1. My friend is very slow at ……………….. data. 2. When he goes abroad, he always ……………… his e-mails from cyber cafés. 3. If you want to see the details in pictures, you can …. …………….4. It took her two hours to … …………………her thesis. 5. You should ……………….. when you leave the computer unattended. 6. I was very upset when I realized that someone has ……………… my computer. 7. He … to the bottom of the page and then ………………….. to the top of it. 8. You should …………. to this new website. 9. You must find the … …………..of the data you lost!

Answer to Activity:1. keying in; 2. pick up; 3. zoom in; 4. print out; 5. log off/out; 6. hacked into; 7. scrolled down;

scrolled up; 8. log in/ on; 9. back up.Topic 5

Mathematical operations, mathematical signs, root, fractional numbers, decimal numbers.

+ addition- subtraction

x multiplication: division

√x the square root of xthe cube root of xthe fourth root of xthe sixth root of xthe ninth root of xfour over five (4 is the nominator; 5 is the denominator)

one third

seven - twenty-first;

1one and three fourths (quarters)

2 + 3 = 5 two plus three equals five5 – 3 = 2 five minus three equals two2 x 3 = 6 two multiplied by/by three equals six6 : 2 = 3 six divided by two equals three

= 16 four square is sixteen

four cube is sixty four

= 16 two to the fourth power

integral of sixteen;

integral between limits x and y

x x less than y

x x greater than y

x y x equal to or less than y

x y x equal to or greater than y

x x not equal to y

x x identical to y

x x similar to y

x x approximately equals y

sin x [sain’ eks]cos x [’kousain’ eks]tan x tangent xf (x) function of x

AB AB parallel to CD

0.003 oh/nought point 0030.25 oh point two five5.89 five point eight nine

20 twenty degrees thirty one minutes

Activity: Listen Audio File 2 and write down the respective mathematical operations.

Answer to Activity:12 + 25 = 37257 + 349 =606 98 - 89 = 93576 – 473 =3103

3 x 7 = 2174 x 23 = 170258 : 2 = 2996 : 3 = 32

= 3

= 2.51

=1,021

= 1,018

4²= 16

= 729

=50625

= 32768

50 52

123 34

a b

C D

sin 30 = 0.5

cos 45 = 0. 7

tan 45 = 1

0.348.7992.345

67

59

= 3

= 0.5

= 0.16

Topic 6

Pay attention to the difference among: zero, nought, nil/love, oh:Word: Usage:zero -temperatures;

-linguistics;- to refer to somebody who is a nonentity;- in linguistics.

nought -in mathematics;-grades;

nil - in scores in team games;love - in tennis scores;oh -telephone numbers;

-years;-hours;

Activity:Fill in the blanks with zero, nought, nil, love, oh as appropriate:

1. The score was five to ……….. ……(5/0) and that was only due to Hagi. 2. … ………….is a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number. 3. The noun ’’sheep’’ has a ……………….. plural. 4. She was born in nineteen ……………….. nine.(1909) 5. She told him he was an absolute ………………. for her, which was not very nice. 6. Her phone number is three seven ………………... four two. (370 42) 7. I told them to meet at thirteen …………………… four. (13. 04)

Answer to activity:1.Nil; 2. Nought; 3. Zero; 4. Oh; 5. Zero; 6. Oh; 7. Oh.

Abstract:The present unit has delt with the most significant stages in tehe volution of PCs. It has highlighted the vocabulary connected to this topic. At the same time, it has focused on phrasal verbs, mathematical operations and the following tricky words: zero, nought, nil/love, oh.

FINAL TESTS

I) Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F):1. EDVAC was the first computer that had a stored program. 2. Bill Gates was the founder of IBM. 3. IBM was created in 1924. 4. Charles Babbage is called the first computer programmer. 5. One can say that today’s computer is the creation of several persons along many years. 6. MS-DOS was developed by IBM.

