Белгородский государственный

национальный исследовательский университет

Федотова О.В.
АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК
ДЛЯ СФЕРЫ
ИНФОРМАЦИОННЫХ ТЕХНОЛОГИЙ

ENGLISH
FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STU-
DENTS

Учебное пособие

Белгород 2018
ББК 81.2 Англ. Я73
Ф34
Печатается по решению
редакционно-издательского совета
Педагогического института НИУ «БелГУ»

Автор-составитель:
Федотова О.В., к.ф.н., доцент кафедры английского языка и мето-
дики преподавания факультета иностранных языков Педагогиче-
ского института Белгородского государственного национального
исследовательского университета

Рецензенты:
Тарамжина Л.В., к.ф.н., доцент кафедры современных европей-
ских языков Института иностранных языков РГПУ им.
А.И. Герцена (Санкт-Петербург)
Степаненко С.Н., к.ф.н., доцент кафедры английского языка и ме-
тодики преподавания факультета иностранных языков Педагогиче-
ского института НИУ «БелГУ» (Белгород)

Федотова О.В. Английский язык для сферы информационных тех-

нологий: Учебное пособие. − Белгород: Издательский дом «Белго-
род», 2018. − 179 c.
Пособие предназначено для развития коммуникативных навыков
высказывания в условиях профессионального общения у студентов, обу-
чающихся по специальностям и направлениям в области компьютерных
наук и информационных технологий.
Пособие включает семь блоков по следующим темам: Comput-
er History, Hardware, Software, World Wide Web, Computer Crime and Secu-
rity, Viruses and Vaccines, Robotics и сопровождается списком компьютер-
ных терминов и аббревиатур.
Данное пособие может быть использовано как на аудиторных заня-
тиях по английскому языку, так и для организации самостоятельной ра-
боты студентов.

ББК 81.2 Англ. Я73

Ф34
© Федотова О.В.

2
 ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Настоящее пособие ориентировано на студентов, обуча-

ющихся по специальностям и направлениям в области компь-
ютерных наук и информационных технологий.
В современных условиях развития общества, расширения
международных контактов специалистов в различных обла-
стях профессиональной деятельности возникла необходимость
увеличения потенциала мировых коммуникационных систем,
совершенствования профессиональной мобильности специа-
листов любой области знания, а тем более в области информа-
ционных технологий. Специалист должен систематически со-
вершенствовать профессиональную и языковую культуру, вы-
рабатывать навыки и умения адаптироваться к быстроменяю-
щимся условиям новых отношений, чтобы проявить готов-
ность к диалогу и ассимиляции в межкультурном простран-
стве. Оптимизации качества подготовки специалистов в обла-
сти информационных технологий способствует профессио-
нально-ориентированное обучение иностранному языку.
Целью данного пособия является подготовка специали-
стов в области компьютерных наук и информационных техно-
логий, владеющих иностранным языком как средством про-
фессионального общения на уровне, позволяющим беспрепят-
ственно вести обмен информацией в сфере профессиональной
деятельности.
В соответствии с указанной целью в пособие включены
упражнения на:
- расширение словарного запаса и овладение терминологиче-
ским аппаратом “Information Technology”;
- формирование навыков устной монологической и диалоги-
ческой речи в рамках профессиональных тем общения;
- формирование умения выразить отношение к профессио-
нальным темам общения;
- обучение основным приемам изучающего чтения профес-
сионально-ориентированной литературы для получения,
расширения и углубления системных знаний по специаль-
3
 ности;
- формирование навыка перевода (письменного и устного)
оригинальных текстов по общей тематике “Information
Technology”;
- формирование навыков использования компьютера в язы-
ковых целях на практике с целью получения необходимой
информации.
Тематический отбор текстов ориентирован на изучение
основ соответствующей специальности и включает следую-
щие темы: Computer History, Hardware, Software, World Wide
Web, Computer Crime and Security, Viruses and Vaccines, Robot-
ics.
Основные тексты предназначены для развития навыков
изучающего чтения, навыков перевода, реферирования, рабо-
ты со словарем. Дополнительные тексты могут использоваться
для развития навыков ознакомительного и поискового видов
чтения, служат базой для развития языковой догадки и совер-
шенствования грамматических навыков, а также развития
навыков говорения. Все тексты пособия аутентичны.
Упражнения на развитие навыков монологического и
диалогического высказывания основываются на определенных
мыслительной и коммуникативной задачах при этом носят
творческий характер. При выполнении этих упражнений осу-
ществляется знакомство студентов с основными способами
поиска научной информации, знакомство с основными прие-
мами аналитико-синтетической переработки информации;
знакомство с приемами компрессирования содержания; поль-
зование отраслевыми словарями и справочниками. Предпола-
гается, что студенты должны эффективно пользоваться ресур-
сами международной телекоммуникационной системой
Internet для поиска необходимой дополнительной информации
при подготовке рефератов, сообщений, биографий и т.д.
Пособие снабжено глоссарием компьютерных терминов
и аббревиатур, встречающихся в текстах и упражнениях дан-
ного пособия.

4
 CONTENTS

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ 3

UNIT 1
COMPUTER HISTORY 6

UNIT 2
HARDWARE 25

UNIT 3
SOFTWARE 47

UNIT 4
WORLD WIDE WEB 74

UNIT 5
COMPUTER CRIME AND SECURITY 99

UNIT 6
VIRUSES AND VACCINES 120

UNIT 7 135
ROBOTICS

GLOSSARY 150
of Computing Terms and Abbreviations

СПИСОК ИСПОЛЬЗОВАННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ 179

5
 UNIT 1
COMPUTER HISTORY

VOCABULARY
Memorise the following words and word-combinations:
abacus machine semiconductor
binary code/notation mainframe silicon
desktop (computer) mechanical switch to add
electrical circuit microcomputer to subtract
embedded computer microprocessor transistor
handheld computer minicomputers vacuum tube
integrated circuit palmtop (computer)

TEXT
THE COMPUTER EMERGES!
Early Start. Computers have been around for quite a few
years. Some of your parents were probably around in 1951 when
the first computer was bought by a business firm. Computers have
changed so rapidly many people can not keep up with changes.
One newspaper tried to relate how the fast changes in computer
technology would look to a similar pace in the auto industry:
"Had the automobile developed at a pace (equal) to that of
the computer during the past twenty years, today a Rolls Royce
would cost less than $3.00, get 3 million miles to the gallon, de-
liver enough power to drive (the ship) the Queen Elizabeth II, and
six of them would fit on the head of a pin!"
These changes have occurred so rapidly that many people
do not know how our modern computer got its start.
The First Computing Machines "Computers". Since an-
cient times, people have had ways to deal with data and numbers.
Early people tied knots in rope and carved marks on clay tablets
to keep track of livestock and trade. Some people considered the
5000 year old abacus – a frame with beads strung on wires to be
the first true computing aid. As trade and tax system grew in
complexity, people saw that faster, more reliable and exact tools
were needed for doing math and keeping records.
6
 In the mid-1600's, Blaise Pascal and his father, who was a
tax officer himself, were working on taxes for the French gov-
ernment in Paris. The two spent hours figuring and refiguring tax-
es that each citizen owed. Young Blaise decided in 1642 to build
an adding and subtraction machine that could aide in such a tedi-
ous and time consuming process. The machine Blaise made had a
set of eight gears that worked together much like an odometer
keeps track of a car's mileage. His machine encountered many of
problems. For one, it was always breaking down. Second, the
machine was slow and extremely costly. And third, people were
afraid to use the machine thinking it might replace their jobs.
Pascal later became famous for math and philosophy, but he is
still remembered for his role in computer technology. In his hon-
our, there is a computer language named Pascal.
The next big step for computers arrived in the 1830's when
Charles Babbage decided to build a machine to help him complete
and print mathematical tables. Babbage was a mathematician who
taught at Cambridge University in England. He began planning
his calculating machine calling it the Analytical Engine. The idea
for this machine was amazingly like the computer we know to-
day. It was to read a program from punched cards, figure and
store the answers to different problems, and print the answer on
paper. Babbage died before he could complete the machine. How-
ever because of his remarkable ideas and work, Babbage is known
as the Father of Computers.
The next huge step for computers came when Herman Hol-
lerith entered a contest given by the U.S. Census Bureau. The
contest was to see who could build a machine that would count
and record information faster. Hollerith, a young man working for
the Bureau built a machine called the Tabulating Machine that
read and sorted data from punched cards. The holes punched in
the cards matched each person's answers to questions. For exam-
ple, married, single, and divorced were answers on the cards. The
Tabulator read the punched cards as they passed over tiny brush-
es. Each time a brush found a hole, it completed an electrical cir-
cuit. This caused special counting dials to increase the data for
7
that answer.
Thanks to Hollerith's machine, instead of taking seven and a
half years to count the census information it only took three years,
even with 13 million more people since the last census. Happy
with his success, Hollerith formed the Tabulating Machine Com-
pany in 1896. The company later was sold in 1911. And in 1912
his company became the International Business Machines Corpo-
ration, better known today as IBM.
The First Electric Powered Computer. What is considered
to be the first computer was made in 1944 by Harvard's Professor
Howard Aiken. The Mark I computer was very much like the de-
sign of Charles Babbage's having mainly mechanical parts, but
with some electronic parts. His machine was designed to be pro-
grammed to do many computer jobs. This all-purpose machine is
what we now know as the PC or personal computer. The Mark I
was the first computer financed by IBM and was about 50 feet
long and 8 feet tall. It used mechanical switches to open and close
its electric circuits. It contained over 500 miles of wire and
750,000 parts.
The First Electronic Computer. The first all electronic
computer was the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer). ENIAC was a general purpose digital computer built
in 1946 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. The ENIAC con-
tained over 18,000 vacuum tubes (used instead of the mechanical
switches of the Mark I) and was 1000 times faster than the Mark
I. In twenty seconds, ENIAC could do a math problem that
would have taken 40 hours for one person to finish. The ENIAC
was built the time of World War II had as its first job to calculate
the feasibility of a design for the hydrogen bomb. The ENIAC
was 100 feet long and 10 feet tall.
More Modern Computers. A more modern type computer
began with John von Neumann's development of software written
in binary code. It was von Neumann who began the practice of
storing data and instructions in binary code and initiated the use
of memory to store data, as well as programs. A computer called
the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer) was built
8
using binary code in 1950. Before the EDVAC, computers like
the ENIAC could do only one task then they had to be rewired to
perform a different task or program. The EDVAC's concept of
storing different programs on punched cards instead of rewiring
computers led to the computers that we know today.
While the modern computer is far better and faster than the
EDVAC of its time, computers of today would not have been pos-
sible with the knowledge and work of many great inventors and
pioneers.
Generations of Computers. A generation refers to the state
of improvement in the development of a product. This term is also
used in the different advancements of computer technology. With
each new generation, the circuitry has gotten smaller and more
advanced than the previous generation before it. As a result of the
miniaturization, speed, power, and memory of computers have
proportionally increased. New discoveries are constantly being
developed that affect the way we live, work and play.
The First Generation: 1946-1958 (The Vacuum Tube
Years). The first generation computers were huge, slow, expen-
sive, and often undependable. In 1946 two Americans, Presper
Eckert, and John Mauchly built the ENIAC electronic computer
which used vacuum tubes instead of the mechanical switches of
the Mark I. The ENIAC used thousands of vacuum tubes, which
took up a lot of space and gave off a great deal of heat just like
light bulbs do. The ENIAC led to other vacuum tube type com-
puters like the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic
Computer) and the UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer).
The vacuum tube was an extremely important step in the
advancement of computers. Vacuum tubes were invented the
same time the light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison and
worked very similar to light bulbs. Its purpose was to act like an
amplifier and a switch. Without any moving parts, vacuum tubes
could take very weak signals and make the signal stronger (ampli-
fy it). Vacuum tubes could also stop and start the flow of elec-
tricity instantly (switch). These two properties made the ENIAC
computer possible.
9
 The ENIAC gave off so much heat that they had to be
cooled by gigantic air conditioners. However even with these
huge coolers, vacuum tubes still overheated regularly. It was time
for something new.
The Second Generation: 1959-1964 (The Era of the Tran-
sistor). The transistor computer did not last as long as the vacuum
tube computer lasted, but it was no less important in the ad-
vancement of computer technology. In 1947 three scientists, John
Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain working at
AT&T's Bell Labs invented what would replace the vacuum tube
forever. This invention was the transistor which functions like a
vacuum tube in that it can be used to relay and switch electronic
signals.
There were obvious differences between the transistor and
the vacuum tube. The transistor was faster, more reliable, smaller,
and much cheaper to build than a vacuum tube. One transistor re-
placed the equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes. These transistors were
made of solid material, some of which is silicon, an abundant el-
ement (second only to oxygen) found in beach sand and glass.
Therefore they were very cheap to produce. Transistors were
found to conduct electricity faster and better than vacuum tubes.
They were also much smaller and gave off virtually no heat com-
pared to vacuum tubes. Their use marked a new beginning for the
computer. Without this invention, space travel in the 1960's
would not have been possible. However, a new invention would
even further advance our ability to use computers.
The Third Generation: 1965-1970 (Integrated Circuits -
Miniaturizing the Computer). Transistors were a tremendous
breakthrough in advancing the computer. However no one could
predict that thousands even now millions of transistors (circuits)
could be compacted in such a small space. The integrated circuit,
or as it is sometimes referred to as semiconductor chip, packs a
huge number of transistors onto a single wafer of silicon. Robert
Noyce of Fairchild Corporation and Jack Kilby of Texas Instru-
ments independently discovered the amazing attributes of inte-
grated circuits. Placing such large numbers of transistors on a sin-
10
gle chip vastly increased the power of a single computer and low-
ered its cost considerably.
Since the invention of integrated circuits, the number of
transistors that can be placed on a single chip has doubled every
two years, shrinking both the size and cost of computers even fur-
ther and further enhancing its power. Most electronic devices to-
day use some form of integrated circuits placed on printed circuit
boards – thin pieces of bakelite or fibreglass that have electrical
connections etched onto them – sometimes called a mother board.
These third generation computers could carry out instruc-
tions in billionths of a second. The size of these machines
dropped to the size of small file cabinets. Yet, the single biggest
advancement in the computer era was yet to be discovered.
The Fourth Generation: 1971-Today (The Microproces-
sor). This generation can be characterized by both the jump to
monolithic integrated circuits (millions of transistors put onto one
integrated circuit chip) and the invention of the microprocessor (a
single chip that could do all the processing of a full-scale comput-
er). By putting millions of transistors onto one single chip more
calculation and faster speeds could be reached by computers. Be-
cause electricity travels about a foot in a billionth of a second, the
smaller the distance the greater the speed of computers.
However what really triggered the tremendous growth of
computers and its significant impact on our lives is the invention
of the microprocessor. Ted Hoff, employed by Intel (Robert
Noyce's new company) invented a chip the size of a pencil eraser
that could do all the computing and logic work of a computer.
The microprocessor was made to be used in calculators, not com-
puters. It led, however, to the invention of personal computers, or
microcomputers.
It wasn't until the 1970's that people began buying computer
for personal use. One of the earliest personal computers was the
Altair 8800 computer kit. In 1975 you could purchase this kit and
put it together to make your own personal computer. In 1977 the
Apple II was sold to the public and in 1981 IBM entered the PC
(personal computer) market.
11
 Today we have all heard of Intel and its Pentium® Proces-
sors and now we know how it all got started. The computers of
the next generation will have millions upon millions of transistors
on one chip and will perform over a billion calculations in a sin-
gle second. There is no end in sight for the computer movement.
http://www.crews.org/curriculum/ex/compsci/articles/generations.html.

EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Answer the following questions:
1. Why do so many people not know how the modern computer
began?
2. Why do you think the computer has changed more rapidly
than the car?
3. Name 3 ways people dealt with numbers and data in ancient
times.
4. Why was Blaise Pascal honoured with a computer language
named for him?
5. What did Charles Babbage invent?
6. How did the IBM Company begin?
7. What was so significant about the contest Herman Hollerith
won?
8. What was the dimensions of the Mark I verse the ENIAC?
9. How do you think World War II might have been different if
the ENIAC had not been invented then?
10. Who came up with the idea of using "binary code" to store
programs for computers?
11. In each of the 4 generations what was the cause for the in-
crease of speed, power, or memory?
12. Why did the ENIAC and other computers like it give off so
much heat?
13. What characteristics made the transistors better than the vacu-
um tube?
14. How did space travel become possible through the invention
of transistors?
15. What did the microprocessor allow the computers to do?
What was the original purpose of the microprocessor?
12
16. When was the first computer offered to the public and what
was its name?
17. What were Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby known for?
18. Who started Intel?
19. What is monolithic integrated circuit?
20. How do you think society will be different if scientists are
able to create a chip that will perform a trillion operations in a
single second?
2. Fill in the table using the information of the text.
Characteristics Generations
I II III IV
Period of
1946-1958
time
The main
transistor
component
micro-
Size
computers
Performance 1 (relative-
1 000
ly)
Information-
floppy
carrying
disk
medium

3. Many of the first computers had acronyms for their

names, e.g. ENIAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC, JOHNIAC ILLIAC and
even MANIAC. Use the website about technical acronyms and
abbreviations (http://www.acronymfinder.com/) for reference.

4. First read the information below, then sum up the con-

tent of the text.
What is a summary?
A summary is a brief account that contains the main points
of the original. Students often have to write summaries of books,
or texts they have read. Writing a summary lets you, or your

13
teacher, know how much you understood of what you read.
The main purpose of a summary is to highlight the major
points from the genuine (much longer) subject. The target is to
help the audience get the gist in a short period of time.
The opening sentences should introduce the title, author,
text type and the main idea of the text, while the final sentence
should sum up the theme, taking into account the knowledge
gained from the body of the text.
A summary has a clearly arranged structure and is written in
a logical, chronological and traceable manner. In contrast to a ré-
sumé or a review, a summary contains neither interpretation nor
rating. Only the opinion of the original writer is reflected – para-
phrased with new words without quotations from the text. Unlike
a retelling, a summary has no dramatic structure and is written in
present tense or historic present. Because summaries should be
significantly shorter than the original (about 1/3 or 1/4 as long as
the original), minor facts have to be left out. However all major
conclusions should remain. In summaries only indirect speech is
used and depictions are avoided.

How to Write a Summary?

▪ Read the passage carefully. Determine its structure.
Identify the author's purpose in writing. This will help you to dis-
tinguish between more important and less important information.
▪ Divide the passage into sections or stages of thought.
The author's use of paragraphing will often be a useful guide. La-
bel each section or stage of thought. Underline key ideas and
terms.
▪ Write one-sentence summaries of each stage of
thought or the entire passage. One-sentence summary should ex-
press the central idea of the passage.
▪ Write the first draft of your summary by combining
your one-sentence summaries with significant details from the
passage. Eliminate repetition and less important information. Dis-
regard minor details, or generalize them. Use as few words as
possible to convey the main ideas.
14
 ▪ Check your summary against the original passage, and
make whatever adjustments are necessary for accuracy and com-
pleteness.
▪ Revise your summary, inserting transitional words and
phrases where necessary to ensure coherence. Check for style.
Avoid series of short, choppy sentences. Combine sentences for a
smooth, logical flow of ideas. Check for grammatical correctness,
punctuation, and spelling.

Here are some opening phrases which can help you with
your summary:
The title of the text (article, paper) is … .
The author of the text (article, paper) is … .
The article is about...;
According to the article ...;
The text (article) deals with the issue of...;
It is clear from the text (article) that...;
Among other things the text raises the issue of...;
The problem of ... is of great importance.
One of the main points to be singled out is ...;
Great importance is also attached to ...;
It further says that ...;
We shouldn't forget that ...;
The experts make it clear that ... (stress the point that .../
draw our attention to the fact that.../ suggest/ remind/ prom-
ise/pinpoint);
Finally, the experts come to the conclusion that... (agree
about...)

5. Fill each gap with a suitable word from the box.

output, sophisticated, programming, mainframe,
minicomputers, calculate, scientists, operating
1. In the early days _____ came via a paper tape.
2. When the vacuum tube technology became _____
enough to build a CRT output came by means of spots on the
screen.
15
 3. At first there was no _____ system. Most machines were
hard wired.
4. Programming it meant rewiring panels and setting hun-
dreds of switches to have the machine _____ a table.
5. The next years when _____ languages became available
programmers created operating systems.
6. That made it possible for _____ and other users to
quickly make a program and get the results.
7. To take care of all this a _____ needs a sophisticated
Operating System.
8. Like mainframes _____ are not so known to the general
public.

6. a) Open the brackets, putting the verbs in the correct

form.
b) Pay attention to the definitions of the terms referred to
different types of computer systems.
In an ascending hierarchy of general computer sizes, we (to
find):
An embedded systems programming computer, which is
embedded in something and (not to support) direct human inter-
action but nevertheless meets all the other criteria of a microcom-
puter.
A microcomputer is a complete computer on a smaller
scale and is generally a synonym for the more common term, per-
sonal computer or PC, a computer (to design) for an individual.
Workstation. 1) A workstation is a computer intended for
individual use that is faster and more capable than a personal
computer. It (to intend) for business or professional use (rather
than home). Workstations and applications designed for them (to
use) by small engineering companies, architects, graphic design-
ers, and any organization, department, or individual that (to re-
quire) a faster microprocessor and special features such as high-
speed graphics adapters.
2) In IBM and other corporations, the term "workstation"
sometimes (to use) to mean "any individual personal computer
16
location hooked up to a mainframe computer." In today's corpo-
rate environments, many workers have such workstations. They're
simply personal computers attached to a local area network
(LAN) that in turn shares the resources of one or more large com-
puters. Since they (to be) PCs, they can also be used independent-
ly of the mainframe assuming they have their own applications
installed and their own hard disk storage.
A minicomputer, a term no longer much used, is a comput-
er of a size intermediate between a microcomputer and a main-
frame. Typically, minicomputers (to be) stand-alone computers
(computer systems with attached terminals and other devices)
sold to small and mid-size businesses for general business appli-
cations and to large enterprises for department-level operations. In
recent years, the minicomputer (to evolve) into the "mid-range
server" and is part of a network. IBM's AS/400e is a good exam-
ple.
A mainframe (also known as "big iron") is a high-
performance computer used for large-scale computing purposes
that require greater availability and security than a smaller-scale
machine can (to offer). Historically, mainframes have been asso-
ciated with centralized rather than distributed computing, alt-
hough that distinction is blurring as smaller computers become
more powerful and mainframes become more multi-purpose.
The original mainframes (to house) in room-sized metal
frames, which is probably where the name derives from. In the
past, a typical mainframe might have occupied 2,000 − 10,000
square feet. Newer mainframes are about the same size as a large
refrigerator.
Supercomputer, formerly almost a synonym for "Cray su-
percomputer" but now (to mean) a very large server and some-
times including a system of computers using parallel processing.
A parallel processing system is a system of interconnected
computers that (to work) on the same application together, (to
share) tasks that can be performed concurrently.
http://search400.techtarget.com

17
 c) Mark the statements as true or false:
 1. A microcomputer is more powerful than a minicomputer.
 2. Mainframes are used by large institutions like universities
or government departments.
 3. The most suitable computers for home use are minicom-
puters.
 4. Hand held computers are small enough to fit into a palm
of your hand.
 5. Laptop is the most powerful of all the types of the com-
puter.

7. a) Use the information above and some additional

sources of information to arrange the following computer sys-
tems in the family of computers:
▪ Embedded computers ▪ Minicomputers
▪ Grid computers ▪ Supercomputers
▪ Mainframes ▪ Quantum computers
▪ Microcomputers ▪ Terminals
b) Choose any of the given types and prepare a short re-
port (3 min.) on its use and construction.

8. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Говоря об истории вычислительной техники, многие
начинают с изобретения абака и счет.
2. B 1642 г. первым реально осуществленным и ставшим
известным механическим цифровым вычислительным
устройством стала "Паскалина", созданная французским уче-
ным Блезом Паскалем. Это было устройство на зубчатых ко-
лесах, способное суммировать и вычитать десятичные числа.
3. Через 30 лет после "Паскалины" появился "арифметиче-
ский прибор" Готфрида Вильгельма Лейбница - устройство
для выполнения арифметических операций, включая умно-
жение и деление.
4. В конце XVIII века Жозеф Жакар создает ткацкий ста-
нок с программным управлением при помощи перфокарт.
5. 1830-1846 гг. Чарльз Беббидж разрабатывает проект
18
Аналитической машины - механической универсальной циф-
ровой вычислительной машины с программным управлени-
ем. Для ввода программы и данных использовались перфо-
карты. Всю машину из-за ее громоздкости создать не уда-
лось. В век расцвета пара об электричестве еще мало кто ду-
мал, поэтому вычислительная машина должна была приво-
диться в действие паровой машиной. Гениальную идею
Беббиджа осуществил Говард Айкен, американский ученый,
создавший в 1944 г. Mark 1.
6. Ада Августа Байрон Кинг, графиня Лавлейс (1815-
1852), - дочь Байрона описала принципы работы Машины
Беббиджа и создала программы для решения задач на этой
машине.
7. В 1890 году американец Герман Холлерит построил ста-
тистический табулятор с целью ускорения обработки резуль-
татов переписи населения. Машина Холлерита имела боль-
шой успех, на её основе было создано преуспевающее пред-
приятие, которое в 1924 году превратилось в фирму IBM.
8. В 1934 году немецкий студент Конрад Цузе решил сде-
лать (в домашних условиях) цифровую вычислительную ма-
шину с программным управлением (Z1). Она работала пол-
ностью на механической основе.
9. В том же 1937 г., когда заработала первая в мире двоич-
ная машина Z1, Джон Атанасов начал разработку специали-
зированной вычислительной машины, впервые в мире при-
менив электронные лампы (в количестве 300 штук).
10. Под руководством американца Говарда Айкена, по за-
казу и при поддержке фирмы IBM создан Mark 1 – первый
программно-управляемый компьютер. Он был построен на
электромеханических реле, а программа обработки данных
вводилась с перфоленты.
11. Д. Мокли и П. Эккерт использовали 18000 электрон-
ных ламп для создания компьютера "ЭНИАК", который мог
выполнять около 3000 операций в секунду. Однако его па-
мять составляла лишь 20 слов, а программы хранились вне
оперативной памяти.
19
 12. Джон фон Нейман, создавший "ЭДВАК" в 1952 г.,
предложил идею ЭВМ с хранимой в памяти программой.
13. Первая интегральная схема была сконструирована
американцем Джеком Килби в 1958 г.
14. В 1964 году появился язык программирования Бей-
сик.
15. Язык программирования Паскаль получил широкое
распространение в обучении и программировании.
16. Первый микропроцессор – как его назвали, "компью-
тер в одном кристалле" – создал Тед Хофф. Он состоял из
2250 транзисторов и выполнял все функции центрального
процессора универсального компьютера.
17. Студенты Пол Аллен и Билл Гейтс впервые использо-
вали язык Бейсик для программного обеспечения персональ-
ного компьютера "Альтаир". Они же основали фирму
Microsoft.
18. Фирма Apple Computer построила персональный ком-
пьютер Apple – первый компьютер, управляемый манипуля-
тором "мышь". В этом же году началось массовое использо-
вание гибких дисков (дискет) как стандартных носителей
информации.
19. Ни одно техническое устройство не совершенствова-
лось так быстро, как компьютер. Каждые 10-12 лет происхо-
дил резкий прыжок в их конструкциях, способах производ-
ства.
20. Выделяют пять поколений компьютеров. Каждое по-
коление характеризуется элементной базой - видом элемен-
тов, из которых построена оперативная память и процессор, и
развитием программного обеспечения.
21. Элементной базой компьютеров первого поколения
были вакуумные электронные лампы. Тысячи ламп распола-
гались в металлических шкафах, которые занимали много
места.
22. Транзисторы значительно меньше ламп и потребляют
значительно меньше энергии, поэтому размеры компьютера
уменьшились. Возможности же увеличились, поскольку по-
20
явились языки программирования и программное обеспече-
ние.
23. Интегральная схема – это небольшая пластинка из чи-
стого кремния, на которой расположены миниатюрные элек-
тронные элементы: транзисторы, резисторы и т.д.
24. Удобство в пользовании открыло широкий доступ к
компьютерам.
25. Магнитные носители информации (ленты и диски)
стали вытеснять перфокарты и перфоленты.
26. Элементной базой компьютеров четвертого поколения
являются крупномасштабные интегрированные устройства.
Прогресс в физике полупроводников дал возможность разме-
стить на одном кристалле кремния устройство, которое вос-
создает работу процессора. Такие кристаллические процессо-
ры называются микропроцессорами.
27. Мощнейшие машины четвертого поколения: "Эль-
брус" в нашей стране, американские машины серии "Крей" и
прочие.
28. На уровне четвертого поколения состоялось деление
машин на большие вычислительные машины и персональные
компьютеры.
29. Сегодня уже есть несколько поколений персональных
компьютеров.
30. В 1980 г. японское правительство и некоторые фирмы
объявили программу создания компьютерной системы пятого
поколения, которая должна была базироваться на использо-
вании искусственного интеллекта, экспертных систем и есте-
ственного языка общения. Эту программу назвали "японским
вызовом", поскольку ведущая роль в области компьютерной
техники сегодня принадлежит США.
http://www.advacomp.com/pokoleniya-kompmzyuterov.html

9. Read the article below and single out the main

points of it. Sum up the content of the article, using the opening
phrases (Ex.4).

21
 THE LOST WORLD OF SOVIET PCS
Commercial isolation from the U.S. produced a strange paral-
lel universe of technology in the Soviet Union, and computers
were no exception. Platforms and architectures that were popular
in the United States and its allied countries were not necessarily
popular in the Soviet Bloc countries, and vice-versa.
In the Soviet Union, personal computers were very
expensive, so PCs never became a mass-market item like they did
in the U.S. during the 1980s. We'll take a short stroll through this
rare and forgotten world of Soviet personal computers ‒ a world
that is still mostly unknown to Westerners today.
Mera CM 7209 (1986)
While the U.S. got hooked on
IBM PC compatible machines, the
Soviet Union took a strange turn to-
ward DEC PDP-11 compatible PCs
after cloning them for military pur-
poses. (PDP-11 was a long-running
series of minicomputers created in
the U.S.). While exploring an aban-
doned power plant in Pripyat,
Ukraine, urban explorer Jean Ander-
sen came across this disintegrating
Soviet-era computer terminal, which would have been used with a
PDP-11-compatible desktop PC. Pripyat became a ghost town in
the late 1980s due to its prox-
imity to Chernobyl, which suf-
fered a nuclear power plant
disaster in 1986.
Tetris on EC 5300 (mid-
1980s)
In 1984, Alexey Pajitnov
wrote the first version of Tetris
for an Elektronika 60 computer
(not pictured), which was also
based on DEC's PDP-11 archi-
22
tecture. Here we see this version of Tetris running on a later PDP-
11-compatible desktop machine called the EC5300.
Microsha (1987)
The Microsha was a small
home computer that came
equipped with an Intel 8080-
compable CPU called the
KP580BM80A and 32 kilobytes of
RAM. The machine itself was a
derivative of the earlier Radio-86rk
machine, a popular Soviet homebrew computer whose
construction plans were published in a 1986 magazine article.
Agate-4 (1984)
The Agate-4 was an Apple II
compatible machine designed for
use in Soviet schools. Its brilliant
red color stood in stark contrast to
its mostly gray and brown Soviet
contemporaries. Despite this
colorful and fanciful print
advertisement for the machine, its
exact relationship to precision
eyeball surgery remains unknown.

