Lesson 2 MACROCOMPUTERS

Pre-reading
TASK 1. Match column A with column B.
A B
a. capable _____ 1. users, customers
b. type _____ 2. very big
c. public _____ 3. important
d. large _____ 4. kind
e. main _____ 5. able to
f. research _____ 6. investigate

TASK 2 READING
MACROCOMPUTERS
The term originally referred to the servers, workstations, and personal
large cabinets called "mainframes," computers.
which housed the central processing
unit and main memory of early
computers. They are larger and have
more processing power than other
kinds of computers: minicomputers,

In the hierarchy of computers, mainframes are just below supercomputers, which

are the most powerful computers in the world, a mainframe can usually run many
programs simultaneously at high speed, while supercomputers are designed for a
single process. Currently, the main mainframe manufacturers are IBM and Unisys.

Mainframe computers first appeared

in the 1940s, with ENIAC being the
first general-purpose electronic
computer.

The size of modern mainframe is

considerably smaller than older about
the size of a large refrigerator.
Mainframes are accessed and controlled primarily through terminals, which are
workstations similar to a standard computer, but do not have their own CPU.
Instead, they are red-connected to the mainframe and act as an access point for
users, only the terminals connected to them are capable of accessing the
information.

Distributed mainframes can be accessed from computers outside the mainframe,

allowing users to access material from their homes or via the Internet.

E-Business, (Banking institutions, brokerage houses, insurance agencies and

fortune companies are some examples of the public and private sectors that
transfer data through mainframe computers), military use, academic use and
research. Many of the busiest web sites store their production databases on a
mainframe.

Post-reading

TASK 3. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the difference between supercomputers and macrocomputers?
………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Which kind of computers have more hierarchy macrocomputers or
supercomputers?
………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Are mainframes and macrocomputers the same kind?
………………………………………………………………………………………
4. When did mainframes appear?
………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Who are the main users of macrocomputers?
………………………………………………………………………………………
TASK 4 Circle these words in the text and the Word they are modifying.
Then, translate into Spanish.
Example: modern modern mainframe una mainframe moderna
1.smaller ………………………………. ………………………………..
2. larger ………………………………. ………………………………..
3. modern ………………………………. ………………………………..
4. smaller ………………………………. ………………………………..
5. older ………………………………. ………………………………..
6. large ………………………………. ………………………………..