Exercise 11. Translate the following text in a written form. Use a dictionary if necessary
A computer is one of the most brilliant inventions of mankind. Thanks to computer technology, we have been able to achieve storage and processing of huge amounts of data. We can rest our brains by employing computer memory capacities for information storage. Owing to computers, we have been able to achieve higher processing speeds, execute critical transactions and that too with great precision and accuracy.
Computers of the earlier times were of the size of a large room and required to consume huge amounts of electric power. However, with the advancing technology, computers have shrunk to the size of a small watch.
Read and translate the dialogues.
I
Sam - John, my younger brother decided to study a computer. Will you help him, please? He’s got a lot of questions.
John – With pleasure.
William – John, what is a computer?
John – It is an electronic device that executes the instructions in a program.
William – What is Hardware?
John – Physical parts of the computer.
William – And what is Software?
John – Programs that tell the computer what to do.
William – And what is the difference between ‘data’ and ‘information’?
John – Data is individual facts like first name, price. Information is data which has been messaged into a useful form, like a complete mailing address.
William - What makes a computer powerful?
John – Speed.
William – How many actions can a computer do?
John – Billions of actions per second.
William – And what about storage?
John – A computer can keep huge amounts of data... Sam, are you ready?
William – What are the main functions of the computer?
John – They are four functions: input, processing, output, and storage…. Sam! We are short of time…
II
- What is a computer made of?
- Computers are made of electronic parts called components. Each component has a specific function.
- When do they work?
- They all work together when a computer is operated.
- Can I see them?
- Some of the components can be seen partly from the outside.
- And others?
- Some components are inside the computer box where we can’t see them.
- Seeing the components inside the computer is interesting.
- Yes. Look at the brain of the computer, CPU.
- What is the main function of the CPU?
- Whenever we press a key, click the mouse, or start an application, we send instructions to the CPU. These are all executed by the CPU.
III
- Can we see the details of the components inside this computer, after logging in?
- Yes, on the desktop, from the taskbar. Click on the System submenu.
- And then?
- Under Administration click on System monitor, which shows you details and status of hardware and software of the computer.
- Hey! There are four processors in this computer. There are many details for these processors.
- The processing of your instructions is shared between the four processors, just the way you share work among your team.
- What does 2.66 GHz mean?
- This stands for 2.66 Giga Hertz. You know that Mega means million and Giga means billion. Hertz means cycles per second.
- How many cycles does the CCPU need?
- The CPU needs one or more cycles to perform an action. More cycles per second means that the CPU can process more instructions per second.
- Oh, I understood: the higher the Hertz, the faster the CPU can process instructions.
Computer Types