EC 1841 (1987)
The EC1841 was an IBM
PC clone, using an 8086-
compatible CPU running at
4.77 MHz and anywhere
between 512 and 640 kilo-
bytes of RAM. It even ran a
Soviet clone of MS-DOS
called Alpha DOS, and no
doubt helped Latvian
Soviet officials keep track of their missile collection.
23
 Elektronika MK-90 (1986)
Near the end of the So-
viet era, the USSR produced
a portable "pocket" computer
called the Elektronika MK-
90. It shipped with built-in
BASIC programming
language and a 120-by-64-
pixel LCD. Not surprisingly, it cost the equivalent of $22,000
when adjusted to modern U.S. currency. Today it is a rare and
highly prized item sought by calculator and pocket computer
collectors around the world.
BK 0010-01 (1986)
The BK 0010 series was one of the most popular Soviet
home computer platforms; for a
time, it was also the only official
government-sanctioned home
computer on the market. As with
several previously seen
computers, this machine packed
a PDP-11-compatible CPU
(which was fairly powerful for its
time) and very limited graphical capabilities.
By Benj Edwards
https://www.pcmag.com/feature/338765/the-lost-world-of-soviet-pcs/7

24
 UNIT 2
HARDWARE
VOCABULARY
Memorise the following words and word combinations:
architecture motherboard to download
clockspeed mouse button to type
components mouse pointer to upgrade
computer case peripheral (device) to wipe (a disk)
expansion card serial port RAM
expansion slot shortcut keys ROM
hardware software CD
keyboard soundcard DVD
drive surge protector I/O
floppy disk system unit LCD
hard disk tower chassis TFT
hub to make backup copies UPS
media to store information VDU

TEXT
WHAT IS HARDWARE?
Your PC (Person-
al Computer) is a system,
consisting of many com-
ponents. Some of those
components, like Win-
dows XP, and all your
other programs, are soft-
ware. The stuff you can
actually see and touch,
and would likely break if
you threw it out a fifth-
story window, is hard-
ware.
Figure 1

25
 Not everybody has exactly the same hardware. But those
of you, who have a desktop system, like the example shown in
Figure 1, probably have most of the components shown in that
same figure. Those of you with notebook computers probably
have most of the same components. Only in your case the compo-
nents are all integrated into a single book-sized portable unit.
The system unit is the actual computer; everything else is
called a peripheral device. Your computer's system unit probably
has at least one CD or DVD drive, into which you can insert CDs
and DVDs, and a floppy disk drive for floppies. There's another
disk drive, called the hard disk inside the system unit. You can't
remove that disk, or even see it. But it's there. And everything
that's currently "in your computer" is actually stored on that hard
disk.
The floppy drive and CD drive are often referred to as
drives with removable media or removable drives for short, be-
cause you can remove whatever disk is currently in the drive, and
replace it with another. Your computer's hard disk can store as
much information as tens of thousands of floppy disks, so don't
worry about running out of space on your hard disk any time
soon. As a rule, you want to store everything you create or down-
load on your hard disk. Use CDs to make backup copies of im-
portant items.
Random Access Memory (RAM). There's too much "stuff"
on your computer's hard disk to use it all at the same time. During
the average session sitting at the computer, you'll probably use
only a small amount of all that's available. The stuff you're work-
ing with at any given moment is stored in random access memory
(often abbreviated RAM, and often called simply "memory"). The
advantage using RAM to store whatever you're working on at the
moment is that RAM is very fast. Much faster than any disk. For
you, "fast" translates to less time waiting and more time being
productive.
So if RAM is so fast, why not put everything in it? Why
have a hard disk at all? The answer to that lies in the fact that
RAM is volatile. As soon as the computer is shut off, whether in-
26
tentionally or by an accidental power outage, every thing in RAM
disappears, just as quickly as a light bulb goes out when the plug
is pulled. So you don't want to rely on RAM to hold everything. A
disk, on the other hand, holds its information whether the power
is on or off.
The Hard Disk. All of the information that's "in your com-
puter", so to speak, is stored on your computer's hard disk. You
never see that actual hard disk because it's sealed inside a special
housing and needs to stay that way. Unlike RAM, which is vola-
tile, the hard disk can hold information forever – with or without
electricity. Most modern hard disks have tens of billions of bytes
of storage space on them. Which, in English, means that you can
create, save, and download files for months or years without using
up all the storage space it provides.
In the unlikely event that you do manage to fill up your hard
disk, Windows will start showing a little message on the screen
that reads "You are running low on disk space" well in advance of
any problems. In fact, if that message appears, it won't until
you're down to about 800 MB of free space. And 800 MB of emp-
ty space is equal to about 1 blank CD!
The Mouse. Obviously you know how to use your mouse.
Your mouse probably has at least two buttons on it. The button on
the left is called the primary mouse button, the button on the right
is called the secondary mouse button or just the right mouse but-
ton. I'll just refer to them as the left and right mouse buttons.
Many mice have a small wheel between the two mouse buttons.
The idea is to rest your hand comfortably on the mouse,
with your index finger touching (but not pressing on) the left
mouse button. Then, as you move the mouse, the mouse pointer
(the little arrow on the screen) moves in the same direction. When
moving the mouse, try to keep the buttons aimed toward the mon-
itor – don't "twist" the mouse as that just makes it all the harder to
control the position of the mouse pointer.
In the case of a laptop, you can use a touchpad to move a
cursor with your finger. It can be used in place of an external
mouse. A touchpad is operated by using your finger and dragging
27
it across the flat surface of the touchpad. Like most computer
mice, the touchpad also has two buttons below the touch surface
that allows you to left-click or right-click.
The Keyboard. Like the mouse, the keyboard is a means of
interacting with your computer. You really only need to use the
keyboard when you're typing text. Most of the keys on the key-
board are laid out like the keys on a typewriter. But there are
some special keys like Esc (Escape), Ctrl (Control), and Alt (Al-
ternate). There are also some keys across the top of the keyboard
labelled F1, F2, F3, and so forth. Those are called the function
keys, and the exact role they play depends on which program you
happen to be using at the moment.
Most keyboards also have a numeric keypad with the keys
laid out like the keys on a typical adding machine. If you're accus-
tomed to using an adding machine, you might want to use the
numeric keypad, rather than the numbers across the top of the
keyboard, to type numbers. It doesn't really matter which keys
you use. The numeric keypad is just there as a convenience to
people who are accustomed to adding machines.
Most keyboards also contain a set of navigation keys. You
can use the navigation keys to move around through text on the
screen. The navigation keys won't move the mouse pointer. Only
the mouse moves the mouse pointer.
On smaller keyboards where space is limited, such as on a
notebook computer, the navigation keys and numeric keypad
might be one in the same. There will be a Num Lock key on the
keypad. When the Num Lock key is "on", the numeric keypad
keys type numbers. When the Num Lock key is "off", the naviga-
tion keys come into play. The Num Lock key acts as a toggle.
Which is to say, when you tap it, it switches to the opposite state.
For example, if Num Lock is on, tapping that key turns it off. If
Num Lock is off, tapping that key turns Num Lock on.
Based on:
http://www.coolnerds.com/Newbies/Hardware/hardware.html
https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/touchpad.html

28
 EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS
1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following
words and word-combinations:
встроены, вынимать диск, вставлять диск (в дисковод),
хранить на жестком диске, исчерпывать пространство на
диске, делать резервные копии, важные объекты, в настоя-
щий момент, средний, хранить в памяти, временный, завер-
шить работу (на компьютере), отключение электроэнергии,
скрытый внутри специального корпуса, заполнить простран-
ство на жестком диске, равняться чему-либо, главный (ос-
новной), второстепенный, курсор мыши, набирать текст.

2. Have a look at Figure 1 once more and name the com-

puter system components, which were not mentioned in the text.
What are their functions? Use the given patterns:
a. The function of the hard disk is to store information.
b. The keyboard is used for typing in the text.
c. The mouse is used to interact with your computer.

3. Match the buzzwords and the operations they denote:

1. Move the mouse pointer so that it's touch- a. Double-click
ing the item.
2. Point to the item, then tap (press and re- b. Right-click
lease) the left mouse button.
3. Point to the item, and tap the left mouse c. Drag
button twice in rapid succession - click-click
as fast as you can.
4. Point to the item, then tap the mouse but- d. Point
ton on the right.
5. Point to an item, then hold down the left e. Right-drag
mouse button as you move the mouse. To
drop the item, release the left mouse button.
6. Point to an item, then hold down the right f. Click
mouse button as you move the mouse. To
drop the item, release the right mouse but-
ton.
29
 4. Fill each gap with a suitable word from the box.
backspace key, caps lock key, escape key, control key, tab key,
alt key, delete key, shift key, enter, data input, ergonomic key-
board, single, hold down, key in (or type in), standard keyboard,
double, optical, scroll down, joystick, on, repetitive strain injury,
scroll up, touch pad, roll.
1.Select the text you want to remove, and hit the _____ .
2.To activate the "alt" functions, hit the _____ .
3.To activate the "Ctrl" functions, press the _____ .
4. To change the capital letters permanently, hit the _____ .
5.To change to capital letters, press the _____ .
6. To go back one space, hit the _____ .
7.To insert a tabulation, press the _____ .
8. To stop the computer doing something, you can press the_____.
9. A keyboard is a _____ device.
10. – I think that _____ isn’t good for my arms and back.
11. – Then better use a special _____ .
12. It took me two hours to _____ all that text.
13. Please _____ your password.
14. _____ to see pages above.
15. _____ to see pages below.
16. Click _____ the folder to open it.
17. If you use a mouse for many hours every day, you can get
_____ in your fingers.
18. One click of a mouse button is called a _____ click.
19. This mouse doesn't have a ball. It's an _____ mouse.
20. To move up and down a page, you can _____ the mouse
wheel.
21. To play some games, you need to use a _____ instead of a
mouse.
22. To select text, _____ the left button, and move the mouse
pointer.
23. Two clicks of a mouse button are called a _____ click.
24. With a laptop computer, plug in a mouse, or use the _____ in
front of the keyboard.

30
 5. What do you know about Combination Keystrokes
(Shortcut keys)? Now read the text.
Those mysterious Ctrl and Alt keys are often used in com-
bination with other keys to perform some task. We often refer to
these combination keystrokes as shortcut keys, because they pro-
vide an alternative to using the mouse to select menu options in
programs. Shortcut keys are always expressed as:
key1+key2,
where the idea is to hold down key1, tap key2, then release
key1. For example, to press Ctrl+Esc hold down the Ctrl key
(usually with your pinkie), tap the Esc key, then release the Ctrl
key. To press Alt+F you hold down the Alt key, tap the letter F,
then release the Alt key.
Think of some other shortcut keys and their functions.
Follow the given pattern:
Alt+F4 will quit any Windows program.
6. Sum up the content of the text, using the opening
phrases (Unit I, Ex.4).

7. a) In the article below, the author tells about computer

shopper myths and facts. Skim read the article, ignoring the
missing paragraphs.
HOME BUILT COMPUTERS vs.
CUSTOM BUILT or BRAND NAME ONES
Before hunting for a computer that meets your needs, you
have to know the myths about computers and computer parts
which are still soared among both potential computer buyers and
computer owners. Let's look at some of those myths and find out
the facts to see how they conform to each other these days.
Myth 1.
Fact. If you are about to build a computer at home, you
have to be ready to take all the risk on yourself. Take into ac-
count, if you have incorrectly installed your hard drive or broken
down the memory chip, your hard-earned money will throw away
and nobody will never compensate you your losses. If you are
31
considering yourself as an experienced user, go ahead! Actually, a
home built computer may cost you much cheaper than a brand
name one with the same configuration.
However, if you honestly refer yourself, as a computer
shopper, to newbies, there is no necessity to puzzle over which
computer parts are best for you, or which memory chips are com-
patible with your motherboard. In this case, buying a brand name
computer or a custom built one; it makes sure that you have made
the best choice that fits your needs.
Moreover, you also have to take into account the software,
for example, an operating system, which needs to be purchased
for the new computer. In order to install the operating system or
other software to a computer you have to have some plenty of ex-
perience with it. It makes sure when you are buying a brand name
computer or a custom built one that you are getting a pre-installed
operating system along with some of useful additional software.
Myth 2.
Fact. During the last years, brand name manufacturers put
on the market many models for different computer shopper cate-
gories, which have easy upgradeable computer parts as have
home built computers or custom built ones. Moreover, for exam-
ple, Dell offers to build a configuration from scratch.
Of course, the brand names might install to their computers
unique computer parts, such as motherboards. But for a computer
shopper this issue is easy to avoid by ordering the computer case
with the pre-installed motherboard as well as a motherboard with
the pre-installed CPU.
Today, many computer manufacturers use standard comput-
er parts which can be available at any computer stores and which
are also used by brand name companies to build their computers.
Myth 3.
Fact. As we noticed above, the computer industry uses
standard computer parts which can be available at any computer
stores and which are also used by brand name companies to build
their computers. Thus, when a skilled computer shopper is buying
computer parts and building a computer at home, she/he may has
32
an equally stable and compatible machine, sometimes even more
stable computer than a brand name one.
As for the maintenance, every computer, whether it is a
brand name or a home built machine, needs to be serviced sooner
or later. Sometimes, it needs just to be cleaned from dust with a
rag or a vacuum cleaner.
By the way, a home built computer is easier to clean with a
vacuum cleaner because of one obvious reason: many brand name
companies and computer stores that sell custom built computers
forbid you to open the computer case, or else your warranty
agreement will be cancelled.
Myth 4.
Fact. And again, due to the use of standard computer parts
you can avoid these problems while building a computer at home.
For example, when a computer shopper buys a motherboard,
she/he obtains a warranty agreement written by a manufacturer
(of course, when the manufacturer is known at all). That is, if the
motherboard is found to be defective, you can bring it to the store
from which you've bought it and ask them to replace it.
Just the same way, a computer shopper can bring her/his de-
fective brand name computer to the store and ask them to fix it.
However, some of the brand names require bringing their defec-
tive computers to the authorized centres, not to the shop from
which the computer is bought. But in this case, you can also ask
the store's personnel to send a defective computer to the author-
ized centre for you by covering their expenses.
For a home built computer the problem is that there is al-
ways the risk that you will not be able to detect a defective com-
puter part or determine what the problem actually is.

As you can see, for an experienced computer shopper it is

better to buy separate computer parts and build a computer at
home.
But for an inexperienced computer shopper I recommend to
buy a brand name computer or a custom built one to avoid the
problems with putting computer parts together.
33
 b) Now read paragraphs A-D. Insert the paragraphs into
gaps 1-4

A Brand names are fail-safer. There is no reason to worry about

problems with computer parts compatibility. They need less
maintenance than home built computers or custom built ones.
B Brand names are harder to upgrade than home built computers
or custom built ones.
C The warranty policy of brand names lets you to avoid problems
with replacement of defective or broken computer parts.
D Home built computers are much cheaper than brand name or
custom built ones.

8. a) Supply the prepositions or postpositions where necessary.

To start and operate ___ a computer system, you must do
the following:
1. Make sure all cables are hooked ___. In particular:
▪ Connect the keyboard and mouse ___ the Central Pro-
cessing Unit (CPU).
▪ Attach the power cable ___ the CPU.
▪ Connect the SVGA cable from the back of the monitor
to the CPU.
▪ Attach the monitor electric cable.
▪ Plug the CPU and monitor ___ a power source (pref-
erably with surge protection).
2. Make sure there is no diskette___ the floppy disk drive.
3. Turn ___ the monitor and CPU.
The machine should do a system check and then give you a
Windows screen followed ___ a screen with several icons situated
on the left side. Windows is an easy to use operating system.
4. To open a program in Windows, most of your programs
are listed ___ the START button. Click __ the START button and
then the Programs button to see the list of potential applications.
Click __ the program you want to start.
5. To close a program in Windows click on the negative
34
sign ___ the upper right corner to temporarily close the item or on
the X-sign to completely close a program. NOTE: Windows
stacks programs on top of each other. To close ___ the particular
you are using program, start with the lowest set of closing signs in
the right hand corner.
6. To close Windows, close all applications you have
opened ___ clicking on the X button in the upper right hand cor-
ner. Click on START and select Shut Down ___ the menu. This
will close the Window and ask you if you really want to shut
down the computer. Click on "yes" if you want to exit. It will turn
___ Windows and will tell you it is safe to turn your machine off.
You can safely turn off your machine at this point. IF YOU
TURN IT OFF _____ THIS POINT, YOU MAY DAMAGE
YOUR SOFTWARE.
7. When you are desperate and want to restart ___ your
computer, hold ___ the Ctrl key, the Alt key, and the Del key all
at the same time. This will restart your computer. You will lose
any unsaved data.
b) Use the Glossary of computing terms and abbreviations
at the back of the book to find the definitions of the verbs in
bold type.

9. In each gap there is only one possible answer from A, B

or С.
1. _________ any key to continue.
A. Kick B. Smash C. Hit

2. To turn on the computer, _________ the "Start" button.

A. touch B. press C. switch

3. I turned off the scanner and __________ the plug.

A. pulled out B. extracted C. took away

4. The printer has _________ of ink.

A. finished B. ended C. run out

35
 5. Switch off your computer and _______ it from the socket.
A. de-plug B. unplug C. non-plug

6. Unfortunately, my printer isn't _________ at the moment.

A. working B. going C. doing

7. I have to _______ a computer screen for eight hours a day.

A. see B. look at C. watch

8. Please _________ the DVD.

A. insert B. introduce C. inject

9. The batteries in my wireless mouse are nearly dead.

They need _________ .
A. to change B. exchanging C. changing
10. The scanner isn't working because it isn't _________ .
A. plugged B. plugged in C. plugged into
10. a) Read the following text to complete the table:
CRT monitors LCD monitors
Size
Energy
Resolution
Eyestrain
Colour rendering
Reliability
Digital input
Viewing angle
Other pros and cons

CRT OR LCD COMPUTER MONITORS.

WHICH IS BETTER?
If you already have a monitor and it doesn't suit you for
some of the reasons, it is easier for you to make a new choice,
since you may have already known what is good and what is bad
in your monitor.
36
 If you are the first time buyer, you have to know advantages
and disadvantages of the computer monitors.
I have an experience in using the both CRTs and LCDs, so I
want to share some of my own observations and perceptions with
you. But I'd like to emphasize that these are only my own percep-
tions that can be different from yours and I never claim to be an
indisputable authority in no way.
CRT computer monitors. Among the advantages of CRTs I
can define a wide viewing angle, no burn pixels, a short response
time, a high reliability (an average lifetime of a cathode-ray tube
is almost 20 years), good colour rendering, a clear and undistorted
image, low prices.
Among the disadvantages of CRTs I would consider bulky
dimensions, high eye strain, high energy consumable, necessity
sitting farther back from large monitors, low sharpness, high re-
quirements to video cards, no digital input.
You have to take into account that CRT computer monitors
(especially 19-inches or 21-inches) require more room on your
desk. That is, if the monitor occupies your entire desk surface
there is no space for your keyboard and mouse. Measure your
workspace before you go shopping for monitor and remember the
larger the monitor, the deeper it will be. If space is a major con-
cern, you might want to consider a LCD monitor.
Using CRT computer monitors may cause eyestrain and
headaches. Also, eyestrain may be increased when you're using
the monitor with larger screen size. However, increasing the re-
fresh rate may help reduce flickering and, thus, eyestrain. For ex-
ample, for 15-17 inches computer monitors the 85Hz refresh rate
is enough, while for 19-21 inches monitors 100Hz or even 120Hz
(of course if your monitor and video card support it) is recom-
mended.
The bigger the CRTs, the more energy they use. For exam-
ple, 17-inches computer monitors consume 35 percent more elec-
tricity than 14-inches monitors. That's why the CRTs manufactur-
ers offer built-in power management capability so you can pain-
lessly save energy. This also reduces the electricity load on the
37
computer's power supply.
When you buy a big monitor you may expect much im-
provements of resolution. However, due to a higher radiation you
are moving back from the monitor so symbols on the screen are
harder to read. This causes you to lower resolution and regret hav-
ing to spend money.
Due to the problems such as inaccurate focusing, miscon-
vergence, moire etc., the sharpness of CRT computer monitors is
poor. For example, if you cannot adjust a convergence of the par-
ticular monitor pattern, don't buy it.
In addition to that CRTs impact on the image quality, they
require a high quality video card. Moreover, there is no digital
input to provide an image that matches a digital original.
LCD computer monitors. The advantages of LCDs are
small dimensions, low eye strain, low consumed energy, no ne-
cessity sitting farther back from large monitors, ultra high sharp-
ness, low requirements to video cards, digital input.
The disadvantages of LCDs are a narrow viewing angle,
burning pixels, a long response time, a low reliability (an average
lifetime of a lamp is almost 4 years), bad colour rendering, a blur-
ry image, high prices.
LCD computer monitors look best when you are sitting di-
rectly in front of them. Brightness reduces and colours change as
you move to the side or up and down. The viewing angle indi-
cates how far you can move to the side or above or below the cen-
tre of the monitor before the image quality impairs. This is a crite-
rion that each manufacturer determines on its own. There is no
industry standard established for measuring viewing angle of
LCDs, so the numbers may not be comparable from manufacturer
to manufacturer.
Unlike to CRTs, LCDs can burn pixels, so you will have
colour dots on your screen. The problem is that you can't replace
such a monitor under warranty until there are 4 to 8 dots on the
screen.
Long response time becomes apparent when you're moving
graphics object, such as windows or a mouse pointer, over the
38
screen. These objects leave visible trails or appear blurry.
Choosing the LCD computer monitors you have to take into
account the contrast ratio. Contrast ratio is the difference in light
intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black that a
LCD monitor can produce. It can help you determine how rich the
colour will be on your screen. A higher ratio is better. If you are
buying a LCD monitor, I recommend considering the one with
contrast ratio 300:1 to 350:1.
PC-Computer-Parts.com
b) Work in pairs. Compare the content of your tables. Dis-
cuss advantages and disadvantages of CTR and LCD computer
monitors.

11. a) Study the following sentences:

▪ The CPU is Pentium IV by Intel. It operates at a clock speed of
1.7 GHz (or 1.7 thousand million cycles per second).
▪ 256 megabytes constitute the computer RAM.
▪ The hard drive internal storage device has the capacity of 64
MB.
▪ The CD-ROM storage device operates at 48 times the speed of
the original CD-ROM devices.
▪ I have a 19-inch LCD-monitor. It supports up to 16 million
colours at 1024×768 pixel resolution.
▪ I have an ergonomic 105-key keyboard.

b) Work in pairs. Use the information above to find out as

much as you can about your partner’s computer. Complete the
following table:
Feature Student A Student B
Processor type
Processor speed
RAM
Hard disk capacity
Monitor size
Monitor resolution
39
CD-ROM drive speed
Other peripherals

12. Translate the following sentences into English:

1.Системный блок ‒ главная часть компьютера, к кото-
рой подключается все остальное: монитор, клавиатура,
мышь, колонки и принтер.
2.Материнская плата – устанавливается в системный
блок и служит базой для установки всех остальных устройств
в системном блоке. Она управляет и координирует работу
компьютера и всех подключенных к нему устройств.
3.Материнская плата состоит из многих компонентов,
главные из которых – набор микросхем. Именно там сосредо-
точены все новшества, делающие работу компьютера надеж-
нее и быстрее.
4.Процессор устанавливается внутри системного блока
на материнскую плату. Он производит все вычисления.
5.Оперативная память ‒ место, где процессор хранит
числа, которые собирается обрабатывать, и программы, в ко-
торых написано, как это делать.
6.Жесткий диск ‒ большая память компьютера, там хра-
нится операционная система, большинство прикладных про-
грамм, ваши работы, музыка, фильмы и фотографии. Совре-
менные жесткие диски имеют объем от 80 до 300 гигабайт.
7.Видеокарта ‒ устройство, рисующее картинку на мо-
ниторе. Их разнообразие потрясает даже квалифицированных
пользователей. Разницу между ними Вы замечаете, как пра-
вило, только в серьезных играх или при работе с видео. Но
всегда имеет смысл остановиться на чем-то среднем.
8.Привод компакт-дисков ‒ устройство, которое работа-
ет с дисками. CD-ROM читает (но не записывает!) обычные
компакт диски (с играми, музыкой и фильмами в форматах
VideoCD и MPEG4). CD-RW ‒ позволяет не только читать
информацию с компакт-дисков, но и записывать ее на диски
CDR/CDRW. DVD умеет читать обычные компакт-диски и
дополнительно позволяет просматривать диски и видео-
40
фильмы на DVD.
9.Корпус – прочная и красивая оболочка для всего пере-
численного, включая порты для подключения разнообразных
периферийных устройств – фотоаппаратов, сканеров, прин-
теров и т.п. В корпусе важна мощность и качество блока пи-
тания, ведь именно от него зависит качество питания всех
внутренних устройств.
10. Звуковые колонки совершенно необходимы для про-
игрывания музыки, просмотра фильмов и т.д.
11. Если вы собираетесь распечатать результаты своей ра-
боты на компьютере, потребуется принтер. Обычно, домой
покупают цветные струйные принтеры. Во-первых, они оди-
наково легко печатают черно-белый текст и цветные картин-
ки. Во-вторых, из-за сравнительно небольшой цены, хотя
картриджи и бумага для струйных принтеров стоят гораздо
дороже, чем для черно-белых лазерных, обычно использую-
щихся в офисах.
http://www.advacomp.com/iz-chego-sostoit-kompmzyuter.html

13. Look at the picture below. It illustrates the evolution of in-

formation storage. Describe the ways, the data was stored and
transmitted years ago. Compare them with the up-to-date ways
of data storage and transmission. Make up a short report (5-7
min).

14. Read the article below. Sum up the content of the article,
using the opening phrases (Unit I, Ex.4).

41
 КАК ВЫБРАТЬ КЛАВИАТУРУ?
«Приходит пpогpаммист к пианисту - посмотреть на новый ро-
яль. Долго ходит вокpyг, хмыкает, потом заявляет: «Клавиатура не-
удобная - всего 84 клавиши, половина функциональных, ни одна не подпи-
сана, хотя … нажимать Shift ногой – оригинальная идея.»
Шутки шутками, но довольно часто у пользователя воз-
никают похожие претензии: неудобная клавиатура, клавиш
становится мало. Иногда это приводит к повышению утомля-
емости, туннельному синдрому (боль в руках, особенно в ки-
сти правой руки, вызванная долгой работой за компьютером).
Причиной является то, что многие пользователи берут
первую попавшуюся модель, увидев её в прайс-листе какой-
нибудь фирмы или в упаковке на витрине. Причём недостат-
ки проявляют себя не сразу, поэтому при покупке клавиату-
ры необходимо знать, на что стоит обращать внимание.
Форма и материал. Если компьютер в первую очередь
будет использоваться как печатная машинка, то следует по-
заботиться об эргономике корпуса клавиатуры и расположе-
ния клавиш. Существуют варианты с разделением символь-
ной части клавиатуры на две части: одна для левой руки, дру-
гая для правой. Многие считают такой вариант наиболее
удачным. Однако, такая клавиатура удобна только для деся-
типальцевого метода набора текста. Если вы предпочитаете
использовать компьютер больше в качестве мультимедийно-
го центра или игровой консоли, то от этого варианта лучше
отказаться в пользу обычной мультимедийной клавиатуры.
Есть более консервативные варианты эргономичной
клавиатуры, например, A-shape - клавиши имеют несколько
скошенную форму и руки можно держать под углом к клави-
атуре, что для них более естественно, но в то же время сама
клавиатура внешне своим видом очень напоминает стандарт-
ную клавиатуру.
Даже выбирая стандартную клавиатуру без всяких
"наворотов" (мультимедийных и эргономичных клавиш),
можно выбрать её с эргономичной подставкой для запястий
(площадка, расположенная под клавишей "пробел"), на ней
могут отдыхать ваши кисти в тот момент, когда ваши руки не
42
заняты набором текста.
Что касается поверхности клавиатуры (её шероховато-
сти), то это дело вкуса. Лучше при приобретении клавиатуры
попробовать на ощупь несколько моделей и самостоятельно
принять решение.
Если же упоминать о типе корпуса, то не стоит обхо-
дить стороной и гибкую клавиатуру. У неё плёночный кор-
пус, она очень лёгкая, такую клавиатуру можно изгибать в
разные стороны, даже скрутить в трубочку, мыть под водой.
Такая клавиатура может быть полезной обладателям нала-
донных компьютеров или ноутбуков, недовольным встроен-
ной клавиатурой.
Мультимедийность и прочие "фенечки". В последнее
время получили широкое распространение мультимедийные
клавиатуры. Для этих клавиатур характерно наличие допол-
нительных клавиш, часто с предусмотренными по умолча-
нию функциями. Также возможен дополнительный режим,
когда стандартные клавиши выполняют другие функции, а
также наличие одного или нескольких скроллингов (аналог
скроллинга на мышке или для управления громкостью).
Однако в последнее время производители решили не
ограничивать возможности клавиатуры различными элемен-
тами управления (клавишами, регуляторами). Сейчас можно
встретить клавиатуры со встроенными дополнительными
USB-портами (довольно удобно подключать "флэшку"),
встроенным картридером, подсвеченными клавишами для
более удобной работы в тёмное время суток (так называемый
моддинг), микрофоном, дополнительным разъёмом для под-
ключения наушников, дополнительным экраном для неболь-
шой текстовой информации.
Расцветка. На цвет корпуса клавиатуры большинству
пользователей не стоит обращать внимания. В крайности
бросаться, правда, не стоит – клавиатура слишком яркого
цвета может отвлекать от работы. Если вы не владеете мето-
дом слепой печати, то стоит обратить внимание на цвет сим-
волов на клавиатуре, неброские символы (чаще всего страда-
43
ет русская раскладка) могут повысить вашу утомляемость,
особенно при работе за компьютером в вечернее время.
Клавиши. Если вы уже пользовались клавиатурой, то
стоит обратить внимание на форму и расположение некото-
рых клавиш. Возможно, на понравившейся вам клавиатуре
вы заметите несколько непривычный для вас полёт дизайнер-
ской мысли. Например, существуют разновидности клавиа-
тур, как с большой клавишей "Enter":, так и с более узким ва-
риантом. Аналогично, клавиши "BackSpace" и правый "Shift"
распространены в двух вариантах: коротком и удлинённом.
Блок клавиш "Insert", "Delete", "Home", "End", "PgUp",
"PgDown" тоже может испугать непривычным для вас распо-
ложением. И ни в коем случае не рекомендуется брать клави-
атуры, у которых клавиши, ответственные за выключение
компьютера, расположены в непосредственной близости от
клавиш управления курсором - слишком много шансов задеть
их случайно. Те, кто часто набирает текст, должны попробо-
вать ход клавиш. Нажатие должно быть не слишком жёстким,
но в то же время уверенным. Нужно чтобы вы чувствовали
клавиши, но и не прилагали к этому больших усилий.
Тип подключения. Всё большее распространение полу-
чают беспроводные устройства. Клавиатуру также техниче-
ский прогресс не обошёл стороной. Проводная клавиатура
ограничивает пользователя длиной провода, да и сам провод
иногда мешает на столе. Беспроводной вариант лишён этих
недостатков, однако за всё нужно платить, "ценой" в данном
случае будет являться не только более высокая стоимость
клавиатуры, по сравнению с проводными аналогами, но и по-
требность в дополнительном источнике энергии (батарейки,
аккумулятор). У каждого свои запросы, свои требования...
Для кого-то важен внешний вид, для кого-то характеристики.
Конечное решение принимать именно Вам. Надеюсь, матери-
алы этой статьи помогут Вам не ошибиться с выбором клави-
атуры и выбрать наиболее приемлемый для Вас вариант.
Автор статьи: Владимир Кузнецов
http://www.shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-2411/

