Text 2 from the history of computers

The story of the development of devices, and machines that led to the automatic computer goes back into the past. Probably the first ancient computing machine was the abacus. This device consisted of a slab divided into areas, and a supply of small stones for use as counters.

In 1642 Pascal, the French mathematician and philosopher, invented the first machine that added numbers mechanically. In 1673, another mathematician, G.W. Leibnitz, constructed a device able to multiply numbers.

The idea of a machine which would not only add, subtract, multiply, and divide but perform a sequence of steps automatically, store data and print out the results was first conceived in 1812 by Charles Babbage, a professor of mathematics of Cambridge University. But the machine had not been completely constructed. Just before World War II, Thomas Watson, head of IBM, constructed an electromechanical equivalent of Babbage's analytical machine known as Mark1.

In 1944 the first general purpose automatic digital computer was built by John Atanasoff, a physicist of Iowa State University, and his assistant, Clifford Berry. Based on Atanasoff's ideas, John Mauchly and Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania produced one of the most influential computers called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator). It was a massive machine consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes and 1,500 relays. It contained 20 registers where numbers were stored. It added numbers at the rate of 5,000 additions per second. It also contained a multiplier, a “divider-square-rooter”, and other units. However, the limitations of the ENIAC became obvious very quickly as to change its function required rewiring a substantial part of the machine, which was a slow process. The solution to this problem belongs to John von Neumann. It was the stored-program concept, in which the sequence of instructions to be performed (called a program) could be entered and stored in the computer. The first machine using this concept was the EDSAC (Electronic Delayed Storage Automatic Computer), which was built at Cambridge University in 1949.

At the same time Mauchly and Eckert produced their own stored-program computer UNIVAC 1 (Universal Automatic Computer) in 1952. The UNIVAC 1 was a machine of the first generation. It used vacuum tubes, performed about 1000 instructions per second, and had a memory capacity of about 16,000 characters of data.

The era of the first-generation machine ended in 1959 when transistors replaced vacuum tubes. They increased computers reliability and computational speed, and reduced their volume, cost, and power consumption. The transistors were invented by John Bardeen, Houser Brattain, and William Shockley, the scientists of Bell Laboratories. The second-generation computers also incorporated advances in programming connected with the invention of new languages, such as assembly languages and FORTRAN. These languages were easier for programmers’ use.

The computers of the third-generation appeared about five years after the introduction of transistor-based computers. The invention that led to these computers was the integrated circuit, or I.C., which allowed many components to exist on a single small chip. IC's were compact, cheap to produce and more reliable than transistors. One of the most important products developed from the integrated technology was the microprocessor.

The computers of the fourth generation are based on circuits containing tens and hundreds of thousands of active electronic devices in tiny elements. Research is also being done on the construction of supercomputers. The fifth-generation machines are expected to appear. They will be based on VLSI and SLSI technologies. Optical fibers, videodiscs, and artificial intelligence techniques will be incorporated into them.

TASKS

1. Give Russian equivalents of the words and transcribe them

1. machine (n.)

2. automatic (adj.)

3. ancient (adj.)

4. abacus (n.)

5. area (n .)

6. supply (n.)

7. mechanically (adv.)

8. subtract (v.)

9. multiply (v.)

10. sequence (n.)

11. conceive (v.)

12. equivalent (n.)

13. purpose (n.)

14. digital (adj.)

15. physicist (n.)

16. influential (adj.)

17. numerical (adj.)

18. integrator (n.)

19. vacuum tube

20. relay (n.)

21. register (n.)

22. rewire (v.)

23. substantial (adj.)

24. character (n.)

25. era (n.)

26. reliability (n.)

27. assembly languages

28. integrated circuit

29. compact (adj.)

30. technology (n.)

31. tiny (adj.)

32. artificial (adj.)

33. intelligence (n.)

34. technique (n.)

35. Iowa

36. Pennsylvania

2. Give English equivalents of:

1. развитие устройств

2. привести к автоматическому компьютеру

3. изобрести первую машину

4. складывать числа механически

5. способный умножать числа

6. выполнять последовательность действий

7. хранить данные

8. распечатывать результаты

9. аналитическая машина

10. со скоростью

11. в секунду

12. ограничения стали очевидными

13. изменить функцию

14. медленный процесс

15. последовательность инструкций

16. в то же самое время

17. машина первого поколения

18. вместимость (объем) памяти

19. заменить вакуумные трубки

20. увеличить надежность компьютеров

21. скорость вычисления

22. потребление энергии

23. включать достижения в программировании

24. компьютеры, основанные на транзисторах

25. существовать на отдельной чипе

26. быть основанным на

27. на крошечных элементах

28. создание суперкомпьютеров

3. Read and translate the text

4. Fill in the gaps with dates and names. Put the sentences chronologically.

Dates

1642, 1673, 1812, just before World War II, 1944, 1949, 1952, 1959, about five years later.

