Curriculum English for Information Technology: Part 1

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English for Information Technology is designed to: Provide students with vocabulary related to different major topics in the field of Computing Information Technology, introduce students to some basic knowledge in several areas of Computing and Information Technology, provide students with opportunities to practice and develop their language skills in general as well as Information Technology contexts,... This curriculum include 10 lesson, part 1 from lesson 1 to lesson 6.

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Nội dung Text: Curriculum English for Information Technology: Part 1

Thai Nguyen University Faculty of Information Technology English for Information Technology Thai Nguyen, 2012 1
Acknowledgement We are grateful to the authors, publishers and others who have given the useful materials to help us complete this book. Our special thanks go to M.A Vu Duc Thai and colleagues at the Faculty of Information Technology – Thai Nguyen University for their helpful suggestion and friendly encouragement. For better preparation and design of English language materials, suggestions from colleagues and those concerned will be highly appreciated. 2
Course description English for Information Technology is a topic-based course. To prepare students for their future job, the course is designed to introduce students to a full range of IT texts and to give students opportunities to practice their language skills in different IT contexts. The materials used in this book are arranged from general to more specialist content so that they can be understood by students easily. 1. Objective English for Information Technology is designed to: Provide students with vocabulary related to different major topics in the field of Computing Information Technology. Introduce students to some basic knowledge in several areas of Computing and Information Technology. Provide students with opportunities to practice and develop their language skills in general as well as Information Technology contexts. Develop students’ language skills in the context of computing and information technology with emphasis on reading, listening, speaking, and writing. “It is user-friendly to both teachers and students and its clear layout, using both photos and graphics, will make it a very popular choice for those wishing to acquire what are now regarded by many to be mandatory skills for employees in almost every part of the workforce” – Tesol Newsletter. 3
Table of Contents Pages Acknowledgment.......................................................................................................... 2 Course description.............................................................................. ........................ 3 Table of contents........................................................................................................ 4 Introduction. ............................................................................................... 5 Lesson 1: Computer applications............................................................................... 6 Lesson 2: Configuration .............................................................................................. 12 Lesson 3: Inside the system ....................................................................................... 17 Lesson 4: keyboard and mouse................................................................................. 24 Lesson 5: Floppy disk and Hard drives .................................................................. 30 Review 1........................................................................................................................... 34 Lesson 6: Spreadsheets and databases................................................................... 39 Lesson 7: Graphics and multimedia ......................................................................... 44 Lesson 8: Faces of the Internet................................................................................. 51 Lesson 9: Programming ................................................................................................ 58 Lesson 10: Future trends............................................................................................ .63 Review 2........................................................................................................................... 68 Further reading........................................................................................................... 71 Glossary .........................................................................................................................83 Reference 4