44
 14. Read the article below. Sum up the content of the arti-
cle, using the opening phrases (Unit I, Ex.4).
Лучшие ноутбуки 2018 года. Какой ноутбук выбрать
и купить?
Январская выставка потребительской электроники CES
дала первые ориентиры на то, какие ноутбуки станут лучши-
ми, какой недорогой и качественный ноутбук выбрать в
2018 году.
Dell XPS 15 представляет собой производительный ноут-
бук-трансформер премиум-уровня с диагональю дисплея 15,6
дюйма, весом 1,8 кг и толщиной 16 мм.
В новое поколение ноутбуков XPS 15 установлены новые
чипсеты Intel, которые состоят из четырехъядерных процес-
соров (Intel Core i5-8305G или Intel Core i7-8705G) и графики
AMD Radeon Vega M. Это сочетание позволяет снизить энер-
гопотребление и тепловыделение, не теряя при этом в произ-
водительности. Да цена в $1300 за базовую модель является
очень приятной.
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 станет одним из первых игровых но-
утбуков, построенным полностью на базе "железа" от AMD.
Он будет оснащаться 4-ядерным процессором (Ryzen 5 2500U
или Ryzen 7 2700U) и видеокартой AMD Radeon RX560.
Производительность этой "начинки" сопоставима с про-
изводительносттю сочетания 4-ядерного процессора Intel
Core i5 и видеокарты NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, вот только
стоить ноутбуки на этой основе будут заметно дешевле. Сто-
имость базовой модели составляет $799, что делает этот Acer
Aspire не только хорошим аппаратом начального игрового
уровня, но и привлекательным вариантом для тех, кто подби-
рает себе домашний мультимедийный центр.
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 и Lenovo ThinkPad E580 - это не-
дорогие бизнес-лэптопы для корпоративного сегмента с диа-
гональю экрана 14,1 дюйма (ThinkPad E480) или 15,6 дюйма
(ThinkPad E580).
Ноутбуки линейки Lenovo ThinkPad уже давно зареко-
мендовали себя как прочные и надежные устройства для ра-
45
боты и не только.
Новые модели получили процессоры Intel поколения
Kaby Lake-R, еще более емкий аккумулятор, который обеспе-
чивает до 13 часов автономности. Приятным дополнением
стал переход на коннектор USB Type-C, через который мож-
но не только заряжать лэптоп, но и подключать фирменную
док-станцию.
Snapdragon 835 - это топовый ARM-чипсет от компании
Qualcomm, который был установлен в 90% флагманских
смартфонов 2017 года. Совместно с компанией Microsoft им
удалось перенести на ARM полноценную Windows 10 с воз-
можностью установки x86-совместимых программ. Компания
ASUS одной из первых продемонстрировала подобный ноут-
бук? выполненный в виде трансформера с диагональю экрана
13,3 дюйма.
Несмотря на не самую высокую производительность,
ASUS TP370QL отлично подойдет для работы в офисных
приложениях или для мультимедийных целей. А так как это
ARM-чипсет, то низкое энергопотребление в сочетании с ем-
ким аккумулятором, которые можно поместить в корпус уль-
трабука, дают нам полноценный Always-On (всегда включен-
ный) лэптоп. Это позволит работать с ноутбуком так же как и
со смартфоном, никогда его не выключать и изредка подза-
ряжать по необходимости.
https://www.notik.ru/information/topic/5747

46
 UNIT 3
SOFTWARE

VOCABULARY
Memorise the following words and word combinations:
brand software engineering to install (a program)
browser software house to code
code software piracy to debug
editor spreadsheet program to design
graphics supervisor program to hang
icon office application /suite to perform a task
image editor recorder program software to purchase
instruction word processing program to troubleshoot
language processor to project (movie) on the screen to update
medium to run (a program) on your computer GUI
menu title bar OCR
text editor menu bar OS
utility (program) tool bar s/w
sub-program status bar

TEXT
WHAT IS SOFTWARE?
Software means computer instructions or data. Anything that
can be stored electronically is software, in contrast to storage de-
vices and display devices which are called hardware.
The terms software and hardware are used as both nouns and
adjectives. For example, you can say: "The problem lies in the
software," meaning that there is a problem with the program or
data, not with the computer itself. You can also say: "It is a
software problem."
The distinction between software and hardware is sometimes
confusing because they are so integrally linked. Clearly, when
you purchase a program, you are buying software. But to buy the
software, you need to buy the disk (hardware) on which the soft-
ware is recorded.
Software is often divided into two categories. Systems soft-
ware includes the operating system and all the utilities that enable

47
the computer to function.
The operating system (OS) is the most important program
that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must
have an operating system to run other programs and applications.
Computer operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recog-
nizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display
screen, keeping track of files and directories on the storage drives,
and controlling peripheral devices, such as printers.
For large systems, the operating system has even greater re-
sponsibilities and powers. It is like a traffic cop ‒ it makes sure
that different programs and users running at the same time do not
interfere with each other. The operating system is also responsible
for security, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the
system.
Operating systems provide a software platform on top of
which other programs, called application programs, can run. The
application programs must be written to run on top of a particular
operating system. Your choice of operating system, therefore, de-
termines to a great extent the applications you can run. For PCs,
the most popular operating systems are DOS, OS/2, and Win-
dows, but others are available, such as Linux.
Operating systems can be classified as:
• Multi-user: Allows two or more users to run programs at the
same time. Some operating systems permit hundreds or even
thousands of concurrent users.
• Multiprocessing: Supports running a program on more than
one CPU.
• Multitasking: Allows more than one program to run concur-
rently.
• Multithreading: Allows different parts of a single program to
run concurrently.
• Real time: Responds to input instantly. General-purpose op-
erating systems, such as DOS and UNIX, are not real-time.
As a user, you normally interact with the operating system
through a set of commands. For example, the DOS operating sys-
tem contains commands such as COPY and RENAME for copy-
48
ing files and changing the names of files, respectively. The com-
mands are accepted and executed by a part of the operating sys-
tem called the command processor or command line interpreter.
Graphical user interfaces allow you to enter commands by point-
ing and clicking at objects that appear on the screen.
Operating systems contain a number of utilities (programs
that perform very specific tasks, usually related to managing sys-
tem resources).
Applications software includes programs that do real work
for users. For example, word processors, spreadsheets, and data-
base management systems fall under the category of applications
software. Utilities differ from applications mostly in terms of size,
complexity and function. Utilities are sometimes installed as
memory-resident programs.
Software is created by software engineers. They are schooled
and skilled in the application of engineering discipline to the crea-
tion of software.
A software engineer is often confused with a programmer,
but the two are vastly different disciplines. A programmer is
tasked with creating the code that makes a program run, whereas
a software engineer is responsible for designing, developing and
implementing the software solutions programmers create.
For example, by U.S. law no person may use the title "engi-
neer" (of any type) unless the person holds a professional engi-
neering license from a state licensing board and is in good stand-
ing with the board. A software engineer is also held accountable
to a specific code of ethics.
The role of a software engineer, or computer software engi-
neer, is to develop highly functional, solution-based software pro-
cesses and solutions that address specific needs within an organi-
zation or department. These software solutions need to have been
thoroughly tested for accuracy and security before implementa-
tion, and they need to comply with current coding standards and
operating procedures.
Software engineers are tasked with evaluating existing opera-
tions within the company, finding and defining problems or areas
49
for improvement, proposing and developing solutions for these
issues in the form of new or improved software processes, and
testing, implementing, and maintaining these software changes.
This requires in-depth knowledge and experience with the
software development lifecycle (SDLC) and the ability to write
and explain code created in a variety of languages such as C++,
.NET, Java, Python, etc. A software engineer needs to be able to
communicate at both a very in-depth, detailed level with comput-
er programmers as well as a broader “big picture” level with IT
managers and upper management.

EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following
words and word-combinations:
Служебная программа, приложения, команда, програм-
мист, программный инженер, цикл разработки средств про-
граммного обеспечения, углубленные знания.

2. Provide Russian equivalents for the following terms:

To keep track of files, a memory-resident program, a professional
engineering license, solution-based software process.

3. Sum up the content of the text, using the opening

phrases (Unit I, Ex.4).

4. Match the words on the left with the words on the right
to get word-combinations.
A B
1. save it as a. icons on the desktop
2. resize the b.some text
3. open the document in c. an application
4. install d.photo. It's too big.
5. cut and paste e. a new window
6. arrange the f. a Microsoft Word file
7. view g.menu
50
8. delete an h.an application
9. replace the existing i. as a web page
10. click on that button j. on the task bar
11. pull down a k.file
12. exit l. important file
13. close down an m. after a session
14. wipe the n.all folders
15. log off o.program
16. run a p. on a USB memory key
17. look in q. hard drive
18. put the file r. application
19. search s. Desktop
20. send the file t. for a lost file
21. use the u. to a different folder
22. launch v. a program
23. customize your w. text into a new document
24. copy the x. "search" function

5. a) Fill each gap with the word from the box.

adding, background, customising, default, digital,
displayed, format, image, performance, properties,
screen saver, setting up, task, wallpaper, wireless
The control panel provides options for ___________ the ap-
pearance of your computer screen, ___________or removing pro-
grams and ___________network connections. When you get a
new computer, perhaps the first thing you will want to do is set
the date and time. You can also choose the ___________for dates
and times. For example, November 4th 2007 can be
___________as 04-11-2007,
2007-11-04 or in various other formats. You may wish to change
the desktop ___________to a picture, for example a personal pho-
to taken on a ___________camera. A picture on the desktop
background is also known as ___________. If a computer screen
51
shows the same ___________for a very long time, it can leave a
permanent impression. To avoid this, you can choose a
___________. This is usually a simple moving pattern which ac-
tivates if the computer is not used for a set amount of time (for
example, five minutes). You can also use the control panel to set
up or change internet and other network connections, including
___________network connections. In fact, you can change most
aspects of your computer's ___________through the control pan-
el, such as the system ___________, modem settings, scheduled
___________, although most users prefer to leave on the
___________settings rather than changing them.
b) Provide the definitions for the following words and
word-combinations:
control panel, wallpaper, default settings, screen saver.
6. a) Skim read the text. The paragraphs A-H are mixed.
Put them in correct order.
INSTALLING A NEW PROGRAM
At some time in the life of your computer, you will want to
add new programs. Educational games, spreadsheets, business
programs, and other programs are available for sale and for free.
Almost all programs follow the same installation procedure on
your computer:
 A. You can use the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Con-
trol Panel, Add/Remove Software) to also add programs. This is
usually an effective way to add software that does not automati-
cally load.
 B. Go to START and select Run. It will ask you for the
name of the program that you want to install. If you are unsure,
type in the letter of the drive (D) with a colon, and click on
browse. Look for programs with the name setup or install and
click on that.
 C. If you do not want to put the program on your hard
drive, some programs will have a way to use it on the D drive.
Using the Browse command, look for the programs with an exe or
com extension and run that program.
52
  D. Most new software comes on CD-ROMS. The CD-
ROM is normally the D drive on your machine. You can also in-
stall new software from DVD through the E drive.
 E. Insert the program you wish to add into the CD-ROM
(D drive) or DVD-ROM (E Drive).
 F. Make sure your computer is adequate for the program
you wish to add. Some programs for Pentium machines may not
work well on older machines. Verify that you have enough hard-
drive space and computer RAM memory for the new software. To
see if you have enough hard-drive space, double click on the "My
Computer" icon on your desktop. It will show you the devices at-
tached to your computer. Using the mouse, right click on the C:
drive symbol and left click on "Properties." To check out your
RAM memory, right click twice on the "My Computer" icon and
left click on properties. The last number listed is the amount of
RAM on your computer.
 G. Start your machine in the normal way.
 H. Ensure that the software is Windows compatible.
Some software is designed to work on Windows XP or Windows
Vista.
Some programs are designed to only run on the C Drive
(hard drive). You must decide if you really want this program on
your system. Remember that you have limited hard-drive space
on your computer. The more programs you put on, the less space
you have. If your disk is too full, it will slow down your machine.
It is wise to occasionally get rid of old unused programs and data.
Newer machines with large hard drives are less likely to have this
space problem.
b) Sum up the content of the text, using the opening
phrases from Ex.4 (Unit 1).

7. a) Open the brackets, putting the verbs in the correct form.

OPERATING THE WORD PROCESSOR - WordPad

WordPad is a simple program (to design) to operate on your
Windows software. It has an on-line help file when you (to have)

53
questions. In addition, there are a few tips that you may find use-
ful.
1. Open WordPad by (to click) on START, Accessories, and
then WordPad.
2. WordPad opens and provides you with a blank screen
with a menu bar on top. There are six titles. There are a variety of
commands under each title.
3. FILE is the command (need) to start a New document, to
Open an existing file, to Save a file, to Save As a different
named file, to Print and explain what printer the program is using
(Print Setup), to Page Setup or define the look of your document
(margins and layout), to Send a file to another computer on the
Internet or local network, and to exit the file. It also (to show) a
list of the 4 most recently (to access) files.
4. EDIT is the section where you can (to change) the docu-
ment. You can cut, copy, and paste sections of the document by
using these commands. You can also insert and move pictures
in the text of your document. If you want (to replace) certain
phrases or words throughout a document, you can use the Re-
place command.
5. VIEW (to allow) you to customize the look of the
screen. In particular, you can have it display (or not display) a
toolbar (new file, open file, save, print, print preview, find, cut,
copy, paste, undo, and time and date), format bar (font, size,
bold, italic, underline, align, change colour of text, and bullets),
insert a ruler, and a status bar (at the bottom of the page).
6. INSERT is the section that (to allow) you to insert a date
and time and objects (pictures and symbols) into your documents
automatically.
7. FORMAT allows you to change your font, bulleting, par-
agraph alignment, and tabs.
8. HELP explains how to use WordPad. It gives you several
ways (to find) out more about the program.
When you (to finish) typing your document, (to remember)
to save it. If you want to use it with other word processors like
WordPerfect then you must save the file as a Text File (.txt). You
54
(need) to save it on a disk. Remember to use a: and the name of
the file to save it. You can change the way it (to save) files by
choosing a style under VIEW and Options. Word 6.0 (to be) the
default style.
b) Give Russian equivalents for the words and word-
combinations in bold type.
8. Match the words with the types of lettering.

1. COMPUTER a. outline
2. computer b. italic
3. Computer c. lower case (or small letters)
4. Computer d. strikethrough
5. Computer e. underline
6. Computer f. upper case (or capital letters)
7. Computer g. plain text
8. Computer h. shade
9. i. bold italic
10. Computer j. bold

9. a) Match the descriptions on the left with the applications

on the right.

1. word processor a. Adobe Photoshop

2. spreadsheet b. Opera
3. virus protection c. Microsoft Word
4. browser d. Microsoft Excel
5. image editor e. Microsoft PowerPoint
6. media player f. Dr.Web
7. email software g. Outlook Express
8. presentation software h. Adobe PageMaker
9. graphic design software i. Winamp
b) Describe what each of the applications is used for.

55
 10. Match the operations with the application types. The
first one has been done as an example.
word- spread- image media-
processor sheet editor player
1. print ✓ ✓ ✓
2. insert table
3. convert to grey scale
4. touch up
5. select text
6. exit
7. maximise window
8. check internet for
updates
9. alter formula values
10. insert text box
11. flip, crop, rotate
12. optimise for internet
13. check spelling
14. convert to MP3
15. add border
16. play
17. insert column break
18. import photo
19. clear all cells
20. copy from CD
21. create playlist
22. page set-up
23. sort
24. uninstall
25. change text direction
26. insert bullet points
27. save as JPEG

56
 11. For each sentence choose the word which best fits the
space.
1. Software for use by businesses is_____. a. commercial
b. businesslike
c. busy
2. Software which is easy to use is_____. a. user-easy
b. user-friendly
c. usable
3. Software which is obvious to use is_____. a. intuitive
b. guessable
c. comprehensible
4. Software for use at home is_____. a. for home use
b. for house use
c. for household use
5. Software for use by children and schools a. learning
is_____. b. teaching
c. educational
6. Software which is not obvious to use a. counter-intuitive
is_____. b. unintuitive
c. non-intuitive
7. Software made specially for one company a. one-off
is_____. b. unique
c. tailor-made
8. Software which has been bought from the a. real
company that produced it is_____. b. justified
c. licensed
9. Software which has been illegally copied a. unreal
is_____. b. pirated
c. fake

12. Complete the sentences on the left with suitable words

on the right. Provide Russian equivalents for the terms in bold
type.
Shareware is available to all _____ without a. date
the need for a licence and for which a _____ fee
b. demo ware
is requested.
57
 Freeware may be _____ and used with- c. distributed
out payment.
d. features
Trialware can be run for a limited period
of time before it is____ . Trial ware has a built-in e. knowledge
expiration _____ and will cease to operate be- f. purchased
yond that date if it has not been paid for. Also
called "_____." g. ready
Beta version is also known as beta re- h. represents
lease, usually _____ the first version of a com- i. token
puter hardware or software that implements all
_____ in the initial requirements specification. It j. unstable
is likely to be _____ but useful for internal k. users
demonstrations and previews to select customers,
but not yet _____ for release. Some developers l. via
refer to this stage as a preview, as a technical
preview (TP) or as an early access.

Spyware is installed _____ the internet

on a computer without the user's _____ and used
to send information about the user to another
computer.

13. a) Before reading the text answer the questions:

1. What do you know about graphical user interface (GUI)?
2. What is icon?
3. Do you know how the icons started, how matured, and in
which ways are modern icons different than their 20-year older
counterparts?
b) Now read the text. Supply the prepositions and postposi-
tions where necessary.
Historically, an icon is an artistic representation or symbol
___ something holy and divine, ___ form of relief, painting or
mosaic, usually quite small ___ size. The word itself comes ___
Greek eikon, meaning simply “image.”
In today’s language, an icon describes a symbol, face or pic-
58
ture ___ representing some well-known attribute, entity or con-
cept. Icon should be readily recognizable, even if usually only
___ a given cultural environment. Examples ___ famous icons
are: hammer and sickle (standing for former USSR), Swastika
(Nazi), balance/scale (justice), tulips (the Netherlands) or light-
bulb (an idea).
___ computer science, an icon is a small graphic repre-
senting a file, directory, application or a device ___ a given com-
puter system.
Computer icons as we know them today appeared first ___
the 1970s at the legendary Xerox Palo Alto Research Center la-
boratories. They were part of so called “desktop metaphor,”
which presented the computer system as a virtual desktop, trying
to make use of people’s natural reactions and associations ___
using their desks, sheets of papers, folders, the trashcan, etc.
The years of work ___ Xerox PARC laboratory were final-
ized ___ Xerox 8010 Information System, which, alas, was a
commercial failure. However, Apple picked ___ on the idea and
after launching the rather unsuccessful Lisa, finally popularized
icon-driven interface ___ their 1984’s Macintosh.
Nowadays, the concept of an icon and all the gestures asso-
ciated ___ it (clicking, double-clicking, selecting, dragging, etc.)
seems natural ___ most of the computer users. However, being
more or less tied ___ the progression of graphic hardware and
software, the icons continue to evolve.
14. a)Read the article that describes the background and
the detailed history of computer icons featured in graphical in-
terfaces. Complete each blank box with visual examples A-I,
which are given in the table after the text.

ONE THOUSAND SQUARE PIXELS OF CANVAS

Let’s look back at the history of icons through the most im-
portant interfaces.
Xerox Star (1981)

59
 1981’s Xerox Star’s icons were black and white, with reso-
lution of 72×72 (since the display had a density of 72 ppi, every
icon occupied an exact square inch). The icons were highly sym-
bolic, based on rounded rectangles. They established conventions
used to this day – a document was a blank sheet with one corner
folded, a directory was a regular manila folder with a tab on top,
the trashcan had sheets of paper inside it. The consistency across
all the icons, and the attention to detail was amazing. Inbox and
outbox icons showed an envelope whenever mail was unread or
unsent. A clock icon was a regular working analogue clock. An
icon corresponding to an opened window was shown in outline,
so the user would never see two instances of the same object.
And, in a solution never seen later, the titles of icons were part of
the icons themselves.
Apple Lisa (1983)

Next in line was Lisa, Apple’s ill-fated office computer. Li-

sa’s desktop icons were somewhat similar to those of the Xerox
Star Information System, although more detailed – the trashcan
had ribs and a cover, calculator digits, etc. The icons were also
black and white, but of a slightly smaller resolution – 48 pixels
per 24 pixels. This was due to Lisa having lower screen resolution
than Xerox Star, and also non-square pixels.
Macintosh (1984)

Macintosh had even more interesting and unique icons. De-

signed by Susan Kare, they were much more than just a simple
collection of black-and-white 32×32 pixels pictograms. Macin-
tosh icons were the first to bring a clear distinction between doc-
uments (paper sheets with folded corners) and applications (a
human hand holding a tool against a sheet of paper). They also
included several classics, such as “happy Mac” icon, the metal
60
trashcan or the exclamation/question mark face. The icons were
instantly recognizable, consistent, well-balanced between con-
crete and abstract, and created with international users in mind (so
an interim icon for copier featuring a cat in the mirror symboliz-
ing “copy cat” was dropped).
Windows 1.0 (1985)

Icons in the first edition of Windows, released in 1985,

shared many characteristics of the program itself (of course, no
one would dare to call it an operating system yet). They were ug-
ly, non-functional, and seemed placeholders for better icons
which for some reason failed to materialize. Even though they
used the very same 32×32 pixel grid and black and white colour
scheme, they were far cry from subtlety and elegance of Macin-
tosh icons. One could pick two of them at random and be almost
sure that the orientation, the style or the shadows would be incon-
sistent. What’s worse, despite there being just about a dozen of
icons in the entire Windows, some of them were similar enough
to be easily mistaken with each other, even when viewed side by
side. For example, that was the case with icons for Control Panel
and Calendar, both represented as rectangles divided into several
pieces. About the only gem in early Windows was the icon for
Clock, itself being... a working analogue clock, such as in Xerox
Star. However, this interesting idea was dropped with the release
of Windows 3.0 in 1990.
Amiga OS (1985)

It’s hard to find someone who really thought highly of Ami-

ga OS’s icons, but no one could deny them uniqueness. First edi-
tions of Amiga OS (then known as Workbench) used a distinctive
palette of four colours (black, white, blue and orange). What real-
ly made them stand out, though, is that there was no arbitrary lim-
it on icon size. Every icon could have different dimensions. And
often had, contributing greatly to the chaotic nature of Amiga’s
interface. What’s more, icons had two states – selected and unse-
61
lected. Icon just clicked on might have looked completely differ-
ent than a second ago.
NeXTSTEP/OPENSTEP (1989)

While both Apple and Microsoft were slowly refining their

respective GUIs, another operating system was pushing the enve-
lope much faster and further. It was NeXTSTEP, the object-
oriented system, which later evolved into OPENSTEP.
NeXTSTEP’s icons were bigger (drawn at 48×48 grid), shaded
and more colourful. Even if they didn’t represent one unified
style, they were years ahead of other creations in terms of techno-
logical advance. NeXTSTEP was initially monochrome, but later
started supporting colour screens.
Windows 3.0 (1990)

While Microsoft put the hideous icons from Windows 1.0

also in the second edition of their soon-to-be flagship product,
they wouldn’t repeat that mistake again. For Windows 3.0, Mi-
crosoft hired no other than Susan Kare herself, who added style
and substance to the previously neglected icons. Still at 32×32,
the icons now sported 16 colours, had consistent shadows and
were vastly improved visually.
Macintosh System 7 (1991)

This time it seemed it was Macintosh system’s turn to fol-

low the lead of Microsoft Windows. Seventh release of Macin-
tosh’s GUI finally brought colour to icons (although the Macin-
tosh supported colour output from the very beginning), supple-
mented by shading. The icons were coloured quite subtly, mostly
in shades of gray with only touches of blue or yellow.
Windows 3.1 (1992)
62
 As many other interface elements, icons in Windows 3.1
were refined to include some simple shading (mostly around the
edges), thus adding to their depth and making them look more
realistic. Some shadows have also been added.
OS/2 2.0 (1993)

IBM’s OS/2 has always suffered from various identity cri-

ses. Its first version, produced in cooperation with Microsoft, was
probably one of the most non-iconic GUIs ever. In turn, the third
release (OS/2 Warp) went into 3D shading, and the fourth even
flirted a little with an isometric Copland style (more on this later).
However, it was the second edition which had most successful
and distinctive icons. They might have been simple, set on a clas-
sic 32×32 pixel grid and using only 16 colours. However, they
had their common style, something that can’t be said about any
other OS/2 edition. Set in delicate greys and dirty greens, with
touches of blue and yellow, they fitted the nature of the system
rather well. They also have to be commended for a consistent use
of shadows.
Copland/Mac OS 8 (1994-1997)

In 1997, after almost three years of demos and sneak-peaks,

the eighth release of Macintosh operating system (in the mean-
while renamed “Mac OS”) brought a new style of icons. It was
quickly dubbed “Copland” after the codename of the operating
system (which itself was a homage to American composer Aaron
Copland). The “Copland style” refers to pseudo-3D icons, set on
an isometric grid with about 26° of slant. Isometry means lack of
perspective – two parallel lines will never visually converge and
63
meet in any point in isometric space. This style is often used to
make manufacturing plans for viewing three dimensional objects
in “exploded” views. New icons, further refined in Mac OS 8.5
(and updated with millions of colours instead of just 256), became
very popular with Macintosh fans. They beautifully complement-
ed the new Platinum appearance of Mac OS, were very well craft-
ed and – again – unique.
Windows 95 (1995)

Windows 95 also started using Copland-style isometric

views in some areas, and most of the icons were redrawn for this
probably most important Windows release to date. The icons were
still 32×32 in 16 colours, but accompanying release, Microsoft
Plus! for Windows 95, allowed the people to use 256-colour
icons.
BeOS (1997)

The icons in BeOS operating system were one of the best

examples of unique graphical identity. BeOS’ icons were also
isometric, but the grid was non-symmetric, with slants of 45°
(from the right) and ca. 30° (from the left). This, along with
unique and quickly recognizable colour scheme (revolving around
various shades of brown, red, yellow and grey) provided a set of
icons pleasant to look at, functional and ... simply different.
IRIX Interactive Desktop (1998)

IRIX Interactive Desktop might be in the league of less

known graphical interfaces, but it has a number of unique fea-
tures. One of these features are vector icons. Granted, they are not
very attractive (even if anti-aliased, which is possible in newer
64
versions of the system), but can be scaled to any size without los-
ing quality. The icons are also consistent in their appearance, us-
ing a mirrored Copland look, casting shadows on the surface, and
featuring “magic carpet” which differentiates running applications
from those waiting to be executed.
Windows 2000 (2000)

In the meanwhile, Windows icons were slowly refined in

every subsequent edition of the operating system, reaching climax
in Windows 2000.
By default still in 32×32, the new 48×48 mode was availa-
ble upon request. The icons were mostly variations on the “origi-
nals,” with more subtle shading, made available by support for
24-bit colour.
Mac OS X (2001)

Every previous Mac OS release had the icons drawn on a

classic 32×32 pixel grid, with the only significant change being
the increasing number of colours (from two in System 1 to over
16 millions in Mac OS 8.5 and 9). However, 2001’s Mac OS X
brought the completely new, anti-aliased, semi-transparent Aqua
interface, and that warranted a change of icon style as well. The
change turned out to be a complete overhaul, as practically all the
properties of the new icons were different. New icons were huge
– 128×128 pixel grid was sixteen times as spacious as the one in
previous versions of Mac OS. The icons were presented in 24-bit
depth with an 8-bit transparency mask. Gone were the pixels. Not
literally, of course, but all of the icons had photorealistic style in-
stead of symbolic one. To quote Apple Human Interface Guide-
lines “Aqua offers a new photo-illustrative icon style – it ap-
proaches the realism of photography, but uses the features of il-
lustrations to convey a lot in a small space. Icons can be repre-
sented in 128×128 pixels to allow ample room for detail. Anti-
aliasing makes curves and nonrectilinear lines possible. Alpha
channels and translucency allow for complex shading and dimen-
sionality. All of these qualities pave the way for lush imagery that
65
enables you to create vibrant icons that communicate in ways
never before possible.” The new icons also heavily featured
transparency/translucency and shadows. Icons were scaled auto-
matically by system to smaller and bigger sizes. This was proba-
bly the first instance of this feature done correctly, which means
that user was usually unable to distinguish between a big icon
scaled down to, for example, 16×16 and the icon with this native
resolution.
Mac OS X got rid of Copland look in favour of three differ-
ent perspectives: application icons “sitting on a desk in front of
user,” utility icons “standing on a shelf in front of user” and the
toolbar icons featuring a classic “straight-on” perspective. Many
Mac users critiqued the bold move. The icons were simply too
big, too colourful, too “funky,” leaving nothing to the imagina-
tion. The hard disk icon simply became... hard disk, even if not
many people know how such a device actually looks like.
Windows XP (2001)

Microsoft’s response to Mac OS X was Windows XP with

its redesigned interface, unofficially called Luna. Luna featured
bigger and more colourful icons. The departure from the previous
versions of Windows might not have been as big as in the case of
Mac OS, but the difference was striking. The new icons were set
on a 48×48 pixel grid (more than two times bigger than Windows
2000), were presented in millions of colours, and provided 8-bit
transparency. But the most apparent difference was the visual
style. Let’s quote Windows XP Visual Guidelines’ rather infor-
mal introduction: “The Windows XP icon style is all about fun,
colour and energy. Windows XP icons include a 32-bit version
that provides smooth edges – no more jaggies! Each icon is ren-
dered in a vector program and then massaged in Photoshop to
create a beautiful image”. Characteristics of Windows XP-style
icons: Colour is rich and complementary to the Windows XP
look. Angle and perspective provides a dynamic energy to the im-
ages. Edges and corners of elements are soft and slightly rounded.
Light source is coming from the upper left-hand corner with the
66
addition of an ambient light to illuminate other parts of the icon.
The use of gradients provide dimension and give the icon a richer
appearance. A drop shadow provides contrast and dimension.
Outlines provide definition. Everyday objects have a more mod-
ern consumer look such as computers and devices.
The icons also featured two views: angled perspective for
bigger icons, and straight-on style for “document icons, icons that
are symbols (such as warning or information icons) and icons that
are not as recognizable at an angle or are single objects (such as
the magnifying glass).”
However, Windows XP seems to have fallen victim to what
is known as “bigger, better, faster, more syndrome” – even to a
bigger degree than Mac OS X. Quite ironically, history went full
circle. Just as in the case of Windows 1.0, it is very hard to distin-
guish among rows of similarly-looking bluish slanted shapes. Es-
pecially when the icons are viewed scaled down.
by Marcin Wichary

A F

B G

C H

D I

b) Match the properties of icons in the left column with the

information in the right column.
a. Size 1. First icons were highly symbolic, which
probably was the result of rather sparse visu-

67
 al means that were supposed to convey the
ideas. Then the style evolved into more col-
ourful drawings, balancing between “abstrac-
tion and a tactile feel.” Lately, the appear-
ance shifted to (photo) realism, and the ques-
tion of “we obviously can do it, but should
we?” became more and more valid. Da-
tawise, every Mac OS X’s icon is 512 times
as rich as the original Macintosh icon. How-
ever, is it really 512 times as meaningful? At
small sizes, it seems almost the opposite, as
every icon looks just like a colourful blob, or
“a little smear.”
b. Type 2. The holy battle between raster and vector
technology has been experienced by possibly
every designer. First method represents im-
ages using a grid of pixels, the second one
describes them by set of vectors. Both have
their pros and cons, which can be found in
any self-respected introduction to graphics.
As we already learned, most of GUIs used
pixels for representing icons, as they gave the
designers more control over finest details.
c. Number of 3. Since the “invention” of Copland style
colours (and even earlier, considering that even some
of the Macintosh icons depart from the usual
“straight-on” perspective) we’ve seen many
various pseudo-3D views: Copland, inverted
Copland, BeOS, Windows XP, or one of
Mac OS X’s perspectives. Some of them are
justified, other seem there just for the sake of
it.
This property is probably where the worst
inconsistencies appear. Windows XP has on-
ly two official “icon views,” but nevertheless
manages to mix them all over the system
68
d. Transparency 4. Proliferation of semi-3D views, as well as
the introduction of transparency, prompted
the addition of shadows to icons. Fortunate-
ly, modern shadows are much more discrete
and subtle, and in effect stand out less than
the older black or gray outlines.
e. Orientation 5. This property was probably the one with
the most stable and expected evolution. First
GUIs shipped with 1-bit depth, allowing for
only two colours (usually black and white).
With graphic capabilities getting more and
more advanced, icons moved to 4-bit depth
(16 colours), then to 8-bit (256 colours). It is
hard to think of any instance of 16-bit icons,
and the next step, 24-bit depth, was also the
last one – 16.8 millions of colours are much
more than the human eye can distinguish.
f. Shadows 6. This property began to play a bigger role
only with latest editions of GUIs, providing
8-bit masks for icons. However, one has yet
to see it used in a way that actually adds to
functionality of a respective icon.
g. Style 7. Since the emergence of WIMP-based
GUIs, most of them have used the standard
32×32 pixel grid, giving 1024 pixels. Quite
obviously, the physical size of icons has in-
creased slightly less, due to the fact that new
displays have significantly bigger pixel den-
sity than the old ones.
c) How will icons improve in the future? Do you think
that a completely new user interface will be designed? Express
you ideas in class.

