Lesson 1: The Development of Computer Science New Words and Expressions

Lesson 1:
The Development of Computer Science

New Words and Expressions

Advent n. The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important: the advent of the computer

Artificial adj. Made by humans; produced rather than natural

Calculate: v. To perform a mathematical process; figure: We must measure and calculate to determine how much paint will be needed

Efficient adj. Acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort

Expand v. To increase the size, volume, quantity, or scope of; enlarge: expanded her store by adding a second room

Explosion n. A sudden, great increase: a population explosion; the explosion of illegal drug use

Focus v. To direct toward a particular point or purpose: focused all their attention on finding a solution to the problem

Frontier n. A region just beyond or at the edge of a settled area

Manufacture v. To make or process (a raw material) into a finished product, especially by means of a large-scale industrial operation

Overlap v. To have an area or range in common with

Pioneer v. To initiate or participate in the development of: surgeons who pioneered organ transplants

Revolutionize v. To bring about a radical change in: Television has revolutionized news coverage

Speculative adj. Of, characterized by, or based upon contemplative speculation

Viable adj. Capable of success or continuing effectiveness; practicable: a viable plan; a viable national economy

Reading Comprehension Text

2 As the use of computers expanded between the 1950s and the 1970s, the focus of computer science broadened to include simplifying the use of computers through programming languages—artificial languages used to program computers, and operating systems—computer programs that provide a useful interface between a computer and a user. During this time, computer scientists were also experimenting with new applications and computer designs, creating the first computer networks, and exploring relationships between computation and thought.

3 In the 1970s, computer chip manufacturers began to mass produce microprocessors—the electronic circuitry that serves as the main information processing center in a computer. This new technology revolutionized the computer industry by dramatically reducing the cost of building computers and greatly increasing their processing speed. The microprocessor made possible the advent of the personal computer, which resulted in an explosion in the use of computer applications. Between the early 1970s and 1980s, computer science rapidly expanded in an effort to develop new applications for personal computers and to drive the technological advances in the computing industry. Much of the earlier research that had been done began to reach the public through personal computers, which derived most of their early software from existing concepts and systems.

4 Computer scientists continue to expand the frontiers of computer and information systems by pioneering the designs of more complex, reliable, and powerful computers; enabling networks of computers to efficiently exchange vast amounts of information; and seeking ways to make computers behave intelligently. As computers become an increasingly integral part of modern society, computer scientists strive to solve new problems and invent better methods of solving current problems.

5 The goals of computer science range from finding ways to better educate people in the use of existing computers to highly speculative research into technologies and approaches that may not be viable for decades. Underlying all of these specific goals is the desire to better the human condition today and in the future through the improved use of information.

1.1 True or False Statements

2. During the 1950s and the 1970s, the focus of computer science also included simplifying the use of computers through programming languages.

3. The personal computer was invented during the 1960s.

4. Computer scientists have stopped designing more complex, reliable and powerful computers.

5. The underling goals of the computer science is the desire to better the human condition today and in the future through the improved use of information.

1.2 Multiple Choice Questions

a. Automation

b. theoretical models of computation

c. Numerical Analysis

d. microprocessor production

2. Creation of the first computer networks, and exploring relationships between computation and thought were performed ..........

a. during the late 1940s and early 1950s

b. between the 1950s and the 1970s

c. In the 1970s

d. Between the early 1970s and 1980s

3. Mass producing microprocessors by computer chip manufacturers began ..........

a. during the late 1940s and early 1950s

b. between the 1950s and the 1970s

c. In the 1970s

d. Between the early 1970s and 1980s

4. The electronic circuitry that serves as the main information processing center in a computer is called ..........

a. Automation

b. Numerical Analysis

c. accuracy and precision

d. microprocessor

5. The goals of computer science range from ...........

a. automating the process of making calculations for use in science and engineering to developing theoretical models of computation

b. finding ways to better educate people in the use of existing computers to highly speculative research into technologies and approaches that may not be viable for decades

c. analyzing how efficient different approaches are in performing various calculations to examining the accuracy and precision of calculations

d. simplifying the use of computers through programming languages to exploring relationships between computation and thought.

