A) Read the text and write a list of uses of the computer, or computer applications, add as many as you can think of. Discuss them with other students
What can computers do?
Computers and microchips have become part of our everyday lives: we visit shops and offices which have been designed with the help of computers, we read magazines which have been produced on computer, we pay bills prepared by computers. Just picking up a telephone and dialling a number involves the use of a sophisticated computer system, as does making a flight reservation or bank transaction.
We encounter daily many computers that spring to life the instant they’re switched on (e.g. calculators, the car’s electronic ignition, the timer in the microwave, or the programmer inside the TV set), all of which use chip technology. What makes your computer such a miraculous device? Each time you turn it on, it is a tabula rasa (нечто чистое, нетронутое) that, with appropriate hardware and software, is capable of doing anything you ask. It is an electronic filing cabinet which manages large collections of data such as customers’ lists, accounts, or inventories. It is a magical typewriter that allows you to type and print any kind of document – letters, memos, or legal documents. It is a personal communicator that enables you to interact with people around the world. If you like gadgets and electronic entertainment, you can even use your PC to relax with computer games.
b) Tick (√) the computer uses mentioned in the following article:
| [ ] home [ ] art [ ] hospitals [ ] banking [ ] engineering | [ ] libraries [ ] shopping [ ] film-making [ ] television advertising [ ] schools |
Computers are part of our everyday lives. They have an effect on almost everything you do. When you buy groceries at a supermarket, a computer is used with laser and barcode technology to scan the price of each item and present a total. Barcoding items (clothes, food, and books) requires a computer to generate the barcode labels and maintain the inventory. Most television advertisements and many films use graphics produced by a computer. In hospitals, bedside terminals connected to the hospital's main computer allow doctors to type in orders for blood tests and to schedule operations. Banks use computers to look after their customers' money. In libraries and bookshops, computers can help you to find the book you want as quickly as possible.
Listening
Computers in everyday life
a) Match these words (1-8) to the correct locations (a-d):
| 1. games 2. machines 3. tickets 4. wages | 5. flight 6. letters 7. barcode readers 8. tills | a. a factory b. a supermarket с. a travel agent d. a home |
b) Listen to the recording. Identify which place is described in each extract:
| 1 - | 2 - | 3 - | 4 - |
Writing
a) Match the places in column A with the computer uses in column B:
| A | B |
| Banks Factories Homes Hospitals shops | Control machines Calculate the bill Look after patient records and medicines Provide entertainment and information Control our money |
b) Now fill in the gaps in the paragraph about computer uses:
Computers are now part of our everyday life. In shops, they 1 ____. In factories, they 2____. In 3____, they look afterpatient records and medicines. When we have a bank account, a computer 4____. In our homes, computers 5____.
Listening
a) Listen to a lecturer describing to the new students the way in which computers may be useful to them. As you listen for the first time, look a Figure 1:
As you know, in computing a common way of showing how things are related is to use a connectivity matrix.
Figure 1.
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b) Now listen again and try to fill in the table to show how different people need different software (e.g. computer science students will need to know something about databases):
| Social Science | History | Engineering | Computer Science | Languages | Business Studies | General Sciences | |
| programming | |||||||
| word processing | |||||||
| database | X | ||||||
| spreadsheet | |||||||
| DTP | |||||||
| statistics | |||||||
| financial software | |||||||
| CAD | |||||||
| simulations | |||||||
| operating systems |
Summing-up
Speaking
What do you use your computer for?
What features are the most important for you?
Unit C. Computer Uses (2): Word Processing
Vocabulary
superior
fashion
fashionable
old-fashioned
significant
significance
intellectual
intelligence
artificial intelligence (AI)
to forget (forgot, forgotten)
age
to spell
spelling
neat
to invite
invitation
hide (hid, hidden)
to prefer
preference
preferable
to split
amount
to correspond (with, to)
corresponding
to substitute
substitution
to retrieve
retrieval
to recover
recovery
shadow
to outline
to underline
to notify
notification
to define
definition
proof
to proof-read
to prove
pronunciation
to pronounce
obvious
typeface
plain
italics
bold
to strike
to strike through
a) chose the correct translation:
1) fashion
| a) произношение | b) написание | c) мода | d) определение |
2) spelling
| a) произношение | b) написание | c) мода | d) определение |
3) neat
| a) аккуратный | b) предпочтительный | c) очевидный | d) обычный |
4) to define
| a) прятать | b) заменять | c) определять | d) соответствовать |
5) to substitute
| a) прятать | b) заменять | c) определять | d) соответствовать |
6) pronunciation
| a) произношение | b) написание | c) мода | d) определение |
7) to hide
| a) прятать | b) заменять | c) определять | d) соответствовать |
8) obvious
| a) аккуратный | b) предпочтительный | c) очевидный | d) обычный |
9) to correspond
| a) прятать | b) заменять | c) определять | d) соответствовать |
10) plain
| a) аккуратный | b) предпочтительный | c) очевидный | d) обычный |
b) Match the words with their meanings:
| 1) notification 2) age 3) prove 4) shadow 5) preference 6) underline 7) fashionable 8) invitation 9) amount 10) significant | a) предпочтение b) подчеркивать c) уведомление d) важный e) доказывать f) приглашение g) количество h) возраст i) модный j) тень |
c) Match the words with their definitions:
| 1) significance 2) recovery 3) bold 4) outline 5) spell 6) strike through 7) typeface 8) intelligence 9) invite 10) retrieval | a) a regaining of something lost or stolen b) the process of searching for and obtaining data from a computer system c) put a line through (e.g. a word) d) the power of learning, understanding and knowing; mental ability e) darker than other text on the printed page f) show shapes or boundaries g) ask to come or to go somewhere h) importance i) the design of letters and characters j) name or write the letters of a word |
d) Find synonyms:
important –
to divide –
to report –
evidence –
to hit –
Reading and Discussion
Word processing: For and Against
a) Discuss the questions:
1) Do you like writing by hand? Why?/Why not?