15. Use the information given above (Ex.14) to translate

the sentences into English:

69
1. Все мы слышали выражение: «Лучше один раз увидеть,
чем сто раз услышать». Эта идея стоит в основе создания
иконок в графических интерфейсах.
2. Графические интерфейсы, управляемые посредством
иконок, возможно, уже достигли своего апогея. Однако пока
ничего лучшего не было предложено.
3. Иконки, несомненно, оказались полезными и, скорее
всего, не исчезнут с наших экранов ещё долго.
4. К сожалению, со временем иконки эволюционировали
только в технологическом смысле.
5. Динамические иконки – многообещающая концепция
изменения внешнего вида иконки, в зависимости от свойств
объектов, которые они символизируют.
6. Ещё одним вариантом развития иконок является анима-
ция. Не декоративная анимация, радующая глаз пользовате-
ля, а анимация, которая действительно служит некой опреде-
ленной цели.
7. Анимацию можно использовать как ответ на наведение
мыши на иконку. Некоторые операционные системы исполь-
зуют элементы анимации, например, при опустошении кор-
зины.
8. Но, безусловно, перед анимированными иконками от-
крываются широкие возможности.
9. Иконки в современных графических интерфейсах ис-
пользуются по большей части так же как и двадцать лет
назад: ими оперируют одинарным или двойным щелчком, их
перемещают и «перетягивают».
10. Внешний вид иконок значительно изменился с момента
их появления, чего нельзя сказать об их функциональности.
11. Графические интерфейсы таких операционных систем
как Windows XP или Mac OS X, свидетельствуют о том, что
дизайнеры слегка переусердствовали с внешним видом ико-
нок.
12. Хочется верить, что в будущем иконки будут развивать-
ся в русле функциональности.

70
 16. a) Discuss in pairs the following questions:
1. What is operating system and what is its purpose?
2. Where is an operating system stored and how is it trans-
ferred to internal memory?
3. What tasks are typically performed by operating sys-
tems?
4. What operating systems do you know? Which of them
is installed on your computer? Why did you choose this very op-
erating systems?
b) Make up a dialogue based on the questions above.

17. Prepare a short report (2-3 min). Compare the features

of two any operating systems. Use the additional sources of in-
formation.

18. Render the article in English.

И ВСЕ-ТАКИ, ПОЧЕМУ ИСКУСТВЕННЫЙ
ИНТЕЛЛЕКТ ДО СИХ ПОР ГЛУПОВАТ?
Получивший популярность в научной фантастике и ки-
нофильмах искусственный интеллект (ИИ) уверенно шагает в
реальный мир. ИИ уже отметился своими превосходящими
возможности человека успехами, начиная с чтения речи по
губам и до победы в карточном турнире в покер. Но пока,
кажется, все пытаются успеть прыгнуть на подножку вагона
уходящего поезда футуристического ИИ, хотелось бы понять
реальное состояние передовой технологии. Почему все-таки
ИИ до сих пор глуповат?
У ИИ никогда не будет полноценного интеллекта, по-
скольку нет никакого практического ограничения на прини-
маемую информацию. В то время, как человеческие существа
ограничены размерами мозга и естественным процессом раз-
вития в ходе эволюции, ИИ теоретически может без ограни-
чений продолжать масштабирование своего интеллекта. Ре-
альное ограничение интеллекта ИИ – это наша способность
воспроизводить его.
Известно, что интеллект ИИ сегодня значительно усту-
71
пает интеллекту человека и других биологических организ-
мов в решении ряда задач. Например, несмотря на значи-
тельный прогресс машинного обучения (МО) в течение по-
следних пяти лет, эти системы не приблизились к способно-
сти человека в понимании образов. Системы ИИ выдают не
осознаваемые ими ложные результаты, не понимают кон-
текстную информацию и недостаточно детализированы.
Есть, конечно, другие задачи, такие как вычисления, иг-
ра в шахматы и го, в решении которых ИИ сегодня превосхо-
дит возможности человека. Но факт остается фактом — ИИ
сильно отстает в самых тривиальных для человека задачах:
во взаимодействии с физическим миром и восприятии есте-
ственных сигналов, что указывает на то, что системы ИИ –
просто мощные вычислительные машины с обманчивым
названием.
Для того, чтобы ИИ смог выйти на уровень человече-
ского интеллекта, наиболее важным является освоение ос-
новных задач, в решении которых человек превосходит всех
в течение тысяч лет. Визуальное понимание и способность
разумно ориентироваться в физическом мире являются для
этого более верными контрольными ориентирами, чем игра в
покер. Соответствующий человеческому уровень интеллекта
в задачах этого типа подведет ИИ практически к превосход-
ству над нашим интеллектом.
Чтобы оценить пропасть, которая по-прежнему лежит
на пути к этой цели, мы должны рассмотреть различия между
биологическими системами и технологиями МО. Создатели
технологий машинного обучения для ИИ могут похвастаться
тем, что машины могут самостоятельно учиться и обрабаты-
вать данные. Но на самом деле, технологии МО придержи-
ваются при анализе принципа «сверху вниз», что запрещает
им делать что-либо самостоятельно.
В архитектурах нисходящего типа (сверху вниз) система
в первую очередь проходит обучение, ее алгоритм разработан
и показан огромными маркированными наборами данных.
Только затем она сможет применить эти знания к новым дан-
72
ным. Системы МО тренируются с использованием маркиро-
ванных данных до тех пор, пока они не смогут успешно вы-
давать нужные переменные параметры новых данных.
Машины глубокого обучения построены с применением
многослойных алгоритмов, которые обрабатывают данные,
используя множество уровней абстракции. Эти нисходящие
системы добились огромного прогресса, но зависимость от
обучения делает их сложными, а не умными машинами
С рождения дети учатся ориентироваться в мире, посто-
янно поглощая огромный объем информации, чтобы осмыс-
лить ее. Чтобы овладеть расширенным интеллектом, машины
должны имитировать человеческий процесс обучения и рас-
познавания – «снизу вверх». Тогда без обучения, наборов па-
раметров или данных их алгоритмы и структуры будут спо-
собны поглощать и обрабатывать новые данные, выстраивать
собственные функции для их понимания.
http://www.robogeek.ru/iskusstvennyi-intellekt/i-vse-taki-pochemu-ii-do-sih-por-glupovat

73
 UNIT 4
WORLD WIDE WEB

VOCABULARY
Memorise the following words and word-combinations:
account inbox to broadcast
chat room on-line banking to browse
connection search engine to search
dial-up networking site to signup
digital subscriber line standalone to subscribe to
e-commerce subscriber to surf
homepage web-browser to unsubscribe from
hyperlink to administer to upload
ISP

TEXT
THE STORY OF THE INTERNET
The beginnings of the Internet can be found in the early
days of the Cold War. Eisenhower’s America was stunned by the
launch of the Russian Sputnik satellite. For the first time the
American public felt vulnerable, and the US administration react-
ed quickly. In 1958 Eisenhower created ARPA (the Advanced
Research Projects Agency), and later NASA (the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration). America aimed to gain com-
plete technological superiority over the Soviet Union.
Bob Taylor at ARPA was quick to realise that time and
money could be saved if the huge mainframe computers, found in
government departments and universities, could speak to each
other. This was ARPA’s first achievement, and in 1969 the first
network was created. The first e-mail was sent three years later.
The computer remained huge and cumbersome until work
by Bill Gates, and later Steve Wozniak of Apple, led to wide-
spread ownership of personal computers in businesses and in the
home. The Internet, however, was still owned and exclusively
used by the US government. George Bush changed all this by al-
74
lowing it to be used for private and business purposes in 1992.
Central to the way that we use the Internet today was the
work of the British scientist Tim Berners-Lee, who created
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) in the early 1990’s. The
latter enabled a simple network to become a World Wide Web.
The Internet began as a very small part of America's strug-
gle with the Soviet Union in the Cold War. But it started the
twenty-first century as the technology that will change the lives of
almost every person on the planet.
From: The Story of the Internet by Stephen Bryant, 2000

EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following
words and word-combinations:
быть ошеломленным, уязвимый, технологическое пре-
восходство, язык гипертекстовой разметки.

2. Use the information of the text and the table below to

label the following diagram:
1969 1988 1996
1983 1993 2001
1969 The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency
establishes ARPANET, a wide area network connecting
research centres
1971 Ray Tomlinson of BBN invents an e-mail program to
send messages across a network. The @ sign is chosen
for its ‘at’ meaning
1973 ARPANET makes first international connections
1974 V.Cerf and B. Kahn publish ‘A Protocol for Packet Net-
work Interconnection’
1979 A collection of forums (newsgroups) constitute USE-
NET.
1981 BITNET, short for 'Because It's Time NETwork', pro-
vides
e-mail and file transfers to universities
1982 TCP-IP is adopted as the standard language of the Inter-
75
 net.
1983 The most important networks (ARPANET, Mllnet and
CSnet) are interconnected
1985 The Domain Name System is created
1988 Jarkko Oikarinen develops the system known as Internet
Relay Chat.
1991 CERN (Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucléaire)
develops the World Wide Web. Philip Zimmerman writes
Pretty Good Privacy, a program which protects e-mail
messages.
1993 Marc Andreesen and the University of Illinois develop
Mosaic, the first program that allows users to surf the
Web.
1995 Commercial online systems (Compuserve, AOL, etc.)
start providing Internet access. RealNetworks creates the
RealAudio plug-in. which lets you hear audio files in re-
al-time.
1996 Netscape (Navigator) and Microsoft (Internet Explorer)
start a battle to get people to use their Web browser. Java
and Internet phone arc the best technologies of the year.
1998 The Internet 2 network is born. This can handle huge
packets of data and video at high speed.
1999 Online banking, e-commerce and MP3 music become
fashionable.
2001 Napster lets users download MP3 music files. But a fed-
eral judge rules that Napster's technology is an infringe-
ment on the copyright of music.

3. Sum up the content of the text, using the opening

phrases (Unit I, Ex.4).

4. a) Open the brackets, putting the verbs in the correct

form.
A mailing list is a basic type of discussion group that (to use)
e-mail to communicate. The messages (to distribute) to all the
subscribers, i.e. everyone that belongs to the list. There (to be)
76
thousands of lists covering every imaginable topic, from hobbies
and music to news and science.
▪ Discussion lists let you send and receive messages, provid-
ing a discussion forum for the participants; but they are different
from newsgroups. In a discussion list you (to receive) the mes-
sages directly into your e-mail box. In a newsgroup you read the
articles, i.e., messages (to post) by contributors that (to store) in
one central location.
▪ One-way lists only let you receive messages, not send them.
They are good for busy people who only (to wish) to receive
broadcast information.
▪ Some lists can (to receive) as a periodic "digest". This con-
tains a lot of messages which have been grouped together and
sent as a single message.
▪ Other lists (to restrict) to certain users, requiring specific
qualifications to join them. For example, a list about the science
of stars and planets may be restricted to astronomers.

b) Insert the articles where necessary.

Before you can start receiving messages from ___ list you
need to subscribe to it. This process adds your e-mail address to
the list. If the list is automated (controlled by a computer pro-
gram like listserv, listproc, or majordomo) you usually write in
the body of ___ message: <subscribe listname> where "listname"
is the name of the list. The address has ___ form <major-
domo@address.site> You can quit a mailing list at ___ any time.
To unsubscribe you just need to write <unsubscribe listname> or,
if this doesn't work, try <signoff listname>.
If the list is administered by a person, just send ___ mes-
sage to the human moderator saying something like <please sub-
scribe me to the list>. The address has ___ form <list-
request@address.site>.
Remember that each list has two addresses: (i) ___ adminis-
trative address, used to subscribe and unsubscribe, and (ii) ___ list
address, used to distribute the messages to everyone on the list.
When you join a list, you receive ___ confirmation message
77
and some instructions about how to unsubscribe. Save this infor-
mation, you may need it in ___ future.
Some lists have __ FAQ (frequently asked questions) doc-
ument with the most common questions asked by newbies (new
contributors). Read this file if you have any problem.
Avoid ___ flame wars. Flames are insulting messages di-
rected at each other in discussion forums.
When you go on holiday, remember to unsubscribe from
lists temporarily. Otherwise your ___ mailbox may overflow with
___ messages.
c) Provide Russian equivalents for the following words
and word-combinations:
to receive the messages directly into your e-mail box,
to broadcast information, newbies, flame wars, temporarily, in-
sulting messages, to overflow with messages.

5. Complete the sentences using the texts above (Ex.4 a,b).

Then write the words in the puzzle to discover the missing word.
1. A __________ mailing lists are controlled by a special
computer program.
2. The process of subscribing adds your __________ ad-
dress to the list.
3. A _________ is a type of list that groups individual mes-
sages together and sends them periodically as one message.
4. In newsgroups, the messages posted by contributors are
called "a __________".
5. Insulting or insensitive messages directed at each other in
a discussion forum are known as __________ .
6. New participants in discussion forums are also called
"__________".
7. If you want to get off a mailing list, you just type the
command __________ followed by the name of the list.
8. The lists ___________ by a human moderator usually
have the word "-request" in the address.

78
 6. Match the internet services with their functions.
A B
1.IRC a. sending and receiving messages
2.MOOs b. downloading a file from a server
2.email c. chatting to other users in real-time
3.FTP d. accessing newsgroups
4.WWW e. browsing web pages
5.Telnet f. taking part in simulations in a shared
environment
6.Usenet g. logging on to your computer at a distance

7. ‘Microserfs’ is a novel about a group of young computer

programmers who work for the giant software company, Mi-
crosoft. Here, one of the characters talks about his experience
of e-mail.
a) Read the piece and answer these questions.
1. Why are so many e-mail messages sent at Microsoft?
2. What advantage does e-mail have over answerphone mes-
sages?
3. How much of his e-mail does the writer read?

79
 I've been thinking: I get way too many pieces of e-mail,
about sixty a day. This is a typical number at Microsoft. E-mail is
like high-ways - if you have them, traffic follows.
I'm an e-mail addict. Everybody at Microsoft is an addict
The future of e-mail usage is bang pioneered right here. The cool
thing with e-mail is when you send it, there's no possibility of con-
necting with the person on the other end. It's better than phone an-
swering machines because, with them, the person on the other line
might actually pick up the phone and you might have to talk.
Typically, everybody has about a 40% immediate cull rate -
those pieces of mail you can delete immediately because of a frivo-
lous tag line. What you read of the remaining 60% depends on how
much of a life you have. The less of a life, the more mail you
read.

b) How does the experience of e-mail, described in the pas-

sage above, compare with your experience? Answer the follow-
ing questions:
1. How many pieces of e-mail do you get a day?
2. What percentage of this is useful to you?
3. What percentage of your messages do you delete immedi-
ately?
4. What percentage do you read?
5. What percentage do you save?
6. Do you prefer to write an e-mail or to leave an answer-
phone message? Explain why?
c) Discuss in pairs the way e-mail changed our life. You
can use the ideas given below:
▪ E-mail wastes time.
It saves time
▪ E-mail means that people spend more time at their
desks.
It allows people to have a more flexible working life.
▪ E-mail is now more important than the telephone.
It could never be more important than a telephone.
80
 8. a) Here you will find information about "netiquette", the
etiquette guidelines for sending e-mail and posting messages to
Internet newsgroups.
Netiquette primarily involves any communication you may
send out or receive from the net. These are recommendations, not
rules.
E-mail:
▪ If your Internet access is through a corporate account, check
with your employer about their policy regarding private e-mail.
▪ Don't assume any Internet communication is completely se-
cure. "Never put in a mail message anything you would not put on
a postcard". Likewise, independently verify any suspect mail, as
addresses can be forged.
▪ If you are forwarding or re-posting a message, don't change
the original wording.
▪ If you are replying to a message, quote only the relevant
parts.
▪ Never send chain letters, they are forbidden on the Internet.
Notify you System Administrator if you receive one.
▪ Do not send abusive or heated messages (flames). If you re-
ceive a flame, it is best to ignore it.
▪ Take care with addressing mail.
▪ Allow time for mail to be received, and replied to, keeping
in mind time differences around the world and other people's busy
schedules.
▪ If you want your mail to be read, don't make it too long un-
less the receiver is expecting a verbose message. Over 100 lines is
considered long.
▪ Remember the Internet is a global community, and other
people’s values and outlook on life may be different to your own.
Be tolerant and careful with slang or phrases that may not be un-
derstood in another country.
▪ Use mixed case, UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE
SHOUTING.
▪ Mail should have a subject header that reflects the content of
the message.
81
 ▪ Unsolicited e-mail advertising is unwelcome (and forbidden
in many countries).
▪ When attaching files, don't send any larger than about 50k.
Mailing Lists and NetNews:
▪ Unlike one-on-one e-mail, a large number of people read
newsgroups and subscribe to mailing lists.
▪ It is always a good idea to read what others in the list or
group are saying for a while, to get a feel for the nature of the
list/group, and what is or is not acceptable to the list/group.
▪ If posting to Newsgroups, be aware that many are archived,
and the archives are available for a very long time. Don't say any-
thing that might come back and haunt you years down the track. It
is generally not possible to retrieve messages once they have been
sent.
▪ Be very careful about advertising, some groups welcome it,
most others do not!
▪ Watch for and read any FAQs (Frequently Asked Ques-
tions) before posting a question to the group.
▪ Messages should be concise and relevant to the group. Don't
post messages to inappropriate newsgroups.
▪ Spelling mistakes tend to be the rule rather than the excep-
tion. Questioning someone else's spelling is not good netiquette,
and not necessary unless it occurs in a critical place, like a possi-
bly misspelt URL
▪ Don't get involved in or respond to Flame Wars.
▪ If you find a newsgroup or topic offensive, avoid it. Sending
harassing messages to the group is not only frowned on, it may be
illegal.
▪ Keep private messages private; don't post to the group as
well.
Interactive Services (e.g. Internet Relay Chat - IRC)
▪ Listen to a channel first, to get the feel of what is and is not
acceptable. Above all, respect the culture of the group.
▪ Remember the world is a big place full of very different
people.
▪ If you find a topic that offends you, then don't join it.
82
 ▪ If you find yourself in a channel that becomes offensive to
you, leave it.
▪ Unacceptable behaviour on your part may get you banned
from that server.

b) Do you usually follow the rules of netiquette? Have you

ever faced any problems caused by breaking the rules of neti-
quette? Discuss in pairs.

9. a) Discuss in pairs the following questions:

1. Who is your current ISP?
2. Have you had any problems with them? If so, what are they?
3. What type of internet connection do you have?
4. Is it fast enough for your requirements? If not, how would a
faster connection be useful to you?
5. From where do you usually access the internet?
6. How many hours a week do you spend online?
7. Have you ever done the following things?
a. sent and received emails
b. chatted in real time
c. booked a flight online
d. used your credit or debit card to pay for something over the
internet
e. downloaded a photo from a bulletin board
f. connected to the internet over a wireless connection
g. set up a wireless network in your own home or office
b) Make up a dialogue based on the questions above.

10. a)What features do you think are important to design

a good website?
b)Compare your list with the list given below.
▪ Accuracy
▪ Compatibility
▪ Design
▪ Ease of use
▪ Helpful graphics
83
 ▪ Navigation
▪ Up to date
11. a) Shelley Lowery is the Webmaster of Web-Source.net -
A complete resource portal for the Internet entrepreneur. The
site assists the entrepreneur in developing a serious Web pres-
ence by providing a wealth of free information, resources, tools
and content. Read the article by Shelley Lowery about the ways
to make a good website:
35 DEADLY WEBSITE SINS
THAT WILL KILL YOUR BUSINESS
After reviewing thousands of web sites over the past couple
of years for my Exceptional Sites Award, I have come to the con-
clusion that many business web sites are missing the boat.
For example, I've been working on some offline promotions
and was searching for a simple targeted mailing list. I searched
through about twenty sites and not one of those sites was, what I
would consider, professional. Their standard blue links were en-
larged to about a size 16 font, busy backgrounds, flashing images
and very unorganized.
Did I purchase a mailing list from any of those sites? Abso-
lutely not. Why? The way I see it, if those companies don't take
pride in their web sites, chances are, they won't take pride in their
products either. Large linked text and flashing graphics won't
make sales.
Your web site is a direct reflection of you and your busi-
ness. The appearance of your site is the most important factor in
determining your sites value. In other words, if your site doesn't
look professional or pleasing to the eyes at first glance, its per-
ceived value and the value of your products and services will be
low.
On the other hand, you may have a great web site, well de-
signed and a quality product or service, but if it takes too long to
load, the value will still be perceived as low. Why? Because your
potential customer won't wait. Ultimately costing you business.
Another consideration of great importance is your content.
84
Not just links, but content with value. When someone is surfing
the net and they visit your web site, they're visiting for a reason.
Your site has something they want. Whether it is your product,
service or information, that's why they're there. If they don't find
what they're looking for, they move on to the next site and so on.
If you want your visitors to stay at your site, provide the quality
content they're looking for in a nicely organized fashion. Give
them a reason to want to explore your site and to continue to visit
your site in the future.
After receiving many questions, in regard to site design,
from my visitors who weren't selected to receive an award, I have
devised a list of what I refer to as "35 Deadly Web Site Sins".
- Poor load time
- Poor overall appearance
- Spelling/Grammar
- No contact information
- Poor content
- Poor navigation
- Broken links and graphics
- Poor browser compatibility
- Large slow loading graphics
- Too many graphics
- Pages scrolling to oblivion
- Multiple use of animated graphics
- Animated bullets
- Too many graphic and/or line dividers
- Busy, distracting backgrounds
- Multiple banners and buttons
- Poor use of frames
- Large fonts
- Pop up messages
- Over use of java
- Poor use of tables
- Poor organization
- Different backgrounds on each page
- Over powering music set to autoplay
85
 - Confusing
- Too much advertising
- Large Welcome banners
- Multiple coloured text
- Text difficult to read
- No Meta tags
- Multiple use of different fonts
- Under construction signs
- Scrolling text in the status bar
- Large scrolling text across the page
- Poor use of mouse over effects
Take some time to really look at your site. Compare it to
sites that you feel look professional. Time your sites load time.
Your customers won't wait. Their time is valuable.
The simple, well designed sites make the sales. If your sales
aren't what you had hoped, take some time to seriously evaluate
your site and make some changes before spending your time and
money on advertising and marketing. You may be pleasantly sur-
prised.
by Shelley Lowery
http://www.web-source.net

b) Find the English equivalents for the following words

and word-combinations:
прийти к выводу, адресная рассылка, ссылки, внешний
вид сайта, время загрузки, переходить на другой сайт, совме-
стимость с браузером, медленно загружаемые графические
изображения, разделители, бегущая строка, драгоценное вре-
мя, оценить сайт.

c) Give definitions to:

blue link, flashing image, frame, meta tag, status bar.

d) Answer the questions:

1. What did make the author create the article?
2. What is the goal of the article?
86
 3. Do you agree with the author that most of the sites are
non-professional?
4. What factors do determine the perceived value of any
site (according to the article)?
5. Do you agree with the priority of “Deadly Web Site
Sins” set by the author?

e) Sum up the content of the article.

12. a) Do you think that choice of colours is important for

your site? Read the article and compare the author’s opinion
with your own one.
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR WEB-SITE COLOURS
Colour is often overlooked in the business of optimizing
websites for better returns on investments. Website sales can be
greatly affected by simply changing its colours. Ever come across
a website that uses some funky combination of print and back-
ground colours? If you ever want to experience an eye-twisting
headache, try reading yellow print on a blue background. The rea-
son you see black type on a white background so much is that it is
the best colour combination for reading, both on and offline.
And since it is even harder to read text on a monitor than it
is on paper, we must all be especially careful with the colours we
choose for our websites, or suffer less-than-optimal site traffic
and repeat visitors.
Colour choice should also be dictated by other, less obvious
goals, when designing or re-vamping a website. It's important to
realize that different colours invoke different emotions, are asso-
ciated with specific concepts and say different things in each so-
ciety. For instance, green often times is associated with freshness
or money, which is fairly obvious if you think about it. But every
colour does this, and some of the emotions and concepts are more
subtle. For example, white means pure, easy, or goodness and
purple can be associated with royalty or sophistication. What’s
more, each colour carries with it both positive and negative ideas.
The emotions and concepts that you associate with specific col-
87
ours may differ from other people's associations, but there are
themes that run throughout each colour. Here are some:
Positive Negative
Red Sense of power, strength, Anger, forcefulness, im-
passion pulsiveness, impatience,
intimidation, conquest,
violence and revenge
Yellow Caution, brightness, intel- Criticism, laziness, or cyn-
ligence, joy, organization, icism
spring time
Blue Tranquillity, love, ac- Fear, coldness, passivity
ceptance, patience, under- and depression
standing, cooperation,
comfort, loyalty and secu-
rity
Orange Steadfastness, courage, Ignorance, inferiority,
confidence, friendliness, sluggishness and superior-
and cheerfulness, warmth, ity
excitement, & energy
Purple Royalty, sophistication, Bruised, foreboding
religion
Green Money, health, food, na- Envy, greed, constriction,
ture, hope, growth, fresh- guilt, jealousy and disor-
ness, soothing, sharing, der
and responsiveness
White Pure, fresh, easy, cleanli- Blind, winter, cold, distant
ness or goodness
Black Dramatic, classy, commit- Evil, death, ignorance,
ted, serious coldness

By choosing the colours of our websites and online media

with deliberate care, we are purposefully trying to invoke a spe-
cific emotional response that will increase sales. So pick your
colours carefully.
Not only do colours evoke emotions, but they can com-
88
municate messages or concepts too. For example, look to see how
colour is used to communicate the new affiliation between Oak
Web Works, LLC and ClickitTicket.com. The blues of Oak Web
Works’s logo swirl into the reds of ClickitTicket.com’s logo. This
can be interpreted as a melding of the two organizations, which is
what the words underneath say, “in affiliation with”. Also, the red
of indicates action and passion, two essentials for people who
want to attend theatre, sporting events or concerts.
Another online ticket website has a different colour ap-
proach. Its main colours are blue and purple, giving the site a
comforting, secure and sophisticated feel. The main header on
each page has all the colours in the rainbow in it, a collage of im-
ages, with the word ‘Tickets’ in large, white font. Much of the
site is white too, which gives it a clean feel.
As a general rule of thumb, when Oak Web Works designs
websites, one primary colour and one secondary or complimen-
tary colour will be chosen. These colours are based on the specific
audience and market of our client and the messages the client
wants to communicate to the rest of the world. If more than two
or three colours are used, things tend to look a little messy, and
the power of any one colour is diluted too much, so we most often
stick with two colours.
When I am not sure exactly which colours or combinations
to use, I often start trying different things, then take a step back
and ask myself what my chosen colours are conveying to me. Af-
ter designing many websites over the years I have realized that
going with my gut has often worked when I’m in doubt. You
would be surprised at how creative and accurate your intuition
can be.
However, if the client already has an established brand, we
will always make sure to match the colours of the website with
the original colours of the company. It is not wise to have print
collateral material one colour and the website a totally unrelated
colour. All marketing channels need to remain consistent, with
one face only.
Since website visitors all have different platforms, different
89
monitors, and different settings for their screen resolutions, the
colours you choose for your website may not always be rendered
the exact same way on your site visitors' monitors. That's why
there are "Web Safe" colours that have a much higher likelihood
of looking the exact same regardless of the user's computer, moni-
tor or settings. Many graphics programs, including Adobe Pho-
toshop, have a feature that allows you to choose “Web Safe” col-
ours only.
Keep in mind however, that the sophistication of technology
today allows for Web designers to be able to stray from the "Web
Safe" colours more and more. So don't be overly concerned if you
choose to use “un-safe’ Web colours, chances are that most of
your audience has the computers necessary to view your site the
exact way you intended.
Whether you are designing sites for clients or designing
your own business website, your colour choice is vital. Be sure to
try different colours, different shades, and different combinations
before you decide. It’s a lot of fun playing with colours but every
choice you make comes with a set of pre-defined societal mean-
ings and emotions, so choose with deliberate care.
b) Provide Russian equivalents for the following words
and word-combinations:
to optimize websites , to suffer less-than-optimal site traffic,
repeat visitors , re-vamping a website, subtle, to pick colours care-
fully, a collage of images, messy, diluted, to stick with two col-
ours, established brand, on your site visitors' monitors, be ren-
dered, on your site visitors' monitors, to stray from, pre-defined
societal meanings and emotions, choose with deliberate care.
c) Answer the questions:
1. What is the best (worst) combination of colours for
background and type (according to the article)?
2. What does the author advice to do in the case we are
not sure which colours to use?
3. What are “Web Safe” colours?
4. Why should we choose colours for websites with
deliberate care?
90
 d) If you have the website of your own, describe the col-
ours you used and the reasons for that choice. Write a short es-
say.

13. a) Visit the site of your university and get the idea of
its design. Then answer the questions:
1. What colours are used for its design? What colour is
used for its background, type, logo?
2. Did you like the choice of used colours? Why?
3. Would you like to change any of the colours? Give
your arguments.
b) Discuss these questions in pairs.

14. Translate the following into English:

1. При разработке веб-сайта, многие веб-дизайнеры
недооценивают значение цвета. Цветовая палитра играет
важную роль при создании профессионального сайта, кото-
рый в дальнейшем принесет успех вашей компании.
2. Читать текст с монитора намного сложнее, чем с
бумаги, поэтому вам следует грамотно подбирать цвета для
сайта, чтобы сделать процесс чтения легким и приятным.
3. С помощью цвета можно влиять на чувства и эмо-
ции посетителя сайта, передавать ощущение комфорта, рас-
слабления, доверия или наоборот.
4. К сожалению, веб-браузеры могут оперировать
только 256 цветами, а некоторые и того меньше - всего 216.
Если вы хотите, чтобы выбранный вами цвет одинаково про-
сматривался всеми пользователями, то следует выбирать его
из палитры в 216 цветов.
5. Создавая ваш сайт, вам следует ориентироваться на
вашу целевую аудиторию: если вы продаете игрушки, то ро-
зовый и голубой прекрасно подойдут вашему сайту.
6. Не стоит использовать более чем 2-3 основных цве-
та для оформления страницы. Для всех страниц сайта можно
использовать один фоновый цвет. Не стоит использовать
слишком яркие цвета для отдельных частей сайта.
91
 7. Если компания, для которой вы делаете дизайн сай-
та, уже имеет свой логотип, убедитесь, что цвет логотипа
совпадает с общей цветовой гаммой.
8. Сочетаемость цветов играет первостепенную роль.
Пользователю должно быть приятно зайти на сайт и работать
с ним.
9. Некоторые цветовые сочетания являются крайне
неудачными, например желтый текст на голубом фоне. Вот
почему черный текст на белом фоне является наиболее при-
емлемым и удобным для чтения.
10. Белый цвет является идеальным для фона страни-
цы. Черный цвет наиболее употребляем дизайнерами для
отображения текста, хотя он абсолютно неуместен как фоно-
вый.
11. Голубой – второй по популярности цвет среди веб-
дизайнеров. Он ассоциируется со стабильностью и насыщен-
ностью.
12. Любой веб-дизайнер стремиться сделать веб-
страницы интерактивными, а интерактивность зависит от
корректного выбора цвета для веб-сайта. Цветовые сочетания
влияют на наши чувства, восприятие, взаимодействия.
15. Sum up the content of the following text, using the
opening phrases (Unit I, Ex.4).
Отправив e-mail по ошибке, вы рискуете попасть в не-
ловкую ситуацию или лишиться работы.
В мире, где ежесекундно рассылается порядка двух
миллионов электронных писем, неудивительно, что некото-
рые из нас забыли о "нетикете" – этикете в сети – и допус-
кают промахи различной степени тяжести.
Британская компания officebroker.com, ведущий маклер
офисных площадей, предлагает список самых неприятных
оплошностей, которые можно допустить в деловой перепис-
ке.
– Коммерческий директор одной компании случайно
отправил детали о зарплате сотрудника в общую рассылку по
92
компании. Осознав свой промах, он поднял пожарную трево-
гу, чтобы все покинули офис, а он мог обойти все компьюте-
ры и стереть отправленную информацию в каждом из них.
– Одна компания включила в список адресатов общей
рассылки 24 тысячи человек. Многие из них, вероятно, так и
не добрались до текста письма, утомившись от прокручива-
ния списка адресатов.
Чаще всего опрошенные люди просто путали электрон-
ные адреса. «Ответить всем», как выяснилось, – едва ли не
самая коварная ловушка. Кнопку «Переслать», впрочем, тоже
освоили не все.
У вас плохая память на имена? Едва ли не самый рас-
пространенный «ляп», по наблюдениям Office Life, заключа-
ется в том, что при отправке одинакового текста нескольким
адресатам, люди забывают поменять имя получателя. А ино-
гда ошибки делаются и в своем собственном имени.
По подсчетам, каждую минуту в мире совершается око-
ло 42 подобных «проколов». В связи с этим, неудивительно,
что многим из нас приходится сталкиваться с «электронным
ужасом».
E-mail, безусловно, наиболее предпочтительный способ
коммуникации, но ключ к успеху заключается в следующем:
1. Сбавьте темпы. Написав письмо, отдышитесь, пере-
читайте его и только потом нажимайте на кнопку "Отпра-
вить".
2. Отвечая на чье-то письмо, спросите себя – хотите ли
вы ответить только отправителю или всем – нажав не на ту
клавишу, вы можете навлечь на себя большие проблемы.
3. Пересылая кому-то письмо, содержащее предыдущую
переписку, прокрутите немного вниз и убедитесь, что там не
содержится ничего такого, чего не стоит видеть вашему адре-
сату.
4. Будьте аккуратнее, пересылая шуточные письма –
ваш адресат может не понять юмора, особенно если эта шут-
ка носит оскорбительный характер.
5. Не пишите письма ОДНИМИ ЗАГЛАВНЫМИ БУК-
93
ВАМИ, потому что получателю может показаться, что ВЫ
НА НЕГО ОРЕТЕ.
6. Рабочий электронный ящик следует использовать
только для рабочей переписки – письма, написанные с этого
адреса рассматриваются как корпоративная коммуникация, и
могут просматриваться.
Поэтому остановитесь, подумайте, а потом подумайте
еще раз – и только когда вы будете полностью уверены, что с
вашим электронным письмом все в порядке, и оно будет от-
правлено точно по адресу, можете нажать на клавишу "От-
править".

