UNIT 11
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 583.
IV. Speak on the topic using your Active Vocabulary
OPTICAL STORAGE
TASK 1
You are going to read an article about optical discs. Find suitable passage A-F to fill each gap 1-5. There is one extra passage which you do not need to use.
A. These are useful for storing such content as High Definition movies.
B. Data is retrieved by a laser beam that reflects off the disc, detecting the pits. Optical drives come in various speeds, spinning between 200 and 4,000 RPMs.
C. containing both audio and video, which have replaced the popular VHS videotape medium.
D. which holds about 4.7GB of memory.
E. so discs storing valuable data should be checked occasionally, and fresh copies made after several years.
F.but discs are ideal for multimedia applications.
An optical storage drive that is capable of writing data to a disc uses a laser beam to burn pits (or bumps) into a special material. This data stream is placed in a spiral path, as found on a vinyl record, but in this case the data begins at the innermost track and works its way out toward the edge of the disc. In industrial mass produced discs, such as those distributing music or movies, the data is placed on the disc by a stamping machine. ...1... CD-R is a read-only-memory optical disc which can be written to only once. CD-RW can be written to many times, similar to a VHS videotape. The same designation is used for read-only DVDs . The next generation of optical discs includes a format known as Blu-ray discs, which can store more information in the same physical space. ...2...
The standard storage capacity for CDs is about 700MB . To put it in perspective, that's enough space to store over 300,000 pages of text or about 80 minutes of music. A full-length movie can be stored on a DVD, ...3... The data on optical discs is conservatively estimated to be viable for five to 10 years, ...4... Store them upright in "jewel" cases, and keep them in a dry, room temperature environment.
Optical discs are used to store audio, video and computer data (which can be information or computer programs). Music CDs are now the medium of choice for distribution of music albums. CD players are found in home stereo systems, car audio systems, and personal computers. Similarly, DVDs have become standard for movie distribution, ...5... Video game consoles also use optical discs for game software. Both CD and DVD drives are available in computers that are capable of both reading and writing information. DVDs are especially useful for archiving computer data, due to their relatively large storage capacity. For making routine backup copies, however, they are losing popularity to other storage devices which have much faster data transfer rates, including USB flash drives and external hard drives.
Unlike hard disсs, which are in a sealed unit, and floppy disks, which are in a protective housing, optical discs have no protection once they are removed from their storage case. Similar to vinyl records, optical discs are vulnerable to scratches, dirt, breakage and fingerprints, although fingerprints can usually be removed by wiping with a soft, damp cloth. Do not touch the surface of optical discs, and hold them by the outer edges and the hole in the middle, as you would vinyl records. Unlike records, there is no wear from repeated playing of optical discs.
TASK 2
Find Russian equivalents to the following words and word combinations from the article in TASK 1.
1) burn pits
2) spiral path
3) Blu-ray discs
4) store upright
5) movie distribution
6) video game console
7) flash drives
8) sealed unit
9) vinyl records
10) vulnerable to scratches
TASK 3
Translate the following words and word combinations into English (TASK 1).
1) оптическое запоминающее устройство
2) лазерный луч
3) внутренняя дорожка
4) емкость памяти
5) оптический диск
6) архивировать данные компьютера
7) резервная копия
8) жесткий диск
9) восстановленные данные
10) вращаться между......
TASK 4
Read the text below and decide which word A-D best fits each place.
Blu-ray also known as Blu-ray Disc , is the name of a new optical disc format 1) __________ developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media 2) __________. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as 3) __________ large amounts of data. The format 4) __________ more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.
While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser 5) __________, hence the name Blu-ray. Despite the different type of lasers used, Blu-ray products can easily be 6) __________ backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), which makes it possible to 7) __________ the laser spot with even greater precision. This 8) __________ data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it's possible to fit more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 is what 9) __________ Blu-ray Discs to hold 25GB/50GB.
Blu-ray is currently supported by about 200 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has support from all Hollywood studios and countless smaller studios as a successor to today's DVD format. Many studios have also 10) __________ that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month .
| 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) | A together A producers A keeping A offers A in spite A done A concentrate A admits A enables A spoke | B jointly B dealers B providing B suggests B either B made B do B provides B lets B boasted | C in company C manufacturers C giving C imposes C instead C sent C match C lets C assists C announced | D mutually D businessmen D storing D is D despite D put D focus D allows D gets D promised |
TASK 5
Fill the gaps with ONE word.
Optical storage is a term 1) __________ engineering referring to the storage of data on 2) __________ optically readable medium. Data is recorded by making marks in a pattern 3) __________ can be read back 4) __________ the aid of light, usually a beam of laser light precisely focused on a spinning disc. An older example, that does not require the use of computers, is microform. There are other means of optically storing data and new methods 5) __________ in development. Optical storage differs from other data storage techniques that make 6) __________ of other technologies such as magnetism or semiconductors.
