EFL Tech - France a Site for Teachers of English ( as a Foreign Language) for  Engineering

(§1)         The first machines that may be called computers were built during World War II by some engineers from a firm that has become famous since then : IBM. Those machines used vacuum tubes(1) and were enormous things capable of performing only a few thousand calculations per second. For instance, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer built at the University of Pennsylvania weighed 3O tons, occupied 167 sq. m of floor space, consumed about 180,000 watts of electrical power and a total of 18,000 tubes went into its structure. Designed for the calculation of ballistic trajectory tables, it officially became operational in February 1946 and was used successfully for about 9 years.

(§2)         Thanks to the discovery of the transistor, 2nd generation computers were more reliable and faster, but, compared with those we have today, they were still extremely expensive and their data processing capacities were low.

(§3)         Naturally, this was quickly superseded (2) by the arrival on the market of a 3rd generation of computers (around 1970) based on a revolutionary discovery : integrated circuits. These are small pieces of silicon (called chips) on which a large number of circuits are printed. With the chip, the computer has gained a lot in weight, power and price. But the chip was further(3) improved by miniaturisation. The microchips that we are now using are made of a semiconductor material -silicon- coated with plastic or metal, sometimes gold and printed with as many as 10 million transistors on 10 sq. cm, thus generating huge computational power. A cheap hand-held calculator of today can perform more computations than the enormous machines of the 1st generation and today's computers of the 4th generation are 5O,000 times as fast while prices have been dramatically reduced : what used to cost $1,000 thirty years ago now sells $5 or $10 (and with improved dependability and capability).

(§4)         This of course has led to the enormous development of micros whose basic element in the Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor with all the circuits necessary to perform the logical and arithmetical operations printed on a single microchip.

(§5)         Computing now seems to be at a crossroads : on the one hand, it is obvious that the computer will be sitting on the desktop for years. As Mr Sokal of Computers Associates puts it : "You have the visualisation trend(4), 3-D stuff(5) and the like that tend to require heavy-duty central processing unit power on desktops". On the other hand, there is also the trend of the Internet. Tomorrow’s computers will take all kinds of information – sound, images, text – and meld, link transform and transmit it as something new. Another trend is linking up all electronic devices, a kind of universal Plug and Play. "There are computers in virtually everything now, they just happen to be nonstandard and don’t talk to each other".notes Mr Sokal. The technology for doing so is under development, and undoubtedly, the major companies are going to fight to impose their own technologies.

(1) vacuum tube : tube à vide
(2) to supersede = to replace
(3 )further = even more
(4) trend = tendency
(5) stuff : des trucs, des machins
 
 

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1 Read the first sentence of each paragraph and decide whether or not the text

• deals with the history of computers;
• examines computers from an economic point of view;
• examines computers from a technical point of view.

1. Pick up the linkwords used to

• introduce examples (§1)
• express means (§2)
• express consequence (§3)
• express contrast (§3 and 5)
• express aim (§5)

1. Pick up the comparatives in para 2 and 3.
2. Pick up the compound nouns and adjectives.

§2 - 1*3 words

§3 - 1*1 words and 1*3 words

§4 - 1*3 words

§5 - 1*2words – 1*6words

3 Are the following statements right or wrong ?

• Computers were given this name by IBM engineers.
• These machines were very powerful.
• They used a technology which was still in use a short time ago.
• ENIAC could do very different types of calculations
• The computers of the second generation were nearly a powerful as today’s.
• We stopped using these kinds of memories about 30 years ago.
• With the discovery of chips, power but also weight have increased.
• The CPU is a complex and heavy piece, made up with many little chips.
• The future of computers is straight and clear:
• it will all be related to the Internet.
• The desktop PC that we have now will soon disappear….
• because, there will be more and more visualisation and 3-D applications.
• In the text, ‘universal Plug and Play’ means you can easily play a game on any computer without having to configure it.
• For the near future, one great project is to connect all electronic devices …
• …so that they can communicate.
• But this is only a project, almost science-fiction.

§2 fiable –traitement (de données) - §3 améliorer – une puce - fiabilité
 
 

LANGUAGE STUDY

1 Singular or plural nouns

Some nouns look singular but have a plural meaning ( and vice versa). Here are a few.
 

