50 years ago people didn't even heard of computers, and today we cannot imagine life without them. Computer technology is the fastest-growing industry in the world. The first computer was the size of a minibus and weighed a ton. Today, its job can be done by a chip the size of a pin head. And the revolution is still going on. Very soon we'll have computers that we'll wear on our wrists or even in our glasses and earrings. The next generation of computers will be able to talk and even think for themselves. They will contain electronic "neural networks". Of course, they'll be still a lot simpler than human brains, but it will be a great step forward. Such computers will help to diagnose illnesses, find minerals, identify criminals and control space travel. Some people say that computers are dangerous, but I don't agree with them. They save a lot of time. They seldom make mistakes. It's much faster and easier to surf the Internet than to go to the library. On-line shopping makes it possible to find exactly what you want at the best price, saving both time and money. E-mail is a great invention, too. It's faster than sending a letter and cheaper than sending a telegram. All in all, I strongly believe that computers are a useful tool. They have changed our life for the better. So why shouldn't we make them work to our advantage?
Vocabulary computer technology [tek'nolad3i] комгаотерные generation [,d3ena'reijn] поколение технологии to contain [kan'tein] содержать industry [Indastri] отрасль промышленности, neural network [,njuaral 'netwa:k] нейронная сеть индустрия human ['hju:man] человеческий minibus ['minib/\s] микроавтобус brain [brein] мозг to weigh [wei] весить step [step] шаг ton [1лп] тонна to diagnose f'daiagnauz] ставить диагноз chip [tjip] чип, микросхема to identify [ai'dentifai] опознавать pin head ['pin hed] булавочная головка criminal ['kriminl] преступник wrist [rist] запястье dangerous f'deir^aras] опасный to save [seiv] экономить e-mail [1: meil] электронная почта to surf [sa:f] the Internet ['intanet] искать, invention [in'venjn] изобретение "бродить" по Интернету all in all в общем on-line [pn'lain] shopping покупки через Интернет tool [tu:l] инструмент (интернет- магазины) So why shouldn't we make them work to our exactly [ig'zaektli] именно то advantage [ed'va:ntid3]? зд. Почему бы их не за- price [prais] цена ставить работать на нас?
Questions 1. Have you got a computer? 2. Do you think it's a useful tool? 3. Will computers become smaller in the future? 4. Can the Internet help you to do your homework? 5. Can computers help us to learn foreign languages? 6. Do you play computer games? 7. What are the advantages of on-line shopping? 8. What are the advantages of e-mail? 9. Do you think that computers are bad for health? 10. Some people have made friends through the Internet. What about you? 11. Some people say that computers make us less sociable. Do you agree? 12. What will the next generation of computers be able to do?