Optical storage 7) __________ range from a single drive reading a single CD-ROM to multiple drives reading multiple discs such 8) __________ an optical jukebox. Single compact discs can hold 9) __________ 700MB (megabytes)and optical jukeboxes can hold 10) _________ more.
The term optical drive usually refers to a device in a computer that can read CD-ROMs or other optical discs.
TASK 6
Fill the gaps with an appropriate form of the words in capital.
| Opto-electronic multi-chip modules may 1.__________ with an optical interconnection between the electronic circuitry and the "optical bench" portion of the package. One method 2 _______ this may have a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser ("VCSEL")3 __________with, and controlled by, the electronic portion of the module. The VCSEL may direct 4 ________ laser light vertically into the base of the optical portion of the module. An approximate 45-degree angle "mirror" may 5 __________ to change the direction of the laser light from a vertical to a horizontal direction, thus 6_________ it into the optical bench. This mirror may be difficult 7 __________ with conventional methods for one or more reasons. The mirror should have a surface 8 __________ by about 45degrees with 9 __________ to the horizontal surface of the VCSEL. Furthermore, the mirror surface should be smooth to limit losses in light transmission, and it must precisely 10 __________to the underlying VCSEL | PROVIDE DO INTEGRATE IT USE DIRECT FABRICATE INCLINE RESPECT ALIGN |
TASK 7
Render the following Russian article into English.
Персональные компьютеры будущего
Основой компьютеров будущего станут не кремниевые транзисторы, где передача информации осуществляется электронами, а оптические системы. Носителем информации станут фотоны, так как они легче и быстрее электронов. В результате компьютер станет более дешевым и компактным.
ПК будет мал по размерам и иметь мощь современных суперкомпьютеров. ПК станет хранилищем информации, охватывающей все аспекты нашей повседневной жизни, он не будет привязан к электрическим сетям. Этот ПК будет защищен от воров благодаря биометрическому сканеру, который будет узнавать своего владельца по отпечатку пальца.
Жесткий диск будет голографическим и чем-то будет походить на CD-ROM или DVD. То есть, это будет прозрачная вращающаяся пластинка с записывающим лазером с одной стороны и считывающим лазером с другой; объем хранимой информации на таком диске будет достигать просто астрономических величин — несколько терабайт. При таких объемах можно будет хранить каждую мельчайшую деталь жизни.
Процессор ПК будущего будет функционировать по тем же принципам, что и сегодня. Но вместо электронных микропроцессоров, которые являются и мозгом, и мускулами современного компьютера, процессор будущего будет иметь оптоэлектронные интегральные схемы (чипы будут использовать кремний там, где требуется переключение, и оптику для коммуникаций). Это даст огромный прирост в быстродействии и эффективности. Сегодняшний компьютер тратит слишком много времени на ожидание данных для обработки. Мгновенная оптическая связь и память, работающая так же быстро, как и процессор, обеспечат непрерывный поток данных процессору для обработки. При передаче данных со скоростью, не ограниченной больше электронной передачей, можно будет достигнуть частот порядка 100 ГГц, то есть в 100 раз быстрее, чем сегодня.
Процессор будущего может быть шестигранником, окруженным со всех сторон быстрым кэшем так, чтобы требуемые данные могли быть выбраны из ближайшей части кэша. Именно таким образом и будет достигнута производительность сегодняшних супер-ЭВМ.
При применении оптической связи в компьютерных технологиях будет получен тот самый эффект, который наблюдали в 1980 г., когда компьютеры на базе 80286 имели память, работающую на частоте процессора. Скорость шины памяти — та скорость, с которой происходит обмен данными между процессором и памятью, — была равна частоте процессора (всего 8 МГц). Процессор получал данные так же быстро, как мог их обработать, в результате процессор меньше находился в режиме ожидания данных.
Основная память компьютера будет вполне оптической, фактически голографической. Голографическая память имеет трехмерную природу, и можно эшелонировать любое количество плоскостей памяти в прямоугольное твердое тело. Объем чипа в 256 ГБ легко достижим.
Размер экрана не будет играть никакой роли в компьютерах будущего. Он может быль большим, как ваш рабочий стол, или маленьким. Большие варианты компьютерных экранов будут основаны на жидких кристаллах, возбуждаемых фотонным способом, которые будут иметь гораздо более низкое энергопотребление, чем сегодняшние LCD-мониторы. Цвета будут яркими, а изображения — точными (возможны плазменные дисплеи). Фактически сегодняшняя концепция «разрешающей способности» будет в значительно степени атрофирована.
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