U.S.T.H.B / C.E.I.L.

Unit 1
Computer science L2 ( S1 )

Living in a digital age

1 The magic of computers

A You are going to read a text about some of the other things that
computers are used for. Five sentences have been removed from the text.
Choose which sentence (1-5 ) fits which gap in the text (a-e).

1 It is a calculating machine that speeds up financial calculations

2 we visit shops and offices which have been designed with the help of computers

3 you can even use your PC to relax with computer games

4 for example calculators, the car’s electronic ignition, the timer in the microwave, or
the programmer inside the VCR.

5 as does making a flight reservation or bank transaction

The Magic of computers

We are now living in what some people call the
digital age, meaning that computers and
microchips have become part of our everyday
lives: (a) ……………; we pay bills prepared by
computers ; just picking up a telephone and
dialing a number involves the use of a
sophisticated computer system, (b) …………. .
Every day we encounter computers that spring
to life the instant they are switched on, (c) …….,
all of which use chip technology.
What makes your computer such a miraculous
device? Each time you turn it on, it is a blank
slate (tabula rasa) that, with appropriate
hardware and software, is capable of doing
anything you ask. (d) …….. ; it is an electronic
filling cabinet which manages large collections
of data, such as customer’s lists, accounts,
or inventories; it is a magical typewriter that
allows you to type and print any kind of
document - letters, memos or legal
documents; it is a personal communicator that
enables you to interact with other computers
and with people around the world; if you like
gadgets and electronic entertainment, (e) …….
Nowadays, it is almost impossible to imagine
life without the magic of computers.

B Read the text again and answer these questions.

1 Apart from computers, what other devices use microchips?

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 2 Which two components allow computer systems to operate?

3 What types of documents are prepared on computers?

4 Why is a computer called a personal communicator?

C Find synonyms to these words in the text.

1 developed : ………………. 4 controls: ………………………

2 suitable : ………………….. 5 allow : ………………………...

3 accelerates : ……………… 6 communicate :…………………

2 Language work
A Underline all the verbs in the text. Say which tense is used. Select a
sentence from the text and turn it into the negative and interrogative
form.

B Put the verbs between brackets into the correct tense. Say what
they express in each sentence.
1 The conference (to start) ……………….…. at 10 am.
2 Water (to freeze) ………………….. at 0°C.
3 I usually (to read) …………….……. Byte magazine.
4 She (to work) …………………….. as a Media specialist.
5 Where is Carla? She (to watch) ………………… TV.
6 Greta (to stay) …………………… with her aunt for a few days.
7 I (to meet) …………………. my friend at 11am.
8 A computer (not understand) ………………….. human languages.
9 Sue (to see) ……………..…. her friend tomorrow.
10 I (to break) ………………… my sister's pocket PC yesterday.
11 We (to talk) …………………. while she (to read) ………………..
12 I I (to play) …………………football when I (to hurt) ………….. my leg.
13 I (to leave) ……………………… the university seven years ago.

14 I (buy) ………………………… A EW computer.

15 I (to be) ……………………… software developer since 1994.
16 I (to be) ……………………… a software developer for 10 years.
17 I (to paint) …………….………. my room for 2 hours.
18 She (to send) ……………………… faxes all the morning.
19 Look at these clouds. It (to rain) ……………………….
20 Smart homes (activate) ……………………. voice ……………. .
21 They hope that people (to interact) …………………. naturally with
hundreds of smart devices at a time.
22 I’ve decided I (to get) ……………………… a new computer.
23 She (to be) ………………… 21 in May.
24 That’s the phone ringing – I (to get) ………………………it.
25 In a few years, doctors (to use) ………………………… expert systems
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 to diagnose illnesses.
C Put the verbs in brackets into the passive form. Then underline the
pronouns and say what type of pronouns they are.

We had an interesting discussion about mobile phones in class today.

Opinions (1) (to divide) ……………………… about whether they’re a good thing or not.
Despite the fact that mobile phones (2) (to invent) ……………… to make our lives more
convenient (supposedly!), it’s clear that we’ve become totally dependent on them. Most of
the class even use them to watch videos or listen to music. They are expensive, too.
Most people said they spent over £20 a month on their phone, despite the fact that free calls
and text messages (3) (to include) …………………….. in most tariffs these days. Part of the
problem is that MMS messages aren’t free, and many calls (4) (to make) …………………….
during the day, when the free minutes don’t count.
There was also some worry about the potential health problems of mobile phones. Despite
all the warnings, mobile phones (5) (to use) ………………… by children who are as young
as five or six these days! The really worrying thing is that the true damage done by mobile
phones (6) (not to know) …………………………until we’re all much older.
By then, it’ll be too late! No one was suggesting that they should (7) (to ban) ……...................
but clearly more research needs (8)(to do) …………………

D Complete these sentences with suitable modal verbs (more than one
answer is possible), and then describe what each model expresses.

1 You ……………………. use Adobe Flash to include interactive animations.

2 You …………………. like to insert some podcasts, etc.
3 The price of Dream weavers …………………. go down next month.
4 …………………….. I use your mobile phone?
5 They are looking for artists who ………………. draw and design web pages.
6 To see or hear all these files, you ……………… have the right plug-in.
7 You …………….. learn HTML in order to build your own website.
8 Your home …………………………. …have solar energy panels, but it would
save you a lot of money on bills.
9 This is a secret , you ……………….. tell anyone.
10 Before going life, you ………………… check that all the links work.

E Circle the correct word and then decide which part of speech each
word is.
1 She is a very ( hardly/ hard ) worker.
2 Please don’t speak so ( fast/ fastly ).
3 She looks ( lovely / love ) in that dress.
4 She drives ( careful / carefully).
5 His French is very (well / good).
6 Don’t talk so (loud/ loudly).
7 I’ve been very busy (late /lately).
8 She got an (early / earl) train.

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F Underline the adverbs in the following sentences. What are they
used for?
1 When you change the value of a cell, the values in other cells are
automatically recalculated.
2 A spreadsheet program is quite easy to use.
3 Come here, please.
4 They bought Microsoft Excel yesterday.
5 He never opens e-mails from strangers.

G Complete the following extract about Windows Vista with the correct
articles. Justify your answer.

Windows Vista is (1) ……………. operating system developed by Microsoft for

use on (2) …………….. personal computers. Development was completed on
November 8, 2006; over (3) …………. next three months it was released in
stages to (4) ………….. computer manufacturers, (5) ……………. business
customers, and (6)……………shops. On January 30,2007, it was released
worldwide to the general public, and was made available for purchase and
download direct from(7) ……… Microsoft. (8) ………… release of Windows
Vista comes more than five years after (9) ……… introduction of Windows XP.
Vista contains hundreds of new and improved features. (10) …………… most
significant include (11) ………….. updated GUI and visual style called Windows
Aero, improved search features, new multimedia creation tools, and completely
redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. However,
perhaps the greatest improvement has been to (12) ……… security.
Windows XP suffered from (13) ……………. vulnerability to viruses and
malware, and it will be interesting to see to what extent this has been
addressed in Vista.