11. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the comparison degrees:

1. The commonest problem is there where a word could mean one of two different things. 2. A television set, a computer, a telephone system are simpler than a human being. 3. Another advantage in this case is that less power is required to run a computer. 4. A computer does arithmetic problems million times faster than any person. 5. The smaller the computer, the faster it can work. 6. The better we know the Universe, the better we know our Earth. 7. The symbols representing intermediate results appear later in the flow chart of the right-hand side of the equation. 8. In this case the instruction puts the number U into the largest number cell. 9. The left-hand function box in the flow chart represents 005 on the next lower level, and the lowest box represents 007.

12. Read and translate Text b without a dictionary. Render it in Russian: text b

ADA & С

ADA is a high level programming language. It is a PASCAL-based language, but much more comprehensive than PASCAL, being designed for both commercial and scientific problems. ADA is a compiler language which can be compiled in separate segments and is noted for its multitasking capabilities.

ADA was named after Augusta Ada Byron (1815-1852), daughter of the English poet, Lord Byron.

С is a high-level structured programming language. It is a compiler language too which is noted for its ability to handle conditions that normally would have to be written in an Assembly Language. Some operating systems are written in C.

Note:

multitasking capability – возможность обработки многих задач

13. Read Text с and reproduce it in English. Text с procedural and non-procedural languages

Procedural language is a language requiring the use of programming discipline. Programmers writing in procedural languages must develop a proper order of actions in order to solve the problem based on knowledge of data/information processing operations and programming techniques, such as looping. All conventional programming languages are procedural languages.

Non-procedural language is a language which does not require programming techniques. Non-procedural languages allow a user or a programmer to express a request to the computer in English-like statements, which specify what, is to be done rather than how it is to be done. Query languages, report writers, and financial planning languages are examples of non-procedural languages.

Non-procedural languages generate the necessary program logic for the computer directly from a user's description of the problem.

Notes:

looping – организация циклов

query language – язык запросов

report writer – язык по написанию отчетов

Part II. Texts for supplementary reading from the history of the computer

The introduction of agriculture revolutionized ancient man's social, economic, and cultural potential. This was the first great step in the evolution of civilization. The more recent Industrial Revolution vastly increasing man's productive capabilities was the next great step and brought forth our present highly mechanized economic and interdependent social civilization.

Nowadays we have another new kind of revolution based on machines that greatly increase man's thinking capabilities of planning, analyzing, computing, and controlling. Hundreds of millions of computers are already in daily use penetrating almost all spheres of our modern society, from nuclear energy production and missile design to the processing of bank checks and medical diagnoses.

The development of mechanical calculating machines made the digital computers necessary. An ordinary arithmometer and a desk key calculator have given rise to electronic digital computers. Digital computers came into being in the first half of the 17th century. Many outstanding Russian and foreign mathematicians of that time created mechanical calculating devices.

The famous Russian scientist M. V. Lomonosov compiled a lot of calculating tables and several computing devices concerning the different fields of science and engineering.

In 1874 the Russian engineer V.T. Odner invented a special counter wheel named after him the Odner's wheel which is used in modern arithmometers and calculators.

P. L. Chebyshev, academician, made a valuable contribution to the field of computing machines. He is known to have many good ideas in mathematics, some of which have been named after him. For example, the Chebyshev's polynomials play a unique role in the field of orthogonal functions. In 1878 he constructed the original computing machine which was exhibited in Paris. In 1882 P. L. Chebyshev invented an arithmometer performing automatically multiplication and division. The principle of automation put into this computing machine is still widely used all over the world when developing the most modern computers.

In 1884 Russia began to manufacture computing machines. In the period of World War I the output of computing machines ceased and was resumed only in the years of the Soviet Power.

At the end of the 1930s computing engineering began the new era. Electronic computers operating at high speed appeared, with electronic devices and units being applied.

The rapid advance of computers followed the success achieved by electronics. There appeared a possibility to solve complex mathematical problems within unusually short time. The modern computing engineering enables to do the amount of calculations and researches within a week which would have required years of laborious work of large groups of people before.

In Russia the first electronic digital computer was developed by S.A. Lebedev in 1950. Then in 1953 the BESM (the large-size electronic computing machine) was designed by the Academy of Sciences. By means of the BESM, the system of 800 unknown values was solved in 20 hours. During the course of computation about 250 million operations were performed. A human being could solve such a problem in 300 years of continuous work.

The BESM was followed by a number of types of large-, medium-, and small-size general and special purpose computers such as Arrow, Ural-1, Ural-2, Minsk-1, etc. It was the first generation computers constructed on electronic tubes.

The second generation computers were solid-state large-powered machines. They were BESM-4, BESM-6, Minsk-22M, and Minsk-32, Ural-14, Ural-16, Razdan-3, M-220 and others.

Nowadays more contemporary computers made on the integrated circuits are commercially available. They are the computers of the third and fourth generations. Among them there are such machines as Nairi-3 made on integrated hybrid microcircuits, the Unified System (ES) of electronic computers 1022, 1033, 1045, 1055, 1066, etc., made on integrated circuits with the application of advanced designing-technological achievements.

Nairi-4 is the representative of the fourth generation the speed of which has been increased by 5 times as compared with the speed of the third-generation computers thanks to using the multilayer printed circuits. The computers of the fourth generation are based on LSI circuits containing tens and hundreds of thousands of active electronic devices in tiny elements. Researches are also being done on computers based on superconducting devices.

A major advance in the development of computer technology was the creation of microprocessors and microcomputers. The tiny computing devices are able to control complex operations. Our industry has already started mass production of microprocessors and microcomputers which will be soon of vital help to man everywhere.

The fifth-generation computers are expected to appear by the turn of the century. They will be based on VLSI and SLSI technologies, optical fibers, videodisks, and artificial intelligence techniques will be incorporated into them.

The invention of electronic computers is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. The significance of it can be compared with the invention of the steam-engine at the end of the 18th century and the utilization of atomic energy.

Notes:

a special counter wheel – специальное счетное колесико

which would have required years of laborious work of large groups of people before – которые потребовали бы раньше годы трудоемкой работы большой группы людей

general and special purpose computers – универсальные и специализированные компьютеры

artificial intelligence – искусственный интеллект