Introduction A. How much do you know about the computer and computer related words? You can test your computer knowledge by putting these words and terms into the appropriate categories. Do not worry if you cannot do this well now. Laptop Minicomputer Laser printer Hard disk drive Motherboard Monitor Speaker Bridge Memory chips Joystick LAN Expansion card Scanner Software engineer/ designer Hardware engineer Tracker ball Keyboard Software Barcode reader Processor Cache memory Printer Fixed hard disk Clients Mainframe Hub Ring System analyst peripherals Computer salesperson Floppy disk Star register Network support person Mouse Notebook Types of computers: .......................................................................................................... Input devices: ...................................................................................................................... Output devices: .................................................................................................................. Storage devices: .................................................................................................................. Internet: .............................................................................................................................. Other components of a computer: ..................................................................................... Job: .................................................................................................................................... B. Make a list of other Information Technology (IT) words you know in English. Then compare lists with a partner. 5
LESSON 1: COMPUTER APPLICATIONS I. Warm-up Put these letters in the correct order to make a noun phrase that has meaning. Nioniftoarm yetgoconhl. Then, use one of the letters in a word “Nioniftoarm” to make other words. Each letter is used only one time. II. Reading A. Match the places in column A with the computer uses in column B. A B 1. University a. Look after patient records and medicines. 2. Library b. Look after the customers’ money. 3. Bank c. Scan the price of the goods. 4. Supermarket d. Catalogue the books and record the books 5. Hospital that readers borrow. e. Keep mark and records of the students. B. Computers have many applications in a great variety of fields. Look at these photographs of different situations and match them with texts 1 to 4 below. a c d 6
1. Computers can help students perform mathematical operations and solve difficult questions. They can be used to teach courses such as computer-aided design, language learning, programming, mathematics, etc. PCs (personal computers) are also used for administrative purposes: for example, schools use databases and word processors to keep records of students, teachers, and materials. 2. Race organizers and journalists rely on computers to provide them with the current positions of riders, and teams in both the particular stages of the race, and in the overall competition. Workstations in the race buses provide the timing system, and give up-to-the-minute timing information to TV stations. In the press room, several PCs give real-time information on the state of the race. Computer databases are also used in the drug- detecting tests for competitors. 3. Computers store information about the amount of money held by each client, and enable staff to access large databases, and to carry out financial transactions at high speed. They also control the automatic cash dispensers which, by the use of a personal coded card, dispense money to clients. 4. Airline pilots use computers to help them control the plane. For example, monitors display data about fuel consumption, and weather conditions. In airport control towers, computers are used to manage radar systems, and regulate air traffic. On the ground, airlines are connected to travel agencies by computer. Travel agents use computers to find out about the availability of flights, prices, times, stopovers, and many other details. Task 1: Match these captions with the pictures Using an automatic cash dispenser 1 In education, computers can make all the difference 1 Organizing a race demands the use of computer technology 1 Controlling the plane 1 7
Task 2: When you read texts like these, you do not always need to understand every word. However, there are words which you can guess from the context. Look at these words. Are they nouns (n), verbs (v), or adjectives (adj)? 1. workstation…. 2. data……. 3. perform… 4. automatic… 5. monitor… 6. financial….. 7. store…… 8. connected… 9. word processor.... 10. large… Task 3: Now find the words in texts 1 to 4, and match them with the meanings below. a. information 1 g. self-acting, mechanical 1 b. execute (do) 1 h. screen 1 c. connected with money 1 i. powerful computer usually d. keep (safe) 1 connected to a network 1 e. massive 1 j. program used for text manipulation 1 f. linked 1 III. Speaking Look at text 1 again and discuss these questions. 1. How are/were computers used in your school? 2. What other areas of study would benefit from the introduction of computers? Example: In my school, computers are used to speed up the process of looking for references in the library. IV. Language work: The passive Look at the active and passive sentences below and answer the questions. Active sentences 1. We sell computers. (simple present) S V O 2. They invented 'The Analytical Engine'. (simple past) S V O 8
