UNIT 5.HOW TODAY’S COMPUTERS WEAKEN OUR BRAIN

Vocabulary

(to) accomplish – выполнять, завершать

(to) assume – принимать, допускать

(to) аstray – отклоняться, сбиться

augmentation – увеличение, добавление, возрастание

(to) be in charge of – отвечать за

browser pages and a to-do list – компьютерная программа просмотра страниц и список текущих дел

chore – рутинная работа

cognizant – знающий, компетентный

conscious – сознательный, ощущающий

crucial advance – существенное продвижение, прогресс

(to) deal with – иметь дело с

(to) devise various techniques – придумывать, разрабатывать новые приёмы

(to) distract – отвлекать (внимание), рассеивать

dozens – множество, десятки

fairly and smoothly – справедливо и благополучно

(to) fulfill multiple desires – выполнять многочисленные пожелания

(to) imply – предполагать, иметь последствия

(to) hinder – мешать, препятствовать

human augmentation – прирост населения

(to) maintain attention on – сохранять внимание

mode – состояние, режим работы

multitasking – многозадачность, многофункциональность

(to) propose – предлагать, вносить предложение

request – запрос, требование

require sustained concentration – требует длительной, непрерывной концентрации

(to) resolve conflicts – устранять конфликты

rise of capabilities – рост возможностей

in the same glimpse – беглый набросок, мелькание

separated from – отделённый от

(to) strive (strove, striven) to eliminate – стремиться, стараться устранять что – либо

switch between tasks – выбор между заданиями, операциями

subtle point – тонкий вопрос

susceptible – чувствительный, неустойчивый

(to) sustain attention – поддерживать внимание

(to) take training and effort – проходить подготовку и прикладывать усилия

time- sharing – разделение времени

(to) toggle between – переключать, переходить между

unimaginable – невообразимый

voluntary – добровольный

To understand what has happened, we need to return to the nineteen-sixties, when computers were giant, slow machines that served dozens and sometimes hundreds of people at once. Such computers needed a way to deal with many requests for processing resources. Engineers devised various techniques for handling this problem – known first as time-sharing, and later as multitasking, operating systems. In essence, multitasking algorithms used clever techniques to share the computing power available among multiple users as fairly and smoothly as possible. With multitasking, it was possible with a single computer for many people to have the illusion of having their own machine.

The engineers who designed time-sharing and multitasking probably never imagined that their ideas would be used for personal computers — if each user already had a computer, why would he or she need multitasking? Moreover, when the first mass-market personal computers, like the Apple II, arrived in the late seventies, their highly limited processing power was used to perform a single task at a time. It was programming or word processing, but not both at once.

The purpose of multitasking had gone from supporting multiple users on one computer to supporting multiple desires within one person at the same time. The former usage resolves conflicts among the many, while the latter can introduce internal conflict; when you think about it, trying to fulfill multiple desires at once is the opposite of concentration.

A second crucial advance was the huge increase in the speed of computer processors over the past three decades. Only with this kind of power could personal computers multitask in an acceptable way. Today, we want our computers to do more, faster, with less work on our part.

From this perspective, the multitasking capabilities of today’s computers are sometimes a form of augmentation — but only sometimes. It can be helpful to toggle between browser pages and a to-do list, or to talk on Skype while looking at a document. Nevertheless, other times we need to use computers for tasks that require sustained concentration, and it is here that machines sometimes degrade human potential.

While the brain is good at many things, it is rather bad at others. It is not very good at achieving extreme states of concentration through sustained attention. It takes great training and effort to maintain attention on one object — in what Buddhists call concentration meditation — because the brain is highly susceptible to both voluntary and involuntary demands on its attention. Second, the brain is not good at conscious multitasking, or trying to pay active attention to more than one thing at once. Perhaps computer designers once hoped that our machines could train the brain to multitask more effectively, but recent research suggests that this effort has failed.

