At present a great deal of the work force of most countries is engaged in creating, processing, processing, storing, communicating and just working with information. Computers have become commonplace in homes, offices, stores, schools, research institutes, plants.

    The use of computers in business, industry and communication services is widespread today. Computer-controlled robots are able to improve the quality of manufactured products and to increase the productivity of industry. Computers can control the work of power stations, plants and docks. They help in making different decisions and in management of economy.

    The work of banks depends upon computer terminals for millions of daily operations. Without these terminals, records of deposits and withdrawals would be difficult to maintain, and it would be impossible to make inquiries about the current status of customer accounts.

    Computers form a part of many military systems including communications and fire control. They are applied for automatic piloting and automatic navigations. Space exploration depends on computers for guidance, on-board environment and research.

    Computers find application in astronomy and upper atmosphere research. Weather forecasting, library information services can benefit from computers too.

    At last air traffic control is impossible without computer application. It fully depends upon computer-generated information.

    Many other uses of computers that we cannot imagine at present will become commonplace from an industrial to post -industrial, or information society.

Задание 2.  

а) Прочтите и переведите текст на русский язык.

With a database you can store, organize and retrieve a large collection of related information on a computer. If you like, it is the electronic equivalent of an indexed filing cabinet. Let us look at some features and applications.

Information is entered on a database via fields. Each field holds a separate piece of information, and the fields are collected together into records. For example, a record about an employee might consist of several fields which give their name, address, telephone number, age, salary and length of employment with the company. Records are grouped together into files which hold large amounts of information. Files can easily be updated: you can always change fields, add new records or delete old ones. With the right database software, you are able to keep track of stock, sales, market trends, orders, invoices and many more details that can make your company successful.

Another feature of database programs is that you can automatically look up and find records containing particular information. You can also search on more than one field at a time. For example, if a managing director wanted to know all the customers that spend more than $7.000 per month, the program would search on the name field and the money field simultaneously.

A computer database is much faster to consult and update than a card index system. It occupies a lot less space, and records can be automatically sorted into numerical or alphabetical order using any field.

б)

The best packages also include networking facilities, which add a new dimension of productivity to businesses. For example, managers of different departments can have direct access to a common database, which represents an enormous advantage. Thanks to security devices, you can share part of your files on a network and control who sees the information. Most aspects of the program can be protected by user-defined passwords. For example, if you wanted to share an employee's personal details, but not their commission, you could protect the commission field.

In short a database manager helps you control the data you have at home, in the library or in your business.

с) Закончить предложения, используя информацию текста.

1. A database is used to ______________________________________________________________

2. Information is entered on а database via _______________________________________________

3. Each field holds _________________________________________________________________

4. “Updating” ^:a file means __________________________________________________________

5. The advantages of a database program over a manual filing system are ______________________

6. Access to a common database can be protected by using __________________________________

Задание 3. Выберите правильный перевод предложений, содержащих неличные формы глагола ( Infinitive , Gerund , Participle I , Participle II ).

1. That was the machine provided with the necessary facts about the problem to be solved.

а)  Машину обеспечили необходимыми фактами, чтобы он решила проблему.

б) То была машина, снабженная необходимой информацией о задаче, которую предстояло решить.

в) Эту машину обеспечили необходимой информацией о решаемой задаче.