Passive sentences 1. Computers are sold. (simple present) S V 2. ‘The Analytical Engine' was invented in 1830. (simple past) S V 1. Find the objects of the active sentences. Are they: (1) before the verb; (2) after the verb? 2. Find the same words in the passive sentences? Are they: (1) before the verb; (2) after the verb? 3. The object of the active sentences becomes the subject of a passive sentence. True or false? 4. Look at the first word of the verb in the passive sentences. Is it a form of: (1) be; (2) do; (3) have. 5. Look at the second word of the verb in the passive sentences: Is it in: (1) the infinitive; (2) the past simple; (3) the past participle? 6. Passive verbs consists of a form of be plus a past participle. True or false? 7. Read all the sentences. Does somebody appear in the active or the passive sentences? 8. Do we know who somebody is? 9. We can use the passive to talk about actions when we don’t know who performed them. True or false?. * Form: Active sentences: S V O Passive sentences: S to be + V in past participle (VII) (by N/Pr) * Use: Passives are very common in technical writing where we are more interested in facts, processes, and events than in people. We form the passive by using the appropriate tenses of the verb 'to be' followed by the past participle of the verb we are using. Facts and processes When we write or talk about facts or processes that occur regularly, we use the present passive. Examples: Active 9
1. We sell computers. (simple present) 2. Babbage invented 'The Analytical Engine'. (simple past) Passive 1. Computers are sold. (simple present) 2. ‘The Analytical Engine' was invented in 1830. (simple past) Events When we write or talk about past events, we use the past passive. Let us look at some examples. Examples: 1. COBOL was first introduced in 1959. 2. Microsoft was founded on the basis of the development of MS/DOS. 3. The organization was created to promote the use of computers in education. Exercise 1: Fill in the gaps in the following sentences using the appropriate form of the verb in brackets. 1. The part of the processor which controls data transfers between the various input and output devices…….. (call) the control unit. 2. The address bus ……….(use) to send address details between the memory and the address register. 3. The first digital computer 1…………. (build) by the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. 4. An operating system ………….(store) on disk. 5. Instructions written in a high-level language ……………….(transform) into machine code. 6. Last year, more software companies ………………(launch) than ever before. 7. When a document arrives in the mail room, the envelope ……………(open) by a machine. 8. Once the index…………. (store), a temporary key number……………(generate) and ………….(write) on the document. 9. Microsoft……….. (found) by Bill Gates. 10. C language………….. (develop) in the 1970s. Exercise 2: Read the text below, which describes the insurance company's procedure for dealing with PC-users' problems. Fill in the gaps using the correct form of the verb in brackets. All calls (1)……….. (register) by the Help Desk staff. Each call (2)……… (evaluate) and then (3)…………. (allocate) to the relevant support group. If a visit (4)……………. (require), the user 10
(5)…………. (contact) by telephone, and an appointment (6) ………….. (arrange). Most calls (7)…………. (deal with) within one working day. In the event of a major problem requiring the removal of a user's PC, a replacement can usually (8)……………. (supply). V. Listening: Computer uses Listen to these people talking about how they use computers at work and write each speaker’s job in the table. Electrical engineer secretary librarian composer Speaker Job What they use computer for 1 2 3 4 VI. Writing Now fill in the gaps in this paragraph about computer. Electronic become communicator relax Machine typewriter got operation computer A computer has (1) .......... part of our everyday lives. It is a calculating (2)............. that speeds up financial calculations. It is an (3)........ filing cabinet which manages large collections of data such as customers' lists, accounts, or inventories. It is a magical (4) ......... that allows you to type and print any kind of document -letters, memos, or legal documents. It is a personal (5)....... that enables you to interact with other computers and with people around the world. If you like gadgets and electronic entertainment, you can even use your PC to (6)........... with computer games. 11
LESSON 2: CONFIGURATION I. Warm-up Label the elements of this computer system. 1. ................. 2.................... 3................... 4................... 5.................... 6................... 7................... 8.................... 9................... 10................. 12
II. Reading A. Label this diagram with the correct terms. Computer system Programs and data mechanical and electronic equipment .................. ................... Physical units .................. .................. Main memory Storage Input/ Output devices devices The “brain” of C ROM M ..... ...... ...... ...... ............... ............ ............ B. Read the text and check your answer. What is a computer? Computers are electronic machines which can accept data in a certain form, process the data and give the results of the processing in a specified format as information. Three basic steps are involved in the process. First, data is fed into the computer's memory. Then, when the program is run, the computer performs a set of instructions and processes the data. Finally, we can see the results (the output) Information in the form of data and programs is known as software, and the electronic and mechanical parts that make up a computer system are called hardware. A standard computer system consists of three main sections: the central processing unit (CPU), the main memory, and the peripherals. 13
