Nyelvtanulás | Angol » Angol műszaki írásbeli vizsgafeladatok, 2000

ÍRÁSBELI ANGOL Szakszöveg fordítása angolról magyarra Az alábbi szöveget kell lefordítania angolról magyarra. Szótárt használhat Kérjük ne erre a lapra dolgozzon, hanem a mellékelt űrlapra. 1. A disk is single-sided if only one of its sides is magnetized. It is referred to as doublesided when both sides are magnetized Before information is written onto a disk, it must be formatted. This means that tracks and sectors on its surface have to be marked. Formatting makes it possible for the user to give an address to each stored file. By using the appropriate address, any file can be accessed directly This process is known as direct or random access. Once the disk has been formatted, information can be written onto each sector. When writing a file onto the disk, the recording heads move to a track that has empty sectors. As these sectors pass under the heads, the file is magnetically written onto them. The name and address of each file on the disk is written onto a

special track, which is referred to as a catalogue or a directory. The recording capacity of a disk depends on the number of cylinders, the number of tracks, and the amount of information in each track. As mentioned in the previous unit, there are two types of disks: hard disks and floppy disks. Hard disks are made of metal, with about two hundred tracks on each surface The stacking together of a number of hard disks on one spindle forms a disk pack. Disk packs may be exchangeable, which means that one disk pack may be removed from the disk drive and replaced by another. If disk packs are non-exchangeable, they are sealed inside a container along with the disk drive. They have very fast access time because they have a separate head for each track. As they are quite expensive, they are generally used with mainframes and minicomputers. With microcomputers, Winchester disks are suitable for use They are also sealed in a container along with the disk drive, and work like other

nonexchangeable disk packs. 2. Imagine that you are in charge of a video store. You are given the task of developing a system to keep track of all the videos. You decide to use a three-by-five-inch index card for each copy of each video in a card file. Problems arise when you try to determine which videos are available and which have been checked out. To handle those problems, you decide to use two card tiles, one for the available videos and one for those that are checked out. When the employees check out a video, they move the appropriate index card from the „available” tray to the „out” tray. When a video is checked in, its index card is moved from the „out” tray to the „available” tray. In essence, what you have done is to create two directories for the video index cards. When the store decides to rent games as well, you add two more card files, thus creating the equivalent of two new directories. To further organize your computer files, you can create

subdirectories within directories. Imagine this organization as a tree structure For example, suppose that you are so pleased with your organization of the video store records that you decide to organize your personal records. You could divide your database files into a subdirectory for your CD collection, a second subdirectory for your baseball card collection, and a third subdirectory for your favorite recipes. Or you could divide your word processing documents into a subdirectory for your school work, another for personal correspondence, and another for your diary. By creating logical subdirectories, you can locate individual files more easily. Usually, the directory display shows the names of any subdirectories within that directory. The name, the size, and the date and time last modified will be displayed for individual files within the directory. 3. Finding a record in a direct-access file is much faster than accessing a sequential file. Direct-access organization is

excellent for such applications as an airline reservation system or an encyclopedia. The main drawback of direct-access files is that they have no sequential access capabilities. Sometimes a user wants to find a starting point in a file and then work with the rest of the file (or a part of the rest) sequentially. With indexed sequential files, also called index files, records can be accessed either directly (randomly) or sequentially. Another characteristic of indexed sequential files is the use of multiple keys. Suppose that you want to go shopping with some friends but don’t have any money with you. Therefore, you go to the bank to withdraw money from your savings account. When the teller asks your account number, you don’t remember it, nor do you have your bank book with you. If the teller says that you must know the number, the bank uses a file that has only one key field. If, instead, the teller asks for your name and Social Security number, the bank uses an indexed file. The

primary key is the account number, and the Social Security number is a secondary key. The system maintains two indexes for the file. Indexed sequential files require more storage space than other types of files because the indexes, which are also files, can become quite large. Many applications are suitable for Indexed Sequential Access Method (ISAM) files because of the flexibility of data retrieval. For example, on-line information services use ISAM files to maintain huge bibliographic databases. These services keep databases containing millions of items that refer to publications in science, medicine, and countless other topics. 4. Before a disk can be used for storage, it must be prepared by means of a process called formatting. In this process, the disk drive’s read-write head lays down a magnetic pattern on the disk’s surface. This pattern enables the disk drive to store data in an organized manner. Formatting is one of the basic tasks handled by the computer’s

