Personal computer. The main parts of the system
A personal computer (PC)is a computer whose original sales price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals.
A personal computer may be a home computer, or may be found in an office, often connected to a local area network. The distinguishing characteristic is that the computer is used only (or mostly) by one person at a time, in a very interactive fashion, with no significant delay between an operator action and response by the computer. This is opposite to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive systems to be used by many people, usually at the same time.
The main parts of the system.An exploded view of a modern personal computer: 1. Monitor; 2. Motherboard; 3. CPU (Microprocessor); 4. Primary storage (RAM); 5. Expansion cards; 6. Power supply; 7. Optical disc drive; 8. Secondary storage (Hard disk); 9. Keyboard; 10. Mouse
The large metal box that is the main part of the computer is called the case. The case and its contents (power supply, system board, etc.) are called the system unit. The case has several functions:— it protects the delicate electronics inside;— it keeps electromagnetic emissions inside, so your TV, cordless phone and stereo don't go haywire when you power up the computer;— it can also hold the monitor.
You communicate with your computer with the keyboard. Using it you type instructions and commands for the computer and information to be processed and stored. The mouse works by sliding it around (ball down) on a flat surface. The mouse does not work if you hold it in the air like a remote control. The desktop is fine, but a ready-made mouse pad is the best surface to roll the mouse on. Its surface is flat and usually somewhat textured. To use the mouse, slide it on the mouse pad until the pointer's point is on something, like a button or an icon.
Your computer is not complete without a monitor, a TV-like device. The monitor displays text characters and graphics. It allows you to see the results of the work going on inside your system unit. The image you see is made up of tiny dots called pixels. The sharpness of the picture depends on the number and size of these pixels. The more pixels the sharper the image. This is called resolution.
A display adapter card is actually what builds the video images, the monitor simply displays them. The display adapter for your system is either built onto the system board or is an expansion card plugged into your system board.
Floppy drives provide a way to pass fries from and to the hard drive
or another computer. The drives can read and write on floppy diskettes (3.5 inch, usually drive A). If you put a new diskette into the drive you have to format it first.
Unlike the floppy drive the hard disk drive is inside the computer's case and you cannot see it. Usually it is referred to as drive C, D
The optical drive is similar to the one you might have in your car or at home. It can play DVDs, music CDs as well as read software program CDs and the new Kodak photo CDs.
ІІІ. Language
Ex. 6 State to what part of speech each word belongs, translate them into Russian. Use the table on page 102-104.
Original, interactive, significant, action, sharpness, resolution, adapter.
Ex.7. Match word and word combinations in column A with those in column B:
| A 1. to slide 2. response 3. flat surface 4. optical drive 5. time-sharing 6. delay 7. resolution 8. system unit 9. tray 10. power supply | B a.плоска поверхня b. затримка c. розподіл часу d.розподільна здатність e.системний блок f.дисковід g. перемістити h.джерело струму i.відповідь j. оптичний диск |
Ex. 8 Give the definitions of the computer’s parts
| The part | Its function |
| The monitor | |
| The floppy drive | |
| The hard drive | |
| The optical drive | |
| The mouse | |
| The case | |
| The main parts of the system |