In short, we are easy to distract, and very bad at doing two or more things at the same time. Yet our computers, supposedly our servants, constantly distract us and ask us to process multiple streams of information at the same time. It can make you wonder, just who is in charge here?

What we need are machines that are built from the ground up purposely to minimize distraction and help us sustain attention for hard tasks. We need computers and devices that return to the project of human augmentation by taking the brain’s limits seriously and helping us overcome them.

What this looks like, I am not exactly sure, although I am sure we should be trying to find out. Perhaps all we need are computers that lock into different modes: chore mode, communication mode and concentrated work mode. In the work modes, the machine would do what it could to keep you on track, in ways both subtle and less so. We also need designers cognizant of the brain’s weaknesses, who strive to eliminate or minimize unnecessary distractions, such as beeps for e-mails, bouncing icons and unnecessary pop-up windows.

There will always be some who say that all anyone needs to deal with these problems is better discipline or will power. I am not so sure. Discipline is useful, but so is an environment and tools that actually help, rather than hinder. The strange part is that we now have technological powers to shape our environment that were unimaginable to earlier generations, yet we do not use them with a realistic view of the brain’s weaknesses. Perhaps a single rule is enough: our computers should never make us stupider.

Answer the questions according to the text:

1. What didn’t engineers think about when they designed time-sharing and multitasking?

2. Are modern computers bless or curse for young people? Will you give your pros and cons?

3. Do computers really weaken our brains? Do you agree or disagree? Will you express your point of view?

Exercises:

1) Complete these sentences using the comparative or superlative form of the adjectives in brackets.

1. Laser printers are usually (fast) _________________ than inkjets, printing text pages at a speed of 10 to 20 ppm, and are (cheap) _______________ to operate.

2. The human brain is far (powerful) __________________ than the (advanced) ________________ computer working at its full capacity.

3. I recommend getting the (high) _____________________ resolution monitor you can afford.

4. Plasma screens are (heavy) ____________________ than LCD screens.

5. The ILOVEYOU computer bug is the (bad) _______________________ virus in history.

6. Film scanners are (expensive) _________________________ than flatbeds, usually starting at £ 250.

7. This printer has been ranked as the (less reliable) ______________________ on the market.

2) Choose the right variant in if-sentences using the first conditional.

1. I can give Bob the message if I (see) him.

a) see

b) will see

2. If I (hear) any news, I (phone) you.

a) hear; will phone

b) will hear; phone

c) will hear; will phone

3. If the weather (be) fine tomorrow, we are going to have a picnic.

a) is

b) will be

4. Hurry up! If you (catch) a taxi, you (meet) Mary at the station.

a) catch, will meet

b) will catch, meet

c) will catch, will meet

5. When I (arrive) in Manchester next week, I (phone) you.

a) arrive, will phone

b) will arrive, phone

c) will arrive, will phone

6. If he (not / be) busy tomorrow morning, he probably (give) you a lift.

a) isn't busy, will probably give

b) won't be, probably gives

c) won't be, will probably give

7. Call for an ambulance if he (feel) worse.

a) feel

b) feels

c) will feel

8. Mrs. Clay (go) shopping today if she (finish) her work earlier than usual.

a) goes, will finish

b) will go, finishes

c) will go, will finish

9. Watch the football match on TV at 11 p.m. if you (stay) at home tonight.

a) stay

b) will stay

10. I am tired, but if you (make) me strong coffee, I (go on) working.

a) make, will go on

b) will make, go on

c) will make, will go on

3) Answer these questions using the second conditional.

What would you do...?

1. if you had a digital video camera?
If I had...____________________________________________

2. if you found a mobile phone on a bus?
____________________________________________________

3. if you owned the Internet?
____________________________________________________

4. if you were a very rich man/woman?
____________________________________________________

4) Complete these sentences using modal verbs (can, could, must, may, might, should). More than one answer may be possible.

