Английский методичка. Учебное пособие для развития навыков устной речи на английском языке Омск Издательство Омгту 2009 удк 004 811. 111(075)
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Dawn of the cyberbabes Stratumsoft are developing the first electronic virtual assistant, or EVA. If EVA’s live up to the developers' claims, they could provide the illusion of personal service without the cost. Call centres, online advertisers and Internet service providers are among the initial targets. Eighty per cent of call centre requests could, Stratum soft argues, be dealt with by an EVA. E-commerce is another application. 'The best experience you can have as a shopper is personal contact, and EVA is designed to give that', says Stratumsoft's director of marketing. The technology behind EVA combines two global trends in website design. One, developed out of the computer animation and gaming industry, is the ability to give Web images the impression of three dimensions. The other is the use of dynamic database skills and artificial intelligence-style searching to retrieve information from data banks. Each EVA can be programmed with information such as a product catalogue, answers to frequently asked questions or an online encyclopedia. It is also equipped with a search engine to interpret customer requests made in colloquial language. Queries are typed in and answered via on-screen text boxes. If the EVA does not have an answer, it will interrogate the questioner, record the response, and add the answer to its database for future enquiries. EVA’s are not fully animated to imitate human features but they can be programmed to gesture and imitate different moods. An EVA в run via a Java applet - a small, self-contained program coded to download on to any type of personal computer rather than being transmitted over the Internet. Ananova Ananova is the world's first digital newsreader. She was created to front an Internet 24 hours a day news service by Digital Animations Group, a Scottish 3D digital entertainment company and PA New Media. Mark Hird, Director of PA New Media said, ‘We have given her a full range of human characteristics after researching the personality most people want to read news and other information. Ananova has been programmed to deliver breaking news 24 hours a day via the Internet, and later on mobile phones, televisions and other digital devices’. The Ananova character fronts a computer system which is constantly updated with news, sport, share prices, weather and other information. This is converted into speech while another program simultaneously creates real-time animated graphics. This ensures that the virtual newscaster can be on top of the news as it breaks, with very little delay at all. People using the service can also tailor their own news bulletins by using search words to hear the latest information on their chosen subjects. Mr.Hird believes the invention will dramatically change the role of the traditions newscaster, 'In 20 years time we could be seeing that type of job being replaced by computer-generated images.' But not everyone agree: Professor Bill Scott said that people prefer people to teach them things and in a world where information was increasingly important, an established face was important in terms trust. 'You don't get that confidence with computer characters’. The rise of the robots Japan produced the first commercially available robotic pet, called Aibo, a small electronic dog that several owners on Aibonet.com describe as part of the family. Aibo is not alone. Dr Thomas Consi MIT has produced the 'robolobster' which is of imitating lobsters' abilities to sense chemicals in the water surrounding them. Researchers at Edinburgh's Mobile Robot Group have made the world's first cyber-cricket. These machines are important because they demonstrate that simple processes can result in complex behaviours. The robots use 'neural nets', erred processors that have an input level associated with each processor. When an input signal exceeds a certain value, the processor 'fires' a signal processors as output. Because neural nets can recognize patterns in data, they can be ‘trained’ with samples of data which are then revised to improve the response. The most important crossover, however, is not between animal and robot but between man and machine. Quadriplegics and paraplegics have been testing computer connections for some time to bypass injured nerves, but Professor Kevin Warwick, head of the Department of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, is currently conducting experiments which could lead to more of us becoming cyborgs. Professor Warwick has previously had a chip fitted into his arm which could activate sensors in doors and computers as he approached. He will soon have another transponder surgically implanted in his arm to record electrical signals controlling his movements, which can be played back so that he is then controlled by a prerecorded self. He predicts that such a technology could, one day, enable us to interact with machines in a completely different way. For example, we could soon be driving cars without steering wheels. Sporting robots Each ear teams take part in an international football competition. The teams are organised into five leagues and the prize is a cup. Not just any cup, but the Robocup, for the players are all robots. They don't play on turf but the objective is the same, to hit a ball into a goal. The aim behind the Robocup is to promote the development of robots which can work together. Football is a good test of co-operation for any team and the robots are no exception. Although robot footballers are poor competition for a human team, each year their performance gets better and each the standards expected are raised so that competitors must constantly develop better hardware and software. The top league is the Sony legged robot division. They use modified versions of the well-known Sony robodog AIBO. A humanoid league will start as soon as there are sufficient two-legged players. The organiser of the Robocup is confident in the future of robotics, 'By mid-21st century, a team of fully autonomous humanoid soccer players will win a soccer game, complying with the official rules of FIFA, against the winner of the most recent World Cup.' Other sporting events for robots exist. For example, The British Association for the Advancement of Science organises a two-a-side event called Robot Volley Ball. The players' task is simply to return a ball within 60 seconds of its being served. The objective again, is to promote the development of robots which can work cooperatively. The advantages of having robots which can tackle a range of tasks together rather than constructing single expensive robots designed for one task only are obvious.