2) What is a word processor?
3) What is the difference between handwriting, typing and word processing?
4) Have you ever used a typewriter or word processor? Which word processor?
5) What makes word processor superior to traditional typewriters?
6) Make a list of the most important features offered by word processors.
b) Read and translate the sentences from the text:
1) By this time millions of typewriters were in use, and in countries using Roman alphabet, very few official letters and documents were still being handwritten.
2) Some people remain nostalgic for the old-fashioned typewriter, though.
3) Most significantly, perhaps, with no easy correction, sentences have to be fully thought – just before they are committed to paper – an intellectual discipline perhaps in danger of being forgotten in the age of cut, copy, paste and delete.
4) You have more formatting choices with a word processor, and the spelling, grammar and language tools are useful, too.
5) Many people use a text editor for the Internet, which is similar to a word processor but has fewer formatting features and cannot use graphics.
c) Read the text about typewriters and find out their advantages and disadvantages:
The earliest recorded attempt to produce a mechanical writing device was in 1714, but the first useable typewriter was produced by Remington in 1873. It had most of the features of later machines, except that it typed only in capital letters. With the addition of lower case (“small”) letters in 1878, the basic design was in place.
Portable typewriters appeared in 1912, and electric machines became available in 1925. By this time millions of typewriters were in use, and in countries using Roman alphabet, very few official letters and documents were still being handwritten.
Although typewriters are still manufactured in small quantities, they have largely been replaced by computer word-processing applications. Some people remain nostalgic for the old-fashioned typewriter, though. It requires no electricity, no separate printer and no expensive ink cartridges (a single ribbon will type hundreds of pages, and is quick and cheap to replace). Most significantly, perhaps, with no easy correction, sentences have to be fully thought – just before they are committed to paper – an intellectual discipline perhaps in danger of being forgotten in the age of cut, copy, paste and delete.
d) Read the text about word processors and find their advantages in the first paragraph and disadvantages in the second:
The case for and against WORD PROCESSING
People use word processors for writing all kinds of documents, such as letters, school papers and reports. Word processors have many advantages over handwriting and manual typewriters. word processing is faster and easier than writing by hand and you can store documents on your computer, which you cannot usually do on a typewriter. This makes it easier to review and rewrite your documents. You have more formatting choices with a word processor, and the spelling, grammar and language tools are useful, too. You can also print copies of your documents, which look neater than handwritten ones. Many language students use word processors to improve their writing skills and because they help them feel proud of their work.
Word processors do have disadvantages, however. First, it is not easy to read long documents on a computer screen. Second, sometimes the printer does not print an exact copy of what you see on the screen. Not all word processors can red each other’s files, which is another disadvantage. Finally, word processors do not always work well with e-mail. If you paste a word processed letter into an e-mail it may lose a lot of its formatting. Many people use a text editor for the Internet, which is similar to a word processor but has fewer formatting features and cannot use graphics. Text editors, such as Notepad, use a simple coding system called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), as does e-mail.
e)Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F). Change the false sentences to make them true:
1. you can store letters on a manual typewriter.
2. You can change your documents easily on a word processor.
3. Printed documents look better than handwriting.
4. Improving your writing is more difficult with a word processor.
5. Word processors work well with e-mail.
f) Match the words and phrases in the text with their definitions:
1. by hand, not electronic ___
2. the way a program organizes data ___
3. a program used for simple text files ___
4. the code that e-mail uses ___
5. things that a program has, or can do ___
6. a program used for text and graphics ___
g) Which of these documents would you write by hand and which on a word processor?
| a formal letter, an informal letter, an invitation to a party, a birthday card, a shopping list, an application form, a note to your friend, a school report, a ‘for sale’ notice |
h) There are some advantages of writing with pen and paper. Do you agree or disagree with them? Add any other ideas you may have:
- pen and paper – cheaper
- you can write anywhere (don’t need electricity, etc.)
- don’t need to learn to type
- handwritten papers – friendly and more personal.
Reading
a) Read the text about word-processing: