I. Прочитайте текст и переведите его на русский язык, обращая внимание на цепочки слов.

Input and Output Devices

Input and output devices are peripherals. However these devices represent an essential part of computer system because they are communication-providing tools.

To input data and instructions into the computer you should use input devices. The most commonly used input devices are the keyboard and the mouse.

The keyboard is the primary input device for entering text and numbers. To enter a text you should have a sufficient skill of typing. In addition to certain kinds of general keys there are special-purpose keys which perform specialized functions.

The mouse allows you to put the cursor anywhere on the screen without using the cursor-movement keys. After pressing the mouse button the cursor appears at the reselected position. Instead of typing commands on the keyboard the mouse-based operating system enables you to choose commands from easy-to-use menus.

There are some other devices carrying out the mouse functions, for example a trackball which takes up less space than a mouse. The touchpad is a device having a small touch screen. Laptops generally use a built-in touchpad rather than a mouse or a trackball.

The scanner, another input device, is successfully used by everybody as it transfers printed images into an electronic format that can be stored in a computer’s memory. If you have a scanned text document, you should use optical character recognition software to translate the image into the text that you can edit.

Several types of other useful input devices are also available, for example digital cameras and microphones.

The function of output devices is to present processed data to the user. The most frequently used output devices are the monitor and printer.

There are various types of monitors used in computers. The computer sends the output to the monitor in order to display it on the screen when the user needs only to see this data. The main advantage of having monitor output is that you can view and change it as you like.

Printers are used when the user needs a paper copy – also known as a «hard copy». Printed documents are essential in many working environments where people must share reports and other types of information. Another output device, a plotter, is like a printer as it produces image on paper but the plotter is typically used to print large-format images.

II. Выделите и текста общую информацию об устройствах ввода и вывода и ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. What kind of units are input and output devices?

2. What do input and output devices provide?

III. Выделите и текста общую информацию об устройствах ввода и ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. What is the purpose of input devices?

2. What are the examples of input devices?

3. What are the most commonly used input devices?

4. What is the keyboard used for?

5. What kinds of keys are there in the keyboard?

6. What does a mouse serve for?

7. What device takes less space than a mouse?

8. What kind of computer normally uses a touchpad?

9. What does a scanner do?