16. Render the article in English.

ИНТЕРНЕТ-ЗАВИСИМОСТЬ
За последние 20 лет Интернет заполнил собой профес-
сиональную и обыденную жизнь миллионов, а то и миллиар-
дов людей. На сегодняшний день вряд ли найдется среди ва-
шего окружения человек, не имеющий аккаунта в социальной
сети (а то и нескольких). Так или иначе, каждый из нас гре-
шен: возвращаясь с работы, готовим или наскоро съедаем
вкусный ужин, а далее идем "на прогулку" в свой виртуаль-
ный мир. Мало кто не засиживается по вечерам у компьюте-
ра, просматривая новости своих "виртуальных" друзей, ли-
стая фото и попутно выставляя одобрительные значки кли-
ком мышки. А если человеку требуется отыскать какую-либо
информацию на просторах всемирной сети - тогда совсем
пиши пропало. Ты заходишь в интернет, думая, что всего на
час, а на самом деле тебя затягивает и проходит в 2, а то и в
3-4 раза больше запланированного времени.
Большинство людей зарабатывают себе на жизнь акка-
унтами в Фейсбуке, Вконтакте, Инстраграме, проживая в ин-
тернет-реальности не только вечера, а все 24 часа в сутки.
Многим и этого бывает мало! Их, безусловно, можно понять:
они сами выбрали такой путь, это - их "хлеб". Так, конечно,
проще рассказать о себе миру, прорекламировать свои спо-
собности и достижения. И всё это занимает достаточное ко-
94
личество твоего рабочего дня: время, проведенное за компь-
ютером, улетает, казалось бы, совсем незаметно...
Этот вопрос уже долгое время волновал российских и
зарубежных ученых-психологов. Интернет-зависимость по
мнению ученых ‒ это широкое понятие, обозначающее ряд
проблем контроля, поведения над влечениями, которые про-
являются в процессе использования электронной сети.
При множестве наименований этой зависимости уче-
ные, всё же, едины в определении поведенческих характери-
стик, которыми можно охарактеризовать этот феномен. От-
мечаются нежелание, неспособность отвлечься от работы в
Интернете и прекратить её; появление досады, негативных
реакций, которые возникают при вынужденном отвлечении
от работы; появляется стремление проводить за работой в
интернете всё больше времени; возникает склонность забы-
вать о домашних делах и о работе вне компьютерного про-
странства; нежелание принимать критику со стороны; готов-
ность мириться с разрушением семьи, потерей сна и своего
здоровья; постоянное забывание о полноценных приемах
пищи и злоупотребление кофеиносодержащими средствами.
Эти характеристики как нельзя кстати подходят под
определение большинства подростков: многие из них, прихо-
дя домой из школы, бросают портфель в коридоре и, сломя
голову, бегут в свою комнату, чтобы поскорее сесть за ком-
пьютер. И им не важно, что каждые 5 минут родители напо-
минают им о несделанных уроках, о несъеденном ужине и о
забытых домашних делах, ‒ для них существует только здесь
и сейчас ‒ интернет. Всё это, на первый взгляд, не так тра-
гично и вроде бы ничего серьезного не предвещает...но кто
это может гарантировать?
На сегодняшний день актуальность исследования про-
блемы интернет-зависимости становится всё более очевид-
ной, это связано с увеличением роста количества интернет-
пользователей в России и по всему миру. Со стремительным
развитием всемирной паутины феномен интернет-
зависимости постоянно видоизменяется и требует дальней-
95
шего изучения, в том числе методами психологического ис-
следования, поскольку за проявлениями описываемой про-
блемы нередко могут прятаться и другие зависимости или же
психические отклонения.
Изучение индивидуально-психологических особенно-
стей людей, которые имеют склонность к интернет-
зависимости, является очень важным, нужно вовремя увидеть
тревожные звонки в поведении человека и помочь ему спра-
виться с этой проблемой.
Но всё же очевидно, что нельзя настаивать на однознач-
ной вредности использования Интернет-ресурсов. Транспорт
может быть как средством передвижения, так и, при ряде
сложившихся обстоятельств, средством, калечащим людей.
Но почему-то ещё никому не пришло в голову запретить вы-
пуск автомобилей и передвигаться с помощью конных упря-
жек. Дело не в предметах, а только в том, как, кем и с какой
целью они используются. Иными словами, всё должно быть в
меру.
http://sci-article.ru/stat.php?i=1448556116

17. Render the article in English.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ИНТЕРНЕТ-ТОРГОВЛИ
Как же правильно организовать свою торговлю? Что
нужно для этого сделать? Что при этом нужно учитывать?
Торговля в глобальной сети является одним из самых попу-
лярных и высокоуспешных видов бизнеса на сегодняшний
день. И если у вас появилось желание организовать свой Ин-
тернет-бизнес - вы сделали правильный выбор. Но нужно не
забывать, что одного желания не достаточно, нужно иметь
хотя бы минимальные знания об этом и понимать, что же всё-
таки вы должны делать для того что бы начать свое дело в
Интернет-торговле.
Чем же так привлекают интернет-магазины? Интер-
нет-магазины удобны не только продавцам, но и покупате-
лям. Для покупателей, это, в первую очередь, возможность
комфортабельного выбора, большого ассортимента, удобной
96
оплаты, и быстрой доставки. Сегодня не нужно бегать по го-
роду в поисках нужного магазина, простаивать в очередях и
сталкиваться с проблемами доставки купленных вещей. С
интернет-магазинами можно почувствовать всю прелесть вы-
соких технологий для экономии своего времени.
Для продавцов же, это возможность открытия соб-
ственного магазина, без затрат территориального плана и,
конечно, торговля без границ. Только представьте, во сколь-
ко вам обойдется содержание физической торговой точки,
которая могла бы обслуживать покупателей на протяжении
24 часов в сутки. Интернет-магазин работает круглосуточно
(при достаточно качественной поддержке хостинг-
провайдера конечно) и при этом вы тратитесь только за вир-
туальное место на сервере с вашим сайтом, стоимость кото-
рого обычно не превышает 300 рублей за месяц. Стоит ли го-
ворить, что затраты на содержания персонала для такого вир-
туального магазина могут быть снижены в несколько раз, по
сравнению с магазином физическим. При этом вы полностью
от проблем, связанных с ремонтно-техническим обслужива-
нием здания и помещений, в которых обычно располагаются
магазины.
Теперь начнём составлять стратегию создания нового
бизнеса. Самое первое - найти площадку для будущих про-
даж, ведь в любой торговле, будь то реальная или виртуаль-
ная без неё не обойтись. В нашем случае, виртуальном, пло-
щадка - это сайт. И этот сайт должен быть привлекателен для
будущих клиентов. Он не должен быть сложным в навигации
и обзоре, при этом любым покупки, производимые на нем
должны осуществляться быстро и надёжно. Кроме того, дол-
жен существовать удобный поиск, чтобы любой пользователь
мог без затруднений найти интересующий его товар.
Помимо этого, нужно обеспечить всё, для лёгкой и
быстрой оплаты, создать несколько вариантов оплаты, то
есть не только банковские переводы, но и такие платёжные
системы как Web Money и Qiwi. Ну и, конечно же, разные
способы доставки с учетом различных регионов или террито-
97
рий.
Когда ваш Интернет-магазин создан, появляется новая
задача - найти клиентов. Большую роль в этом плане играет
оптимизация контента на сайте и его раскрутка в глобальной
сети. Для начала советую, обратиться к профессионалам, то
есть людям, профессионально занимающимся привлечением
целевых посетителей на ваш сайт. Они помогут разобраться с
оптимизацией для поисковых систем, с вирусным маркетин-
гом, с рекламой, как баннерной, так и контекстной и т.д. Ко-
нечно, это обойдётся в достаточно хорошую сумму, но, как
известно без рекламы никуда, а эффект от такой раскрутки не
заставит себя долго ждать и при грамотном применении до-
статочно скоро покроет все затраты на создание Интернет-
магазина и его рекламных компаний.
Удачи вам в торговле! И не забывайте о правильном
подходе к клиенту.
http://inetedu.ru/articles/15-e-commerce/91-internet-trade.html

98
 UNIT 5
C O M P U T E R CR I M E A N D S E C U R I T Y

VOCABULARY
Memorise the following words and word-combinations:
cracker encryption anti-virus software
defacing decryption computer fraud
firewall junk email software piracy
hacker macro virus public key cryptography
hijacking mail bombing denial of service attack
spoofing password to break into a computer system
spyware piggybacking to crack
trapdoor pop-up ad to encode
virus security risks to hack
worm salami shaving to protect

TEXT
COMPUTER HACKING – HIGH-TECH CRIME
You can rob a bank without leaving the house these days.
Who needs stocking masks, guns and getaway cars? If you are a
computer whiz-kid, you could grab your first million armed with
nothing more dangerous than a personal computer, a telephone
and a modem to connect them.
All you have to do is dial into the networks that link the
computers in large organisations together, type in a couple of
passwords, rummage about to the information that’s stored there
to your heart’s content.
Fortunately it isn't always quite as easy as it sounds. But, as
more and more information is processed and stored on computer,
whether it's details of your bank account or the number of tins of
baked beans in the stockroom at the supermarket, computer crime
seems set to grow.
A couple of months ago a newspaper reported that five Brit-
ish banks were being held to ransom by a gang of hackers who
had managed to break into their computer. The hackers were de-
manding money in return for revealing exactly how they did it. In
cases like this, banks may consider paying just so they can protect
99
themselves better in the future.
No one knows exactly how much money is stolen by key-
board criminals — banks and other companies tend to be very se-
cretive if it happens to them. It doesn't exactly fill customers with
confidence if they think their bank account can be accessed by
anyone with a PC! Some experts believe that only around a tenth
of all computer crimes are actually reported. Insurance company
Hogg Robinson estimate that computer frauds cost British com-
panies an incredible £.400 million a year.
Most computer crimes are 'inside jobs', where staff with ac-
cess to the company's computers fiddle with the records.
A comparatively small amount are committed by the more
glamorous – and head-line-grabbing – hackers.
The true hacker, it seems, doesn't do it for financial gain.
The thrill appears to be, not in getting rich, but in beating the sys-
tem. Two of Britain's most notorious hackers are Nicholas 'Mad
Hacker' Whiteley and Edward Singh. The renegade pair have
been the scourge of organisations with insecure computers for
years, seemingly competing for the title of Britain's best hacker.
Whiteley's hacking days came to an abrupt halt in June, when the
21-year-old was sent to prison for four months for damaging
computer discs, Edward Singh first came to public attention after
claiming that he had hacked into American and British govern-
ment and military computers. 'It has never been my intention to
steal anything,' said Singh. 'I really see myself as a highly skilled
software engineer. 'His mission seems to be to prove just how in-
secure their systems are.
As with everything else, hackers start young in the States. A
12-year-old boy in Detroit was accused of entering a company's
credit rating computer and distributing the numbers he found
there. His mother told reporters that he spent up to 14 hours on his
computer during the weekend. 'He didn't bother me,' she said. 'I
figured, computer, that's the thing of the day.'
Last month, two New York teenagers, one aged 14 and one
aged 17, were charged with breaking into a computer system
owned by a company that publishes computer magazines. They
100
are alleged to have changed polite recorded greetings to rude
messages, added bomb threats and wiped advertisers' orders.
Customers linked into the system only to be told that "Daffy
Duck is not available'! The company estimates that the tampering
has cost $2.4 million. Prevention is probably easier than detec-
tion, and many companies now spend lots of time and money de-
vising programmes, using passwords and codes. Of course, all
this is no use at all if computer users tell each other their pass-
word, stick it on their screen so they don't forget it or use pass-
words like 'password'. It all happens. There are plenty of software
companies who specialise in writing software that make comput-
ers hacker-proof. One company in the States set out to prove that
its system can defeat hackers by asking over 2,000 of them to try
to hack in. The hackers were given two weeks to discover the se-
cret message stored on two PCs in offices in New York and San
Francisco. The message reads: 'The persistent hunter who wins
his prize sooner or later becomes the hunted.' You'll be relieved
— or perhaps disappointed — to learn that not one hacker man-
aged it.
From: Focus on Proficiency. By Sue O'Connell

EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Give Russian equivalents for the following words and word-
combinations:
keyboard criminals, to fiddle with smth., for financial gain, to
beat the system, notorious hackers, scourge, insecure computers,
abrupt halt, to claim, to be accused of, to be charged with, tamper-
ing, detection, hacker-proof.

2. Find in the text words or phrases which mean the same as:
expert (especially at a young age), search through, as much
as you want, to be called up on a computer screen, to make small
changes/to interfere with, rebellious/lawless, to cause a lot of
trouble to, aim in life, removed completely, to interfere with
(without permission).

101
 3. Complete these statements using the information of
the Text.
1. Banks may pay computer criminals …
a to give back information they have stolen.
b to explain what their technique is.
с not to commit the same crime again.
d not to pass on information they have stolen.

2. Companies don't always report computer crime because

they…
a think it would create bad publicity.
b don't expect the criminals to be caught.
с don't want the police to investigate.
d think the criminals commit the same crime again.

3. The computer hackers' motive seems to be …

a to win a competition.
b to make a lot of money.
c to overcome a challenge.
d to appear in the newspapers.

4. The mother of the 12-year-old hacker in Detroit …

a had been worried about the time her son spent at his
computer.
b thought her son's interest in his computer was normal.
с had been involved in her son's criminal activity,
d had tried to prevent her son's criminal activity.
5. What was the result of one software company's attempt to
prove that its security systems were effective?
a It was a complete success.
b It was a partial success.
с It was a failure.
d The results were inconclusive.
4. Sum up the content of the text, using the opening phrases
(Unit I, Ex.4).
102
 5. a) Insert the articles where necessary.
In the movies, brilliant good-looking kids are able to break
into ___ other peoples' computers just by typing some nonsense at
___ keyboard and luckily guessing a password. In real life, that's
___ impossible. Even if you leave your computer on and connect-
ed to ___ Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nobody can log
into your computer and rummage around through your files. No-
body can steal stuff off your hard disk. Such things never happen,
because they can't happen, despite what ___ media tells you.
There is ___ form of hacking, however, that's worth protect-
ing yourself against. It's computer-to-computer hacking, where
one computer (which we'll call an ad server) manages to get irri-
tating messages and pop-up ads onto your screen. Or worse yet,
___ worm like the infamous Blaster Worm that managed to infect
thousands of computers ___ few months ago. In both cases,
though, there is no human "looking around" your computer and
stealing stuff. The hacker is, instead, just another computer who
doesn't know (or care) who you are, where you are, or what's in
your computer. It's just trying to make some money for its un-
scrupulous owners.
There are some simple things you can do to prevent any and
all forms of hacking. Those include:
Never purchase anything from ___ pop-up ad or e-mail
message. When you see ___ "threatening" messages like either of
___ examples below, ignore them. Both of those are bald-faced
lies, and there is no need to purchase whatever product they're
hawking.
Use ___ pop-up blocker to prevent pop-up ads. If you're us-
ing Windows XP, turn off the Alerter message service to prevent
the Messenger Service ads like the example above.
If you're using ___ Windows XP, make sure you've enabled
its Internet Connection Firewall (ICF).
Install and use anti-virus software. ___ virus can "punch a
hole" through your firewall from the inside, thereby allowing stuff
that would otherwise be blocked to get into your computer.
Keep your copy of Windows up-to-date, so you always have
103
___ latest security enhancements.
Keep your computer safe from ___ hackers, ___ worms, and
all other types of ___ security risks!
By Alan Simpson
http://www.coolnerds.com/Newbies/Fear/hackFear/hackfear.html.

b) Find in the text above English equivalents for the fol-

lowing words and word-combinations:
рыться в файлах, межкомпьютерное хакерство, всплы-
вающая реклама, без моральных убеждений, наглая ложь,
охотиться за, отключать сервис предупреждений, брандмау-
эр.

c) Read the text above once more and make the list of
measures you should take to keep your computer safe.

6. Skim-read the article about the software that can protect

you from annoying pop-up ads. Then fill the gaps with the
words in the box.
risk free, medium, increase, recording, speed up, trace, privacy,
report, freeze, disturbing, decrease, unwanted, combines, ad-
vertisers

INTELLIGENT POP-UP AD KILLER

We find more and more people turning to popup ad killers
to ____ their download times and increase browsing speed.
Popup ads usually contain animation or other software,
which _____ the Internet access speeds, and usually the size and
complexity of popup ads, make the problem worse. Hence there is
a greater demand for popup ad killer software.
Popup Bullet is an efficient popup ad killer that can elimi-
nate these annoying pop up ads, from your surfing day and _____
your surfing speed tremendously.
Popup Bullet software is a little intelligent popup ad killer
that apart from intelligently blocking the _____ popup ads also
can stop the advertisers from stealthily collecting information
104
from your system.
We often hear that Internet advertising servers ____ the
online activity of net users, record their names, purchases, and
addresses for direct target marketing. Popup ads act as a _____
for these ad servers to collect such information.
A typical Internet advertising server _____ data collected on
web user activities with direct marketing to target users better.
But the whole exercise infringes the user's _____ . It is annoying
to know that some one is _____ your online activity, your credit
card number, your personal preferences, what you watch, what
you buy. To get rid of these unscrupulous _____ and protect your
privacy, popup ad killers protect your privacy by effectively
blocking these popup ads.
Popup Bullet is an intelligent popup ad killer, which pro-
vides a _____ surfing experience.
Increasingly, a significant number of spy ware gets installed
on your systems through popup ads, a recent _____ on the inter-
net showed that 62% of the net users felt strongly that popup ads
interfere with their web activities. They slow down the work,
cause distraction, and on some occasions they _____ the system
completely when many popup windows come up. Popup ad killer
software mitigates these problems to a great extent by effectively
blocking annoying popup ads successfully.
Let Popup Bullet, an intelligent popup ad killer act on those
popup ads and save you from a _____ net user experience.
Our popup ad killer - Popup Bullet focuses on displaying
user specified popup ads without releasing personal information
about the user.
7. Read about the factors leading to a rise in demand for
pop up ad blocker software. Open the brackets, putting the verbs
in the correct form.
Threat to internet security & privacy: As the Internet (to
bring) about rapid change in the way we communicate, and do
business. It also created imbalance in security and privacy of the
Internet user. We shall look into some of the privacy risks people
105
(to face) when they use Internet.
A net user (to intend) to purchase a book from an online
bookstore (to use) his credit card; he (to select) the book, (to
read) some reviews and (to make) the purchase. This completes
the transaction. (At least for the online buyer), however the buyer
starts (to receive) unsolicited mail from several online bookstores.
How did this happen? The online bookstore recorded every click
and every key the user pressed while (to browse) its site and
stored the information in the company’s database, and created a
profile of the user and his preferences. When (to collect) and (to
analyze), this information suddenly becomes valuable to certain
people. The bookstore can use this online profile to anticipate us-
er needs and promote goods and services that might interest him.
But the bookstore (can) also sell his profile to other companies
that might want to promote similar products directly to him.
While gathering personal information in order to respond di-
rectly to user specific interests exemplifies modern customer-
centric approach in marketing, it’s also a blatant invasion of web
user’s privacy. Many people (to find) that this invasion of person-
al privacy an unavoidable evil of using the internet.
We can (to find) certain infrastructure providers those who
can actually create cookies that (to be) visible on multiple sites.
Contrary to the popular notion that cookies are computer pro-
grams which (to sit) on user computer gathering information
about him and everything he (to do) on the Internet.
A cookie is a piece of text that a web server can (to store) on
a user’s hard disk. Cookies (to allow) a Web site to store infor-
mation on a user’s machine and later (to retrieve) it. The pieces of
information (to store) as name-value pairs.
A name-value pair is simply a named piece of data. It is not
a program, and it cannot “do” anything to the user’s machine. A
Web site can (to retrieve) only the information that it (to place)
on your machine. It cannot retrieve information from other cookie
files, or any other information from your machine.

106
 8. Now read about the role of pop up ad stopper software
in safeguarding user’s privacy. Supply the prepositions from the
box.

with, from, from, through, through,

to, to, on, in, for, of, of, beyond

Some pop up ad stopper software installs a modified proxy

server ___ user computer and ___ user specified instructions it
routes HTTP requests ___ this proxy server.
___ other words, the pop up ad blocker software checks
each request ___ data if it is being sent ___ the URL of a speci-
fied ad server. Instead ___ passing the request the pop up ad stop-
per program blocks the request. Thus the ad request never makes
it ___ the ad server and the browser cannot display the popup ad.
More sophisticated pop up ad blocker software goes ___
simply blocking out certain user specified data requests coming
___ the browser. Some pop up ad stopper software actually can
modify the HTML and JavaScript code ___ a requested page as it
passes ____ the proxy server in order to remove JavaScript code
that creates popup ads. Use ___ a proxy has the potential to dam-
age your internet connection. Popup Bullet does not use this.
www.popbullet.com

9. What other programmes can be used to protect your

computer from pop-up ads? Use additional sources of infor-
mation.

10. a) Read the article about a USB drive that can help you
protect your data.
PRIVACY IN A VERY SMALL PACKAGE
These days, almost every store that sells PCs has a section
dedicated to the newest must-have gadget: those ubiquitous key-
chain-size USB storage devices that can hold from 256MB to
8GB of data. But USB drives are more than a storage phenome-
non. The tiny devices can enhance your privacy as well.

107
 For example, if you want to keep your e-mail messages on a
shared computer away from prying eyes, you can install and run
your e-mail application on a USB drive and store all its mail fold-
ers there, making it a cinch to secure all your correspondence
when you go.
Or you can use privacy-enhancing software installed on a
USB drive to make the applications you use on your desktop
more private.
The application routes Internet Explorer's cookies, its histo-
ry and favorites files, and even the browser's cache onto your
USB drive, ensuring that no one can look at your Web-browsing
history without having access to your USB drive. You simply pop
in your drive and run the P.I. Protector program (P.I. in this case
stands for Personal Information).
USBDrive Professional sells a suite of four applications,
some with very direct uses in protecting your privacy. The apps
raise the price of USB Drive devices by $20.
One of the programs, USB Secure ZIP, encrypts and com-
presses documents. USB Lock turns the drive itself into a key.
When you remove the drive, the software locks down your PC for
a period ranging from 10 minutes to 24 hours, which is helpful if
you have sensitive documents on a work computer. The only way
to unlock the computer before the time limit expires is to put the
same USB Drive device back in place. Finally, USB Mail imports
your PC's default e-mail client settings and gives you a basic,
password-protected user interface to your e-mail in-box.
With the exception of USB Mail, whose interface is a little
too spare for most users, all these programs are useful, and they
provide powerful privacy protection that fits in the palm of your
hand.
by Andrew Brandt
From the February 2003 issue of PC World magazine
b) Explain the way the USB drive protects privacy. What is
necessary for that?
11. Have you ever been annoyed by spam? How many
spamming messages do you get every day? What are you doing
108
about it?
a) Now read the article that gives view on the threat of
spam.
SPAM WITH EVERYTHING
A:
Spam - unsolicited commercial email - has become the
scourge of the internet age. Every day millions of unwanted mes-
sages are sent to individuals all over the world in an attempt to get
them to buy products or services. And usually these messages are
of a dubious nature, featuring money-making schemes, gambling
offers or links to pornography websites.
Research conducted by Gartner in 1999 found that 25 per
cent of spam is 'adult' while a further 37 per cent consists of 'get
rich quick' schemes.
The spam problem is born from the fact that it costs the
sender very little. In fact, no other form of advertising costs the
advertiser so little and the recipient so much. One million email
addresses can cost as little as 63p and one million spams take
about four hours to send by dial-up at a cost of only £2.40.
This makes spam purely and simply a numbers game, as the
sender can make a profit if just one person buys a product or ser-
vice covering the dial-up cost and the amount paid for the list of
email addresses.
To make matters worse, spam is extremely difficult to trace
back to the sender as the perpetrators take steps to hide their
genuine email address.
B:
Spam is currently a bigger problem in the US than in Eu-
rope. In the US, spam has already proved very costly in both time
and money to ISPs, businesses and consumers.
One major ISP reported receiving 1.8 million spams a day
from a promotions company until it obtained an injunction. Work-
ing on the assumption that each user spent 10 seconds identifying
and discarding spam, a total of 5,000 hours per day of connection
time was being wasted via just one ISP.
109
 The European Commission estimated in 2001 that the cost
of spam globally was £6.4bn a year in connection charges alone -
an average of nearly £12 per person among the world's 544 mil-
lion internet subscribers.
Unfortunately, the situation can only get worse. The longer
you keep the same email address the greater the probability of
getting spammed. Jupiter estimates that 268 billion advertising
email messages will be sent in 2005 - representing 22 times great-
er volume than in 2000.
In addition, many online marketers are known to be devel-
oping engines capable of serving 100 million messages per day -
a capacity the EU estimates could soon expose consumers to
3,000 marketing emails daily.
C:
The war against spam is being waged on three fronts - via
the law, social solutions such as activist groups, and computer
science.
There have been various attempts at passing laws or adapt-
ing existing laws in an attempt to control a deteriorating situation.
Unfortunately, merely passing a law is not enough to prevent a
problem.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that
spammers can be very hard to track down and the costs of subse-
quently mounting a successful prosecution can be inordinate. It
also makes the assumption that the sender of unwanted email is
within the law's jurisdiction. Spam, however, is an international
problem as each and every mass email can make its way to many
different countries.
On the social front some ISPs and activists have got togeth-
er to create public lists of known offenders, which can include
ISPs that have been deemed guilty of allowing unwanted email to
pass through their systems. But there has been some controversy
over the effectiveness of this approach, particularly since it is
quite easy for even a well-run ISP to unwittingly harbour a
spammer for a short period.
D:
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 ▪ Beware of purchasing spam-advertised products.
Aside from encouraging spammers, this makes more personally
identifiable information (e.g. name, address, phone number, credit
card numbers, etc.) available to them. It will also guarantee that
you will get more spam.
▪ Refrain from using the reply or remove option. Some
senders may remove your address, but others may flag your email
address as 'live' and send you more spam or even sell your ad-
dress to other spammers.
▪ Use a public email address while online. Set up and
use a public email address, which may either be an additional ad-
dress from your ISP or a free web-based email address. Use this
email address when participating in newsgroups, joining contests
or anytime that your email is requested by a third party online.
Potential spam will go to your public email address instead of
your private email address.
Don't post your email address online. You'd be surprised
how often you use your email address for newsletter subscrip-
tions, in chat rooms or to join online groups. Before you post your
email address, know whether it will be displayed or used. Then
use a public email address when necessary.
by Bryson Gordon,
http:/www.McAfee.com
b) Supply each part of the text (A-D) with proper subti-
tles (1-4):
1. The spam wars
2. Cutting through the spam
3. Growing problem
4. Spam, spam, spam...
12. a) Answer the questions:
1. Explain how you can be spammed?
2. How spammers can learn your e-mail address?
3. Is it possible to avoid being spammed? In what ways?
4. If you are already getting spam, can you stop it? How?
b) Make up a dialogue, based on the questions above.
13. Translate the following sentences into English:
111
 1. Всего за несколько лет спам превратился из легкого
раздражающего фактора в одну из самых серьезных угроз
информационной безопасности. Непрошеные почтовые со-
общения переполняют индивидуальные почтовые ящики и
парализуют работу корпоративных серверов.
2. За последние годы было изобретено немало способов
борьбы со спамом. К сожалению, спамеры отслеживают
действия фильтров и изобретают всё новые приемы для их
обхода. К тому же нередко фильтрация спама приносит
больше вреда, чем пользы: вместе с назойливой рекламой не
доходят до адресата и важные деловые или личные сообще-
ния.
3. Свой основной электронный адрес, который Вы по-
лучили у провайдера, сообщайте только надежным друзьям
и партнерам. При этом не стесняйтесь напоминать, чтобы
они Ваш адрес не передавали третьим лицам. Обязательно
заведите себе дополнительные адреса на бесплатных почто-
вых серверах и именно их используйте для второстепенных
задач.
4. При выборе имени (login) Вашего почтового ящика
старайтесь не использовать английские слова, т.к. некото-
рые программы берут данные из словарей и перебираются
различные комбинации. Чем длиннее имя, тем лучше и не
помешает вставить в середину имени какую-нибудь цифру.
5. Хакерами называют тех, кто получает или пытается
получить незаконный доступ к данным через компьютерные
сети (сейчас обычно через интернет). Во многих странах
принято законодательство, ставящее действия хакеров вне
закона, и некоторые из них уже привлечены к ответственно-
сти.
6. Вал компьютерных преступлений не спадает - более
того, он нарастает год от года. Защиту компьютерных сетей
многих крупных фирм и государственных организаций ха-
керы уже испытывали на прочность, и нередко им удавалось
найти в ней бреши.
7. Не следует думать, что хакеров интересует только
112
"крупная рыба". Всё чаще они атакуют незащищенные (или
слабо защищенные) от вторжения домашние компьютеры,
подключенные к интернету. Атака может исходить и изнут-
ри - от программы-шпиона, проникшей на компьютер,
например, в качестве вложения в спамерское письмо.
8. Предотвратить последствия хакерских атак – кражу
конфиденциальной информации и использование вашего
компьютера для рассылки спама, атак на другие компьюте-
ры и т. п. - может межсетевой экран. Этот компонент защи-
ты способен не только "спрятать" ваш компьютер от хаке-
ров, но и проконтролировать все входящие и исходящие по-
токи данных и пресечь любые враждебные действия до того,
как они нанесут реальный вред.
9. Всплывающим окном называется внезапно появля-
ющееся в том или ином месте окошко браузера, в котором
обычно находится html-документ или изображение.
В такие окна обычно помещают рекламу. Эти окна де-
лают просто невозможным перемещение по сайту, появля-
ясь в ответ на любое ваше действие. Тем не менее, эту тех-
нологию можно применять и в благих целях. В это окно
можно поместить то, что не влезло на основную страницу
сайта.
10. Основная цель всплывающих окон - это простая
накрутка счетчиков рейтингов. Вы показываете на своем
сайте всплывающие окна других сайтов, в свою очередь на
других сайтах показываются всплывающие окна вашего
сайта ровно столько раз, сколько их вы показали на своем.
11. Программа блокировки всплывающих окон пред-
назначена для работы совместно с популярными веб-
браузерами и позволяет блокировать все нежелательные
всплывающие окна, которые открываются при посещении
различных сайтов. Утилита имеет большое количество
настроек, так что вы всегда сможете настроить ее под свои
нужды именно в том виде, в каком вам удобно.