Names

Pascal, Leibnitz, Babbage, Thomas Watson, John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry; John Mauchly and Presper Eckert; Bardeen, Brattain and Shockley.

Sentences:

1. In_____ an analytical computing machine which could perform mathematical operations automatically, store data and print out the results began to be constructed by_____; the construction of the machine had not been completed.

2. In _____ the EDSAC (Electronic Delayed Storage Auto­matic Computer) based on the stored-program concept, in which the sequence of instructions to be performed (called a program) could be entered and stored in the computer was built.

3. In _____transistors were invented by _____ ; with this invention the era of the second-generation machines began.

4. ________the computers of the third generation based on integrated circuit appeared.

5. Based on Atanasoff's ideas, _______ produced one of the most influential computers called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator).

6. The calculating machine that could perform addition mechanically was invented in____ by ____.

7. In _____ the first general purpose automatic digital computer was built by ______.

8. ______, an electromechanical equivalent of Babbage's analytical machine known as Mark 1 was constructed by ______.

9. In _____ ________produced their own stored-program computer UNIVAC 1, a machine of the first generation.

10. The device able to multiply numbers was constructed in____ by_____.

5. Match A and B

A

1. The abacus

2. Pascal’s computing machine

3. The computing machine invented by Leibnitz

4. Babbage’s analytical computing machine

5. Mark I

6. ENIAC

7. EDSAC

B

1. That machine was built by Thomas Watson just before World War II, it was an electromechanical equivalent of Babbage's analytical machine.

2. It was the stored-program computer built in 1949, in which the sequence of instructions to be performed (called a program) could be entered and stored in the computer.

3. That device consisted of a slab divided into areas, and a supply of small stones for use as counters.

4. That device could add numbers mechanically.

5. That machine was built in 1944. It was the first general purpose automatic digital computer. It was a massive machine consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes and 1,500 relays. It could perform arithmetic operations and store numbers.

6. That machine was able to multiply numbers

7. That machine was supposed to perform a sequence of mathematical operations automatically, to store data and print out the results. Its construction hadn’t been completed.

6. Choose the statements that characterize the computer generations

Computers of the first generation

1. These computers were stored-program computers based on vacuum tubes.

2. These computers performed about 1000 instructions per second, and had a memory capacity of about 16,000 characters of data.

3. These computers could only add numbers.

4. These computers used transistor-based technologies.

5. UNIVAC 1 was a representative of the computers of the first generation.

6. These computers appeared in 1952.

Computers of the second generation

1. These computers were massive machines based on integrated circuits.

2. These machines appeared in 1959.

3. These computers were stored-program computers that could perform arithmetic operations, store and print out the results of calculations.

4. These computers were based on transistors.

5. These computers incorporated the technologies that increased computers reliability and computational speed, and reduced their volume, cost, and power consumption.

6. These computers had less memory capacity than the first generation computers.

Computers of the third generation

1. These computers appeared in early 1960^th when transistors were invented.

2. These computers appeared in early 1960^th when transistors were replaced by integrated circuits

3. ENIAC was a representative of the third generation computer.

4. These computers were based on integrated circuits, which allowed many compo­nents to exist on a single small chip.

5. These computers were based on chip technologies that led to microcomputers.

6. These computers used punched cards and punched paper tapes.

Computers of the forth generation

1. These computers are widely used nowadays.

2. These computers are based on superconducting switches.

3. These computers realize the stored-program concept.

4. These computers are based on circuits containing tens and hundreds of thousands of active electronic devices in tiny elements.

5. These computers can be used for the Internet access.

6. These computers can be upgraded easily.

Computers of the fifth generation

1. These computers appeared in 1998.

2. These computers are expected to appear.

3. These computers are supposed to use the stored-program concept.

4. They will be based on VLSI and SLSI technologies.

5. These computers will be based on transistors and integrated circuits.

6. These computers will incorporate optical fibers, videodiscs, and artificial intelligence techniques.

7. Learn the text.