1. I ____________ use a computer when I was only five years old.

2. We are looking for a webmaster who ____________ design, improve and maintain our website.

3. If you want to see animations, you ____________ have Flash Player on your system.

4. Before publishing your website, you ____________ check that all the links work.

5. You ____________ like to include a counter on your home page to show how many times it has been accessed.

5) Decide the type of application software (a-h) that these people should use.

1. «I would like to retouch photos on my computer».

2. «I work for a company specializing in designing fend publishing catalogues and brochures».

3. «We are an organization that makes maps and 3-D models of the Earth surface».

4. «I want to produce illustrations and freehand ' drawings for an encyclopedia».

5. «I design web pages for a TV company. I usually include frames, cascading style sheets and multimedia elements on my page designs».

6. «I teach science and I need to prepare slide shows for my lessons».

7. «I am an engineer. I need to design the interior and exterior of a sports car».

8. «I need a program that supports MIDI and includes a wide range of functions - scales, intervals, melody and rhythm».

a) music software

b) CAD software

c) paint and image-editing program

d) DTP software

e) presentation software

f) drawing program

g) HTML editor

h) geographic information system

Reference:

http: //www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-todays-computers-weaken-our-brain

Watch the video and discuss it in class: http: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=dBf6BTX1bmM

TEST

Fill in the gaps

1. If you want to … a group of people from around the world you can use conferencing programs.

2. The most popular … are the Windows family, Mac OS, Unix, Linux.

3. Raster Graphics, or… are stored as a collection of pixels.

4. As we move closer to 2020, the size of computational … is becoming so small that it is approaching zero.

5. The engineers who designed …. and multitasking probably never imagined that their ideas would be used for personal computers.

6. Choose the right answer

1) to enroll	a) разрешение
2) To run a program	b) преодолевать трудности
3) Resolution	c) увеличение
4) To overcome challenges	d) вступать, вносить в список
5) Augmentation	e) запускать программу

True or false

7. on the typical web page we can see the toolbar with different icons, tab buttons, search box, favorites

8. when you are in a folder you cannot launch a program or a document

9. the sharpness of an image does not depend on a resolution

10. we could literally turn anything into a computer

11. the purpose of multitasking had gone from supporting users on a computer to supporting multiple desires within one person at the same time

Change the word

12. if you want to start new business, you need to study a lot

13. nowadays computers are used by all kinds of people and as a result there is a growing interest in user- friendly systems

14. Bitmaps are stored as a collection of pixels

15. He predicts the interaction between humans and computers

16. Who is responsible for starting up a new program?

Translate into english

17. собрать группу людей

18. Microsoft запустил (создал) новую программу

19. все пользователи компьютера

20. быстрое развитие технологий

21. выполнять многочисленные пожелания

Make a question

22. You/a /computer/webcam/need/?

23. Have/a lot of/ memorize/ commands/ users?

24. raster/ Vector/ graphics/and /graphics/there/are/two main categories?

25. work/ Intel/a/ as/ engineer/ principal?

26. devise/engineers/ techniques/various/for/this/handling/ problem?

Change the word

27. Graphic …. are drawing programs and illustrations (design)

28. They all work…. (similar)

29. professionals have to …. a lot of commands (memory)

30. Technologies will become … connected (tight)

31. We need to use computers for tasks that require … (to concentrate)

Fill in the letter

32. emp…asis on

33. la…nch

34. r…solution

35. lit…rally

 

ENGLISH IN HIGHWAY ENGINEERING.

UNIT 1. SIDE DITCHES.

Vocabulary.

adjoining – прилегающий

cross – section – поперечное сечение

drain channeling – дренажная канава

embankment – насыпь

flume – сток

interception ditch – водосток

(to) penetrate – проходить

roadbed – дорожное полотно

side ditch – боковой жёлоб

Side ditches, flumes, interception ditches and drain channeling are used for collecting water from the roadbed. Roadside ditches are used for moving water alongside a road. Diversion ditches lead water away from the road at a point where this does not happen naturally. Present road construction provides side ditches parallel with the roadway.

