Using Computers

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 403.

UNIT 2

READER

UNIT 2

VOCABULARY

TASK 21. Write down Russian equivalents for the following words and expressions.

TASK 22. Learn the vocabulary by heart.

· Trial

· To be brought to trial

· To commit smb to jail

· To be acquitted

· To arrest smb with/without a warrant

· To reprimand

· Writ

· Statute

· Arbitrary government

· Executive government

· Judicial government

· Legislative government

· To carry out the government of the state

· Constitutional government

· A system of government

· To form the government

· Limited government

· The principle of representative government

· Representative government

· To dissolve the government

· To grant

· To be drafted

· Protection against

· Popular consent

· To be regarded as

· To prevent smb from doing smth

· To restrict

· To force

· Supreme authority

· To act on smb's authority

· Local authorities

· To have authority with smb

· He is an authority on law

· To quote one's authorities

· To be made conditional on the will of smb

· To be proud of

· Suspension

· To levy

· Maintenance

· To eliminate interference

· Freedom of speech

· To abuse one's authority

· Law enforcement authorities/agencies

· To undermine smb's authority

· To vest smb with authority

TASK I. Find in the text “Let the Body Be Brought…” the English equivalents for the following words and expressions.

Мировой судья

Ордер на арест

Варварское отношение

Восстание, мятеж, бунт

Вторжение, нападение, нашествие

Недовольство общественности

Печально известный

Заключить в тюрьму

Вызвать гневный протест

Привести к принятию закона

Получить строгий выговор

Предстать перед судом

Быть оправданным

Быть приостановленным

От имени народа/монарха

TASK II. Translate the text.

In Britain, the United States, and many other English-speaking countries, the law of Habeas Corpus guarantees that nobody can be held in prison without trial. Habeas Corpus became a law because of a wild party held in 1621 at the London home of a notoriously rowdy lady, Alice Robinson. When a constable appeared and asked her and her guests to quiet down, Mrs. Robinson allegedly swore at him so violently that he arrested her, and a local justice of the peace committed her to jail.

When she was finally brought to trial, Mrs. Robinson's story of her treatment in prison caused an outcry. She had been put on a punishment diet of bread and water, forced to sleep on the bare earth, stripped, and given 50 lashes. Such treatment was barbaric even by the harsh standards of the time; what made it worse was that Mrs. Robinson was pregnant.

Public anger was so great that she was acquitted, the constable who had arrested her without a warrant was himself sent to prison, and the justice of the peace was severely reprimanded. And the case, along with other similar cases, led to the passing of the Habeas Corpus Act in Britain in 1679. The law is still on the British statute books, and a version of it is used in the United States, where the law was regarded as such an important guarantee of liberty that Article 1 of the Constitution declares that “Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of rebellion or invasion”.

Habeas Corpus is part of a Latin phrase – Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum – that means “Let the body be brought before the judge.” In effect, a writ of Habeas Corpus is an order in the name of the people (or, in Britain, of the sovereign) to produce an imprisoned person in court at once.

TASK III. Retell the text.

TASK IV. Role play “Let the Body Be Brought”. Imagine the following situation: you have been arrested and put in custody. No warrant has been produced. Your friend or lawyer comes to see you in prison. Tell him or her about the problem and ask to take appropriate steps. Appoint another student as a judge who will do justice.

Computers are being used more and more in business because they are fast, efficient and 1_______.

Here are some ways in which computers are used:

- Insurance companies use them to store and 2_______ details of clients' policies.

- Production departments in companies use them to ensure they have adequate 3_______ of raw materials and 4_______.

- Banks use them for processing details of accounts and 5_______.

- Personnel departments use them to keep 6_______ of a company's employees.

For the most part, the computers, software, and 7_______ that are needed depend on individual needs. For instance, if you're an architect you may want a system with good 8_______ capability. If a lot of records are to be kept, then you'll want ample 9_______, perhaps even a CD-ROM 10_______ for permanent storage of massive amounts of data. Regular disks can then be used for 11_______ copies. For desktop 12_______, you may want a monitor with a full-page 13_______ and a high-quality laser 14_______. If quality printing is not so important, then a cheaper ink-jet or even cheaper dot-matrix printer may be more suitable. If you're in a business where you need to do a lot of 15_______, then maybe you should consider a modem, so you can communicate with other computers 16_______.