113
 14. Render the article in English:
МОШЕННИЧЕСТВО В ИНТЕРНЕТЕ.
КАК ВЫГЛЯДЯТ ОПАСНЫЕ СООБЩЕНИЯ?
Все интернет-пользователи рано или поздно сталкивают-
ся с киберугрозами, даже если они просто заходят проверять
свой почтовый ящик раз в неделю. О завсегдатаях Сети и го-
ворить нечего — сегодня мы совершаем в онлайне все боль-
ше действий: общаемся, звоним, бронируем, развлекаемся,
покупаем, расплачиваемся, работаем, наконец. Вероятность
стать объектом атаки хакеров при такой активности весьма
высока. Большинство из нас знает, как обезопасить себя, и
использует регулярно обновляемый лицензионный антиви-
рус, но и он не способен защитить от всех возможных угроз.
Пользователю лучше знать врага в лицо, ведь нередко все
начинается с безобидного сообщения во входящих.
1. «Вы выиграли!» Опасное сообщение обычно выглядит
как всплывающее окно и содержит в себе информацию о вы-
игрыше огромной суммы, автомобиля, дорогого гаджета и
других нереальных призов. Если вы действительно получили
от какой-либо организации определенный бонус, это будет
нечто весьма скромное. Информация придет на ваш почто-
вый ящик как обычное письмо без кричащей анимации. Как
реагировать: не нажимать ни «да», ни «нет», не пытаться за-
крыть окно. Любое действие приведет к перенаправлению на
сторонний ресурс, который может быть заражен вредоносной
программой или компьютерным вирусом-шпионом. Лучше
закрыть браузер. Если вы действительно участвовали в ка-
ком-то розыгрыше, позвоните по телефону в организацию и
уточните.
2. «Введите номер телефона» Как правило, вас просят
ввести номер телефона якобы для подтверждения того, что
вы не бот. На самом деле, это совсем не обязательно. Чтобы
отличить реального пользователя от программы, обычно ис-
пользуется капча (распознавание текста и знаков). Скорее
всего, в данном случае вы имеете дело с мошенниками, кото-
рые собирают номера в базы данных с тем, чтобы перепро-
114
дать их недобросовестным рекламодателям для рассылки
SMS-спама. Безусловно, что некоторые ресурсы требуют ука-
зать телефон по реальным причинам сохранения безопасно-
сти информации — например, банковским сервисам нужны
ваши контактные данные для передачи вам одноразовых па-
ролей; социальные сети практикуют привязку аккаунтов к
мобильным номерам для более детальной идентификации
пользователей и быстрого восстановления доступа в случае
взлома. Как реагировать: вводить номер телефона только на
крупных известных ресурсах, где он действительно нужен —
это соцсети, интернет-версии банков, онлайн-магазины. Если
сайт малоизвестный, развлекательного характера, то лучше
этого не делать. Часто спамеры идут на уловки: например,
навязывают вам прохождение длинного теста или обещают
составление персонального гороскопа. Чтобы получить ре-
зультат, нужно указать номер телефона. Не делайте этого —
вас забросают спамом.
3. «Ваша страница взломана, нужно поменять па-
роль» Примерно 60−70% входящей почты — это спам, и до-
вольно весомая часть спама содержит в себе скрытую фи-
шинговую атаку. Один из самых распространенных ее спосо-
бов — это просьба о смене пароля в социальной сети или
платежной системе. В последнее время мошенники стали
действовать хитрее: вместо пароля они просят указать,
например, день рождения, якобы для розыгрыша или получе-
ния бонусов. Обладатель аккаунта проходит по ссылке на
сайт, который выглядит точь-в-точь как оригинальный, толь-
ко в адресе наверняка содержится «ошибка». Здесь пользова-
тель вводит свой пароль и логин, которые затем благополуч-
но используются злоумышленниками для своих интересов.
Как реагировать: не переходить по ссылкам при получении
таких сообщений. Закрыть браузер со всеми вкладками, запу-
стить антивирус, затем открыть новое окно и войти в свой
аккаунт с главной страницы. Не забывайте, что использовать
нужно сложные пароли, хранить их удобно в специальных
менеджерах, которые хранят информацию в зашифрованном
115
виде.
4. «Привет! Пишу с чужого аккаунта…» Письмо от
якобы друга/родственника с просьбой помочь (материально,
конечно). Человек якобы попал в трудную ситуацию, и счет
идет на минуты. Его спасет только денежный перевод с ва-
шей стороны. Как реагировать: задавать уточняющие вопро-
сы бессмысленно. Скорее всего, мошенник уже изучил ваш
аккаунт, фотографии, комментарии и не растеряется, если вы
спросите его о чем-то. Лучше не придумывать каверзные во-
просы, а сразу позвонить человеку на сотовый телефон. Даже
если в сообщении сказано: «Не звони мне, это опасно. Они
следят». Самый надежный способ — отметить сообщение как
«фишинг» и вообще не реагировать на него.
5. «Смотреть видео?» Навязчивые сообщения, предла-
гающие пользователю видео для просмотра, как правило,
опасны. Они ведут на страницы, зараженные вирусами. Про-
граммы-шпионы способны украсть ваши пароли от личных
кабинетов и электронных кошельков. Подхватить «заразу»
можно даже на таких крупных хостингах, как YouTube. C по-
следним связан нашумевший случай заражения сотен тысяч
компьютеров. Хакеры разместили на сайте рекламный ролик
известного бренда, при просмотре которого пользователи со-
вершали вынужденный переход на страницу с вредоносным
кодом. В западном сегменте Интернета такие случаи давно не
редкость, и явление даже получило название — malvertising,
что является гибридом двух слов: malware (вирус) и
advertising (реклама). Как реагировать: Проблема в том, что,
куда бы вы не кликнули, результат будет один ‒ вынужден-
ный переход по ссылке на опасный сайт. Поэтому лучше за-
крыть браузер и запустить антивирусную программу, а еще
лучше ‒ позаботиться о защите заранее и использовать рас-
ширение, которое блокирует нежелательную рекламу и не
позволяет устанавливать опасные соединения. Вредоносные
сообщения часто можно вычислить с помощью обычной ло-
гики, однако это не всегда получается даже у продвинутых
пользователей. Сообщения составлены таким образом, чтобы
116
вызывать сильные чувства ‒ радости (и немного жадности),
тревоги, любопытства и т. д. Киберпреступники — хорошие
психологи, и играют на эмоциях, рассчитывая при этом на
скорость принятия решений. Так что пользователю важно
знать типичные схемы мошенничества и не забывать при
этом про элементарные правила информационной безопасно-
сти: использование антивируса, блокировщика рекламы и
менеджера паролей.
https://shkolazhizni.ru/computers/articles/91554/

15. Render the article in English:

КУДА БУДУТ ДВИГАТЬСЯ ТРЕНДЫ
ЦИФРОВОЙ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ
Шестого февраля 2018 г в Москве состоялся 11-й Фо-
рум безопасного интернета – Cyber Security Forum 2018. Он
стал ключевой частью Недели безопасного Рунета. Организа-
торами форума выступили РОЦИТ, РАЭК и компания Digital
October, на площадке которой собрались российские и зару-
бежные специалисты в области кибербезопасности. Форум
безопасного интернета проходил при поддержке Министер-
ства связи и массовых коммуникаций РФ
«Безопасный интернет будущего» – именно так, в стиле
Стругацких, звучала главная тема Форума безопасного ин-
тернета. Хотя на самом деле фантастики в теме мало – за
этими словами стоит вполне реалистичное стремление по-
нять, куда будут двигаться тренды цифровой безопасности в
столь быстро меняющейся digital-экосистеме.
Безопасность – это, пожалуй, главная составляющая
цифровых технологий и их применения после самого «желе-
за» и софта. Потому что все хотят пользоваться технология-
ми без ущерба и разочарований – а желающих использовать
«цифру» с «темной стороны» пока немало. Чаще всего пыта-
ются воровать или выманивать деньги, причем кто во что го-
разд – и поддельными письмами, и программами-локерами, и
старым недобрым фишингом. Кибергруппы посерьезнее за-
нимаются массовым выводом цифрового оборудования из
117
строя – обычно с помощью вредоносных программ. Ну а
спецслужбы давно создали разные варианты кибероружия,
которое направлено на те же цели в «боевой» обстановке и
рассчитано на атаки на атомные электростанции и нефтепро-
воды.
Обычным гражданам добавляют беспокойства перспек-
тивы беспилотных автомобилей и «умных домов», от кото-
рых они не всегда знают, чего ожидать.
Интернет вещей продолжит плавно готовиться к широ-
кому вхождению в нашу повседневную жизнь. Однако по-
лагать, что уже через пять лет все квартиры в крупных горо-
дах станут «умными», было бы чересчур оптимистично. Осо-
бенно если учесть, что многие будущие пользователи «под-
ключенных домов» серьезно опасаются… даже не «мини-
Скайнета» в своем жилище, а утечки через «умные устрой-
ства» данных о своей личной жизни. Один из всемирно из-
вестных южнокорейских брендов уже был пойман на том,
что его телевизоры успешно отсылали все, что «слышат» че-
рез свои микрофоны, этому самому производителю.
С беспилотными автомобилями еще сложнее – для пол-
ного автоматизма эти машины нуждаются в «подключенной»
дорожной инфраструктуре, а также в «общении» с другими
«умными» машинами. Поэтому через пять лет мы скорее все-
го увидим на отечественных дорогах лишь отдельные экзем-
пляры беспилотных авто, активно собирающих информацию
с множества собственных датчиков.
А вот с чем может произойти «тихая революция» – так
это с персональными данными. Цифровизация данных
предъявляет особые требования к их безопасности, причем
речь идет отнюдь не об анкетных данных, а об огромном
массиве информации, сопоставимом по объему со всей ин-
формацией в Сети вообще. Ибо устоявшееся определение
персональных данных понимает под ними любую информа-
цию, позволяющую прямо или косвенно определить челове-
ка.
Главный тренд в плане персональных данных – это по-
118
вышение уровня защищенности субъектов. А именно бес-
проблемная реализация права гражданина на прекращение
оборота его персональных данных. В Европе новые правила
оборота персональных данных (GDPR) уже скоро вступят в
полную силу – с 25 мая нынешнего года их невыполнение
будут крупно штрафовать.
Что же касается СНГ, то на постсоветском пространстве
скорее всего появится новый Модельный закон о персональ-
ных данных – стандарт для гармонизации национальных за-
конов стран Содружества. Поскольку ныне действующий за-
кон 1999 года «заточен» явно под «офлайн», в новом вариан-
те особенностям цифровых процессов оборота данных будет
уделено очень большое внимание, и наверняка проявятся
наиболее позитивные практики прекращения оборота кон-
тента по желанию субъекта.
В целом можно предположить, что в цифровой без-
опасности в ближайшие годы сохранится приоритет обеспе-
чения защищенности финансовых процессов, к которому до-
бавится интернет вещей с его возрастающей важностью.
В контентном плане повышение защищенности сограж-
дан скорее всего будет происходить «под флагом» персо-
нальных данных, в том числе и в плане реагирования на це-
лый ряд «классических» угроз.
Увеличивающаяся аудитория мобильного интернета
повысит важность безопасности переносных гаджетов, уве-
личивая спрос на «мобильные антивирусы». А какие тренды
станут действительно массовыми, будет зависеть от прогрес-
са технических новшеств и от их проникновения в бизнес и
общество.
http://bit.samag.ru/archive/article/1948

119
 UNIT 6
COMPUTER VIRUSES AND VACCINES

VOCABULARY
Memorise the following words and word-combinations:
antivirus (program or file virus vandal programs
software) key logger vulnerable
antiviruses databases malware worm
boot sector resident virus to be contaminated
computer vandalism self-reproducing to propagate
to corrupt stealth virus to virus-check
destruction Trojan horse BIOS
disk formatting

TEXT
VIRUSES TODAY:
A REAL PROBLEM OR JUST A MYTH?
In the course of computer systems and software develop-
ment the data volume stored in them increases and at the same
time the data brittleness increases too. One of the factors that have
caused a drastic increase of this brittleness is the mass production
of powerful personal computers that have become one of the fac-
tors enabling the appearance of a new class of vandal programs -
computer viruses. The development of Internet has spurred the
appearance of the new types of viruses and means of their trans-
portation. The greatest danger arising out of the danger of the
software contamination with computer viruses is the possibility of
distortion or destruction of vitally important information that may
result in financial and time losses.
Computer viruses is one of the varieties of computer vandal-
ism spread in the end of the eighties. Historically their appearance
is connected with the idea of creation of self-reproducing pro-
grams the concept of which goes back to the fifties. The idea of
self-reproducing mechanisms was studied by John von Neiman
who suggested the method of such mechanisms creation in 1951.
Undoubtedly, the idea of the virus-like programs has been opened
120
and re-opened by different authors time and again. Nevertheless,
reestablishment of the priorities among the investigators in pub-
lishing this or that facet of concept of the virus-like programs is to
some extent an act of justice in relation to those whose works
have been wrongly forgotten or even ignored.
In 1974 the program RABBIT was created and an attempt to
multiply it with the use of three connected IBM computers was
made demonstrating that appearance of new subtasks slowed the
reactions and caused complete starvation of the machines in the
long run.
Other example of the virus-like programs was the game AN-
IMAL developed about 1975 for UNIVAC 1108. The main point
of the game was that a man thought of some animal and the pro-
gram was trying to define the chosen animal by way of asking
questions. The programmer who had written the game provided
for the possibility of self-reproduction. When the game's solution
was wrong it asked the user to give it the question capable to im-
prove its abilities for guessing the animal in question. By memo-
rizing the question the program not only modified itself but also
tried to rewrite its renewed (improved) copy in a different cata-
logue. If the program ANIMAL was already contained in that cat-
alogue it was deleted. In the opposite case a new copy of the
game was created. It turned out that in a time all the catalogues of
the file system contained an ANIMAL copy. Moreover, if differ-
ent computers were used the user transferred his catalogue from
one to another causing in the long run the appearance of ANI-
MAL in all the catalogues. At the same time the copies of ANI-
MAL occupied a considerable file space, which was thought to be
a problem in those times.
It would be a great mistake today to consider that the viruses
is a serious problem. Actually we deal with a myth supported by
the interested people (journalists, safety experts, program prod-
ucts developers and creators of antiviruses).
It is not top secret that most of the viruses are written by
schoolchildren and students possessing no great knowledge or
skills. Their "produce" may only make a professional to give a
121
condescending smile.
Practically each user or system administrator today has at
best encountered one computer virus and at worst the result of its
action due to negligence of safety of his own computer system.
What is the way out then?
Will antiviruses be of any help in this situation? Any quali-
fied user and system administrator can correctly use the antivirus.
But at the same time neither of them possesses sufficient qualifi-
cation to test the antivirus reports reliability. All they can do is to
accept these reports on trust. Or else to use statistical approaches -
say, if two of three antiviruses consider some file to be contami-
nated that means that it is actually contaminated and, correspond-
ingly, vice versa.
However, the latter approach is not at all better than the
former one, not to say the other way round. In the long run trust
based on statistics is still the same trust that cannot guarantee that
the developers of antiviruses did not make a mistake and consid-
ered all the possible situations and modifications of the viruses.
Considering the speed of appearance of the anitviruses databases
and insignificantly little time spent for the new viruses analysis by
the experts, one may without any hesitation expect the antivirus to
work not in the expected way or not to work at all. Indeed, before
the moment the virus is revealed by somebody, send to the antivi-
rus center, analyzed by the experts and included in the next annex,
it will not be recognized by the antivirus program. And all the
above-mentioned takes a period of one week to a number of
months or years. That is why it is not expedient to percept the an-
tiviruses reports with great trust. If the antiviruses are not revealed
it should not be understood literally. It does not mean that they do
not exist. The same may be said in relation to statements about
contamination of the files. Rather often the antivirus reveals a vi-
rus there where it just cannot be.
Users often encounter a little-informative report "virus can't
be cured" or, which is still worse; as a result of cure they face the
damage of files or even of the whole disk. The latter occurs but
rarely and still occurs. It is interesting that in this situation it is
122
very difficult to find the guilty. The developers very rarely admit
such mistakes advising the victim to apply to the documentation
creators and the latter, in their turn, complain about the low quali-
fication of the antivirus users.
Indeed, using the modern antiviruses is not as simple as it
may seem at the first glance. The user constantly faces the neces-
sity to make a decision on the basis of reports like "the resident
virus is possible at address 0156556a247a". For an expert it is
enough to cast a glance at the given address and he can already
say much about the type of the virus.
Naturally, it is rather difficult to make all this comprehen-
sive for a common user. So, what is the way out then? Shall we
leave the cure of viruses to the experts? Practically, it is so, but
very few people may afford to call a specialist from an antivirus
firm, in particular, when the cost of the processed data is less than
that of such service.
Many people still prefer to use the antivirus means, which is
considerably cheaper though they may lose in reliability. At the
same time the developers of such means are torn apart between
two extremes: to supply the user with most exhaustive infor-
mation possible about the situation and further to act depending
on the user's decision or to bring the interaction with the user to
minimum and make the ample use of automatic diagnostics and
cure.
The latter tendency is the dominant one today. On the one
hand, it undoubtedly has its positive features, but alongside with
the increase of simplicity of its use the quality of the product de-
creases. Automatic correction made according to one and the
same pattern very often turns to be impotent in simple, but non-
standard situations.
Besides, the user is deprived of the possibility not only to
interfere in the process, but even to control the situation. Let us
assume that the analyzer suspects some file to be contaminated
with a virus. The user is provided with a choice: either to delete or
to perform automatic correction. But will that destroy the virus
and what is to be done if there is no a reserve copy? In addition,
123
the users very often encounter the false operation of the analyzers.
What could be done in such a situation? Ungrounded belief
in the technical documents and advertising booklets is not the best
means in the struggle with viruses or in choosing the antivirus
product. The more the user believes in his own invulnerability the
more difficult it is for him to find his bearings during the virus
attack. Many users relying on the antivirus do not save the files
for a long time, do not limit the access to most appendixes and
sooner or later they have to pay for all this with contaminated
files and lost information.
Thus, the antiviruses are practically not as reliable as the us-
ers purchasing them expect them to be. Only those whose com-
puters are served by the experts and not by automatic programs
may feel themselves really confident.
Unfortunately, there will never be enough of such experts in
order to encompass all the existing computers and in the nearest
few years the use of antiviruses will be the only way out for the
most owners of personal computers.
It must also be taken into consideration that like any other
software the antivirus itself may be contaminated with a virus.
And the authors of the virus could disconnect the in-built control
of the antivirus integrity so that the end user suspects nothing.
The same may be applied to any copying of the antivirus package
- renewal of the base or the help-file. In most cases such renewals
contain the binary code in which a virus may be "sewn up".
Unfortunately, all the above said is seldom taken into the
account and the cases of massive contamination have happened
more than once when the authors of the virus have circulated such
"renewals" in the name of the developers. In such cases any mani-
festations are possible: from disk formatting to elimination of the
antivirus ability to determine the contaminated files. The latter are
even more guiltful by virtue of their secrecy and can be revealed
with difficulty.
So, what can be done if the antiviruses are not a panacea?
It is difficult to give a definite answer. There are many pro-
posals to it. For Windows 98 and Windows NT the general prin-
124
ciples are rather simple and may be used by most of the users.
Whatever the authors of the viruses may do there are elementary
rules of "computer hygiene":
▪ In BIOS toggle off the ability of the computer to be loaded
from disk A (only C);
▪ The antivirus scanner (monitor) should be loaded automat-
ically together with the operating system;
▪ When using somebody else's floppy discs or other remov-
able carriers apply antivirus control;
▪ Don't be lazy and when installing any (!!!) program from
CD-ROM, antivirus ones included, check out the disc for viruses;
▪ When receiving E-mail from the sources unknown to you,
especially with the availability of attachments, delete the letters
even without looking them through. Otherwise you take a risk to
lose either control of the system or your information.
But for all that the antiviruses are not and will never be a
"panacea" for all troubles. Before they can give real guaranties
they will remain just one of methods of fighting the viruses. Per-
haps together with an antivirus it is worth to buy a data saving
device and periodically save the required information. This is
more reliable, easier and quick. Even the heuristic analyzers do
not yet know how to cure the viruses unknown to them, do they?
That is why a reserve copy is needed in any case. Logical ques-
tion: if there is a reserve copy what is the antivirus required for?
Of course, it is a vexed question, but it is you who must make a
decision.
Betamagazine.com

EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following

words and word-combinations:
уязвимость, значительный рост, заражение вирусом,
вирусоподобные программы, понимать буквально, вирус не
может быть вылечен, принимать решение на основе… , раз-
рываться между двумя крайностями, с одной стороны, но
125
наряду с… , быть лишенным чего-либо, эвристический ана-
лизатор.
2. Say whether the facts are true or false:
1. The reason for a drastic increase of the brittleness is the
mass production of powerful personal computers.
2. Computer viruses is one of the varieties of computer vandal-
ism spread in the end of the 1970s.
3. The main point of the game ANIMAL was the program was
trying to draw the picture of the chosen animal.
4. Viruses is not a serious problem nowadays.
5. Indeed, using the modern antiviruses is very simple.
6. Most people usually call a specialist from an antivirus firm
to check their computer for viruses.
7. The antiviruses are not and will never be a "panacea" for all
troubles.
3. Sum up the content of the text, using the opening
phrases from Ex.4 (Unit 1).
4. Fill each gap with a suitable word from the box
aware, catches, e-mailing, cases, written, message,
spread, hole, attached, worms, replicates
Unlike a virus that a human or animal _____ , which was
created by Mother Nature, a computer virus is a program,
_____by a human being, to do bad things to your computer. (Or,
at the very least, open up a "_____" in your Internet connection
through which advertisers can send annoying pop-up ads).
These programs are called viruses (or_____) only because
they behave like viruses found in nature. When you (as a human)
get a virus, you get sick because the virus _____ itself (makes
copies of itself) and starts spreading throughout your body. A
computer virus is much the same. It's a program that's able to
make copies of itself, and _____ itself throughout files in your
computer.
Most viruses can also spread themselves by _____ them-
selves to people in your address book. You won't be _____ that
126
you're sending out these viruses, even if you're sitting at your
computer while it's happening. Your friends will just start receiv-
ing e-mails from you with the virus_____. Likewise, when a
friend of yours receives a file, it's likely that the virus will e-mail
itself from their computer to yours.
As a rule, a virus will be sent as an attachment to an e-
mail_____. In some cases, the return address on the e-mail mes-
sage will be your friend's e-mail address. In other _____, it will be
some other bogus return e-mail message.

5. Match the malware with the damage it causes.

1. virus A. collects and sends private information
from the infected
computer to a third party
2. spyware B. an undesirable program which can repli-
cate itself across a
network
3. Trojan horse C. allows a hacker to access private infor-
mation when he/she
wishes
4. keystroke D. a program which adds itself to an execut-
logger able file, and can
or keylogger cause considerable damage to the data on
the infected computer
5. worm E. records characters that are typed into a
computer

6. Here is a list of popular viruses. Have you ever faced

any of them? If yes, what damage they caused? Find out some
details about them (e.g. type of virus, effects, etc.)
Jerusalem Code Red Godless
Faketoken Tequila ILoveYou
Melissa Triada Marcher
MyLife Loki
Are there any viruses that damage hardware? What are they?

127
 7. a) Is a logic bomb the same as a virus? To make it
clear read the first part of the article below. Open the brackets,
putting the verbs in the correct form.
A logic bomb, also (to call) slag code because all that (to
leave) after it detonates is computer slag, is not the same thing as
a virus, although it often (to behave) in a similar manner. It is a
piece of computer code that executes a malicious task, such as
clearing a hard drive or deleting specific files, when it (to trigger)
by a specific event. It's secretly inserted into the code of a com-
puter's existing software, where it lies dormant until that event (to
occur). This event might be a positive trigger, such as a specific
date and time or the removal of an employee's name from the sal-
ary database; or it might be a negative trigger, such as a particular
employee failing to input a command by a certain time – meaning
he or she is probably not at the company anymore. Negative trig-
gers are considered to be more dangerous than positive ones,
since the risk of accidentally triggering the bomb – say, if the
employee is suddenly hospitalized with appendicitis – increases
dramatically. And when the bomb goes off, the damage is done –
files (to delete), secret information is sent to the wrong people,
the network (to cripple) for days ...
The payload of a logic bomb is usually pretty devastating to
the company under attack. It's often a tool (to use) by angry em-
ployees – in the IT world, it has a reputation of being associated
with "disgruntled employee syndrome." And a disgruntled em-
ployee probably (to get) too much satisfaction from making a
smiley face show up on every networked computer at 3:14 p.m.
on a specific Tuesday. A logic bomb (to have) much use outside
of targeting a specific computer or network, and IT employees are
usually the only ones with the access and know-how to implement
them. Logic bombs usually (not to program) to spread to un-
known recipients, although there are some virus types that (to
consider) logic bombs because they have a time-and-date trigger.
And some viruses have a logic bomb (to embed) in them that car-
ries out a payload in addition to the virus's replicating function.
For the most part, though, a logic bomb stays put within the net-
128
work in which it (to insert). This makes it much easier to create
than a virus. All it needs to do (to be) execute a task; it doesn't
need to reproduce, which is a more complicated function.

b) Read the second part of the article. Supply the preposi-

tions and postpositions where necessary.
To avoid missing the insertion ___ a logic bomb ___ a net-
work, most IT experts recommend constant monitoring, using vi-
rus software and other ___ scanning programs intended to pick
___ on new objects in a computer's data, not only of overall net-
works but also of each individual ___ computer on a network.
The type of action carried ____ in a logic bomb does have
a non-destructive use: It makes restricted, free software trials ___
possible.
___ a certain time period, a piece ___ code embedded ___ the
software's code causes the free software to disappear or become
crippled so the user needs to pay to continue to use it. But ___
this is a non-malicious, user-transparent use of the code, it's not
typically referred ___ as a logic bomb.
http:computer.howstuffworks.com/logic-bomb.html

8. a) Answer the questions:

1. What anti-virus programmes do you know?
2. What is the most effective one? Give your arguments.
3. What anti-virus do you use? Explain your choice.
4. How often do you check your computer for viruses
(up-date your anti-virus program)?

b) Make up a dialogue based on the questions above.

9. Translate the following sentences into English:

1.Компьютерный вирус – это небольшая программа,
написанная программистом высокой квалификации, способ-
ная к саморазмножению и выполнению разных деструктив-
ных действий. На сегодняшний день известно свыше 50 тыс.
компьютерных вирусов.
129
 2.Существует много разных версий относительно даты
рождения первого компьютерного вируса. Однако большин-
ство специалистов сходятся на мысли, что компьютерные ви-
русы, как таковые, впервые появились в 1986 году, хотя ис-
торически возникновение вирусов тесно связано с идеей со-
здания самовоспроизводящихся программ.
3.В ряде стран уголовное законодательство предусматри-
вает ответственность за компьютерные преступления, в том
числе за создание и распространение вирусов.
4.Вирусы действуют только программным путем. Они,
как правило, присоединяются к файлу или проникают в тело
файла. В этом случае говорят, что файл заражен вирусом.
Вирус попадает в компьютер только вместе с зараженным
файлом. Для активизации вируса нужно загрузить заражен-
ный файл, и только после этого, вирус начинает действовать
самостоятельно.
5.Некоторые вирусы во время запуска зараженного файла
становятся резидентными (т.е. постоянно находятся в опера-
тивной памяти компьютера) и могут заражать другие загру-
жаемые файлы и программы.
6.Другая разновидность вирусов сразу после активизации
может быть причиной серьезных повреждений, например,
форматировать жесткий диск.
7.Действие вирусов может проявляться по-разному: от
разных визуальных эффектов, мешающих работать, до пол-
ной потери информации. Большинство вирусов заражают ис-
полнительные программы, то есть файлы с расширением
.EXE и .COM, хотя в последнее время большую популяр-
ность приобретают вирусы, распространяемые через систему
электронной почты.
8.Основные источники вирусов: диск, на котором нахо-
дятся зараженные вирусом файлы; компьютерная сеть, в том
числе система электронной почты и Internet; жесткий диск, на
который попал вирус в результате работы с зараженными
программами; вирус, оставшийся в оперативной памяти по-
сле предшествующего пользователя.
130
 9.Основные ранние признаки заражения компьютера ви-
русом: уменьшение объема свободной оперативной памяти;
замедление загрузки и работы компьютера; непонятные (без
причин) изменения в файлах, а также изменения размеров и
даты последней модификации файлов; ошибки при загрузке
операционной системы; невозможность сохранять файлы в
нужных каталогах; непонятные системные сообщения, музы-
кальные и визуальные эффекты и т.д.
10. Признаки активной фазы вируса: исчезновение фай-
лов; форматирование жесткого диска; невозможность загруз-
ки файлов или операционной системы.
11. Различные виды вирусов условно можно классифици-
ровать на: загрузочные вирусы или BOOT-вирусы; файловые
вирусы; загрузочно-файловые вирусы; вирусы-невидимки
или STEALTH-вирусы; ретровирусы и вирусы-черви.
12. Если не принимать меры для защиты от компьютер-
ных вирусов, то следствия заражения могут быть очень серь-
езными. Для защиты информации от вирусов используются
общие и программные средства.
13. К общим средствам, помогающим предотвратить за-
ражение и его разрушительных последствий, относят: ре-
зервное копирование информации; избежание пользования
случайными и неизвестными программами; перезагрузка
компьютера перед началом работы, в частности, в случае, ес-
ли за этим компьютером работали другие пользователи;
ограничение доступа к информации.
14. К программным средствам защиты относят разные ан-
тивирусные программы. Антивирус – это программа, выяв-
ляющая и обезвреживающая компьютерные вирусы. К сожа-
лению, вирусы в своем развитии опережают антивирусные
программы, поэтому даже в случае регулярного использова-
ния антивирусов, нет 100% гарантии безопасности.
15. Антивирусные программы могут выявлять и уничто-
жать лишь известные вирусы, однако, много современных
антивирусных пакетов имеют в своем составе специальный
программный модуль, называемый эвристическим анализа-
131
тором, который способен исследовать содержимое файлов на
наличие кода, характерного для компьютерных вирусов. Это
дает возможность своевременно выявлять и предупреждать
об опасности заражения новым вирусом.