Road and diversion ditches are for handling water in locations where the topography limits other options. It improves drainage of the road.

A side ditch is used to collect the water from the roadside. The side ditch generally collects water from the adjoining land too. The side ditch discharges into a natural outlet at the first opportunity. Side ditches in cuttings and next to embankments are excavated to a depth of up to 0.6 m. These ditches are used for collecting water flowing off the road surface and from adjoining land during rainfall or snow thawing.

The side ditch may contribute to the drainage of the subgrade because of the evaporation of moisture from the side ditch inner slopes. However, side ditch is mainly used to permit the rapid discharge of water. When this water discharge is not ensured then ponding occurs. Therefore, the side ditch becomes a source from which water may penetrate back under the road, resulting in saturation of the subgrade.

Serious road deterioration results if side ditches overflow during storms. Proper construction and spacing of water turnouts and side ditches on crowned roads or road sections should prevent this by channeling the water away from the road.

There are two types of shapes for cross-sections of the ditch: V-typed or trapezoidal. A trapezoidal cross-section is used for impermeable soils and in less favorable conditions of runoff. In this case, its bottom width is of 0.4 m. Its depth is of up to 0.7-0.8 m from the edge embankment. If the road is built in dry country with a rapid surface runoff, and the occurrence of ground water is deep, the side ditches are given the shape of triangular flues of 0.3 m minimum depth. A blade grader is used to construct and maintain the V-typed side ditch. The V-typed side ditch is not deep and, therefore, it is much safer than the trapezoidal side ditch.

Answer the questions according to the text:

1. What is the side ditch purpose?

2. Why may the side ditch contribute to the drainage of the subgrade?

3. What is the case when the side ditch becomes a source from which water may penetrate back under the road?

4. What is the shape of the cross-section of the ditch?

5. What machines are used to construct and maintain the side ditch?

Exercises:

1) Find the equivalents in the text:

сбор воды, желоб, выемки, сливы, собирать воду с, быть предназначенным для, примыкающий участок, насыпь, вырыть, испарение влаги, быстрый спуск воды, обеспечить, случается наводнение, проникать, пропитывание, поперечное сечение, страна с сухим климатом.

2) Translate into Russian

Roadbed, road construction, to provide, to be intended, to collect the water, adjoining land, a natural outlet, embankment, to be excavated, depth, rainfall, to contribute, ponding, to penetrate cross-section, impermeable soil, to maintain.

3) Match the terms with the definitions

1. ditch	a. a surface or shape exposed by making a straight cut through something
2. embankment	b. a long, narrow hole in the ground next to a road or field, which water can flow through
3. drainage	c. the part of a road on which vehicles travel
4. cross-section	d. an artificial slope made of earth
5. roadbed	e. the ability of soil to allow water to flow away

4) Put the word of the appropriate part of speech into the sentences

1. Tom is a person of perfect (generous)

2. Mum could not make choice without father’s (agree)

3. Mary takes care about her (appear)

4. Bob said nothing in his (defend)

5. Son’s success gave mum a great (satisfy)

6. Mobile phones are very (sense) things

7. Ann is a very (rely) person

8. He tried to avoid (misunderstand)

9. (Forgive) is a great skill.

10. He can’t hide his (happy)

5) Put the word into the right form:

1. Pete ate some (tomato)

2. Please, put some (sugar) in your tea.

3. The Blacks have to buy new (furniture)

4. The Milicops have a lot of (money)

5. How many (person) were at the cinema with you?

6. Could you give some (information) on your project?

7. Here (family) are very welcome.

8. Those (man) seem to be very tired.

References:

http: //www.extension.umn.edu

http: //www.fao.org/docrep/w8297e/w8297e0b.htm

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