Английский язык для студентов факультета ИВТ и математического факультета (90

Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации Ярославский государственный университет им. П. Г. Демидова Кафедра иностранных языков

Английский язык для студентов факультета ИВТ

и математического факультета

Практикум

Рекомендовано Научно-методическим советом университета для студентов,

обучающихся по всем специальностям

Ярославль 2011

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УДК 811.111 ББК Ш 143.21я73

А 64

Рекомендовано Редакционно-издательским советом университета

в качестве учебного издания. План 2010/2011 учебного года

Рецензент кафедра иностранных языков Ярославского

государственного университета им. П. Г. Демидова

Составитель И. В. Умнова

Английский язык для студентов факультета ИВТ и матема-

А64 тического факультета : практикум / сост. И.В. Умнова ; Яросл. гос. ун-т им. П. Г. Демидова. – Ярославль : ЯрГУ, 2011. – 52 с.

Впрактикуме представлены оригинальные тексты по профессиональной тематике, содержащие большое количество компьютерных терминов и концепций и отражающие современные достижения в этой области. Разнообразные упражнения направлены на формирование различных видов компетенций, необходимых современному специалисту.

Врезультате усвоения материала практикума студенты научатся работать с текстами по специальности, строить монологические и диалогические высказывания на основе пройденного, выражать собственное мнение по спорным вопросам.

Практикум содержит 4 основных раздела и 1 дополнительный. Преподаватель может выбирать очередность прохождения тем. Материалы из дополнительного раздела могут служить домашним заданием.

Предназначендлястудентов,обучающихсяповсемспециальностям (дисциплина «Английский язык», блок ГСЭ), очной формы обучения.

УДК 811.111 ББК Ш 143.21я73

© Ярославский государственный университетим.П. Г. Демидова,2011

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UNIT I

A. Answer the following questions before you read the text:

What was the main means of communication when your parents were young? What was the main source of getting information at the time when your parents were of your age? Can you imagine yourself and your peers without a computer?

B. These words and phrases from the text should be in your active use:

TEXT 1. The Digital Age

We are now living in what some people call the digital age, meaning that computers have become an essential part of our lives. Young people who have grown up with PCs and mobile phones are oftencalled thedigitalgeneration.Computershelpstudentstoperform mathematical operations and improve their maths skills. They are used to access the Internet, to do basic research and to communicate with other students around the world. Teachers use projectors and

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interactive whiteboards to give presentations and teach sciences, history or language courses. PCs are also used for administrative purposes – schools use word processors to write letters, and databases to keep records of students and teachers. A school website allows teachers to publish exercises for students to complete online. Students can also enroll for courses via the website and parents can download official reports.

Mobiles let you make voice calls, send texts, email people and download logos, ringtones or games. With a built-in camera you can send pictures and make video calls in face-to-face mode. New smartphones combine a telephone with web access, video, a games console, an MP3 player, a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a GPS navigation system, all in one.

In banks, computers store information about the money held by each customer and enable staff to access large databases and to carry out financial transactions at high speed. They also control the cashpoints, or ATMs (automatic teller machines), which dispense money to customers by the use of a PIN-protected card. People use a Chip and PIN card to pay for goods and services. Instead of using a signature to verify payments, customers are asked to enter a fourdigit personal identification number (PIN), the same number used at cashpoints; this system makes transactions more secure. With online banking, clients can easily pay bills and transfer money from the comfort of their homes.

Airline pilots use computers to help them control the plane. For example, monitors display data about fuel consumption and weather conditions. In airport control towers, computers are used to manage radar systems and regulate air traffic. On the ground, airlines are connectedtotravelagenciesbycomputer.Travelagentsusecomputers to find out about the availability of flights, prices, times, stopovers and many other details.

C.Afteryouhavereadthetextanswerthefollowingquestions:

1. What professions are mentioned in the text?

2. What devices/gadgets does the author speak about? Name those ones with which you are familiar.

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3. Say what spheres of human activities does the text cover: medicine/ banking/transportation/ tourism/ education/ telephoning/ chemical industry/ film-making/science.