operating system. The pattern established in formatting consists of tracks, cylinders, and sectors. No matter what size disk or computer you are working with, everything stored on it is stored in a file, an area of the storage medium that is set aside to store a program or a collection of data. Files are of various types They are always named, and they can be organized into directories. This section explains what types of files are commonly used and how they are named. All computers have two basic kinds of files: program files and data files. Program files contain programs of all kinds, ranging from system programs (such as the program used to format disks) to application programs (such as a spreadsheet or word processing program). Most programs use two or more support files These files store additional programs and other information that may be needed in order for the program to run correctly. If any files are missing, the program may not work as expected. Data files are created by

programs to store the data they use. Most programs store data in a proprietary file format, a data-storage format used only by the company that makes the program. For example, the word processing program WordPerfect creates data files in the WordPerfect format. These files can be read by other word processing programs only if they are equipped with a special translation program, called a conversion utility. Data files can be grouped according to the kind of data they contain. 5. Today’s complex computer programs, such as WordPerfect (a word processing program), consist of many separate programs that are designed to run together. In recognition of this fact, people sometimes speak of software packages. When you buy WordPerfect, you are actually buying a software package rather than a single program. Based on the function of the package, software packages are divided into two categories: system software and application software. Computers need system software in order to function.

System software integrates the computer’s hardware components and provides tools for day-to-day user maintenance tasks, such as displaying a list of the files contained on a disk. MSDOS, UNIX, and System 7 are the well-known examples of system software Application software turns the computer into a tool for a specific use. Examples of application software are WordPerfect, a word processing program, and Lotus 1-2-3, a spreadsheet program. Computer literacy involves learning how to use both system software and one or more application programs. Computers transform data into information. What’s the difference between these two terms? Data is the raw material; information is processed data. Data is the input to the processing, information is the output. A useful model to describe the relationship between data and information is called the system model. It shows that data goes into a process and information is output Several characteristics distinguish useful information from data. The

purpose of information is to help people make well-informed decisions. What are the characteristics of useful information? Information must be relevant, timely, accurate, concise, and complete in order to be useful. Data must be accurate but doesn’t need to be relevant, timely, or concise. 6. When a microcomputer is switched on, a signing-on message appears on the screen. This message informs the user about the following: what make the computer is; the amount of usable memory; the name of the computer language in use. Besides the signing-on message a prompt and a cursor will appear. The prompt indicates that the machine is ready to accept input from the keyboard. It usually consists of one or two words or symbols, for example READY; OK; ?. The cursor shows where the next input will be displayed. It moves to a new position after each input. The input will not be processed or stored in the main memory until the RETURN key is pressed. Sometimes a secret password has to be keyed in

if the use of the system is limited to certain people only. But this is usually not displayed on the screen. BASIC language is found on most microcomputers. If any other language is also available its name has to be entered before use. The computer will respond with a prompt, which indicates that input will be accepted in the selected language. When work on the terminal is finished it must be logged out. First of all a command to come out of the computer language has to be typed in. The machine will respond with a prompt. Then LOGOUT must be keyed in and RETURN pressed The prompt that follows will indicate that the terminal doesn’t have access to the system any more. Information will also be given about the date and time of logging out and how long the CPU has been used. After this the terminal must be switched off Many operating system and graphical user interfaces include a shell or file manager utility. The shell or file manager can help you locate, move, copy, rename, and delete

files easily. 7. Most commercial computer systems have an important job to do: they keep track of transactions, such as sales, purchases, orders, and returns. In these systems, database files must keep track of transactions without error. Lost data or errors could cost a company a great deal of money; some companies have gone bankrupt because of problems with their computer systems. For this reason, data processing professionals pay close attention to the way these files are organized and used. In data processing, computer storage is conceptualized as a data storage hierarchy. The smallest item of data is a bit, either a 0 or a 1. Bits are combined to form a character (or byte), such as the letter A or the number 7. Characters are combined to form a field, which is a single data item like a name or Social Security number. Related fields are combined to form a record. All the data items that the school has about you are combined to form your student record. Records are then combined