1.3 Parts of Speech

a. A computer is always .......... in its results if well prepared.

b. .......... is one of the advantages of using computers in research or in statistical analysis.

c. Computers can produce results quickly and ...........

d. They questioned the .......... of the information.

2. center, central, centralized, decentralize

a. He is the .......... of authority in that computer department.

b. A management information system can support a greater degree of .......... control.

c. The degree to which authority is .......... in an organization is determined by necessity.

d. The government is trying to .......... the decision making procedure in the country.

3. computation, computational, computerized, computers

a. The banking industry is becoming more and more ..........

b. It is a fact that humans cannot perform mathematical operations as fast as ...........

c. The .......... requirements necessary to produce the payroll for a large company take a very long time.

d. Dr. Mirzaeian was graduated from the department of ...........

4. consider, considerable, considerably, consideration

a. There is a .......... difference between a laptop and a personal computer.

b. It is important to .......... the capabilities and limitations of a computer before buying one.

c. New printers can print results .......... faster than previously.

d. When choosing an operating system, you should take into .......... many important issues including security and stability.

5. create, created, creation, creative

a. A programmer usually has a .......... as well as logical mind.

b. It takes a lot of inspiration and hard work to come up with a new .......... in computer technology.

c. computers have certainly .......... new opportunities for fraud.

d. In order to be organized, you should .......... several new directories and put all your files into them.

1.4 Synonym

1. 
   Previous(1)
   
2. 
   At the time of(1)
   
3. 
   Concentrate(1)
   
4. 
   method(1)
   
5. 
   examine(1)
   

1.5 Antonym

Find an antonym for each of the given words from the passage and write it in the space provided and write it in the space provided and write it in the space provided. The number in the parenthesis refers to the paragraph number. Remember that each word may have different meanings but the meaning used in the passage is intended.

1. 
   Early(1)
   
2. 
   miscalculate(1)
   
3. 
   practical(1)
   
4. 
   disable(1)
   
5. 
   identical(1)
   

Additional Reading

Library Science and Information Science

1 Library science, more accurately labeled librarianship, is a professional area of study designed to prepare individuals for careers as librarians. Librarians are primarily concerned with such tasks as evaluating, processing, storing, and retrieving information. Librarians also help library patrons use collections, software, and online public access catalogs (OPACs). Most graduate school programs in library science incorporate the study of information science in the curriculum.

2 Information science combines elements of librarianship with ideas and technologies from many other fields, including social sciences, computer science, mathematics, electrical engineering, linguistics, management, neuroscience, and information systems theory. Within the field of information science, information may be defined as the knowledge contained in the human brain and in all electronic and written records. Information science is the scientific study of that information: how it is created, transmitted, encoded, transformed, retrieved, measured, used, and valued.

3 Information scientists analyze the many and various phenomena that affect any aspect of information. They are interested in studying such questions as the following: What is the effect of information on individuals and groups when it is presented in various formats? How do publication dates, frequency of citation, productivity and prominence of authors affect the relevance of literature on a given subject? (This field of study is known as bibliometrics.) How do humans and computers interact? What is the reliability of retrieving information from online databases and the Internet?

4 For the information scientist, therefore, the library is only one of several sites for information storage and usage. Information scientists may study information stored in archives, switching centers (systems that establish connections between electronic communications, such as e-mail), or institutions such as schools and businesses. Information scientists work in such places as medical centers, computing companies, university and corporate research institutes, and indexing companies. They are concerned with a wide range of activities, from creation of computer file structures to experimental tests of interactive communication between computers and humans.

1.6 True or False Statements

Based on the information given in the passage, decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1. The terms ‘library science’ and ‘librarianship’ are opposite.

2. Information science uses elements of librarianship.

3. Information scientists are interested in analyzing phenomena affecting different aspects of information.

4. For the information scientist, the library is the one site for information storage and usage.

5. Systems establishing connections between electronic communications are called archives.

1.7 Multiple Choice Questions

Choose the best choice based on the information given in the passage.

1. In order to be a librarian, you should ..........

a. study librarianship

b. study information science

c. evaluate, process, store and retrieve information

d. help library patrons use collection, software and OPACS.