D. Discuss these questions with your fellow student. Make up a dialogue.

1. How are/were computers used in your school?

2. How do you think computers will be used in school in the future?

E. In groups of three discuss these questions. Submit your group’s opinion.

1. Is it secure to pay for everything using a universal card? 2. What are pros and cons of using computerized library?

F. Submit your group’s opinion. These phrases may be of use: In our general view – по нашему общему мнению

It seems to us that – нам кажется/ как нам кажется

On behalf of the group, I can say that …- от имени группы я могу сказать, что …

In our opinion – на наш взгляд

From our point of view – с нашей точки зрения

I will express the general view if I say, that …– выражу об-

щую точку зрения, если скажу, что …

G. Match the verbs (1-5) with the nouns (a-e) to make collocations.*

* Collocations are word combinations of verbs and nouns that often go together in English to make set phrases, for example write letters, send texts, carry out transactions, store information, access theInternet,displaydata,performoperations,doresearch,complete exercises, make calls. Learning collocations instead of individual words can help you remember which verb to use with which noun.

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H. Use collocations from G. to complete the following sentences.

1. Thanks to Wi-Fi, it’s now easy to …….. from cafes, hotels, parks and many other public places.

2. Online banking lets you …….. between your accounts easily and securely.

3. Skype is a technology that enables users to …….. over the Internet for free.

4. In many universities, students are encouraged to …….. using PowerPoint in order to make their talks more visually attractive.

5. The Web has revolutionized the way people …….. – with sites such as Google and Wikipedia, you can find the information you need in seconds.

6. Cookies allow a website to …….. on a user’s machine and later retrieve it; when you visit the website again, it remembers your preferences.

7. Withthelatestmobilephones,you can …….. withmultimedia attachments – pictures, audio, even video.

UNIT II

A. Before reading the text find the meanings of these words and phrases in a dictionary: drudgery/ clerical work/ bearable/ ubiquitous/ trend/ to feed into the computer’s memory.

TEXT 1. Computers

The computer is the great technological and scientific innovation of the last half of the twentieth century. It has revolutionized how we organize information, how we communicate with each other, and even the way that we think about the human mind. Computers have eased the drudgery of such tasks as calculating sums and clerical work, making them both more bearable and more efficient. The computer has become ubiquitous in many aspects of business, recreation, and everyday life, and the trend is that they are becoming both more powerful and easier to use.

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A computer is an electronic machine which can accept data in a certain form, process the data, and give the results of the processing in a specified format as information.

First data is fed into the computer’s memory. Then, when the program is run, the computer performs a set of instructions and processes the data. Finally, we can see the results (the output) on the screen or in printed form.

A computer system consists of two parts: hardware and software. Hardware is any electronic or mechanical part you can see or touch. There are three basic hardware sections: the central processing unit (CPU), the main memory and peripherals. Software is a set of instructions, called a program, which tells the computer what to do.

B. Select the so-called international words from the text, read them aloud and give their Russian equivalents. Remember that one meaning of a word may become narrower, another one becomes more general when translated into another language. For example, trend –

1)тенденция (общее значение) 2) тренд (более узкое значение).

C. Retell the text according to the following plan:

1. Speak of how computers have changed the society’s way of living.

2. Give a definition of a computer. 3. Describe a computer system.

D. What do computers mean in our life? Read how different people are answering this question in a blog.

• As for me I couldn’t live without my computer. I use it all the time.

• Computers became an integral part of our life. I can’t even suppose what I’d do without a computer and the Internet near at hand.

• I can’t imagine myself without a computer! It’s the best way to cheer up=)

• It’sagreatinvention.Whatcouldourlifebewithoutacomputer? But where are romantic people? They’re playing online games, chatting in ICQ, forums. You know, I really miss the old times, when a rare letter was so pleasant to be received! Now everybody stays at home, nobody wants to dream, to write stories or novels ...We are all caught in a large net. It looks like freedom, but it’s a prison, though

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very nice to be in. Let’s concentrate on our life! The world around us is full of wonders...