10. Choose one of the given anti-virus programmes. Find

the article (in Russian) on its advantages and disadvantages.
Sum up the content of the article in English.
▪ PC Alert 4 System
▪ Network Monitor Server Version
▪ Super PC Security
▪ InoculateIT
▪ Antiviral Protection by Kaspersky.
▪ Norton Antivirus by Symantec Corp.
▪ Dr.Web
▪ The Nicks Ghost Buster
▪ Stop!
▪ F-Stopw by Frisks Software
▪ Norton Personal Firewall for Windows by Symantec Corp.
▪ Black ICE for Windows by Ice Network
▪ AtGuard by WRQ Inc.
▪ ZoneAlarm by ZoneLabs

11. Render the article in English.

Вредоносные программы для мобильных устройств
До недавнего времени основной мишенью вирусописате-
лей оставались персональные компьютеры и ноутбуки. Одна-
ко обнаружение в июне 2004 года вируса Cabir свидетель-
ствовало о появлении угроз нового поколения, ориентиро-
ванных на мобильные устройства. С тех пор наблюдается не-
прерывный рост числа таких вредоносных программ.
Популярность мобильных устройств в деловом мире
неуклонно возрастает. Одновременно расширяется сфера
применения беспроводных технологий. Возможности мо-
бильных устройств достаточно велики: это IP-сервисы, обес-
печение доступа в Интернет, локальную сеть и др. Осталось
132
не так уж много задач, которые можно решить с помощью
ноутбука, но нельзя – с помощью карманного компьютера.
Эта ситуация сопряжена с рядом проблем. Сегодня мно-
гие предприятия работают в «открытом пространстве»: их
сотрудники широко используют удаленные соединения, что
делает их уязвимыми для разного рода атак – на рабочем ме-
сте, дома или в дороге. Мобильные устройства изначально
менее безопасны, чем стационарные, поскольку они функци-
онируют вне зоны действия традиционной системы защиты
сети. А поскольку на них все чаще хранится ценная для
предприятия информация, беспроводные устройства и бес-
проводные сети становятся для вирусописателей все более
привлекательным объектом атаки. Возможности доступа к
информации всегда идут на шаг впереди разработки средств
ее защиты.
Вирусы, черви и троянцы для мобильных устройств по-
явились в течение очень короткого промежутка времени, то-
гда как на создание подобных угроз для персональных ком-
пьютеров ушло порядка двадцати лет.
Большинство известных на сегодняшний день мобиль-
ных угроз требуют участия пользователя в своем распростра-
нении (подтверждения передачи файла на мобильное устрой-
ство и затем еще одного подтверждения – на этот раз уже за-
пуска полученного файла). На первый взгляд скорость, с ко-
торой распространяются эти угрозы, может показаться уди-
вительной. Но ведь и черви для персональных компьютеров
требуют от пользователя выполнения аналогичных действий,
и они также очень «успешны». Все дело в приемах социаль-
ной инженерии: злоумышленники привлекают пользователей
возможностью бесплатной загрузки картинок или фильмов,
предлагают им бесплатные услуги или схемы быстрого обо-
гащения.
Последствия заражения мобильных устройств могут
быть различными. Например, червь может вызвать сбой в ра-
боте телефона. Троянец Skuller, распространяющийся путем
загрузки с мобильных сайтов, подменяет иконки стандартныx
133
приложений операционной системы мобильного устройства
иконкой с изображением черепа и делает использование этих
приложений невозможным. Троянец Mosquit рассылает SMS-
сообщения на платные номера. «Мошенническое» ПО
(Brador, Flexspy и другие троянцы для мобильных устройств)
позволяет злоумышленникам похищать конфиденциальную
информацию, хранящуюся в мобильных устройствах. В этой
связи нужно отметить, что пользователи редко шифруют
данные в своих мобильных устройствах, а многие даже не
пользуются парольной защитой при их включении.
Несмотря на то, что пока злоумышленники лишь экспе-
риментируют с мобильными технологиями, уже появились
весьма опасные разработки. Поэтому ведущие антивирусные
разработчики создали целый ряд решений по защите мобиль-
ных устройств. Эти программы устанавливаются как на сами
устройства, так и на оборудование, используемое мобильны-
ми провайдерами.
https://securelist.ru/virusy-i-antivirusy-gonka-vooruzhenij/1097/#20

134
 UNIT 7
ROBOTICS

VOCABULARY
Memorise the following words and word-combinations:
accuracy CAD flexibility
assembly robot controllability humanoid
android cyborg programmable Robot
automation cycle vacuum cup hand
bionics expandability

TEXT
THE EVOLUTION OF ROBOTS
The word ‘robot’ conjures up an array of images for most
people, from R2D2 and C3PO of Star Wars fame, to the hyper-
masculine Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator series or the
Rover Sojourner, which explored the Martian landscape as part of
the Mars Pathfinder mission.
Terminator is perhaps the most popular humanoid autono-
mous robot in popular culture. Some people also have the notion
that robots will soon have autonomous thoughts and eventually
take over the world. There are others who think that we will soon
be at the mercy of these robots, due to our growing dependability
on them to perform our daily tasks. These notions occur entirely
due to the lack of awareness. A robot is any machine capable of
carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially
one that is programmable by a computer.
It can be a simple arm (used in surgery), a spy drone, or even
the automated guided vehicles that are used to transport materials
around in a factory. Everything falls under the category termed
‘robotics’. Also, a robot doesn’t necessarily have to be in a hu-
manoid form.
From a simple mechanical bird to robot soldiers, robotics has
a come a very long way. Let us look at how the machines that ba-
sically form the backbone of today’s world came into existence
and evolved over the years.
135
 In 1921, Karel Capek, a Czech playwright, came up with an
intelligent, artificially created person, which he called “robot”.
Although the term came into existence less than a century ago,
robots were actually in use as early as 350 B.C. In 350 B.C., the
Greek mathematician Archytas built a mechanical bird termed
‘The Pigeon’, which was propelled with the help of steam.
One of the first instances of robotics used in day-to-day life
was the use of Egyptian water clocks, where human figurines
were used to strike the hour bells. It measured time as a result of
the force of water falling through it at a constant rate.
In the 14th century, Leonardo Da Vinci designed a mechani-
cal man that looked like an armored knight. The mechanisms in-
side the armored knight were designed to make the knight move
as though there were a real person inside.
After about three centuries, a French inventor named Jacques
de Vaucanson began building automata (a moving mechanical
device made in imitation of a human being). He built three of
them in total. The first was a flute player that could play twelve
songs, followed by the second one, which played a flute and a
drum or tambourine, and the third automata, which was a duck
that moved, quacked, flapped its wings and even ate and digested
food. It had a very clever design, considering that this was still the
17th century!
The first modern robot was made in 1810. It was a soldier
with an automatic bellows (a device with an air bag that emits a
stream of air when squeezed together with two handles, used for
blowing air into a fire) that could blow a trumpet. The creator was
Friedrich Kauffman from Dresden, Germany,
In 1898, Nikola Tesla built a remote-controlled robot boat
and demonstrated it at Madison Square Garden.
In 1932, the first true robot toy was produced in Japan.
Named ‘Lilliput’, it was a wind-up toy that walked. Lilliput was
made from tinplate and stood just 15 cm tall.
The year 1936 brought a major revolution in mathematics.
This was the year when Alan Turing famously invented the con-
cept of a theoretical computer called the Turing Machine.
136
 With the arrival of programmable computers in the 1940s, the
first real robots began to take shape. The earliest robots as we
know them today were created by George Devol in the 1950s. He
invented and patented a reprogrammable manipulator (basically a
robot) called Unimate. Unfortunately, he couldn’t sell it! In the
1960s, Joseph Engleberger bought the Unimate patent and modi-
fied it into an industrial robot, selling it under the label ‘Unima-
tion’. It was a programmable robotic arm that was installed seven
years later, on the assembly line of New Jersey General Motors.
This arm performed dangerous and repetitive tasks on the assem-
bly line. For his efforts and success, Engleberger is known in the
industry as “the Father of Robotics”.
In 1966, the Stanford Research Institute created Shakey, the
first general-purpose mobile robot able to reason concerning its
own actions. While other robots would have to be instructed on
each individual step in order to complete a larger task, Shakey
could analyze commands and break them down into basic chunks
by itself. These actions involved traveling from one location to
another, turning light switches on and off, opening and closing the
doors, climbing up and down from rigid objects, and pushing
movable objects around.
Three years later, Victor Scheinman, a Mechanical Engineer-
ing student working in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab
(SAIL) created the Stanford Arm. The arm’s design became a
standard for the design of future robot arms. In fact, it is still be-
ing used today. In 1974, he opened his own company that pro-
duced the Silver Arm. This arm was capable of assembling small
parts together using touch sensors.
In 1985, the first robot, called Puma350, was used in the
medical field for surgery. Its purpose was to orient a needle for a
brain biopsy under computerized tomography guidance. It was
discontinued later due to safety issues. Later, in 1992, Dr. John
Adler came up with the concept of CyberKnife, a robot that imag-
es a patient with X-rays to look for tumors in the body.
1997 was perhaps one of the most important years for robot-
ics. It was the year of the Mars Pathfinder mission. The robotic
137
Mars rover Sojourner was released onto Mars’ surface and its job
was to transmit data back to Earth from the Martian soil.
In 1999, Sony released AIBO, a robotic dog with the ability
to learn, entertain and communicate with its owner.
With further advancements in technology, robots started be-
coming more and more autonomous. Soon, inventors started mak-
ing robots more human-like. In recent years, features like artificial
skin tissues, emotions, self-awareness and autonomous thinking
have been incorporated in robots. Robothespian is one such ma-
chine that is capable of entertaining and communicating with
people. It is fully interactive and multilingual.
In 2015, Nadine, the most human-like robot ever made, was
created by the Nanyang Technological University. It currently
operates as a university receptionist. Scientists are still working
on new technology that will provide childcare and offer friendship
to lonely elderly people.
Perhaps the biggest achievement in robotics are the robotic
suits named HAL (hybrid assistive limb). The HAL reads brain
signals and helps people who have mobility problems, making it
extremely useful for disabled people and the elderly.
Robots are actually doing more good than harm in terms of
improving our quality of life. A few years down the line, just like
mobile phones, robots might become an integral part of our lives.
The question is…. is that what we really want?
By Ishan Daftardar
https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/history-evolution-robots-robotics-pathfinder-hal-nadine.html

EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following words
and word-combinations:
автономный, зависимость от кого-либо/чего-либо, про-
граммируемый, перепрограммируемый, заводная игруш-
ка, самосознание, человекоподобный.

2. Give Russian equivalents for the following words and word-

combinations:
to be at the mercy of smb./smth., to be propelled with the
138
 help of steam, to break commands down into basic chunks,
under computerized tomography guidance, artificial skin tis-
sues.

3. Fill in the table using the information of the text.

Year or creator robot characteristics
century
Was propelled
350 B.C. Archytas “The Pigion” with the help of
steam
1810
A remot con-
trolled robot
boat
George Devol
Shaky
Images a patient
with X-rays
2015

4. Say whether the following statements are true or false

(use additional sources of information):
1. The history of robotics begins only in the twentieth century.
2. In Capek’s play the robots become the masters and the hu-
mans become their servants.
3. Today’s industrial robots developed out of the work done by
George Devol.
4. Shakey used bump detectors, a sonar range finder, and a video
camera avoid obstacles and move freely.
5. Shakey had a built-in computer which controlled all its
movements.
6. The robot develop3ed at the Tokyo Institute of Technology
functioned completely automatically, with no human control.
7. Odetics Inc.’s Odex I model did not need to be connected to a
separate power-source.
139
 5. Sum up the content of the text, using the opening
phrases (Unit I, Ex.4).

6. Match each robot type with the appropriate definition:

1. Mobile robot a. Machine capable of independent
operation following a predetermined
series of behaviours, e.g. a cuckoo
clock
2. Cyborg b. Flexible machine capable of mov-
ing and communicating with humans,
e.g. a sentry robot
3. Automation c. Humanoid having both organic and
inorganic structures, with some physi-
ological similarity to humans
4. Flexible machine d. Mobile robot of human proportions
5. Android/Humanoid e. Versatile, programmable automa-
tion, e.g. an assembly robot
Now put the numbers from I to V (1 = the most similar to
humans, 5 = the simplest).

7. The fear of robots replacing jobs is real. Look at the list

of the jobs below:
- Cashiers and toll booth operators
- Social workers
- Songwriters
- Drivers
- Hairstylists and cosmetologists
- Fast food jobs
- Nurses and physicians
- Youth sports coaches
Divide them into two groups: high risk jobs and low risk
jobs. Give reasons for your choice.

8. Translate into English:

1. В 1495 году всемирно известный изобретатель и инженер
Леонардо да Винчи представил свои намерения создать
140
 механического рыцаря.
2. Развитие робототехники обрело значительный прорыв в
1737 году, когда Жак де Вакансон создал первый дей-
ствующий человекоподобный робот.
3. Некоторые роботы создавались не только для помощи
людям, но и с целью развлечения или получения коммер-
ческой прибыли.
4. Современная робототехника разительно отличается от
робототехники прошлых веков. Но не стоит забывать о
том, что именно разработки и чертежи предыдущих изоб-
ретателей и легли в основу развития современной робото-
техники.
5. Современный мир вполне осознает, какое значение имеет
робототехника. Конечно, до появления роботов, способ-
ных свободно общаться со своими владельцами, еще да-
леко, но уже появились такие, которые могут выполнять
определенные виды работ.
6. Роботов можно программировать, и не только на выпол-
нение тех задач, которые человеку не нравятся, но и тех,
которые ему просто не под силу.
7. В настоящее время развитие робототехники достигло та-
кого уровня, что роботы могут не только перемещаться
самостоятельно, но и переносить грузы, играть на музы-
кальных инструментах, подниматься по лестницам, при-
нимать участие в спасении людей при чрезвычайных си-
туациях, изображать домашних животных, и даже успели
побывать в космосе.
8. Во всем мире ускорился рост так называемого роботолю-
бительства. Все больше школьников и студентов увлека-
ется работой с моделями роботов и различными коптера-
ми.
9. Робототехника будущего в настоящее время представля-
ется как гармоничное соединение интеллектуальных и
программных роботов, которые могли бы обеспечить
удовлетворение нужд общества.
10. Вполне возможно, что в ближайшие десятилетия беспи-
141
 лотная авиация продолжит вытеснять летчиков, а соот-
ношение роботизированных летательных аппаратов будет
равно примерно 80 к 20 процентам в пользу безбилетни-
ков. Кроме того, возможно нарастание замены военно-
служащих роботами в общем в вооруженных силах.
11. В силу бурного развития робототехники появляются но-
вые виды роботов, их количество возрастает, но в буду-
щем может произойти их универсализация, и число робо-
тов постепенно сократится, поскольку один и тот же ро-
бот сможет выполнять различные задачи.
12. В будущем может сформироваться стойкий рынок сер-
висных роботов, в частности, домашних, которые будут
охранять и убирать жилище, присматривать за детьми, го-
товить еду и организовывать досуг людей. Могут по-
явиться также роботы-сиделки, обучающие роботы.
13. Уже сейчас существует немало перспективных разрабо-
ток, которые в будущем будут воплощены в жизнь. Таким
образом, со временем практически каждая семья сможет
обзавестись роботом того или иного типа.

9. a) Look through the article about the tree laws of robotics

and decide whether these laws are really out-of-date and
need updating?
When science fiction author Isaac Asimov devised his Three
Laws of Robotics he was thinking about androids. He envisioned
a world where these human-like robots would act like servants
and would need a set of programming rules to prevent them from
causing harm. But in the 75 years since the publication of the first
story to feature his ethical guidelines, there have been significant
technological advancements. We now have a very different con-
ception of what robots can look like and how we will interact with
them.
The highly-evolved field of robotics is producing a huge
range of devices, from autonomous vacuum cleaners to military
drones to entire factory production lines. At the same time, artifi-
cial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly behind
142
much of the software that affects us on a daily basis, whether
we’re searching the internet or being allocated government ser-
vices. These developments are rapidly leading to a time when ro-
bots of all kinds will become prevalent in almost all aspects of
society, and human-robot interactions will rise significantly.
Asimov’s suggested laws were devised to protect humans
from interactions with robots. They are:
• A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction,
allow a human being to come to harm
• A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings ex-
cept where such orders would conflict with the First Law
• A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protec-
tion does not conflict with the First or Second Laws
As mentioned, one of the obvious issues is that robots today
appear to be far more varied than those in Asimov’s stories, in-
cluding some that are far more simple. So we need to consider
whether we should have a threshold of complexity below which
the rules might not be required. It is difficult to conceive a robotic
vacuum cleaner having the capability of harming humans or even
requiring an ability to obey orders. It is a robot with a single task
that can be predetermined prior to it being switched on.
At the other end of the spectrum, however, are the robots de-
signed for military combat environments. These devices are being
designed for spying, bomb disposal or load-carrying purposes.
These would still appear to align with Asimov’s laws, particularly
as they are being created to reduce risk to human lives within
highly dangerous environments.
But it is only a small step to assume that the ultimate military
goal would be to create armed robots that could be deployed on
the battlefield. In this situation, the First Law – not harming hu-
mans – becomes hugely problematic. The role of the military is
often to save the lives of soldiers and civilians but often by harm-
ing its enemies on the battlefield. So the laws might need to be
considered from different perspectives or interpretations.
The laws’ ambiguity has led authors, including Asimov, to
explore how they could be misinterpreted or incorrectly applied.
143
One issue is that they don’t actually define what a robot is. As
research pushes the boundaries of technology, there are emerging
branches of robotics looking at more molecular devices.
For example, “robots” made from DNA and proteins could be
used in surgery to correct gene disorders. In theory, these devices
should really follow Asimov’s laws. But for them to follow orders
via DNA signals they would essentially have to become an inte-
gral part of the human they were working on. This integration
would then make it difficult to determine whether the robot was
independent enough to fall under the laws or operate outside of
them. And on a practical level it would be impossible for it to de-
termine whether any orders it received would cause harm to the
human if carried out.
There’s also the question of what counts as harming a human
being. This could be an issue when considering the development
of robot babies in Japan, for example. If a human were to adopt
one of these robots it might arguably cause emotional or psycho-
logical harm. But this harm may not have come about from the
direct actions of the robot or become apparent until many years
after the human-robot interaction has ended. This problem could
even apply to much simpler AI, such as the use of machine learn-
ing to create music that elicits emotions.
The other big issue with the laws is that we would need a
significant advancement in AI for robots to actually be able to fol-
low them. The goal of AI research is sometimes described as de-
veloping machines that can think and act rationally and like a
human. So far, emulating human behaviour has not been well re-
searched in the field of AI and the development of rational behav-
iour has focused on limited, well defined areas.
With this in mind, a robot could only operate within a very
limited sphere and any rational application of the laws would be
highly restricted. Even that might not be possible with current
technology, as a system that could reason and make decisions
based on the laws would need considerable computational power.
Given all these issues, Asimov’s laws offer little more than
founding principles for someone wanting to create a robotic code
144
today. We need to follow them with a much more comprehensive
set of laws. That said, without significant developments in AI,
implementing such laws will remain an impossible task. And
that’s before we even consider the potential for hurt should hu-
mans start to fall in love with robots.
By Mark Robert Anderson
March 17, 2017
http://theconversation.com/
b) Discuss this problem in pairs. Make-up a dialogue.

10. Render the article in English:

Применение роботов в современном мире
С чем ассоциируется у вас понятие о робототехнике? Со-
гласитесь, воображение рисует нечто, человекоподобное, с
механическими руками и ногами, либо, паукообразное, а ещё,
обязательно представляется знаменитая собака-робот. Одним
словом, представление о роботах у многих достаточно узкое
и однобокое.
На самом деле, в современном мире, роботы – довольно
востребованы. Их используют в абсолютно различных сфе-
рах жизни, о которых многие могут даже не догадываться.
Самым удивительным образом роботы спасают человече-
ские судьбы, а иногда, и жизни. Возможно, вы не догадывае-
тесь, но современные протезы конечностей напрямую связа-
ны с робототехникой. Неподвижные искусственные руки
остались в далёком прошлом, нынешние протезы умеют дви-
гать пальчиками. Их управление напрямую связано с элек-
трическими импульсами, передаваемыми телом.
Впрочем, искусственные конечности – не единственная
заслуга роботов в медицине. Самые прогрессивные экзем-
пляры умеют проводить высокотехнологичные операции.
Наверное, ни у кого не возникнет сомнений в том, что
космос словно предназначен для обитания роботов. И дей-
ствительно, если посмотреть на историю освоения космоса,
можно увидеть, что большая часть космических исследова-
ний легла именно на плечи роботов. Луноход, Марсоход и
145
робот-аватар – наиболее известные из космороботов. На са-
мом деле, их разновидностей достаточно много, все они
предназначены для работы в условиях космоса и выполняют
действия, которые для человека оказались бы непосильными
или крайне опасными.
Отлично проявляют себя роботизированные системы в
сфере безопасности. Эти роботы первыми обнаруживают по-
жароопасные ситуации и успешно предотвращают их.
Современные военные учения максимально приближены
к условиям реальности, благодаря роботам, имитирующим
противника. Роботы для военных учений не отличаются
стильным дизайном, но достаточно хорошо имитируют чело-
веческие импульсы и повадки. Также, роботы способны про-
водить длительное слежение за объектами, вызывающими
подозрение у органов правопорядка.
Невозможно представить себе современные заводы без
роботизированной техники. Роботы выполняют множество
самых различных операций. В основном – это действия, тре-
бующие многократного повторения и высокой точности. За-
частую применение роботов спасает целые отрасли промыш-
ленности. Ведь их применение позволяет значительно увели-
чить производительность труда, освободив при этом челове-
ческие ресурсы для решения более важных задач.
Отлично применимы роботы и в быту. Самые известные
из них – робот-пылесос и газонокосильщик. Также, можно
встретить роботов специально разработанных для выполне-
ния более сложных бытовых задач.
Ну и конечно же, никто не отменял роботов, призванных
нести людям радость, развлекая их своими умениями. В
большинстве своём, такие роботы представляют мир детских
игрушек: всевозможные поющие и танцующие животные,
интерактивные игрушки, радиоуправляемые машины и вер-
толёты. Впрочем, роботы для развлечения взрослых отлича-
ются от детских, разве что, размерами.
Как видите, современный мир уже невозможно предста-
вить себе без применения высоких технологий и роботов. За-
146
нятия по робототехнике помогают детям идти в ногу со стре-
мительно развивающимся прогрессом и дают уникальную
возможность для участия в улучшении качества жизни.

11. Render the article in English:

Этика отношений людей и роботов обсуждается на
международном уровне
В начале 2004 года в Сан-Ремо на вилле, где с 1890 по
1896 годы жил изобретатель динамита Альфред Нобель
(Alfred Nobel), собирались инженеры, учёные, философы, со-
циологи, антропологи и литераторы из разных стран. Без
особого шума они обсудили воздействие роботов на наше
будущее общество.
Действительно, мероприятие под названием Первый
Международный симпозиум по робоэтике (First International
Symposium on Roboethics) в прессе должным образом не про-
гремел, хотя проблемы, поднятые его участниками, могут за-
интересовать многих. Пусть не прямо сейчас, а в недалёком
будущем.
По замыслу организаторов, целью симпозиума было со-
здание условий для диалога между специалистами из разных
областей знаний. А на обсуждение был выдвинут ряд пока
далёких от повседневной жизни вопросов. Впрочем, многие
из них известны. Вот лишь некоторые:
Обладают ли интеллектуальные роботы сознанием? Они
думают? Они испытывают эмоции, любовь, боль? Может ли
робот представлять опасность для человечества? Не попыта-
ются ли роботы взять над людьми верх, когда поймут, что мы
слабее? Возможно ли, что наши жизни будут зависеть от
них?
Не стоит думать, будто в танцевальном зале виллы Нобе-
ля собирались противники робототехники и мрачные пред-
сказатели восстания машин. Вовсе нет: сама эмблема симпо-
зиума с улыбающейся девочкой, принимающей цветок из рук
галантного гуманоида, призвана была показать дружелюбие
по отношению к роботам и настрой на конструктивное со-
147
трудничество с ними. Тем не менее, эксперты с тревогой кон-
статировали наступление машин на человечество по четырём
фронтам сразу.
На первом месте, по понятным причинам, военное
направление. Машины с дистанционным управлением, кото-
рые отслеживают и убивают, уже есть. Автономные роботы,
создающиеся с той же целью, в процессе. Отсюда был сделан
вывод о том, что перспективы автономного оружия неизбеж-
но поднимают этические вопросы.
Например, кто должен нести нравственную ответствен-
ность за военное преступление, совершённое беспилотным
самолётом или танком? Разрешается ли машинам отдавать
приказы? И так далее.
Вторую зловещую проблему, по мнению участников
симпозиума, лучше всего демонстрируют роботы-крысы, со-
зданные Сандживом Талваром (Sanjiv Talwar) и его коллега-
ми из университета Нью-Йорка (State University of New York
‒ SUNY).
Исследователи внедрили в мозг лабораторной крысы
микростимуляторы, которые позволили дистанционно управ-
лять животным с расстояния до 500 метров, просто печатая
команды на компьютере. Фактически живую крысу удалось
превратить в послушную машину.
Эксперты отметили: крысы считаются идеальными лабо-
раторными животными потому, что сделанное с крысой
можно сотворить с человеком. Если грызуна превратили в
робота, то и людей можно по этой же технологии превратить
в крыс. Этический кошмар налицо.
Третий факт, вызывающий беспокойство специалистов ‒
наращивание физической силы роботов вкупе с их увеличе-
нием в размерах, от которых интеллектуальное развитие ма-
шин сильно отстаёт.
В данном случае ярким примером являются японские и
американские робототехники, предлагающие пожилым лю-
дям и инвалидам механических помощников, шагающие
кресла, мобильные руки и тому подобное.
148
 Проблема в том, что роль центрального процессора при
таком раскладе всё равно играет слабый, уязвимый, старый
или больной человек. Это неравенство и вызывает беспокой-
ство. Американский робот Pearl призван заботиться
о больных и пожилых, но сумеют ли эти слабые люди спра-
виться со своим помощником?
Опасность номер четыре носит социальный характер ‒
это человеческая реакция на присутствие гуманоида
в непосредственной близости.
Участники симпозиума предположили, что Sony, не-
смотря на успех с робособакой Aibo, возможно, никогда не
доведёт до массового потребителя своего гуманоидного ро-
бота QRIO. Он имеет завидные технические характеристики,
и мог бы оказаться на полках магазинов хоть сейчас, если бы
не одно препятствие.
QRIO ‒ имеющая форму человека марионетка, которая
может ходить, говорить, брать, бросать, но об этике, морали
и нравственности имеет не больше представления, чем кон-
сервная банка.
Следовательно, сбой в программе может привести к то-
му, что QRIO схватит пистолет и застрелит, подожжёт дом
или же возьмёт нож и перережет человеку горло, пока он
спит. Технически он может это сделать, а мозгов-то нет. По-
этому, решил на симпозиуме, в ближайшее время QRIO в
продажу не поступит.
В общем, робоэтика оказалась не такой уж скучной те-
мой. К такого рода «теоретизированию загодя» можно отно-
ситься по-разному, но обозначенные проблемы уже не ка-
жутся фантастикой. Тем более, что речь идёт не столько о
роботах, сколько о нас с вами.
http://www.membrana.ru/particle/354

149
 GLOSSARY
of Computing Terms and Abbreviations

A
abacus noun (pl. abacuses) a frame with rows of wires or grooves
along which beads are slid, used for calculating.
account noun a registration for a user of a network system. It is
used for controlling access to the system
administer verb to work in an administrative capacity; supervise
ADSL noun abbreviation for asymmetric digital subscriber line.
A form of DSL that has a different bandwidth for the upstream
and the downstream.
Alt (key) noun the alternative key on a computer keyboard that
changes the function of the other keys when it is held down
ALT text caption noun text displayed in a webpage as an alter-
native to a graphic when the facility for displaying graphics is
not available or is switched off
AltaVista noun the name of a well-known search engine web-
site
anti-virus (program or software) noun a computer program or
set of programs used to detect, identify and remove viruses
from a computer system
Apple noun the common name for Apple Computer Incorporated,
a well-known producer of computers that introduced the WIMP
interface on computers such as the Apple Macintosh
Apple Macintosh noun a family of personal computers produced
by Apple Computer Inc.
applet noun a very small self-contained computer program
application noun see applications program
application service provider noun a company that makes appli-
cations programs available over the Internet usually charging a
fee for access to programs
applications (program or software) noun a computer program
designed to be used for a particular purpose, e.g. a word proces-
sor spreadsheet or database program
architecture noun the structure and organization of a computer's
150
 hardware or system software; the general specification of a sys-
tem
ASP noun abbreviation for application service provider
attach verb to fasten or to link
attachment noun named file which is transferred together with
an electronic mail message
B
backup verb to store a copy of data on a storage device to keep it
safe
backup noun the process of storing a copy of data on a storage
device to keep it safe / the term used for the copied data
bandwidth noun the range of frequencies that can be transmitted
over a communications channel
binary code noun code used in digital computers, based on a bi-
nary number system in which there are only two possible states,
off and on, usually symbolized by 0 and 1; in a binary system
each digit position represents a power of 2 (4, 8, 16, etc.). A bi-
nary code signal is a series of electrical pulses that represent
numbers, characters, and operations to be performed
binary notation noun the use of binary numbers to represent val-
ues
BIOS noun acronym for Basic Input Output System. A part of the
operating system stored on a ROM chip that controls the input
and output of data to peripherals
bit noun a small unit of storage capacity. One of the eight binary
digits that make up a byte. The term comes from an abbrevia-
tion of binary digit.
Bluetooth noun the name of a high-speed microwave wireless
network system developed by a group of companies consisting
of Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba. It is used with
portable equipment.
bookmark verb to store a link to a webpage to make it easier to
find in the future
boot verb to copy a part of the operating system into memory to
allow a computer to start up
151
boot sector noun reserved sectors on disk that are used to load
the operating system
boot sector virus noun a self-replicating program that stores it-
self in the part of a disk containing the programs used to start up
a computer
broadband adj able to carry signals transmitted over a wide
range of frequencies
broadcast verb to transmit signals that can be picked up by a
large number of receivers
browse verb to move from webpage to webpage using a Web
browser program
(Web) browser noun a program used for displaying webpages
bug noun a fault in a system
bulletin board noun an electronic notice board system that ena-
bles users to display messages for other users to read
bus noun a set of conductors that carry signals between different
parts of a computer
byte a unit of storage capacity. A byte is made up of eight bits
and stores one character, i.e. a letter, a number, a space or a
punctuation mark.
C
С noun a general purpose computer programming language that
was originally designed for writing Unix systems programs
cathode ray tube noun a display device that uses an electron gun
to fire a beam of electrons at a phosphor-coated screen
CD noun abbreviation for compact disk
CD (-ROM) (disk) noun abbreviation for compact disk read only
memory. A read only storage device in the form of a disk that is
read using laser light.
CD-ROM drive noun a storage device for reading CD-ROM
disks
CD-RW (drive) noun abbreviation for compact disk rewritable.
A storage device use for reading from and writing to a special
type of CD known as a re-writeable CD.
central processing unit noun the electronic processor at the cen-
152
 tre of a computer. The term is sometimes used to refer to the
combination of the processor and the main memory.
chat room noun a virtual space on a website where online discus-
sions organized around specific interests are held in real-time
by users typing text messages
(left) click verb to press and release the left-hand button on a
mouse
(right) click verb to press and release the right-hand button on a
mouse
clock speed noun the internal heartbeat of a computer, also
known as "clock rate." The clock circuit uses fixed vibrations
generated from a quartz crystal to deliver a steady stream of
pulses to the CPU.
CMC noun abbreviation for computer mediated communication,
i.e. the transfer of messages using a computer system
code noun a piece of program text written in a programming lan-
guage
code verb to write the text of a program or part of a program us-
ing a computer language ,
compatible adj able to operate on the same type of system or
run the same software
computer case noun (also known as the computer chassis, cabi-
net, tower, box, enclosure, housing or simply case) is the enclo-
sure that contains the main components of a computer. It has al-
so been erroneously called the CPU, however this is an entirely
different component
computer fraud noun (legal) a computer crime, i.e. breaking the
criminal law by use of a computer
computer language noun a language used for writing computer
programs
computer science noun the study of computers and their use
computer-mediated communication noun a process of transfer-
ring messages using computers
computing noun the theory and practice of computers
computing science noun see computer science
configure verb to adjust the settings
153
connect verb to link together two points in a circuit or communi-
cations network
connection noun when two computers have established a path
through which the exchange of information can occur
connectivity noun the characteristic of being connected
corrupt verb to damage in such a way that prevents normal use
CPU noun abbreviation for central processing unit
crack verb to break into a computer system in order to steal in-
formation or cause damage
cracker noun an individual who attempts to gain unauthorised
access to a computer system. These individuals are often mali-
cious and have many means at their disposal for breaking into a
system. The term was coined in 1985 by hackers in defence
against journalistic misuse of "hacker"
crash verb to fail suddenly and completely usually referring to
the failure of a hard disk
CRT noun abbreviation for cathode ray tube
Ctrl + Alt + Del noun set of symbols that signify pressing the
combination of the control-alternative and delete keys on a
computer keyboard at the same time
cursor noun a symbol on the monitor screen that indicates the
point on the screen that is being used
cut and paste verb to remove some data from a file and tempo-
rarily store it in the computer's memory then insert a copy of the
data in another position in the same or in another file
D
data noun the information processed by a computer
data mining noun a process of analysing a large amount of
stored data to find new useful information
data stream noun the flow of data
data warehouse noun a computing centre that provides a large
collection of data gathered from different sources for data min-
ing
database management system noun software that controls the
organization, storage, retrieval, security and integrity of data in
154
 a database; it accepts requests from the application and instructs
the operating system to transfer the appropriate data
database (program) noun a type of applications program used
for storing information so that it can be easily searched and
sorted
DBMS noun abbreviation for database management system
debug verb to find and fix faults in a program or system
decimal code noun the system, which employs 10 digits, each
digit position represents a power of 10 (100, 1,000, etc.)
decipher verb to change coded information into normal text
decrypt verb to recover the original text from an encrypted mes-
sage
default noun an initial setting that can be changed by the user
denial of service attack noun a type of computer crime that in-
volves swamping a server with large numbers of requests
desktop noun the main graphical user interface background
screen that displays icons for other programs
desktop (computer) noun a personal computer that is designed to
be used on an office desk
desktop application noun a computer program designed to be
used on a desktop computer
dial-up networking noun a communications system that allows
computers to connect together using a telephone line
digital subscriber line noun a broadband communications sys-
tem that allows digital signals to be transferred across an ordi-
nary analogue telephone line
directory noun a storage area used for grouping files so that they
can be easily located. A directory is sometimes called a folder.
disk noun a flat circular storage device
disk drive noun a storage device for reading from and writing to
disks
disk formatting noun preparing a disk so that a computer can
read and write data on it. Formatting a disk includes creating
the physical tracks and sector identification, and creating the
indexes specific to the operating system it will be used on
divider noun a vertical bar that divides a Windows Explorer win-
155
 dow into two parts. One part shows the drive folders and the
other part shows the filenames of the files in the selected folder.
double-click verb to press and release the left-hand button
on a mouse two times in rapid succession
download verb to copy a file from a server to a client computer
in a network
download noun a process of copying a file from a server to a cli-
ent computer in a network
drag and drop verb to move data from one location to another
with a mouse. Holding down the mouse button while moving
the mouse moves the selected data. Releasing the mouse button
drops the data in the new location
drive noun a device that spins disks or tapes in order to read and
write data; for example, a hard drive, floppy drive, CD-ROM
drive, or tape drive
driver noun a systems program that controls a peripheral device
DSL noun abbreviation for digital subscriber line
DVD noun abbreviation for digital versatile disk; an optical stor-
age medium with improved capacity and bandwidth compared
with the Compact Disc
DVD (-ROM) noun abbreviation for digital versatile disk read
only memory. An optical disk storage device that can hold a
large amount of video data.
E
earphone noun sound output device that fits into the ear of the
user ground point or zero voltage point
e-commerce noun the business of buying and selling goods and
services on the Internet
editor noun a computer program for making changes to text in
computer programs or data
electrical circuit noun a path that transmits electric current.
electronic virtual assistant noun a computer program represent-
ed by an animated screen image that is used to help the user
perform particular tasks such as searching the Internet for useful
data
156
email noun the common name for an electronic mail message, i.e.
a text message sent electronically using a computer
email verb to send an email message
email address noun the unique address code used
to contact someone using electronic mail
email attachment noun a file that is attached to an email mes-
sage
email program noun a computer program used for reading and
sending email
email service noun an Internet service that allows user to send
and receive emails
encode verb to write information in a coded form
encoder noun a computer program that converts WAV files into
MP3 files or vice versa
encrypt verb to transform data into coded form to make it secure
encryption noun the transformation of data into coded form to
make it secure
Enter (key) noun another name for the RETURN key on a com-
puter keyboard. Pressing the ENTER key inserts the data into
the memory of the computer.
erasable optical disk noun a CD that allows data to be deleted
and new data to be recorded on it
executable containing instructions that can be run or executed by
the processor
execute verb to perform a computer operation by processing a
program instruction
expansion card noun an electronic circuit board used for adding
facilities to a computer
expansion slot noun a long thin connector that is used for adding
additional electronics in the form of expansion cards
F
file noun a computer program or data stored on a storage device
file virus noun a virus that attaches itself to a program file
firewall noun a combination of hardware and software used to
control the data going into and out of a network. It is used to
157
 prevent unauthorised access to the network by hackers.
floppy (disk) noun a magnetic storage device in the form of a
small plastic disk. Also known as a diskette.
floppy (disk) drive noun common magnetic storage device that
reads and writes data on a floppy disk. Also known as a diskette
drive.
folder noun see directory
freeware noun computer programs that are made available to an-
yone who wants to use them at no cost to the user
G
Gb/GB noun abbreviation for a gigabyte
geek noun although it was originally a derogatory term used for
an expert lacking in social skills, it is now used in computing to
mean a dedicated expert
GHz noun abbreviation for gigahertz
gigabit noun a unit of storage capacity equal to 1 073 741 824
bits
gigabyte noun a unit of storage capacity equal to 1 073 741 824
bytes
gigahertz noun a unit of frequency equal to one thousand million
hertz (cycles every second)
graph noun a picture that gives an overview of a collection of
information, usually statistical or mathematical information. A
graph can reveal trends that would be harder to recognize by
just looking at numbers. Some kinds of graphs are a line graph,
a bar graph, and a pie chart
graphic noun 1. a symbol produced by a process such as hand-
writing, drawing, printing, engraving, etc. 2. an image in com-
puter graphics format.
graphical (user) interface noun the part of an operating system
that allows the user to interact with a computer using graphic
images and a cursor
graphics noun the creation, editing, and printing of pictures.
Computer graphics has two main methods: vector graphics
(stored as a list of vectors) and raster or bitmap graphics (stored
158
 as a collection of dots or pixels)
GUI Graphical User Interface, a method of interacting with a
computer that uses graphics in addition to text.

