Test 04 on computer science and computer wizards

I. Прочитайте текст и выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанных фрагментов (А-C).

A. The innovators of computer technology were very different from each other but they had a common enthusiasm for technical innovation and the capacity to foresee the potential of computers. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Robert Noyce was a risk-taker who was successful both as an engineer and as an entrepreneur. The son of an Iowa minister, he was informal, genuine, and methodical. Even when he was running one of the most successful businesses in the Silicon Valley, he dressed informally and his office was an open cubicle that looked like everyone else's. As an engineer, he co-invented the integrated circuit, which was the basis for later computer design. As a businessman, Noyce co-founded Intel, one of the most successful companies in the Silicon Valley and the first company to introduce the microprocessor. The microprocessor chip became the heart of the computer and made possible the invention of the personal computer.

B. Twenty-year-old Steven Jobs and twenty-four-year-old Stephen Wozniak were the two men who first introduced the personal computer to the marketplace. They had neither prestigious university educations nor experience in big business. The two collaborated on their first project as computer hobbyists in a local computer club. Built in the garage of Jobs's parents, this first personal computer was typewriter-sized, as powerful as a much larger computer, and inexpensive to build. From the very beginning, Jobs insisted that the computers be light, trim, and made in muted colors. He also insisted that the language used with the computers be "user-friendly" and that the operation be simple enough for the average person to learn in a few minutes. These features helped convince a skeptical public that the computer was practical for the home and small business.

C. As the computer industry began to reach into homes and small businesses around the world, the need for many new products for the personal computer began to emerge. Martin Alpert, the founder of Tecmar, Inc., was one of the first people to foresee this need. Alpert had neither the technical training of Noyce nor the computer clubs of Jobs and Wozniak to encourage his interest in computer engineering. His parents were German refugees who worked in a factory and a bakery to pay for his college education. They insisted that he study medicine even though his interest was in electronics. Throughout medical school he studied electronics passionately but privately. His first electronics products were medical instruments that he built in his living room. His wife recognized the potential of his projects and enrolled in a graduate program in business management. Both became the most successful creators of personal computer peripherals.

1. The two people who worked best as a team complementing each other were

1. Noyce and Jobs

2. Jobs and Wozniak

3. Wozniak and Alpert

4. Mr and Mrs Alpert

2. The computer enthusiast who found his vocation against all the odds was

1. Noyce

2. Wozniak

3. Jobs

4. Alpert

3. The computer innovator who was both a brilliant inventor and a shrewd businessman was

1. Noyce

2. Wozniak

3. Jobs

4. Alpert

4. The people who facilitated universal popularity of computers are depicted in

1. Sections A and B

2. Sections B and C

3. Sections C and A

4. Sections A, B, and C

5. The only computer enthusiast who received a prestigious education was

1. Noyce

2. Wozniak

3. Jobs

4. Alpert

II. Прочитайте текст. Подберите соответствующий заголовок к каждому абзацу (1-5).

(1) Work on Sixth Generation computers should lead to advanced home computers which make your house intelligent. Firstly, you will be able to speak to the computer and tell it to do complicated things and leave it to handle the details and the planning. The computer will be able to simultaneously perform many different tasks, complicated and routine ones. A Sixth Generation machine will monitor your house: controlling the lights, heating, video recorder and the like by simple spoken commands.

(2) The main barrier to the imaginative use of these machines will be the 'band-width' in and out of homes. Band-width is the technical term for the capacity of an information-carrying channel and is usually measured in 'bits per second'. The bandwidth of a normal phone-line is around 1200 bits per second, equivalent to 150 alphabet characters per second, just a little faster than one can read. This really is not fast enough.

(3) In future, it is planned to replace the whole phone system with fiber-optic cables. Fiber-optic cables have incredible bandwidth and can carry simultaneously more phone lines, data links and TV channels than we are ever likely to need.

(4) So, eventually, the band-width problem will go away and our advanced home computer will have two-way high speed communication with the rest of the world. This will open up a host of new applications. Let's consider an example: the DELTA project. DELTA stands for Developing European Learning through Technological Advance. As a result of DELTA, your advanced home computer will be able to bring sophisticated instruction using graphic illustrations, video, speech and music rights into your home. What will be new about DELTA is the quality and variety of the educational material. This means that the system will be sensitive to the needs of its human pupils and can adapt the level and kind of instructions.

(5) Computer teaching programs, up to now, have been pretty awful. This is partly because every difficulty and possible route through the material has to be anticipated by the authors, and partly because the inter-faces — how you and the machine communicate — are so primitive. If you want to ask a question, at present there is no chance that you can just type it in and expect an intelligent answer. With the DELTA system, this is not only a real possibility but, in addition, the nature of our question will allow the system to guess the problem behind it and to suggest alternative supplementary explanations.

