A.
Pre-Reading
1. Write out words and phrases from the text What Is a Computer System and make a vocabulary list
of at least 20 terms. Learn all of them by heart.
You can find the rules for making the vocabulary list and the rules for reading phonetic transcription
in the Home Reading Requirements file of the Tasks & Assessment folder on [Link].
2. Match the pictures with the names:
___ monitor
___ keyboard
___ memory
1 2 3
___ motherboard
___ system unit
4 5 6 ___ hard disk
B. Reading
What Is a Computer System?
A computer system consists of two parts: the software and the hardware. The software is
the information in the form of data and program instructions. The hardware components are the
electronic and mechanical parts of the system. The basic structure of a computer system is made
up of three main hardware sections: the Central Processing Unit (CPU), the main memory, and
the peripherals.
The CPU is a microprocessor chip that executes program instructions and coordinates the
activities of all the other components. In a way, it is the "brain" of the computer. Larger
computers may have two or more CPUs, in which case they are simply called "processors"
because each is no longer a "central" unit. Nowadays, personal computers contain specialized
graphics processors with dedicated memory for handling the computations required to display
complex graphics, such as for three-dimensional simulations and games.
The main memory holds the instructions and data that are currently being processed by the
CPU. The internal memory of a microcomputer is usually composed of two sections: RAM
(Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory).
The peripherals are the physical units attached to the computer. They include input/output
devices as well as storage devices. Input devices enable us to present information to the
computer; for example, the keyboard and the mouse. Output devices allow us to extract the
results from the computer; for example, we can see the output on the monitor or in printed form.
Auxiliary data storage is usually provided by an internal hard disk or a solid-state drive (SSD)
and may be supplemented by other media such as cloud storage services.
These are the main physical units of a computer system, generally known as the configuration.
C. Review Questions
Exercise 1. Matching
Write the numbers from the chart next to the elements of a computer system.
output devices ….. peripherals …..
software ….. input devices …..
main memory ….. storage devices …..
ROM ….. hardware …..
CPU ….. RAM …..
1 2
3 4 7
5 6 8 9 10
Exercise 2. Short Response
As you know. there are three types of memory used by computers: RAM, ROM, and storage
memory. Look through this list of features and decide which type of memory they refer to.
1. Any section of the main memory can be read with equal speed and ease.
2. It is available in magnetic, optical, and flash drives.
3. A certain amount of this memory can be designated as "cache" memory to store information in
applications that are used very frequently.
4. It stores basic operating instructions, needed by the CPU to function correctly.
5. Memory which can be expanded by adding memory modules of 4GB, 8GB, 16GB or other major
increments.
6. Information is permanent and cannot be deleted.
7. You can save and store your documents and applications.
C. Writing (classwork)
Write a conversation in a computer shop. You can begin it as follows.
Dialogue: Buying a Laptop for Programming
Shop Assistant: Hello! How can I help you today?
Student: Hi! I’m studying computer science, and I need a new laptop for programming.
Shop Assistant: Of course. What kind of programs do you use?
Student: ...