Задание 1. Укажите номера предложений, в которых окончание «-s» является показателем: a) множественного числа имени существительного; b) притяжательного падежа имени существительного; c) глагола в 3-м лице ед.числа Present Simple.

1. The Italian government showed no interest in young Marconi’s invention,
2. Scientists and engineers working in the nuclear industry have to cope with many complex problems.
3. According to the time-table, the train gets in at half past eight.

Задание 2. Укажите номера предложений, в которых указательные местоимения this, these, that, those выступают как заместители ранее упомянутых существительных. Назовите эти существительные.
1. Consumption of bread and potatoes is decreasing steadily while that of sugar is increasing despite doctors’ recommendations.
2. The new technologies that are being developed must be connected with traditional ones.
3. These devices are more reliable than those designed in our laboratory.

Задание 3. Укажите номера предложений, в которых встречаются сравнительные конструкции, имеющие значение: a) такой же, … как;
b) не такой, … как; с) чем; d) чем … тем.

1. Their operating system is considered by many people to be a better product than Microsoft’s.
2. The higher the voltage, the higher the electron velocity.
3. His hands were as cold as ice.
4. These engines are not so powerful as those motors.

Задание 4. Read the text. Then read the titles. Which of the following titles is the best?
a) From the History of Mainframes.
b) From the History of Personal Computers.
c) From the History of Xerox Corporation.
d) From the History of Digital Research.

Задание 5. Read the text again. Choose the best sentence from the list below to complete each gap.
1. In 1952, a major computing company took a decision to get out of the business of making mainframe computers. They believed that there was only a market for four mainframes in the whole world. That company was IBM. 1__ __.
2. In 1980, IBM decided that there was a market for 250,000 PCs, so they set up a special team to develop the first IBM PC. It went on sale in 1981 and set a world-wide standard for IBM – compatibility which, over the next ten years, was only seriously challenged by one other company, Apple Computers. Since then, over seventy million PCs made by IBM and other manufactures have been sold. 2__ __.
3. The history of the multi-billion dollar PC industry has been one of mistakes. Xerox Corporation funded the initial research on personal computers in their Palo Alto Laboratory in California. However, the company failed to capitalize on this work, and the ideas that they put together went into the operating system developed for Apple’s computers. 3__ __.
4. The first IBM PC was developed using existing available electrical components. When IBM were looking for an operating system, they went initially to Digital Research, who were market leaders in command- based operating systems (4__ __). When the collaboration between IBM and Digital Research failed, IBM turned to Bill Gates to write their operating system.
5. Bill Gates founded Microsoft on the basis of the development of MS/DOS, the initial operating system for the IBM PC. Digital Research have continued to develop their operating system, DR/DOS, and it is considered by many people to be a better product than Microsoft’s. However, without an endorsement from IBM, it has become a minor player in the market. 5 __ __
6. The cost of buying the hardware has come down considerably as the machines have become commodity items. Large companies are considering running major applications on PCs, something which, ten years ago, no one would have believed possible of a PC. In contrast, many computers in people’s homes are just used to play computer games.
7. The widespread availability of computers has in all probability changed the world forever. The microchip technology which made the PC possible has put chips not only into computers, but also into washing-machines and cars. Some books may never be published in paper form, but may only be made available as part of public databases. Networks of computers are already being used to make information available on a world-wide scale.

a) these are operating systems in which the users type in commands to perform a function.
b) Over this period, PCs have become commodity items.
c) Novell, the leaders in PC networking, now own Digital Research, so things may change.
d) The following year they reversed their decision.
e) This was a graphical interface: using a mouse, the user clicks on icons which represent the function to be performed.
Задание 6. Choose the best answer to these questions according to the text.
1. How many mainframes did IBM think it was possible to sell in 1952?
a) a hundred,
b) four,
c) 250,000.
2. Which company was IBM only contested by?
a) Xerox Corporation,
b) Digital Research,
c) Apple Computers.
3. Who paid for the first research into PCs?
a) IBM,
b) Novell,
c) Xerox Corporation.
4. Which company later used the results of this research?
a) IBM,
b) Apple Computers,
c) Novell.
5. Which company turned to Bill Gates to write their operating system?
a) IBM,
b) Apple Computers,
c) Digital Research.

Задание 7. Translate paragraphs 1 and 2 into Russian.

1. В1952 главная компьютерная компания приняла решение по завершению работ над созданием универсальных компьютеров. Они считали, что на рынке во всем мире было только четыре универсальных ЭВМ. Одной из компаний была IBM. В следующем году они полностью изменили свое решение.
2. В 1980 году компания IBM подсчитала, что потенциальная емкость рынка составляет около 250000 компьютеров, поэтому создала свой первый компьютер IBMPC. Он поступил в продажу в 1981установил международную норму для IBM-совместимости, которой, за следующие десять лет, только одна компания бросила серьезный вызов- компьютерная компания Apple. С тех пор было продано более чем семьдесят миллионов персональных компьютеров , сделанных IBM и другими производителями. За это время ПК стали предметом потребления.