Reading

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 420.

a) Retell the text. Read the text quickly. Match the headings (a-d) with the paragraphs (1-4):

a Memory b Speed c PCs and Notebooks d Hardware/ Software

1. The parts of a computer you can touch, such as the monitor or the Central Processing Unit (CPU) are hardware. All hardware except the CPU and the working memory are called peripherals. Computer programs are software. The operating system (OS) is software that controls the hardware. Most computers run the Microsoft Windows OS. MacOS and Linux are other operating systems.

2. The CPU controls how fast the computer processesdata, or information. We measure its speed in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). The higher the speed of the CPU, the faster the computer will run. You can type letters and play computer games with a 500 MHz CPU. Watching movies on the Internet needs a faster CPU and a modem.

3. We measure the Random Access Memory (RAM) of the computer in megabytes (MB). RAM controls the performance of the computer when it is working and moves data to and from the CPU. Programs with a lot of graphics need a large RAM to run well. The hard disk stores data and software programs. We measure the size of the hard disk in gigabytes (GB).

4. Computer technology changes fast, but a desktop PC (Personal Computer) usually has a tower, a separate monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. The CPU, modem, CD-ROM and floppy disk drives are usually inside the tower. A notebook is a portable computer with all these components inside one small unit. Notebooks have a screen, not a monitor, and are usually more expensive than desktops with similar specifications.