2. Which of the following fields is related to information science?

a. social sciences and computer sciences

b. mathematics, electrical engineering and linguistics

c. management, neuroscience and information theory

d. all of the above

3. Within the field of information science, .......... may be defined as the knowledge contained in the human brain and in all electronic and written records.

a. librarianship

b. information

c. bibliometrics

d. OPAC

4. Which of the following questions is of interest to the field of bibliometrics?

a. What is the effect of information on individuals and groups when it is presented in various formats?

b. How do publication dates, frequency of citation, productivity and prominence of authors affect the relevance of literature on a given subject?

c. How do humans and computers interact?

d. all of the above

5. Information stored in .......... is of interest to information scientists.

a. archives

b. switching centers

c. institutions such as schools and businesses.

d. all of the above

1.8 Cloze

Drag each of the given words to the appropriate spaces.
appliances, Codes, computers, customers, features , gas, recorders, regulate, sound, systems
People use computers in many ways. In business, computers track inventories with bar .....1.... and scanners, check the credit status of .....2...., and transfer funds electronically. In homes, tiny .....3.... embedded in the electronic circuitry of most .....4.... control the temperature, operate home security .....5...., tell the time, and turn videocassette ....6..... (VCRs) on and off. Computers in automobiles ....7..... the flow of fuel, thereby increasing ....8..... mileage. Computers also entertain, creating digitized ......9... on stereo systems or computer-animated .....10... from a digitally encoded laser disc. Computer programs, or applications, exist to aid every level of education, from programs that teach simple addition or sentence construction to programs that teach advanced calculus.

1.9 Grammar: Nouns

A NOUN NAMES A PERSON, PLACE, THING, OR IDEA.

Albert met his brother’s best friend, a superb swimmer.

The markers, or characteristics, of nouns can be summarized as follows:

1. Nouns are usually preceded by such words as the, a, an, my, your, his, her, some, each, every, their, this, and that.
2. Certain nouns have characteristic endings – -al, -tion, -ness, -ment, -ure, -dom, -ism, -ance, for example – which distinguish them from corresponding verbs or adjectives: arrive, arrival; refine, refinement; depart, departure; soft, softness; real, realism; rely, reliance; wise, wisdom; create, creation.
3. Nouns and identically spelled verbs may sometimes be differentiated by accent. The first member in each of these pairs of words is a noun, the second a verb: 'permit, per'mit; ' record, re'cord; 'survey, 'survey; 'subject, sub'ject.
4. Nouns are found in set positions, such as before a verb (Birds fly), after a verb (wash the car), or after a preposition (working for money).
5. Nouns may be singular or plural in number. The plural of most English nouns is obtained by adding -s or -es to the singular form: girls, boys, trees, fields, beaches, peaches. Some nouns have only one form for both the singular and the plural: deer, sheep. Some nouns have irregular plurals: ox, oxen; mouse, mice; wife, wives.
7. Nouns have three cases: subject case, object case, and possessive case. In English, nouns have a common form for both the subject and the object case. An apostrophe is used to designate a noun in the possessive case: Joe's, ship's, neighbor's, students'.

KINDS OF NOUNS

Nouns are classified in several ways: common, proper and collective.
A common noun is a name given to the members of a class, that is, to words designating types of persons, things, or places. All common nouns can be recognized as such because they do not begin with capital letters: dozen, child, girls, road, farm, town, city, box, structure.
A proper noun names a particular member of a class; it does begin with a capital: Ferdowsi, Michele, Sunny Acres, Kennedy Freeway, Chicago, Tehran.
A collective noun names a group of individuals or items. Although it refers to more than one, it is singular in form: pair, committee, squad, team, congress, species, crowd, army, crew, assembly.
EXERCISE
Decide whether the underlined noun is common, proper or collective. Choose the best item.
1. They saw a marvelous performance at the theater.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

2. That is a delightful perfume that you are wearing.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

3. All generalizations are false.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

4. Your daughter told me that she wants to be a chemist someday.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

5. Which lawn mower do you prefer?

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

6. The man opened the door to the swimming pool, and we then had a good time splashing around in the water.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

7. The committee decided to accept the proposal.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

8. Jessie was born with sparkling eyes that reflected the merriment in her soul.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

9. Autumn is my favorite season, although I am also very fond of summer.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

10. George told his friend how much he loved swimming.

a. common

b. proper

c. collective

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