	The verb is	Meaning
advice	singular	des conseils	un conseil : a piece of advice
data	singuler (very often)	des données	(sometimes as a plural)
goods	plural	des marchandises	no singular
information	singular	des informations	une information : a piece of information
knowledge	singular	une ou des connaissance
means	singular or plural	un ou des moyens
news	singular	des nouvelles	une nouvelle: a piece of news
people	plural	des gens
physics	singular	la physique	mathematics is easy !
progress	singular	des progrès	un progrès : an advance
research	singular	une ou des recherches
rubbish	singular	des déchets	un déchet : a bit of rubbish
The USA	singular		plural is very rare.
wages	plural	un ou des salaires	sometimes singular

Turn the verb between brackets into the proper form and then translate the sentence into English.

Your information (be) inaccurate. His wages (be) too low. (be) the news good ? Mathematics (be) easier than people (say) . I have a piece of news which (be) surprising. The advice he gives (be) usually good. A gas-works(=usine à gas) (be) very rare now. The USA (be) as large as Europe. There (be) a means to know. His knowledge(have) increased over the years. Research into the fuel cell car ( have) not yet been fully successful. Progress in computing (keep) accelerating.

2-Turn the verb in to the preterit or present perfect as required.

• The ENIAC (be) built about 55 years ago.
• Since 1946, enormous progress (be) made.
• In 1970 integrated circuits (be) invented.
• Thirty years ago, a computer (sell) for hundreds of thousand dollars.
• All computers (be using) microchips for the last 30 years.
• From 1950 to 1970 computers (use) transistors.
• Computers (bring) enormous progress to industry.
• The first analog computer (be) built in 1930 by an American.
• In the last twenty years, computers ( evolve / a lot).

1. Explain why the is used or not:

• §1 the first machines - §2 the discovery – second generation computers – §3 the arrival – integrated circuits – the microchips – §5 tomorrow’s computers - all electric devices.
• §2 the transistor – §3 the chip.

Look at para 3 and 5 and find a similar use of the.

b.Fill in with the when necessary:

• ... technology of ... computers is best symbolised by ... silicon chip.
• ...reduction in size of ... computers in ... last 30 years has been extraordinary.
• ... computing industry is now a major economic actor in … world.
• ... computers of … 2nd generation used transistors while ... 4th generation ones rely on ... printed circuits.
• A few years ago, … people bought … computers to use …word processors and spreadsheets.
• But … immense capabilities of … Internet have opened up … new horizons.

a. Turn the following sentences into the active:

§1 : The first machines that may called computers... – §2 : this was quickly superseded by the arrival … - But the chips was further improved by miniaturisation...

a- Turn into the passive.

§3-: the microchips that we are now using - A hand-held calculator can perform more computations - §5- computers will take all kinds of information.

b - Same exercise. Keep the same tense as in the original sentence.

• In 1946, The University of Pennsylvania built an enormous machine.
• It required 18,000 tubes.
• Since then, engineers have made a lot of progress.
• The discovery of integrated circuits has enormously improved performances.
• Now engineers can print thousands of circuits on a small chip….
• … which engineers coat with gold or plastic.
• In the future, manufacturers will pack more circuits on a chip…
• …so that it will develop even more computational power.

Compare the memory (small / large/ limited), the speed (fast / slow), the price (cheap / expensive)

Use : more... than - ...er ... than - less ... than - (not) as ...as - the most - the ...est - the least (= le moins)

6 Translate into English :

• L'ordinateur est une machine qui a révolutionné l'industrie. (to revolutionise)
• Jusqu'en 1970, les ordinateurs étaient réservés aux grandes entreprises, mais depuis cette date on les utilise partout, même la maison, et bientôt on les trouvera aussi dans la cuisine ou le garage.
• I.B.M. a été créé 1924.
• Les machines à calculer existent depuis longtemps, mais le premier ordinateur a été construit en 1945.
• Bientôt les ventes de lecteurs DVD ( DVD drives) dépasseront ( to surpass)celles de cédéroms.

• What changes have happened in the last thirty years (concerning cost, capability and operation principle) ?
• Would you say the computer is the most important invention made since World War II ?
• "A computer gives a number, not an answer". What are the limitations of computers ?
• Give a friend some advice about the kind of computer he should buy.
You can use the following phrases :
-I recommend that you have …
-I recommend (you/ your) buying …
-I suggest (you/ your) fitting …
-I advise (you) to chose…
-You'd better Ø have …
-You should Ø have…
- Why don’t you buy …?
- If I were you I’d (= I would) install….