to form a file. The student file contains a record for each student who attends your school. Now look at another example. A library has a file of all the books it owns This file is composed of records, one for each book. Each record contains the same four fields: title, author, publisher, and ISBN number. Each field contains a number of characters, and each character is composed of eight bits. In data processing applications, data files are categorized according to the way the application uses them. The files fall into five categories: transaction, master, report, output, and backup. Transaction and master files are used primarily in database and accounting applications. A transaction file is used to store input data until it can be processed. The timing for the processing of the data varies. In batch processing, the data is keyed in and held until an entry batch can be processed at once. In real-time processing, the data is processed as soon as it is entered. 8. Electronic

spreadsheet. Businesses previously worked out budgets and made forecasts using accountant’s paper and a calculator. Electronic spreadsheet programs enable you to type the headings and numbers into a computerized version of accountant’s paper, but with a twist. You can hide formulas within the on-screen „paper”. These formulas perform computations with the data The payoff is that you can change any number and immediately see the effect of the change. People use electronic spreadsheets for many purposes, not just business-related ones. In California, for example, a forest ranger uses an electronic spreadsheet to analyze data concerning endangered animal populations. Database. A database program creates an electronic version of a card file and the program also gives you the tools you need to organize this file (for example, by alphabetizing it) and to retrieve information. Telecommunications software. Do you want access to computer resources available elsewhere?

Telecommunications software transforms a computer into a terminal, which can connect to a multiuser computer system by means of the telephone. Commercial multiuser systems enable you to join discussion groups, exchange mail with other users, make plane and hotel reservations, and obtain free software for your computer. Graphics software. Is there a public presentation in your future? If so, you need to learn how to use presentation graphics programs to create attractive charts and graphs that you can share with your audience. Resource discovery software. Currently, the latest result in application software is a set of tools for exploring the riches of the Internet, a global network of linked computer networks. These tools, such as Archie, Gopher, and Mosaic, help you find computer resources available on millions of computers throughout the globe. A multimedia program presents information by using graphics, video, sound, and animations, as well as text. 9. Imagine going into your

favorite video store, asking for a movie that you want to see, and being told that you will just have to look around because the employees don’t know which movies the store has. If all of our data weren’t stored in some logical manner, this scenario might be commonplace. Because of this kind of inquiry, however, we have developed manual filing system that store records on index cards, in file folders, and on other media. To answer such a query would be equally difficult even with computers if we didn’t have some organized method for storing all the data kept in a computer. Fortunately , computer storage methods can produce the answer in just a faction of a minute. In this unit, you learn how a computer stores data and what storage methods are used in data processing applications. To understand how a computer stores data, you first need to know how disk drives work. In Chapter 2, you learned that the computer translates into binary form all the data and instructions that are

stored internally. You learned that letters, numbers, and special symbols are represented as groups of bits, based on EBCDIC or ASCII coding. Because a computer’s memory (RAM) is volatile, you must save data by transferring it from memory to a storage device such as a disk. This unit explains how all these characters are organized when they are saved to a storage device. Magnetic storage devices work in much the same way that a tape recorder works. Instead of play and record, the terms read and write are used. The disk drive’s magnetic head is called a read-write head. When you insert a disk into the disk drive, the drive rotates the disk. The read-write head reads the magnetic impulses. The read-write head can move laterally above the surface of the disk, just as you would move a phonograph’s arm to locate a specific track on an LP record. The read-write head can move quickly and automatically. 10. Computers are coming your way. The question is whether you will be prepared

Learning computer concepts is a good place to start, but you should also learn how to use computer application programs. These programs turn the computer into a tool for a specific task, such as writing. Not all application programs will prove useful to you. Some application programs are special-purpose programs, which perform a specific task for a single profession. For example, safety managers use a program that prints records of occupational-related injuries and illnesses. If you aren’t a safety manager, you won’t find this application program interesting or useful. Other application programs are called general-purpose programs. Millions of people use these programs for a variety of tasks. Commonly used general-purpose programs include the following: Word processing. More than 85 percent of the personal computers now in existence are equipped with a word processing program, which transforms the computer into a tool for creating, editing, proofing, printing, and storing text.