Vocabulary Bank Unit 1

Task 3. Read, write the translation and learn the basic vocabulary terms:

1. advantage

2. animation

3. appliance

4. appropriate

5. attachment

6. benefit

7. boardroom

8. call monitoring

9. clipart

10. computer output

11. connectivity

12. customer

13. device

14. disabled

15. efficiency

16. endure

17. engine

18. environment

19. equipment

20. expansion card

21. forwarding

22. FTP

23. graphical interface

24. handheld computer

25. hard disk

26. information superhighway

27. interior designer

28. inventory

29. landscape

30. opportunity

31. password

32. relevance

33. remote

34. research

35. search engine

36. security system

37. significantly

38. sophisticated

39. spreadsheet

40. storage device

41. supervision

42. to determine

43. to encourage

44. to perform

45. to download

46. to enhance

47. to log on

48. to plug into

49. to proliferate

50. to require

51. to stay in touch

52. to telecommute

53. to upload

54. vacuum-sealed case

55. videoconferencing

56. word processor

Text 1A. COMPUTER USERS

A computer is a device that processes data according to a set of instructions known as a program. The equipment is known as the hardware and the programs and data are the software. A special set of programs, called an operating system, provides an interface for the user and allows applications programs to communicate with the hardware. Common applications programs include word processors for creating and editing texts, spreadsheets for calculating mathematical formulae and databases for storing data in a way that allows the data to be sorted and searched. Anti-virus programs are used to detect and remove viruses. Some operating systems have graphical (user) interfaces that allow the computer user to select items from menus and to start programs using an input device called a mouse. This is done by pressing a button on the mouse i.e. clicking the mouse. The main device for inputting the data is a typewriter-style keyboard and the output is commonly displayed on a monitor screen that looks like a small television screen.

There is a range of sizes and types of computer. Those designed for use by one person at a time are known as personal computers (PCs). Personal computers include desktop computers and handheld computers that can be carried around by the user. Electronics can be added to desktop computers by plugging in expansion cards (electronic circuit boards that can be plugged into special sockets called expansion slots).

It is also possible to build all the main parts of a computer into one electronic integrated circuit packaged as a single electronic chip i.e. the 'computer on a chip'. This enables computers to be built into other devices including household devices such as washing machines and fridges and to be incorporated into plastic cards i.e. smart cards, which are able to store information such as health records, drivers' licences, bank balances, etc. Devices that include a computer circuit are commonly referred to as smart devices. A multimedia computer can process different forms of data including text, graphics, audio (sound), animation and video. This enables computer systems to be used for a combination of education and entertainment, sometimes referred to as edutainment.

Unlike most machines, computers do not have a fixed purpose. They are multi-purpose tools. They can be used in a very wide variety of situations and are found in a wide range of systems including security systems, cars and phones. Advanced systems, known as expert systems, enable computers to 'think' like experts. Medical expert systems, for example, can help doctors diagnose an illness and decide on the best treatment. As computer systems are developed, they are becoming more common and are gradually being used for more and more purposes. How they are developed, and for what purposes they are actually used in the future, can be influenced by computer users. A variety of devices known as peripherals can be added externally to a computer. One of the most common peripherals is a printer used for printing the computer output on paper. A digital camera allows photographs to be input to a computer for editing.

Not all computer systems are compatible i.e. they cannot use the same programs and data. Connecting computers together to form a network can provide the 'connectivity' required to enable computers and software to communicate and to share resources. Networks connected together form an internet. The connection of networks throughout the world is known as the Internet or, more simply, the Net. Various communication services are available on the Internet, including email (electronic mail) for sending and receiving text messages and IRC (Internet Relay Chat) which allows users to communicate using text messages in real-time i.e. without any delay, while the users are logged on (connected to a network system account, normally using a password) to the system. An Internet service called FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring data or program files between the powerful server computers that provide the network services and the client computers that use these services e.g. downloading music files. Note that copying data from a larger server system to a client is referred to as downloading and copying from the client to the server is known as uploading.

One of the newest and most popular services available on the Internet is the World Wide Web (WWW) which is often simply referred to as the Web. The Web contains interlinked documents called webpages. A set of related webpages stored together on a server computer is called a website. Websites, such as Dogpile and Askjeeves, give the user access to special programs called search engines that are designed to allow the user to find relevant webpages on the Web. An Internet system designed to provide free, interactive access to vast resources for people all over the world is sometimes referred to as an information superhighway.

Services such as these allow people to telecommute (use their computers to stay in touch with the office while they are working at home). Computer users mentioned in this unit include producing greetings cards; using the Microsoft Word word-processing program including features such as clipart (ready-drawn graphic images that can be inserted into documents); communicating on the Internet using email and chat programs including the use of email attachments (other types of files e.g. video files attached to simple email text messages); distance learning and videoconferencing; electronic classrooms or boardrooms; browsing the Web (moving from webpage to webpage using a Web browser program); selling, using a website; painting; scanning pictures; downloading music and creating CD-ROMs. CD-ROMs are storage devices that use laser light for reading and writing data. The most common storage device is a hard disk (a set of aluminium disks coated in a magnetic material and enclosed in a vacuum-sealed case) used for storing the operating system and applications programs as well as the user's data.