B electronics and you

1 Besides desktop computers we also use other electronic devices nowadays. Name as many as you can. Which of them do you have with you?

2 What is the English word for a small device that has a specific function, and is often thought of as something new? Put the letters in the correct order to get it:   a t d e g g

3 What do smartphones and e-readers let you do? Use the model to make sentences:

With a smartphone / e-reader you can ….

4 Match the English expressions with their Russian equivalents.

A

B

5 Work in two groups.

Group A: read and choose the right answers in advertisement A.

Group B: read and choose the right answers in advertisement B.

Compare your answers with the other students in your group, then answer the questions:

1. What device is it about?

2. Which of its characteristics does the text describe?

6 Make a pair with a student from the other group and tell your partner about your device.

7 Read the other advertisement in ex.5 and put the words from the box into the gaps. There is one extra word which you do not need to use.

advanced convenient ink connection power supports lighting visibility illuminate download resolution conventional

1. The Internet gives us a _______ way of exchanging information.

2. The device has a high ______ screen and _______ various file formats.

3. This camera allows you to get good photos in all _______ conditions.

4. The screen is turned off automatically to save _______.

5. Poor outdoor _______ is a serious problem with many ______ screens.

6. Electronic _______ is one of the most _______ technologies used in e-readers.

7. Which company provides an Internet _______ for you?

8. Here you can _______ web pages really fast.

8 Which of the nouns given can the following verbs be combined with?

offer new possibilities / a presentation / a job / a skill

perform a problem / a task / a function / the work

save power / a file / a condition / people’s lives

manipulate keys / data / a situation / people

provide an answer / information / your family / equipment

invent an engine / a new method / a story / a text

9 Practice reading the words:

technology, development, imagination, science, scientific, research, front, innovation, variety, invention, experience, performance, creative, engine, condition, manipulate, equipment, advanced, produce, audio

10 Write about your favourite electronic device. Answer these questions:

Why do you like it? What does it look like? What does it let you do?

Example:

I love my new iPad because it is very convenient. It isn’t big, but it has a very good screen – with high resolution and excellent colours. With it I really feel connected to all my family and friends because I can send them not only e-mails, but also photos and video recordings. I have a lot of material to study on it as well, so I don’t need to carry many papers about with me.

C WHAT IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY?

1 Form nouns from the following verbs and translate them.

define, collect, attract, inform, distribute, discuss, transmit

Example: define – definition

Complete the sentences with verbs and nouns from the task above.

1. The conference has _______ a lot of interest.

2. This cable allows data _______ speeds up to 100 Mb/s.

3. What is a matrix? Please give a _______.

4. I am writing to _______ you of the new vacancy at our office.

5. Many questions were asked and answered during the _______.

6. Metals _______ electricity.

7. We must find the _______ function for the random error.

8. We have _______ many facts to support the theory.

9. Gravitational _______ is a well-known fact in physics.

10. The powers of the President are _______ in the Constitution.

2 When you hear the words ‘information technology’, what is the first to come to mind?

3 Which of these verbs can be combined with the word ‘information’?

4 In small groups discuss what information technology is. Try to make up a definition.

5 Read this definition of IT. How close is it to yours? What ideas are different?

Information technology is a branch of engineering which deals with the use of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data. The term ‘IT’ is often used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also includes other information distribution technologies such as radio, television and telephones.

6 Read this definition of information. Does information always need to be in electronic form?

Information is a set of marks or signs that have meaning.

What non-electronic ways of storing and exchanging information can you name?

7 Do the following things have anything to do with information? Why?

picture signal text hieroglyph  data  date  brain   message  map

8 Read the text and put the paragraphs in the correct order. How many stages in IT development does it describe?

We may not realize it, but we are witnessing now one the greatest steps made my human civilization in its whole history.

