Задание 4. Найдите ответы на данные вопросы.

1. Name some types of devices that use ‘computers on a chip’.

2. What uses of handheld computers are mentioned in the text?

3. What smart devices are mentioned in the text?

4. What are smart cards used for?

5. What are the advantages of multimedia? What can medical expert systems do?

6. How can computers help the disabled?

7. What types of computing systems are made available to people in remote locations using electronic classrooms or boardrooms?

8.  What aspects of computing can people power determine?

Computers Make the World Smaller and Smarter

The ability of tiny computing devices to control complex operations has transformed the way many tasks are performed, ranging from scientific research to producing consumer products. Tiny 'computers on a chip’ are used in medical equipment, home appliances, cars and toys. Workers use handheld computing devices to collect data at a customer site, to generate forms, to control inventory, and to serve as desktop organisers.

Not only is computing equipment getting smaller, it is getting more sophisticated. Computers are part of many machines and devices that once required continual human supervision and control. Today, computers in security systems result in safer environments, computers in cars improve energy efficiency, and computers in phones provide features such as call forwarding, call monitoring, and call answering.

These smart machines are designed to take over some of the basic tasks previously performed by people; by so doing, they make life a little easier and a little more pleasant. Smart cards store vital information such as health records, drivers’ licenses, bank balances, and so on. Smart phones, cars, and appliances with built in computers can be programmed to better meet individual needs. A smart house has a built-in monitoring system that can turn lights on and off, open and close windows, operate the oven, and more.

With small computing devices available for performing smart tasks like cooking dinner, programming the VCR, and controlling the flow of information in an organization, people are able to spend more time doing what they often do best - being creative. Computers can help people work more creatively.

Multimedia systems are known for their educational and entertainment value, which we call 'edutainment’. Multimedia combinestext with sound, video, animation, and 45 graphics, which greatly enhances the interaction between user and machine and can make information more interesting and appealing to people. Expert systems software enables computers to 'think’ like experts, so Medical diagnosis expert systems, for example, can help doctors pinpoint a patient’s illness, suggest further tests, and prescribe appropriate drugs.

Connectivity enables computers and software 55 that might otherwise be incompatible to communicate and to share resources. Now that computers are proliferating in many areas and networks are available for people to access data and communicate with others, № personal computers are becominginterpersonal PCs. They have the potential to significantly improve the way we relate to each other. Many people today telecommute - that is, use their computers to stay in touch 65 with the office while they are working at home. With the proper tools, hospital staff can get a diagnosis from a medical expert hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Similarly, the disabled can communicate more го effectively with others using computers.

Distance learning and videoconferencing are concepts made possible with the use of an electronic classroom or boardroom accessible to people in remote locations. Vast databases 75 of information are currently available to users of the Internet, all of whom can send mail messages to each other. The information superhighway is designed to significantly expand this interactive connectivity so that so people all over the world will have free access to all these resources.

People power is critical to ensuring that hardware, software, and connectivity are effectively integrated in a socially responsible 85 way. People - computer users and computer professionals - are the ones who will decide which hardware, software, and networks endure and how great an impact they will have on our lives. Ultimately people power so must be exercised to ensure that computers are used not only efficiently but in a socially responsible way.

Task  5. Mark the following statements as True or False:

Задание 5. Отметьте следующие утверждения Истина или Ложь.

1. Desktop organisers are programs that require desktop computers.

2. Computers are sometimes used to monitor systems that previously needed human supervision.

3. Networking is a way of allowing otherwise incompatible systems to communicate and share resources.

4. The use of computers prevents people from being creative.

5. Computer users do not have much influence over the way that computing develops.

LESSON 3

Fields of Engineering

Task  1. Read and translate the text:

Задание 1. Прочитайте и переведите текст:

The main branches of engineering are Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electric Power and Machinery,

Electronics, Communications and Control, Computers, Geological and Mining Engineering, Industrial or Management Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Military Engineering, Naval or Marine Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Safety Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, Modern Engineering Trends, the engineer who works in any of these fields usually requires a basic knowledge of the other engineering fields, because most engineering problems are complex and interrelated. Thus a chemical engineer designing a plant for theelectrolytic refiningof metal oresmust deal with the design ofstructures, machinery, and electrical devices, as well as with purelychemical problems. Besides the principal branches discussed below, engineeringincludes many more specialties than can be described here, such as acoustical engineering, architectural engineering automotive engineering, ceramic engineering, transportation engineering, and textile engineering.

