Контрольное задание №1

Only the socialist system created the most favourable conditions for collective scientific research.

By means of this instrument you can determine both the chemical and physical properties of the substance.

Builders are interested in plastics for they offer a rare combination of properties.

IV. Прочтите и устно переведите на русский язык с 1-го по 7-й абзацы текста. Перепишите и письменно переведите 1, 3, 6 и 7-й абзацы.
Пояснения к тексту
mention should be made — следует упомянуть
digital computer — цифровой компьютер
a number of—ряд
short lived — недолговечный
stored-programme machine — запрограммированная вычислительная машина
memory — запоминающее устройство
analogue — аналоговый компьютер
desk-sized computer — настольный компьютер
COMPUTERS

1. 
   A computer is known to be a device that has the ability to accept, store and process enormous quantities of data in an extremely short time. A computer allows to get information almost immediately, the data being punched into cards or being recorded on the magnetic tape.
   
2. 
   Much has been written about the early history of computing. Mention should be made that Charles Babbage, now widely recognized as the father of computing, was working out the first of his mechanical calculating machines in the early 1820s long before the first electrical telegraph message was transmitted.
   
3. 
   The modern history of digital computers began in 1939 with the work done by Howard Aiken. A number or automatic machines were constructed in the early days of computing, the machines of this type being designed to solve differential equations. Although they performed many useful functions their speed of calculations was limited by the relays and other electromechanical equipment they used.
   
4. 
   The second development was the construction of the machine in 1946 which was the forerunner of the first generation of electronic digital computers.
   
5. 
   Until the discovery of the germanium transistors in 1947 electronic computers were like very large furnaces, consuming enormous quantities of electrical power. They produced more heat than processed information. The first computer, for example, weighed 30 tons and occupied 1,500 square feet of floor space. Its short lived 18,000 vacuum tubes produced 150 kilowatts of heat. The early machines using valves were employed mainly for scientific and experimental work.
   
6. 
   The next generation of electronic computers emerged in the middle of 1950s. These were "stored-programme" machines holding programming instructions in the main memory6 of the computer. They could store and process more information and faster.
   

7. Today it is possible to obtain a computer with great processing capability. We know a computer to solve a complicated problem many millions of times faster than a skilled mathematician. It processes thousands of calculations per second. There are two main classes of computing equipment: analogue and digital. They work on different principles and yield different results. The digital computers can perform a much broader range of functions than the analogue computers. The application includes all forms or automatic control in science and industry. The computer has become an integral part of the organization of business of all types. There exist various types of computers ranging from the pocket calculator through the desk-sized computer8 to machines which still need vast halls to house them.