H
hack verb to gain unauthorised access to a network system
hacker noun 1. a person who enjoys exploring the details of pro-
grammable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as op-
posed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum nec-
essary; 2. one who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively)
or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about
programming; 3. a person who is good at programming quickly;
4. an expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does
work using it or on it; as in "a Unix hacker"; 5. an expert or en-
thusiast of any kind (one might be an astronomy hacker, for ex-
ample); 6. one who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creative-
ly overcoming or circumventing limitations; 7. (deprecated) a
malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information
by poking around. The correct term is cracker.
handheld (computer) noun a small portable computer that can
be held in one hand
hang verb to suddenly and unexpectedly stop processing during
the execution of a program
hard (disk) (drive) noun a common magnetic storage device that
reads and writes data on metal disks inside a sealed case
hardware noun the physical components of a computer system
(disk drive) head noun the part of a disk drive that reads and
writes data to the disk
headphone noun sound output device that fits over the ears of the
user
hexadecimal system noun a number representation using the dig-
its 0-9, with their usual meaning, plus the letters A-F to repre-
sent hexadecimal digits with values of (decimal) 10 to 15. The
right-most digit counts ones, the next counts multiples of 16,
then 16^2 = 256, etc.
highlight verb to select by marking on the display screen
159
hijacking noun a computer crime that involves redirecting any-
one trying to visit a certain website elsewhere
Home button noun the button icon on a Web browser program
that takes you to the starting webpage
homepage noun the main start page of a website
host noun a computer that provides a service on a network / a
program that carries a virus
hot plug verb to attach a device to a system without switching the
system off and without causing problems to the system
hover verb to hold a cursor over an icon for a short period of
time
hub noun an electronic device at the centre of a star network to-
pology
hyperlink noun a text or image in a webpage that causes a related
webpage to be displayed or another program to be started when
the user clicks on the hyperlink using the mouse
I
I/O noun abbreviation for input/output
IBM /noun abbreviation for International Business Machines, the
largest computer company in the world. It launched the first
personal computer called the IBM PC which quickly became
the standard.
IС noun abbreviation for integrated circuit. A complete electronic
circuit built on a single silicon chip.
icon noun a small picture used in a WIMP system to represent a
program folder or file
image editor noun a computer program that allows the user to
make changes to images
inbox noun the folder in an email program where emails are
stored when they are first received
information technology noun the study and practice of tech-
niques or use of equipment for dealing with information
initialise (the hard disk) verb to reboot or restart the computer
input verb to put data into a system
input noun data put into a system
160
input device noun a piece of equipment used for putting data
into a computer
install verb to put a program or application onto a computer sys-
tem
instruction noun one line of a computer program
integrated circuit noun a microelectronic semiconductor device
consisting of many interconnected transistors and other compo-
nents
Intel noun the American company that designs and produces the
electronic processors used in most of the computers in the
world
interactive adj allows two-way communication so that the user
can respond or interact with the system
interface noun the hardware or software that connects two sys-
tems and allows them to communicate with each other
Internet service provider noun an organisation that provides In-
ternet connections for a fee
Internet (the) noun the connection of computer networks across
the world
ISP noun abbreviation for Internet service provider
IT noun abbreviation for information technology
J
JPEG noun abbreviation for joint photographic expert group the
committee that devised a common standard for image file for-
mat and compression. JPEG compression is commonly used for
photographic images in webpages because it creates very small
files.
junk email noun unwanted and unsolicited email that is normally
advertising or trying to sell something
K
Kb/KB noun abbreviation for a kilobyte. A unit of storage capac-
ity equal to 1024 bytes.
Kbit/s noun abbreviation for kilobits per second. A unit of signal
speed equal to 1024 bits every second. A more common form is
kbps.
161
kbps noun abbreviation for kilobits per second. A unit of signal
speed equal to 1024 bits every second.
KDE noun a graphical user interface used with the Linux operat-
ing system
kernel noun the lowest level layer at the core of an operating sys-
tem. It deals with allocating hardware resources to the rest of
the operating system and the application programs.
keyboard noun the main electronic input device that has keys
arranged in a similar layout to a typewriter
key logger noun 1. a program or hardware device that captures
every key depression on the computer. Also known as "Key-
stroke Cops," they are used to monitor an employee's activities
by recording every keystroke the user makes, including typos,
backspacing and retyping; 2. a software-based keystroke logger
can also be a Trojan that was installed clandestinely with the in-
tent to steal passwords and confidential information
keystroke noun the process of pressing and releasing a key on a
keyboard
kHz noun abbreviation for kilohertz. A unit of frequency equal to
1000 cycles every second.
killer application noun an application program that is particular-
ly useful and popular, making a computer system very success-
ful
L
LAN noun acronym for local area network
language processor noun software that performs computer lan-
guage translation
laptop (computer) noun the largest type of portable computer
laser printer noun a printer that prints using toner powder and
laser light on a photosensitive drum
LCD abbreviation for liquid crystal display. An electronic display
device that uses liquid crystal cells to control the reflection of
light.
link noun a common term used for a hyperlink, i.e. the connec-
tion of a webpage to another webpage or file
162
Linux noun a clone of the Unix operating system created by Li-
nus Torvalds for use on personal computers
Linux distribution noun the Linux-user term for a complete op-
erating system kit complete with the utilities and applications
needed to make it do useful things, e.g. command interpreters,
programming tools, text editors, typesetting tools and graphical
user interfaces
load verb to copy a program from a storage device into the com-
puter's memory
local area network noun computers connected together over a
small area such as a company department
logon verb to connect to a network system account normally us-
ing a password
logic bomb noun destructive code introduced into a program that
is triggered by some event taking place on the computer system
at a later time
M
(Apple) Mac noun the common name for the Apple Macintosh
range of computers. A type of personal computer manufactured
by Apple Computer Incorporated.
machine code a computer language that consists entirely of a
combination of Is and Os
machine intelligence noun another name for artificial intelli-
gence
Mac OS noun the family of operating systems used on the Apple
Macintosh range of computers
macro virus noun a virus program in the form of a macro pro-
gram
magnetic tape noun a magnetic storage medium in the form of a
thin plastic ribbon wound on a reel or a cassette. It is commonly
used for backing up data.
mail bombing noun a computer crime that involves inundating
an email address with thousands of messages slowing or even
crashing the server
mail client noun an email program that connects to an email
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 server to send and receive email
mail server noun a network service that stores email messages
and enables email clients to send and receive emails
mailbox noun a folder used by an email server to store a user's
emails
main memory noun the electronic memory that holds the pro-
grams and data being used
mainframe (computer) noun the largest and most powerful type
of computer. It is operated by a team of professionals
malware noun any software designed to do something that the
user would not wish it to do, hasn't asked it to do, and often has
no knowledge of until it's too late. Types of malware include
backdoor, virus, worm, Trojan horse
Mb / MB noun abbreviation for a megabyte
Mbit/s / Mbps noun abbreviation for megabits per second. A unit
of signal speed equal to 1 048 576 bits every second
media noun different types of data storage options (computer
media can be hard drives, removable drives (such as Zip disks),
CD-ROM or CD-R discs, DVDs, flash memory, USB drives,
and floppy disks)
medium noun an intervening substance through which signals
can travel as a means for communication
megabyte noun a unit of storage capacity equal to 1 048 576
bytes
megahertz noun a unit of frequency equal to 1 million cycles
every second
memory noun the electronic part of a computer system that is
used for temporarily storing the programs and data that are be-
ing used by the processor
menu noun a list of items you can select. It usually appears on
your computer screen as a list of command choices (such as
"open" or "save" or "exit"). This term also loosely refers to any
type of drop-down menu, dialogue box, check box, or list of op-
tion buttons that appear on a Web site.
menu bar noun a row of icons on a display screen that open up
menus when selected
164
metadata noun data about data in a document
metalanguage noun a language from which you can create other
languages
MHz noun abbreviation for megahertz
microchip noun an electronic integrated circuit in a small pack-
age
microcomputer noun a personal computer. Smaller and less
powerful than a mainframe or a minicomputer.
microprocessor noun the main electronic chip in a computer. It
can be thought of as the 'brain' of the computer because it does
the main processing and controls the other parts of the comput-
er. It is sometimes called the CPU.
Microsoft noun the common name for the Microsoft Corporation.
The company founded by Bill Gates that developed the MS-
DOS and Windows operating systems and a variety of software
commonly used on desktop computers.
minicomputer noun a computer that is slightly less powerful and
a little smaller than a mainframe
MO adj abbreviation for magneto-optical. Used to describe stor-
age devices that use a combination of magnetism and laser
light.
modem noun short for modulator/demodulator. An electronic de-
vice that converts signals to enable a computer to be connected
to an ordinary telephone line.
monitor noun the main output device used to display the output
from a computer on a screen. See VDU.
motherboard noun the main electronic circuit board inside a
computer that holds and connects together all the main electron-
ic components
mouse noun a common cursor control input device used with a
graphical user interface. It commonly has two or three button
switches on top and a ball underneath that is rolled on a flat sur-
face.
mouse button noun a switch on a mouse that is pressed to select
an object on the screen
mouse pointer noun a cursor image in the shape of an arrow that
165
 is controlled by a mouse and is used for pointing and selecting
icons on the screen
MP3 noun abbreviation for MPEG Audio Layer 3. A Motion Pic-
ture Experts Group standard for audio compression.
MPEG noun a standard video compression scheme. The term is
an acronym for Motion Picture Experts Group a committee that
develops standards for audio and video file formats and com-
pression.
MS-DOS noun abbreviation for Microsoft disk operating system.
The command line operating system that was used in the first
PCs.
multimedia noun the combination of text graphics animation
sound and video
multimodal input noun the process of operating a user interface
using a combination of types of input, e.g. keyboard and speech
recognition
N
Net (the) noun the common name for the Internet
network verb to connect a number of computers and peripheral
devices together
network noun a combination of a number of computers and pe-
ripheral devices connected together
network guru noun a person who is an expert in networking and
gives talks and advice on the future development of networking
newsgroup noun an Internet discussion group that uses a restrict-
ed area on a server computer to display messages about a com-
mon interest
node noun a network terminal or point where a computer is con-
nected to a network
notebook (computer) noun a portable computer that is about the
same size as a piece of writing paper
numeric keyboard noun the section of a computer keyboard that
includes keys for entering numerical digits (0-9) and mathemat-
ical operators (+,-)
O
166
OCR noun abbreviation for optical character recognition
(Microsoft) Office noun a widely-used application package de-
veloped by the Microsoft Corporation that includes programs
used in a typical office, e.g. a word processor and spreadsheet
office application /suite noun a computer program or set of pro-
grams that are used in a typical office, e.g. a word processor
spreadsheet and database
offline adj disconnected from a computer system or the Internet
online connected to a computer system or the Internet
Open Source part of a system of software development where
anyone is free to take a copy of the source code and extend de-
velop or fix bugs in it
operating system noun the set of programs that control the basic
functions of a computer and provides communication between
the application programs and the hardware
optical character recognition noun a process that enables a
computer to scan and recognise printed characters using the re-
flection of light
optical media noun data storage material that is written to or read
from using laser light
OS noun abbreviation for operating system
OS X noun version 10 of the Apple Macintosh operating system.
It is a modular OS and has a desktop with a 3-D appearance. It
includes support for UNIX-based applications as well as older
Mac applications.
OS/2 noun a multitasking desktop operating system for PCs that
was marketed by IBM
output noun the processed data or signals that come out of a
computer system
P
(software) package noun an application program or collection of
programs that can be used in different ways
palm-size PC noun another name for a handheld IBM compatible
computer
palmtop (computer) noun a portable computer that is small
167
 enough to be held in the palm of one hand. See handheld com-
puter.
password noun a secret code used to control access to a network
system
paste verb to insert a copy of data held in a computer's memory at
a chosen position
patch verb to insert programming code into a computer program
to fix or modify it in some way
PC noun abbreviation for an IBM type of personal computer
PDA noun abbreviation for Personal Digital Assistant, a handheld
device combining the features of organizer, notepad, address
book, and – in newer models – phone, fax and Internet browser.
pen-based computer noun a small computer that has a pen input
device instead of a keyboard
Pentium noun a family of processors produced by the Intel Cor-
poration
peripheral noun a piece of equipment that is connected to the
central processing unit of a computer system
personal computer noun a computer designed to be used by one
person at a time
piggybacking noun a computer crime that involves using another
person's identification code or using that person's files before he
or she has logged off
PIN noun an acronym for personal identification number. A
unique number used by electronic systems to indicate who a
person is
plug noun connector with protruding pins that is inserted into a
socket to provide an electrical connection
plug in verb to make an electrical connection by pushing a plug
into a socket
pointer noun an arrow-shaped cursor
pop-under ad noun a variation on the pop-up ad, this online ad
displays in a new browser window behind your current browser
window. A pop-under ad is most commonly the size of the im-
age to the right (or larger)
pop-up ad noun an online advertisement, that is displayed in a
168
 new browser window when you click from one page to another.
A pop-up ad, as well as a pop-under ad, is most commonly the
size of the image to the right
portable (computer) noun a computer that is small and light
enough to be carried from place to place. It can usually be pow-
ered by batteries
ppi pixels per inch, a measurement of image resolution of a dis-
play.
primary disk drive noun the main disk drive in a computer. In a
PC this is usually a hard disk known as the С drive
Print Screen (key) noun the computer keyboard key that copies
the current display screen image to memory or to the printer
printed circuit board noun an electronic board that holds and
connects the components of an electronic circuit
printer noun a common output device used for printing the out-
put of a computer on paper
processor noun the part of a computer that processes the data
program noun a set of instructions written in a computer lan-
guage that control the behaviour of a computer
program verb to write a set of instructions for controlling a com-
puter using a computer language
programmer noun a person who writes computer programs
programming noun the processes of writing a computer program
using a computer language
programming language noun a computer language used for
writing computer programs
propagate verb to move through a medium; to spread
propagation noun movement through a conductive medium
protocol noun a set of agreed standards
public-key cryptography noun a method of coding messages
using public and private keys to prevent others from reading
them
pull-down menu noun a list of choices that appear below a menu
title on a display screen when the user clicks on the menu title
using a mouse
R
169
radio button noun one of a set of mutually exclusive options in a
dialog box, i.e. the user can only select one, causing the others
to be deselected
RAM noun acronym for random access memory
random access memory noun a type of memory that can be ac-
cessed in any order. RAM is the main electronic memory of a
personal computer and is used for storing the programs and data
being used
read only memory noun a type of data storage device which is
manufactured with fixed contents
reboot verb to restart a computer operating system
recorder (program) noun a computer program that allows the
user to create their own audio CDs with a writeable CD-ROM
drive
Recycle Bin noun the folder in Microsoft Windows operating
systems where deleted files are stored
resident adj is kept in the computer's memory
resolution noun a measure of the quality of a display screen in
terms of the amount of graphical information that can be shown
on the screen. This partly depends on the number of dots that
make up the image
restart verb to start again
restore verb to put data back into its original location
robotics noun the study of robot systems
ROM noun acronym for read only memory
route noun the path that is used to transfer data in a network
route verb to move data from node to node on a network
router noun an electronic device that links different networks or
parts of a network. It determines the path that a signal should
take to reach its destination.
rpm noun abbreviation for revolutions per minute
run verb to execute a program, i.e. to get a program to process
the data

S
s/w noun abbreviation for software
170
salami shaving noun a computer crime that involves manipulat-
ing programs or data so that small amounts of money are de-
ducted from a large number of transactions or accounts and ac-
cumulated elsewhere
save verb to copy a program or data to a storage device
scan verb to copy text or graphics using a scanner
scanner noun an optical input device that uses the reflection of
light to copy text or graphics into a computer
(monitor)(display) screen noun a computer output device used
for displaying text and graphic images
scroll verb to move through displayed information smoothly on
the screen either horizontally or vertically
scrollbar noun the part of a graphical user interface window that
allows the user to move through a document by clicking or
dragging with the mouse
SDRAM noun abbreviation for synchronous dynamic random
access memory. A type of fast memory that uses a separate
clock signal in addition to the normal control signals
search engine noun a program designed to find information on
the World Wide Web according to data entered by the user.
Search engines are usually accessed from special websites
select verb to position a pointer over an object (such as a button
or menu option) and click on the mouse-button
semiconductor noun a material, typically crystalline, which al-
lows current to flow under certain circumstances. Common
semiconductors are silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide. Sem-
iconductors are used to make diodes, transistors and other basic
"solid state" electronic components
serial port noun the small connector at the back of the system
unit of a personal computer that is used to connect a serial de-
vice such as a serial mouse or a modem. Two serial ports la-
belled C0M1 and COM2 are usually provided on a PC.
server noun a main computer that provides a service on a net-
work
shareware noun software that is distributed freely and only paid
for if the user decides to keep it
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shift key noun the computer keyboard key that is held down to
produce uppercase letters
shut down verb to switch off and stop the functions of a machine
or system
signup verb to register with a service
silicon noun (Si) an element found in rocks and sand, which is
used as the base, or substrate, for computer chips
site noun a common name for a website
site map noun a webpage that is used to show the overall layout
of a website
skin noun a computer program that is used to change the interface
of another program, e.g. to change the screen display on an
MP3 player program
software noun the programs and data used in a computer
software engineering noun the discipline of designing high qual-
ity software solutions
software house noun a company that designs and produces soft-
ware
software piracy noun a computer crime that involves unauthor-
ised copying of a program for sale or distributing to other users
soundcard noun the electronic circuit expansion board in a com-
puter that is used to process audio signals and connect to and
control a microphone loudspeaker or headphone
spam noun unsolicited email sent to large numbers of people in-
discriminately usually advertising or trying to sell a product
speaker noun common term for a loudspeaker. An output device
for providing sound output.
spoofing noun a computer crime that involves tricking a user into
revealing confidential information such as an access code or a
credit card number
spreadsheet (program) noun a type of application program with
an array of cells that is used for calculating formulas
spyware noun any type of software that transmits information
without the user's knowledge
standalone adj not connected to a network
Start (button) noun an icon on the bottom left corner of Mi-
172
 crosoft Windows operating system desktops that allows the user
to access programs and data and to close down the system
Start menu noun the list of choices that opens upon the display
screen when the user clicks the Start button in a Microsoft Win-
dows desktop
status bar noun a narrow band displayed across the bottom of a
window in a Microsoft Windows application to display useful
information for the user, e.g. number of pages in a document
stealth virus noun a type of virus that hides itself making it hard
to detect
storage device noun a piece of equipment used for reading from
and writing to a storage medium
storage medium noun a material used for storing programs and
data
store verb to copy or transfer data from the computer to a storage
medium such as disk or tape
subfolder noun a storage area that provides a subdivision of a
folder so that stored files can be organised into smaller groups
submenu noun a list of choices that is displayed when the user
clicks on an item in a menu
sub-program noun a small program that performs a specific
function and is part of a larger program
subtract verb a relational DBMS operation that generates a third
file from all the records in one file that are not in a second file.
supercomputer noun the most powerful type of mainframe com-
puter
supervisor (program) noun the most important program in the
operating system. It is resident and controls the entire operating
system. It loads other operating system programs into memory
when they are needed.
surf verb to browse webpages on the Internet in an unplanned
way
surge protector noun an electronic device that protects equip-
ment from damage due to sudden high voltage or current in the
power supply
system bus noun the sets of connectors that carry signals between
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 system components such as the processor and memory in a
computer
system tray noun a section at the far right of a Microsoft Win-
dows task bar that holds icons for the clock and other programs
that run constantly in the background
system unit noun the primary computer equipment; housed in a
desktop or floor-standing cabinet, it contains such components
as the motherboard, CPU, RAM and ROM chips, hard and
floppy disks and several input/output ports
T
tab noun a dialog box component that is used to switch between
different sets of data
tab (key) noun the computer keyboard key that is used to move
the cursor to the next tabulation point in a word processor pro-
gram so that data can be spaced evenly on the screen
tape noun a magnetic storage medium commonly used for storing
backup files
taskbar noun а Microsoft Windows desktop component that in-
dicates what programs are currently being used and allows the
user to switch between them
terabit noun a unit of storage capacity equal to 1 009 511 627
776 bits
text editor noun a computer program for editing basic data or
program text, i.e. like a basic word processor
TFT display noun abbreviation for thin film transistor display. A
type of LCD screen display commonly used in portable com-
puters. It uses a separate transistor to control each pixel on the
display
thick /heavy client noun a full-featured computer that is connect-
ed to a network. Unlike thin clients, which lack hard drives and
other features, thick clients are functional whether they are con-
nected to a network or not. While a thick client is fully func-
tional without a network connection, it is only a "client" when it
is connected to a server. The server may provide the thick client
with programs and files that are not stored on the local ma-
174
 chine's hard drive. It is not uncommon for workplaces to pro-
vide thick clients to their employees. This enables them to ac-
cess files on a local server or use the computers offline. When a
thick client is disconnected from the network, it is often referred
to as a workstation.
thin client noun a low-cost centrally-managed basic computer
with a keyboard and display screen processor and memory but
no CD-ROM drive, floppy disk drive or expansion slots, e.g. a
NetPC or a network computer (NC)
throughput noun the amount of data that passes through a system
in a given period of time
toggle-box noun a screen icon in Windows Explorer that opens or
closes a folder to show or hide its subfolders when the user
clicks on it using a mouse
tooltip noun a label that appear on the screen when the user holds
the mouse pointer over an icon in a Microsoft Windows system
tower chassis noun a personal computer case that stands on end
and can be placed on the floor unlike the normal desktop case
that sits flat on a desk under the monitor
track noun a formatted circular magnetic storage area on a com-
puter disk
traffic noun the volume of signals or data that passes through a
network system
transistor noun a solid state electronic switch or amplifier
trapdoor noun a technique used in a computer crime that in-
volves leaving within a completed program an illicit program
that allows unauthorised - and unknown -entry
Trojan horse noun a technique used in a computer crime that
involves adding concealed instructions to a computer program
so that it will still work but will also perform prohibited duties.
In other words it appears to do something useful but actually
does something destructive in the background.
troubleshoot verb to find and fix faults in a system
troubleshooter noun a person who finds and fixes faults in a sys-
tem
turn off verb to switch off or to disconnect the power supply to a
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 machine
turn on verb to switch on or to connect the power supply to a
machine
typesetting noun preparation for printing
U
undo verb to restore a file to the condition it was in before the
last change was made
unencrypt verb to remove the encryption from a file
uninterruptible power supply noun a backup power supply that
works when electrical power to the computer is interrupted. A
small UPS can supply battery power for a few minutes so files
can be saved and the computer can be shut down properly; a
larger UPS can supply power for much longer
Unix noun a popular multi-user multitasking operating system
originally designed for mainframe computers. A wide variety of
versions exist
update noun a change that provides the latest version
update verb to bring up to date, i.e. to change into the latest ver-
sion
upgrade noun a change that improves the features or perfor-
mance of a system
upgrade verb to add components to improve the features or per-
formance of a system
upload verb to copy a file from a client computer to a server in a
network
UPS noun abbreviation for uninterruptible power supply
URL noun abbreviation for uniform (or universal) resource loca-
tor
utility (program) noun a program included with an operating
system that can perform useful common routine tasks or house-
keeping operations, e.g. formatting disks or copying files
V
vacuum tube noun a sealed glass or metal container, evacuated
to a high degree of vacuum, through which a controlled flow of
electrons is directed; the first computers used vacuum tubes as
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 on/off switches to indicate the 0s and 1s in digital computations
VDU noun abbreviation for visual display unit. Another name for
a computer monitor.
verify verb to check for accuracy
virtual adj computer-simulated enabling the user to experience
something without needing its physical presence
virtual reality noun a simulated three-dimensional environment
that surrounds the user and is generated by a computer
virus noun a program written with the purpose of causing damage
or causing a computer to behave in an unusual way
virus-check verb to check for viruses
VR noun abbreviation for virtual reality
W
wallpaper noun the background graphics on a Microsoft Win-
dows desktop
Web address noun the Internet address of a webpage
Web developer noun a person who is employed to create web-
sites
Web mail noun a type of email that is accessed from web pages
Web server noun a server computer that stores and provides ac-
cess to websites
Web space noun disk storage space on a web server used for stor-
ing web pages
Web noun common name for the World Wide Web
Webmaster noun a person who administers a Web server
Web page noun a hyperlinked document in a web network sys-
tem
website noun a set of related pages on the World Wide Web
wildcard noun a symbol used in computer commands and for
searching databases. It represents any character or combination
of characters, e.g. using an asterisk searching for *ed would
find all words ending in ed.
window noun a rectangular screen area containing a program
folder or file in a WIMP system
(Microsoft) Windows noun a graphical user interface operating
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 system front-end to MS-DOS developed by the Microsoft Cor-
poration. It has been gradually developed into a full operating
system.
wipe (a disk) verb to delete all the files stored on a disk
word-processing noun the process of typing and editing text us-
ing a word processor
word processor noun a type of computer application program
used for typing and editing text documents
workstation noun a powerful desktop computer used by power
users for work that requires a lot of processing, e.g. graphic de-
sign
World Wide Web (the) noun an information service on the In-
ternet that allows document pages to be accessed using hyper-
links
worm noun a computer program that can make copies of itself,
and spreads through connected systems, using up resources in
affected computers or causing other damage
writeable CD-ROM drive noun a compact disk drive that al-
lows the user to write data onto a CD as well as read data stored
on the CD
WWW noun abbreviation for the World Wide Web. The Internet
service used for connecting to multimedia web pages.
X
X (windowing) (system) noun a windowing system used with
different versions of Unix
XGA noun abbreviation for extended graphics array. An IBM
display screen standard with

178
 СПИСОК ИСПОЛЬЗОВАННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ

1. Англо-русский словарь сокращений по компьютерным

технологиям (компьютеры, программы, мультимедиа,
Интернет). Фадеев С.В. – М:РУССО, 2000.
2. Англо-русский толковый словарь по Интернет. Мирончи-
ков И.К., Павловцев В.А. – Мн.: Харвест, М.: АСТ, 2000.
3. Большой толковый словарь компьютерных терминов.
Русско-английский, англо-русский. – М.: Вече, АСТ,
1999.
4. Birnes William J. Microcomputer Applications Handbook.
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1990.
5. Boeckner K., Brown P.Ch. Oxford English for Computing.
Oxford University Press, 1996.
6. Dictionary of Information Technology. Peter Collin Publish-
ing, 2002
7. Emmerson P. Email English. MacMillan, 2005.
8. English for Computer Science Students. Учебное посо-
бие/Сост.Т.В.Смирнова, М.В.Юндельсон; Науч.ред.
Н.А.Дударева. –М.: Флинта: Наука, 2001.
9. Esteras S.R. Infotech: English for computer users. Cambridge,
2006.
10. Freire M.M., Pereira M. Encyclopedia of Internet Technolo-
gies and Applications. Information Science Publishing, 2008.
11. Glendinning E.H., McEvan J. Oxford English for Information
Technology. Oxford University Press, 2006.
12. Marks J. Check Your English Vocabulary for Computers and
Information Technology. London: A&C Black, 2007.

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 Учебное издание
Ольга Владимировна Федотова
English for Information Technology Students

Учебное пособие
к профессионально-ориентированному
курсу английского языка

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