Task  2. Answer the following questions:

Задание 2. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. You are going to read a set of texts about the main branches of engineering. What branches of engineering do you know?

2. Divide into groups and take part in a round-table discussion of principal branches of engineering.

3. Do you as an up-to-date engineer have a basic knowledge of other engineering fields?

Task  3.Describe how you use computers in your study and in your free time.

Задание 3. Опишите, как Вы используете компьютер в обучении и в своё свободное время.

Task  4. What do these abbreviations mean? Use the Glossary if necessary.

Задание 4. Что означает данная аббревиатура? Используйте Глоссарий по необходимости.

• CD-ROM

• RDRAM

• MB

• GHZ

• AGP

• SDRAM

• SVGA

LESSON 4

Automation

Task  1. Read and translate the text:

Задание 1. Прочитайте и переведите текст:

Automation is the system of manufacture performing certain tasks, previously done by people, by machines only. The sequences of operations are controlled automatically. The most familiar example of a highly automated system is an assembly plant for automobiles or other complex products. The term automation is also used to describe nonmanufacturing systems in which automatic devices can operate independently of human control. Such devices as automatic pilots, automatic telephone equipment and automated control systems are used to perform various operations much faster and better than could be done by people. Automated manufacturing had several steps in its development. Mechanization was the first step necessary in the development of automation. The simplification of work made it possible to design and build machines that resembled the motions of the worker. These specialized machines were motorized and they had better production efficiency. Industrial robots, originally designed only to perform simple tasks in environments dangerous to human workers, are now widely used to transfer, manipulate, and position both light and heavy work pieces performing all the functions of a transfer machine. In the 1920s the automobile industry for the first time used an integrated system of production. This method of production was adopted by most car manufacturers and became known as Detroit automation. The feedback principle is used in all automatic-control mechanisms when machines have ability to correct themselves. The feedback principle has been used for centuries. An outstanding early example is the flyball governor, invented in 1788 by James Watt to control the speed of the steam engine. The common household thermostat is another example of a feedback device. Using feedback devices, machines can start, stop, speed up, slow down, count, inspect, test, compare, and measure. These operations are commonly applied to a wide variety of production operations. Computers have greatly facilitated the use of feedback in manufacturing processes. Computers gave rise to the development of numerically controlled machines. The motions of these machines are controlled by punched paper or magnetic tapes. In numerically controlled machining centres machine tools can perform several different machining operations. More recently, the introduction of microprocessors and computers have made possible the development of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD and CAM) technologies. When using these systems a designer draws a part and indicates its dimensions with the help of a mouse, light pen, or other input device. After the drawing has been completed the computer automatically gives the instructions that direct a machining centre to machine the part. Another development using automation are the flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). A computer in FMS can be used to monitor and control the operation of the whole factory. Automation has also had an influence on the areas of the economy other than manufacturing. Small computers are used in systems called word processors, which are rapidly becoming a standard part of the modern office. They are used to edit texts, to type letters and so on.

Automation in Industry

Many industries are highly automated or use automation technology in some part of their operation. In communications and especially in the telephone industry dialing and transmission are all done automatically. Railways are also controlled by automatic signaling devices, which have sensors that detect carriages passing a particular point. In this way the movement and location of trains can be monitored. Not all industries require the same degree of automation. Sales, agriculture, and some service industries are difficult to automate, though agriculture industry may become more mechanized, especially in the processing and packaging of foods. The automation technology in manufacturing and assembly is widely used in car and other consumer product industries. Nevertheless, each industry has its own concept of automation that answers its particular production needs.

Task  2. Answer the following questions:

Задание 2. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. What were the first robots originally designed for?

2. What industries use automation technologies?

3. What do the abbreviations CAM and CAD stand for?

Task  3. Read the text “Automation” and discuss the following questions in group:

Задание 3. Прочтите текст и обсудите следующие вопросы в группе:

a) How is the term automation defined in the text?

b) What is the most «familiar example» of automation given in the text?

c) What was the first step in the development of automaton?

d) What was the first industry to adopt the new integrated system of production?

e) What is feedback principle?

f) What is FMS?

Task  4. Match each item in Column A with its function in Column B. Then describe its function in two ways.