Вариант 19

1. Переведите тексты на русский язык.

Is there an End to the Computer Race?

Today the word “electronics” is in general usage. Millions of people are surrounded by electronically controlled machines and instruments, we are carried by airplanes, ships, trains and cars with built-in electronic devices and satellites circle the globe. In other words, we are living in an electronic world.

And the centre of this world is a tiny silicon plate of a few square millimeters, an integrated circuit, or a chip, as it is more commonly known. The integrated circuit is undoubtedly one of the most sophisticated inventions of man, science and technology. It is in the heart of every electronic device and the more TV-sets, CD-players and computers we need, the more integrated circuits are required.

When we speak about further development of computers we mean not only quantity, but also high technology and high speed. As the operation of an integrated circuit depends on microscopic components, the purity of all materials and the cleanness at the plant they are produced at must be of the highest quality. A continuous search is going on in laboratories throughout the world for more perfect, reliable and high speed electronic circuits.

In the past it took scientists and researchers a whole lifetime to make a few thousand calculations, whereas for a modern computer this task is a matter of a few seconds. At present computers capable of performing billions of operations a second are required. Supercomputers are different from ordinary computers. The ordinary computer does the computations operation by operation, while the supercomputer operates like a brain: all operations are done simultaneously. To develop such a computer qualitatively new integrated circuits were required. The fifth generation computers performing 100 billion operations a second are available now.

According to some researchers, we are close to what can be regarded as a true physical limit. But other specialists think that photons will make the operation a thousand times faster. This means that in the future it will be possible to expect the appearance of photon computers and that computations will be done by means of light. Light has several advantages over electronics: light beams are faster, travel in parallel lines and can pass through one another without interference. Already, the optical equivalent of a transistor has been produced, and intensive research on optical-electronic computers is being carried out in a number of countries around the world. A new age of light may replace the still youthful electronic age. The race is going on.

Virtual Reality in Use

People who cannot use their legs must use a chair with wheels to move around. Modern wheelchairs have a motor that turns the wheels. The person in the wheelchair controls it.

American researchers are testing a computer technology called virtual reality to help young children who are unable to walk. They ant to help the children learn how to control wheelchairs with motors. A child puts on a special hat called a helmet. The helmet is connected to the virtual reality computer. Inside the helmet there are two very small television receivers. The helmet blocks normal sights of the real world. A person wearing the helmet enters a world created by the computer.

What do children see in their helmets? They may see a classroom, for example, with desks and books. The control device for moving within the computer world looks and feels just like the one they must use to control a wheelchair. The children move their virtual reality wheelchairs through the imaginary rooms until they can move without hitting anything. In this way the virtual reality computer teaches the children how to control their wheelchairs in real life.

Other researchers are using the virtual reality helmet to help people with extremely poor eyesight. The device uses a system of mirrors, television cameras and special glasses to make objects appear very large.

Education experts hope to use virtual reality to create new learning tools. For example, students learning about a volcano could travel deep inside the Earth to see how volcanoes form. Or they could move into space for a trip through our solar system.

Virtual reality needs very powerful computers and is very costly. But experts say they are slowly reducing the cost of this technology as they learn more about it.

Ultra-Violet Radiation Levels

The American National Weather Service is experimenting with a new warning system. The system is designed to inform people so that they will protect themselves from a dangerous form of solar radiation. It tells people about the strength of ultra-violet radiation from the Sun. The system is called the Ultra-Violet Index. The Index contains 15 levels that show the danger of the ultra-violet light. The National Weather Service has begun supplying the Index to 58 American cities.

There are 700,000 cases of skin cancer each year in the United States. Medical experts say UV light is responsible for as much as 75% of them. They also say it is linked to eye problem and damages the body’s ability to prevent disease.

Public health officials say the Index will help Americans decide how long to be out in the sun and what to wear. The Index measures dangerous UV light using a rating system from 0 to 15 – from low to extremely high. A rating of 15 means that even those who rarely get sunburn could receive some skin damage after only about 20 minutes in the sun. A rating of 6 means people with darker skin could be in the sun about 50 minutes before burning. It also means that those who burns easily could have skin damage after only 10 minutes in the sun. People who need to stay outside longer than the Index says is safe should block the sun by wearing a hat, dark glasses and special lotions.

Skin experts say the increase in the skin cancers is partly the result of changes in the way people live. They say Americans spend more time outside and wear less clothing. At the same time scientists note that the thinning of the protective ozone in the upper atmosphere is allowing more ultra-violet light through.

The National Weather Service develops the Ultra-Violet Index by combining local weather conditions and satellite measurements of ozone in the atmosphere.

2. Переведите следующие словосочетания на русский язык

1. it takes; 6. virtual reality;

2. integrated circuit; 7. warning system;

3. silicon plate; 8. skin damage;

4. high technology; 9. physical limit;

5. television receiver; 10. by means of light

3. Найдите в тексте эквиваленты следующих словосочетаний:

1. электронное устройство; 6. целая жизнь;

2. воображаемое помещение; 7. чрезвычайно слабое

зрение;

3. предотвратить болезнь; 8. защитный слой озона;

4. погодные условия; 9. перемены в жизненном

укладе;

5. оценочная шкала; 10. быть в наличии

4. Найдите в тексте однокоренные слова, определите, к какой части речи они относятся, и переведите их на русский язык:

1. pure; 6. real;

2. rely; 7. imagine;

3. youth; 8. power;

4. fast; 9. danger;

5. doubt; 10. measure

5. Задайте к предложению все типы вопросов: общий, альтернативный, специальный (а) к подлежащему, б) к второстепенному члену предложения), разделительный:

Americans spend more time outside and wear less clothing.

6. Найдите и выпишите из данных предложений случаи следующих грамматических явлений: группа времен Indefinite в действительном и страдательном залогах, модальные глаголы и их эквиваленты, степени сравнения прилагательных, притяжательный падеж и множественное число имени существительного:

1. The more computers we need, the more integrated circuits are required.

2. The purity of all materials and the cleanness at the plant they are produced at must be of the highest quality.

3. We are close to what can be regarded as a true physical limit.

4. People who cannot use their legs must use a chair with wheels to move around.

5. People who need to stay outside longer than the Index says is safe should block the sun by wearing a hat, dark glasses and special lotions.

7. Ответьте на вопросы к тексту.

1. How does an ordinary computer operate?

2. What is the task of engineers in the field of computer development?

3. How does a supercomputer operate?

4. What applications of the computer technology called virtual reality do you know?

5. What do children see in their helmets?

6. How does UV light affect our health?

7. Why is there an increase in the skin cancers in the USA?

8. Составьте аннотацию к тексту.

9. Составьте реферат текста (10-15 предложений).

10. Составьте план текста и устно перескажите текст.