Perhaps the most influential component is the central processing unit. Its function is to execute program instructions and coordinate the activities of all the other units. In a way, it is the 'brain' of the computer. The main memory holds the instructions and data which are currently being processed by the CPU. The peripherals are the physical units attached to the computer. They include storage devices and input/output devices. Storage devices (floppy, hard or optical disks) provide a permanent storage of both data and programs. Disk drives are used to handle one or more floppy disks. Input devices enable data to go into the computer's memory. The most common input devices are the mouse and the keyboard. Output devices enable us to extract the finished product from the system. For example, the computer shows the output on the monitor or prints the results onto paper by means of a printer. On the rear panel of the computer, there are several ports into which we can plug a wide range of peripherals -modems, fax machines, optical drives, and scanners. These are the main physical units of a computer system, generally known as the configuration. Task : Use the information in the text and the diagram to help you match the terms in the box with the appropriate explanation or definition below. a. software b. peripheral devices c. monitor d. floppy disk e. hardware f. input g. port h. output i. CPU 1. The brain of the computer. 2. Physical parts that make up a computer system. 14
3. Programs which can be used on a particular computer system. 4. The information which is presented to the computer. 5. Results produced by a computer. 6. Hardware equipment attached to the CPU. 7. Visual display unit. 8. Small device used to store information. Same as “diskette”. 9. Any socket or channel in a computer system into which an input/output device may be connected. III. Speaking Read and guess Read these slogans or quotations, and say what computer element they refer to. 1. a 'Point and click here for power' b 'Obeys every impulse as if it were an extension of your hand' 2 a 'Displays your ideas with perfect brilliance' b 'See the difference -sharp images and a fantastic range of colors' 3 a 'I love this drive. It's quiet and fast' b 'With this, it's easy to back up your data before it's too late' 4 a 'Power and speed on the inside' b 'Let your computer's brain do the work' 5 a '... a big impact on the production of text and graphics' b 'Your choice: a laser powerhouse' IV. Language work: Contextual reference Transitional markers are words used to link ideas together so that the text is easier to read. When pronouns such as it, they, them, I, he, she, which, who, whose, that, such, one, and demonstrative adjectives such as this, that, these, and those are used as transitional markers. They refer to a word, or words mentioned earlier in the sentence or paragraph. Their function is to take your thoughts back to something that has already been mentioned. Other words which are often used to refer backwards are the former, the latter, the first, second, etc., the last. Sample paragraph: 15
A computer like any other machine is used because It does certain jobs better and more efficiently than humans. It can receive more information and process it faster than any human. The speed at which a computer works means it can replace weeks or even months of pencil-and- paper work. Therefore computers are used when the time saved offsets their cost, which is one of the many reasons they are used so much in business, industry and research Exercise: Using the sample paragraph as a model, draw a circle around the word, or words, that the words in rectangles refer to. Then, join the and the 1 with arrows. Modern accounting firms use spreadsheet software to do complicated calculations. They can provide their clients with an up-to-date report whenever it is needed. This software has many functions and can be integrated with other software. The spreadsheet's basic component is a cell. This may contain a formula which performs a mathematical operation. It could also contain a label or data. The former describes the information on the worksheet. The latter is the information itself. The worksheet is the basic work area of a spreadsheet program. It is made up of cells arranged in rows and columns. The number of these varies depending on the software you are using. You can change the width and format of cells. Such parameters are usually quite easy to change with just a few keystrokes. V. Listening Listen and choose the correct answer. 1. According to the writer: a. a mainframe computer is less powerful than a minicomputer. b. a mainframe is more powerful than a minicomputer. c. a mainframe is not very powerful but can execute jobs very rapidly. 2. Mainframe computers are used by: a. students and teachers in school b. executives and businessmen. c. large organizations processing enormous amounts of data. 16