A. Optic Fiber, Material of the Future

B. Chances of Intelligent Communication

C. Main Obstacles

D. Advanced Computers and Education

E. Fiber-Optic Cables are the Key

F. Computer Teaching Programs of Today

G. New Lifestyle with New Computers

III. Прочитайте текст и выполните послетекстовые задания.

(1) William Henry Gates is an American business executive, who serves as chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the leading computer software company in the United States. Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with high school friend Paul Allen. The company’s success made Gates one of the most influential figures in the computer industry and, eventually, one of the richest people in the world.

(2) Born in Seattle, Washington, Gates attended public school through the sixth grade. In the seventh grade he entered Seattle’s exclusive Lakeside School, where he met Allen. Gates was first introduced to computers and programming languages when he was in the eighth grade.. At the time, the school was one of the few that provided students with access to a computer. Soon afterward, Gates, Allen, and other students convinced a local computer company to give them free access to its PDP-10, a new minicomputer made by Digital Equipment Corporation. In exchange for the computer time, the students tried to find flaws in the system. Gates spent much of his free time on the computer learning programming languages. In 1972 Gates and Allen founded a company that designed and built computerized car-counting machines for traffic analysis.

(3) While attending Harvard University in 1975, Gates teamed with Allen to develop a version of the BASIC programming language for the first personal computer. They licensed their invention and formed Microsoft (originally Micro-soft) to develop versions of BASIC for other computer companies. Gates decided to drop out of Harvard in his junior year to devote his time to Microsoft. In 1980 Microsoft closed a deal with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) to provide the operating system for the IBM PC personal computer. As part of the deal, Microsoft retained the right to license the operating system to other companies. The success of the IBM PC made the operating system, MS-DOS, an industry standard. Microsoft’s revenues skyrocketed as other computer makers licensed MS-DOS and demand for personal computers surged. In 1986 Microsoft offered its stock to the public; by 1987 rapid appreciation of the stock had made Gates, 31, the youngest ever self-made billionaire. In the late 1990s Gates became more involved in philanthropy.

(4) With his wife he established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which, ranked by assets, quickly became one of the largest foundations in the world. Gates has also authored two books. In 1998 Gates appointed an executive vice president of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, to the position of president, but Gates continued to serve as Microsoft’s chairman and chief executive officer. In 2000 Gates transferred this title to Ballmer. While remaining chairman, Gates also took on the title of chief software architect to focus on the development of new products and technologies.

Выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию текста (задания 1-5).

1. In exchange for the computer time on PDP-10, the students tried to

A. discover drawbacks in the system

B. get rid of viruses that affected the minicomputer

C. to install new software, which was much improved

2. In 1972 Gates and Allen set up

A. a computerized car-counting machine for traffic analysis

B. a company that developed and produced computerized car-counting machines for traffic analysis

C. a company that hired people for traffic analysis

3. While attending Harvard, Gates teamed with Allen to

A. work out the programming language for the personal computer

B. develop the first personal computer

C. adapt the existing computer languages for the first personal computer

4. Gates decided to drop out of Harvard in his junior year, because

A. he was eager to dedicate his time to his new venture

B. he couldn’t catch up with the rest of the students

C. he wanted to devote his time to programming language exclusively

5. As part of the deal, Microsoft retained the right to license

A. the version of BASIC to other companies

B. MS-DOS the new programming language, to other companies

C. the newly invented operating system to other companies

Определите значение указанного слова в тексте (задания 6 – 8).

6. convince (2)

A. persuade B. satisfy C. convert

7. skyrocket (3)

A. increase B. reduce C. double

8. rapid (3)

A. in its time B. intensive C. quick

Выберите правильный вариант перевода в соответствии с содержанием текста (задания 9 – 12).

9. Gates was first introduced to computers and programming language in 1968.

A. Гейтс впервые познакомился с компьютерами и языком программирования в 1968.

B. Гейтсу впервые представили компьютер и язык программирования в 1968.

C. Гейтс был первым, кто познакомился с компьютерами и языком программирования в 1968 году.

10. The school was one of the few that provided students with access to a computer.

A. Школа была одной из немногих, где ученики имели доступ к компьютеру.

B. Школа была одной из немногих, которая обеспечивала студентам доступ к компьютеру.

C. Школа была одна из немногих, в которой имелись компьютеры для студентов.

11. In 1980 Microsoft closed a deal with IBM Сorporation to provide the operating system for the IBM personal computer.

A. В 1980 компания Майкрософт закрыла вопрос о сотрудничестве с корпорацией IBM по поводу разработки операционной системы для персональных компьютеров.

B. В 1980 компания Майкрософт заключила сделку с корпорацией IBM по разработке операционной системы для персональных компьютеров.

C. В 1980 компания Майкрософт расторгла сделку с корпорацией IBM по поводу поставок операционной системы для персональных компьютеров.

12. In the late 1990s Gates became more involved in philanthropy.

A. В конце 1990-х годов Гейтс стал больше интересоваться филантропией.

B. В конце 1990-х годов Гейтс стал больше заниматься благотворительностью.

C. В конце 1990-х годов Гейтс стал больше увлекаться филантропией