7. ENIAC was a code-breaking machine. 8. Computer was invented as early as 1500. 9. Macs are more popular systems than PCs. 10. The first microprocessor was released in 1971 by Intel.

Example: 1. EDVAC was the first computer that had a stored program. (T)

II) Underline the right definition according to the text:

to guzzlea) to drink; b) to produce; c) to consume; d) to improve;

to dima) to brighten; b) to reduce; c) to increase; d) to maximize;

adventa) assessment; b) appearance; c) aspiration; d) assault;

ensuinga) preceding; b) luminous; c) ever-changing; d) following;

realma) kingdom; b) attention; c) domain; d) sight;

to plummeta) to rise; b) to drop; c) to change; d) to maintain;

blueprinta) spark; b) cause; c) incipit; d) design;

underlyinga) amazing; b) genuine; c) basic; d) improved;

to rip offa) to improve; b) to use; c) to comment upon; d) to steal;

to breacha) to break; b) to destroy; c) to diminish; d) to interrupt;

upheavala) success; b) disagreement; c) revolution; d) problem.

Example: to guzzle a) to drink; b) to produce; c) to consume ; d) to improve;

III) Fill in the blanks with the correspondimg words from the text:

1. A ………… ………….. is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions, now almost an obsolete recording medium. (2 words)2. Colossus, a code-breaking machine during World War II, used …………. …...…….., i.e. devices used to amplify, switch, otherwise modify, or create an electrical signal by controlling the movement of electrons in a low-pressure space. (2 words)3. ……………. was the result of the merging between Hollerith’s Computing Tabulating Recording Company with its rival in 19244. A ………….. incorporates most or all of the functions of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit.5. ……………. is the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers6. …………… is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.7. A ………….. is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user with no intervening computer operator. (abbreviation)8. In IBM PC Compatible computers, the ………….. is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface, the first code run by a PC when powered on. (abbreviation)9. …………… was was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating systems offering a graphical user interface (GUI), in particular by various generations of the Microsoft Windows operating system.10. Microsoft …………… is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces.11. ……………. is a famous video game company.12. ……………... is one of the most prominent examples of free software.13. In the present, Windows is the dominant PC …………….. ………….….. (2 words)

Example: 1. A ……PUNCH…… ……CARD…….. is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions, now almost an obsolete recording medium. (2 words)

IV) a) Give the verbs corresponding to the following nouns: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.

b) Give the nouns of the following adjectives: high, thick, long, wide, deep, broad.

c) Translate into English using mathematical operations and dimensions:

1. Dacă împarţi aceste numere vei obţine rezultatul corect.

2. Întâi aduni şi apoi scazi.

3. Ar trebui să măsori lungimea acestui fir.

4. Înălţimea acestui munte este de 4 000 de metri.

5. Adâncimea acestui lac este de 30 de metri.

6. Strada are o lăţime de 2 metri.

7. Grosimea sticlei este de 3 milimetri.

Example:a) Addition- to add;b) high- height;c) If we dividethese numbers, you will get the correct result.

Bibliography:

Alexander, L. G., Right Word, Wrong Word, Longman, 1996.Hayakawa, S.I, The Penguin Guide to Synonyms and Related Words, Penguin Books, 1994.Shelly, Gary B., Cashman, Thomas J., Vermaat, Misty E., Discovering Computers: Fundamentals, Fourth Edition, 2008, USA;Thomson, A.J., Martinet, A.V., A practical Engllish Grammar, Oxford University Press, 2000. (for Chapter 36: Numerals, dates, and weights and measures and Chapter 38: Phrasal Verbs)Turton, ND, Heaton, JB, Dictionary of Common Errrors, Longman, 1996.Wurster, Christian, Computers: Antrated History, Taschen (see http://www.amazon.com/Computers-Illustrated-History-Christian-Wurster/dp/3822812935#reader_3822812935)

Connection with the next unit:After having acquired the basic knowledge about the history of computers, we can proceed by defining computers and preesenting their components.