3. ‘Multitasking’ means: a. access to a minicomputer through terminals b. doing a number of tasks at the same time. c. connection to a ‘host’ computer network so that many users have access to data and programs. 4. the most suitable computers for home use are: a. mainframes. b. minicomputers. c. microcomputers. 5. The smallest computers are known as: a. minicomputers. b. desktop PCs. c. laptops and notebook computers. VI. Writing Complete the text below with the words in the box. Minis and Micros Systems memory terminals desktop CAD applications task The first microcomputers, also known as (1) '……….. ' PCs, were for single users only, and this clearly distinguished them from minicomputers. Another important difference was that 'minis' were much more powerful than 'micros': they could execute more than one (2) '……………. ‘simultaneously and were used as file servers for (3) '………………. ' and workstations. However, modern microcomputers have operating (4) '……………. ' and network facilities that can support many simultaneous users. Today, most personal computers have enough (5) '……………. ' to be used for word processing and business (6) ' …………….'. Some PCs can even handle multitasking and (7) '………………. ' applications. As a result, the division between 'minis' and 'micro' is now disappearing. 17
LESSON 3: INSIDE THE SYSTEM I. Warm up A. Work in pairs. Study this diagram of the inside of a computer. Can you label these components? Compare your answers with other students in your class. 1. hard disk drive 5. processor 2. motherboard 6. speaker 3. memory chips 7. expansion cards 4. power supply 8. floppy drive B. Try to answer these questions. (If necessary look at the Glossary) 1. What is the main function of a microprocessor? 2. What unit of frequency is used to measure processor speed? 3. What does 'RAM' stand for? 18
II. Reading A. Match the words in column A with the words or statements in column B A B 1. hardware a. the computer 2. software b. input/output and secondary memory devices 3. processor c. short for central processing unit 4. peripherals d. physical electronic and electromagnetic devices 5. systems software e. hardware plus software 6. application software f. hardware/software packages 7. turnkey systems g. used for a specific job 8. computer system h. direct the computer 9. CPU i. the programs 10. register j. high-speed units used to store and control information B. Read the text below and do exercises. What is inside a microcomputer ? The nerve centre of a microcomputer is the central processing unit or CPU. This unit is built into a single microprocessor chip -an integrated circuit -which executes program instructions and supervises the computer's overall operation. The unit consists of three main parts: 1 -The control unit, which examines the instructions in the user's program, interprets each instruction and causes the circuits and the rest of the components disk drives, monitor, etc. -to be activated to execute the functions specified; 2 -The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs mathematical calculations (+, -, etc.) and logical operations (and, or, etc); 3- The registers, which are high-speed units of memory used to store and control information. One of these registers is the program counter (PC) which keeps track of the next instruction to be performed in the main memory. Another is the instruction register (IR) which holds the instruction that is currently being executed. 19
One area where microprocessors is temporary, i.e. its information is lost when differ is in amount of data the number of bits the computer is turned off. However, the - they can work with at a time. There are 8, ROM section (read only memory) is 32, and 64-bit processors. The computer's permanent and contains instructions needed internal architecture is evolving so quickly by the processor. that the new 64-bit processors are able to Most of today's computers have address 4 billion times more information internal expansion slots that allow users to than a 32-bit system. (see Fig.1). install adapters or expansion boards. Popular The programs and data which pass through adapters include high-resolution graphics the central processor must be loaded into the boards, memory expansion boards, and main memory (also called the internal internal modems. memory ) in order to be processed. The power and performance of a computer is partly determined by the speed of its microprocessor. A clock provides pulses at fixed intervals to measure and synchronize circuits and units. The clock speed is measured in MHz (megahertz) and refers to the frequency at which Thus, when the user runs an pulses are emitted. For example, a CPU application, the microprocessor looks for it running at 500 MHz (500 million cycles per on secondary storage devices (disks) and second) is likely to provide a very fast transfers a copy of the application into the processing rate and will enable the computer RAM area. RAM (random access memory) to handle the most demanding applications. The new generation of Other popular platforms are: processors - Intel's Pentium Figure 1 shows the 600 MHz Alpha microprocessor from - Apple, IBM and Digital, with a 64-bit RISC Motorola's PowerPC implementation (Reduced - Sun's Super SP ARC Instruction Set Computing) - Silicon Graphics/Mips Figure 1 architecture, providing RI000 and R5000. lightning-fast performance. 20