TEST 3
Computer Engineering, Extra-mural Department, 2nd Year
Task I. Read the text, translate the words in brackets. Write out 5 adjectives and give their positive, comparative and superlative forms.
Computer Generations
Computers are said to be 1) _______ (самое важное) invention of the 20th century. The history of computing hardware is the record of the ongoing effort to make it 2) _______ (быстрее), 3) _______ (дешевле), and capable of storing 3) _______ (больше) data.
The so-called " zeroth-generation" computers were based on metal gears or mechanical relays. Computers using vacuum tubes were called the first generation (mid-1940s). They were 4) _______ (очень большие), difficult to work with, besides, they needed a lot of electricity and had very 5) _______ (маленькая) memory.
Computers that used transistors and diodes (1956) became the second generation. Transistors were much 6) _______ (меньше) than vacuum tubes and generated 7) _______ (меньше) heat. The third generation computers used integrated circuits (silicon chips containing multiple transistors) (1964). The fourth generation computers are characterized by the use of microprocessors (since the 1980s). They could store up to 5 million bytes of data and work at 8) _______ (самых высоких) speeds.
In the 21st century, multi-core CPUs became commercially 9) _________ (доступные). Scientists are developing supercomputers, 10) ___________ (самые мощные) computers in existence.
0) Important – more important – the most important
1) …
2) …, etc.
Task II. Present Perfect or Past Simple? Choose the best option.
A Job Interview
Interviewer: So why (1) did you apply / have you applied for this position?
David: Well, (2) for / since the last three years I have been working in aninteresting, but very small, company, and I now feel ready to move on to a bigger challenge.
Interviewer: Right. And can you describe what your responsibilities are at your current company, at Intertech?
David: Of course. Well, I (3) started / have started working there three years (4) since / ago, as I (5) said / have said, and until July 2013 I (6) was / have been responsible for the online catalogue. However, I was then promoted and put in charge of the design and maintenance of the entire website. In January 2014, I (7) have helped / helped to implement a new e-commerce system, which allows people to buy directly from the catalogue using ‘one-click’ ordering. It (8) was / has been very successful so far.
Interviewer: That’s very impressive. What about foreign languages? Your English is obviously very good, but do you speak any other languages?
David: Well, French – my mother tongue – obviously. I also (9) spent / have spent some time in Spain five years (10) since / ago as part of my degree, so I’d say I have intermediate Spanish. Interviewer: OK, just one more thing. (11) Did you / Have you ever had experience of people management?
David: Yes, absolutely. At Intertech I’m in charge of one member of staff – a web editor. I’ve neverhad any problems with the management side of my role; in fact, I really enjoy it.
Interview: OK, well that’s good news. Well, we need to have a think about it, but we’ll let you know ASAP.
David: Thank you for seeing me today. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Task III. Match the English words and word combinations from the text below (task IV) with their Russian equivalents.
| 1) available | A) социальные сети |
| 2) affordable | B) подобный |
| 3) advantage | C) делиться |
| 4) to launch | D) относительно |
| 5) to share | E) преимущество |
| 6) to locate | F) доступный по цене |
| 7) social networking | G) доступный, имеющийся |
| 8) relatively | H) жестокий |
| 9) cruel | I) запускать |
| 10) similar | J) определять местонахождение |
Task IV. Read and translate the text
Online social networking
Online social networking is a 21st century phenomenon. Today, in the second decade of the century, internet service is widely available throughout the world and relatively affordable (even if someone doesn’t have his or her own computer, internet cafes are everywhere). This has made it possible for online social networking to become a central part of many people’s lives.
Though not the first service, Facebook is probably the most famous and most widely used of all the services. By July 2011, Facebook had more than 750 million active users. Facebook was launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and several of his college roommates and fellow students at Harvard University in the United States. This site allows “friends” to share what they are doing at any single moment, play games, post photos, and wish each other Happy Birthday. For many people, it’s hard to imagine what life was like before Facebook.
But of course Facebook is not the only social networking site. A number of countries have developed their own sites, for example Vkontakte in Russia. By early 2011, Vkontakte had around 135 million accounts. The site was launched in 2006 by Pavel Durov, a graduate of St. Petersburg State University. Vkontakte is quite similar to Facebook but has one advantage: it uses a special technology allowing users to share larger files. Unfortunately, Vkontakte has had repeated problems with spam.
There is no doubt that social networking is here to stay. But not everyone agrees about its benefits to society. Academic researchers are now studying how these sites are influencing important areas of society, such as identity, privacy, youth culture and education. The technology continues to develop, with “real-time web” and GPS tracking making it possible to locate our friends, and be located, anytime, anywhere. Of course, this information may also become known to marketers and hackers.
Like anything, social networking can be used for either good or bad. Sadly, online bullying is relatively common (this is when one person spreads cruel or untrue stories about another person). But on a more positive note, social networking tools have played an important role in international political events. In the winter of 2011, young Egyptians used Facebook and other services to plan their protests and share news not only with each other, but with the world.