• We can’t live without information from computers. But how could our grandparents? They even had no television, not to mention other modern conveniences. Nevertheless, their life wasn’t boring. What ‘s the secret of happiness?

• Today I gave an interview about computers and the Internet for a local newspaper. I was speaking about their aid in education. I am getting really upset when I hear that young people use it only for entertainment. It should not be so. It’s waste of time.

E. Guess which utterances (высказывания) could belong to a teacher, a pensioner, a student, an Internet addict, a middle-aged woman, a young guy, a young girl, a businessman. There may be more than one right answers. Explain your choice.

How would you answer the same question?

F. Translate the following sentences in written form. Pay attention to verbals (the Infinitive, Participles I and II, the Gerund). Find them out in the sentences, and fill in the table.

1. Today, knowing how to use a computer is not an option – it is an essential.

2. Computers have become an integral part of our everyday life, and are here to stay.

3. Computers have evolved to indispensable part of our society. 4. Forpeopleoftheeldergenerationgettingstartedwithcomputers

may be a bit overwhelming, but very exciting.

5. Students may go to the site, download the files and either print them to make transparencies or insert in a multimedia presentation.

6. Information today is being circulated, disseminated and dispersed in conditions which make it more and more difficult to protect.

7. As a result of the imperfections in the identification methods, other methods have been developed or are now being developed: verification of signature, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition, as well as other methods involving palm recognition and iris recognition.

8. I find it convenient to send and receive electronic mail using Netscape Mail.

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9. A variety of tools is used to perform different tasks on the Internet.

10. Being connected to the Internet is also called being online. 11. The number of computers connected to the Internet has grown

at an extraordinary rate: from only 4 in 1969 to millions today.

TEXT 2. The Magic of Computers

G. Five sentences have been removed from the text. Choose which sentence (1-5) fits which gap in the text (a-e).

Computers and microchips have become part of our everyday lives: (a) ---------; we pay bills prepared by computers; just picking up a telephone and dialing a number involves the use of a sophisticated computer system, (b) ----------------.

Every day we encounter computers that spring to life the instant they are switched on, (c) --------, all of which use chip technology.

What makes your computer such a miraculous device? Each time you turn it on, it is a blank slate that , with appropriate hardware and software, is capable of doing anything you ask. (d) -------------; it is an electronic filing cabinet which manages large collections of data, such as customer’ s lists, accounts, or inventories; it is a magical typewriter that allows you to type and print any kind of documents – letters, memos or legal documents; it is a personal communicator that enables you to interact with other computers and with people around the world; if you like gadgets and electronic entertainment, (e) --------.

Nowadays, it is almost impossible to imagine life without the magic of computers.

1. it isacalculatingmachinethatspeedsupfinancialcalculations. 2. we visit shops and offices which have been designed with the

help of computers.

3. you can even use your PC to relax with computer games.

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4. for example calculators, the car’s electronic ignition, the timer in the microwave, or the programmer inside the VCR.

5. as does making a flight reservation or bank transaction.

H. Answer these questions.

Apart from computers, what other devices use microchips? Which two components allow computer systems to operate? What types of document are prepared on computers?

Why is a computer called a personal communicator?

I. Put this sentence into a right order.

LIVE,/ HAVE/AND/THE/CHANGED/WE,/COMPUTERS/ PLAY/ WORK,/ WAY/ COMMUNICATE

J. Choose one of the areas below and discuss what you can do with computers in that area. Here are some useful words and phrases for you to use in your answer.

Formula 1 cars: design and build the car, test virtual models, control electronic components, monitor engine speed, store (vital) information, display data, analyze and communicate data

Entertainment: download music, burn CDs, play games, take photos, edit photos, make video clips, watch movies on a DVD player, watch TV on the computer, listen to MP3s, listen to the radio via the Web

Factories and industrial processes: design products, do calculations, control industrial robots, control assembly lines, keep records of stocks (materials and equipment)

School/University: access the Internet, enroll online, search the Web, prepare exams, write documents, complete exercises online, do research, prepare presentations

Computers are used to ……..

A PC can also be used for ………..

People use computers to ……..

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