1. The Speaker (Using only his notes). 2. The reporter (listens carefully and reports back to the speaker). 3. The judge (listens carefully to both speaker and Reporter and points out any mistakes).
Study these ways to describe ability: 1. Swarming robots can work together to perform searches. 2. Washing machines will be able to report any breakdowns for repair. 3. Imagine being able to send music files to your MP3 player without a wire connection. 4. Professor Warwick had a chip fitted into his arm which could activate sensors in doors and computers as he approached. 5. Marconi was able to send a radio signal from Britain to Newfoundland. We use can and be able to to describe ability in the present but can is more common. We use could for general abilities in the past but was/were able to describe an ability on a specific occasion. This table summarises their uses: Ability ___________________________________________________________ Present can be able to _____________________________________________________________ future X will be able to _____________________________________________________________ present perfect X has/have been able to _____________________________________________________________ -ing form X being able to _____________________________________________________________ past (specific action) X was/were able to _____________________________________________________________ past (general and with verbs of sensation) could X For past negatives and questions both verbs are possible. For example: Early computers could not/were not able to operate at high speeds. Could they/were they able to store much data? Imagine 1 open doors and switch on computers as you approach them. Professor Warwick…………..2 because he had an electronic chip fitted into his arm for a month. He…………....3 demonstrate to the press how computers would greet him with, 'Good morning, Professor Warwick' as he walked past. Next he wants to record the signals from his brain to his arm to see if he.…... 4 program a computer to operate his arm. In the long term, this may help people who………...5 use their limbs. His wife too will have a chip implanted. They hope……….6 feed messages into each other's brains. According to the Professor, one day we……….7 communicate directly with machines. If he is right, we…………..8 drive a car from the passenger seat and we…………………9 operate a computer without using a mouse or keyboard. However, there is also the alarming prospect that someone………………10 hack into your brain.
A HELP box The passive
В. Прочитайте статью и выделите страдательный залог в предложениях. Определите время. A HACKER has been sent to jail for fraudulent use of credit card numbers. Nicholas Cook, 26, was arrested by police officers near a bank cash point last month. Eight months earlier, he had been caught copying hundreds of computer programs illegally. After an official inquiry, he was accused of software piracy and fined £5,000. It is reported that in the last few years Cook has been sending malware (malicious software) to phone operators and attacking mobile phones to steal business and personal information. Cook has now been sentenced to three years in prison for stealing passwords and obtaining money by credit card fraud. Government officials say that new anti-hacking legislation will be introduced in the EU next year. С. Поставьте глагол в правильную форму. 1. Microprocessors (make) of silicon. 2. Call centres (use)…………………………. to deal with telephone enquiries. 3. In recent years, most mobile phones (equip) with Bluetooth. 4. GPS (develop)……………….. in the 1970s as a military navigation system. 5. Sorry about the mess - the computers (replace)……………. at the moment. 6. In the near future, the Internet (access) more frequently from PDA’s and mobile phones than from desktop computers. 7. Networks (can connect) via satellite. 8. I had to use my laptop this morning while my PC (fix)……
HELP box Phrasal verbs - The meaning of some verbs with particle (often called phrasal verbs) can be easily understood from its two parts. Look at the photos. A network consists of two or more... Separate networks are linked over a public network, the Internet. - However, many phrasal verbs have an idiomatic meaning, not predictable from the meaning of its parts. carry (= transport); carry out (= execute) Computers carry out the programs... - Certain particles have similar meanings, regardless of the verb (on/off, in/out, etc.). turn on / switch on (= start the operation of something) turn off/switch off (= stop the operation of something) - Other common phrasal verbs in computing include: plug into (= connect) Plug one end of the phone cord into the phone jack. set up (= establish) What do I need to set up a wireless LAN? sign up (= register, enrol in a service) Once connected, you can sign up for RSS feeds, newsletters, etc. try out (= test or use experimentally) You can try out new software on their site. find out (= learn, discover) Search the Web to find out more information about WiMAX. take up (= occupy) Fibro optic cables take up less space than copper cables. make up (= constitute, form) Several LANs connected together make up a WAN. fill in (= write the necessary information) You need to fill in this online form. - When the verb has a preposition associated with it, the preposition must precede the object: You can look for information on the Web. (not: Hackers might break into your PC. (not: When the particle is an adverb, it can precede or follow the direct object: You need to type in your username/ ... type your username in. You can look up words in a dictionary/ ... look words up in a dictionary. Turn on the computer. /Turn the computer on If the direct object is a pronoun, the: particle must follow it You need to type it in. (not: В. Заполните пропуски фразовыми глаголами.
С. Определите соответствие вопросов с 1 по 6 с ответами (a - f).
a. Yes, but always remember to log off after you've ended your session. b. Yes, you can even try the programs out for a period before you buy them! c. Because he broke into a computer system and stole confidential data. d. Simply install this program and plug the webcam into your computer. e. You need to install the software for your router. Follow the instructions provided by your ISP, probably in the form of a “.pdf” file on a CD. f. You have to create a username and password and then give some personal details. |