Nowadays you can often get all the information you want by pressing a few keys on your computer. No need to go to the library and spend hours looking through a dozen books. Not only storing and distributing information, but also its processing can now be done by a machine, which performs certain technical operations much quicker than our brain. The computer search systems are becoming more and more intelligent. What is more, websites get updated constantly, unlike paper encyclopaedias, which cannot be changed so quickly.

But imagine a world where nobody can read and write. There is only one way of communication – face to face, and the kind of distortion described above may become a serious problem. The invention of writing was certainly one of the most important in information technology history, since a great part of information we possess is preserved in various written texts. Writing made communication through time and space possible, and you can receive a message sent by someone hundreds of miles (or years) away.

Do you know the ‘broken telephone’ game? Person 1 says something to person 2, person 2 must say the same thing to person 3, and so on. When the message is received by person 10, it is usually unrecognizable, and the distortion makes everybody laugh. We can afford to laugh because written texts and drawings, and now electronic devices provide us with reliable methods of storing and exchanging information.

However, the first books were few, and available to few people. Then the printing press brought about a second step in the information technology development. It became possible to get an exact copy of a document in thousands of places all around the world. While writing in itself solved the problem of storing information, printing allowed its quick distribution.

As a result, we can say that nowadays education is more important than ever because without a good system in mind it is impossible to sort out all the information available to us.

9 Read the text again using the words in the box. Answer the questions.

1. How do we play the ‘broken telephone’ game?

2. Why do we usually laugh at the end (of the game)?

3. Why can we afford to laugh?

4. What kind of communication was the most common before writing was invented?

5. Why was the invention of writing so important?

6. How did the printing press change the world?

7. What ways of getting information do we have now?

8. What operations can a computer do?

9. How is an Internet reference system different from a paper one?

10 Complete the table by forming verbs from the adjectives and adjectives from the verbs. Translate the words and use them to fill the gaps.

1. His style of writing is easily _______.

2. I cannot _______ how he can perform so many functions at the same time.

3. My friend can always be _______ on.

4. The weather in England is very ______.

5. Something is wrong with the disk. I can’t _______ the files any more.

6. I am sorry, but the book isn’t _______ in the library at the moment.

7. To get a _______ version of the web-page click here.

8. I couldn’t _______ the place. It had changed so much.

9. It is the only way _______ to solve our problem. There is no other.

10. We only use the most _______ methods in our laboratory.

11 Which of the nouns given can the following verbs be combined with?

design a building /a project / a car / a website / a dress

possess emotions / information / a talent

receive a message / news / good education / access / a visitor

extract a lesson / information / a promise

process information / a text / the land / the stone

update a forecast / a database / an organization / a program

develop skills / your memory / a technology / speed

12 Translate the words in brackets to complete the sentences.

1. A computer (может обрабатывать) information very fast.

2. Electronic devices (обеспечивают) us with (надежные способы) of exchanging information.

3. Writing allowed us to communicate (сквозь время и пространство).

4. These websites (обновляются) constantly.

5. If (вам нужно) to close the window, (нажмите клавиши) Ctrl+W.

6. How are such (технические операции выполняются)?

7. The invention of writing was an (важный шаг).

8. Did you (получили мое сообщение)?

9. Printing (позволило) us to (распространять) information quickly.

10. Can you (описать задачу) to me?

11. The problem (не решена) yet.

12. The device supports (несколько) new file formats.

13. People had (очень мало) books 500 years ago.

14. How does this device (хранит) information?

15. The knowledge of historic events (часто сохраняется) in the form of a written text.

13 Complete this summary of the text above. Put one word in each gap.

Before writing was ____1____ people had very few ways of storing and exchanging ____2____, and very few kinds of information could be preserved ____3____ the future. Writing made it ____4____ for us to know now ____4____ people saw and did many centuries ago. The invention of the ____5____ press allowed many people to ____6____ access to knowledge, and nowadays the ____7____ allows us to exchange information quickly with people from ____8____ over the world.

14 Make up a list of characteristics for each stage of IT development described in the test above, then use your notes to speak about the differences between the stages.