Many of today’s books originated in text typed into computers including this one! Desktop publishing. In the past, newsletters and magazines were created through an expensive, tedious process called layout, in which someone cut and pasted photographs, borders, and text to create a pleasing design. With desktop publishing software and your computer, you can produce attractive results with a little special training. Community organizations everywhere are doing a better job of keeping in touch with their members, thanks to desktop publishing tools. Computers are flexible tools for transforming data into information through the fourstage cycle of input, processing, output, and storage. The computer’s high speed, reliability, accuracy, massive storage capacity, and communications capabilities explain why so many millions of computers are in daily use. 11. Sequential files are useful when most, if not all, of the records in the file need to be processed at the same time. The

computer processes a sequential file in the order in which the data was encoded in the file. A sequential file is much like a cassette tape; you must listen to the three songs that come before your favorite song before you can hear it. In the same way, to get to the 32nd records of a sequential file, the computer must read the first 31 records in the file. Applications suitable for sequential processing include those for processing grades, payroll, and inventory. Although the records in a sequential file do not have to be in any logical order, they often are. Usually, a unique key field-such as student ID, Social Security number, or inventory number can be used to identify a record. In a library’s card catalog, for example, you begin by looking for a book’s author. Sequential files can be stored in any type of medium. When records are stored in a direct-access file, the computer can read a specific record from that file without reading any other records first. Records in a

directaccess file are stored according to a position within the file That position is determined by using a mathematical computation to produce an address where the unique key field is stored. This process in known as hashing Every location in primary and secondary storage is assigned a unique address; data and programs are stored and retrieved by address. Because magnetic tape is suitable only for sequential access, direct-access files must be stored on magnetic or optical disks. Direct-access files are sometimes called random-access files or just random files. A special type of direct-access file, called a relative file, does not use a mathematical formula to determine the address of the records. Instead, the key field is numeric integer, and it serves as the record number within the file. For example, the record for the fourteenth day of the year would be the fourteenth record in a relative calendar file. 12. When you use an application program and save your work, you will name

your file by giving it a file name. This is the name that the operating system uses to store and retrieve the file. MS-DOS imposes strict limitations on file names. You can use up to 8 characters (letters and numbers) for the file name. Creating a good file name with only 8 characters isn’t easy. Try to choose a name that you will recognize weeks from now, when you are searching for a file you have misplaced! ESSAY1 is more descriptive than RMY9JR, for instance. Macintosh users benefit from a 31-character limit on file names. With up to 31 characters allowed, you can describe a file’s contents more fully. Optionally, you can use up to 3 letters as an extension. If you use the extension, you must separate the file name and the extension with a period, as in ESSAY1.TXT Some applications automatically supply their own extensions, such as DOC (Microsoft Word) or WK1 (Lotus 1-2-3). A program with this capability can determine which of the files on your disk were created by that program.

You still need to supply a file name, though. As you start working with files, you will discover that they multiply rapidly. Each program on a computer is composed of a number of files. Every time you create a document with a word processing program, at least one file is created. If you don’t organize the files, finding what you need will become virtually impossible. Magnetic and optical disks keep track of files in a file directory. The main directory of the disk is called the root directory. The computer automatically updates the listing of all files in the directory whenever the contents of a magnetic disk change. However, considering the large capacity of hard drives and CD-ROMs, if all the files were in a single directory, it could be time-consuming to locate the file that you want. For this reason, storage media are frequently organized into multiple directories. 13. Optical recognition systems provide another means of minimizing keyed input by capturing data at the source.

These systems enable the computer to „read” data by scanning printed text for recognizable patterns. The banking industry developed one of the earliest scanning systems in the 1950s for processing checks. The Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) system is used throughout the banking industry. The bank, branch, account number, and check number are all encoded on the check before it is sent to the customer. After the customer has used the check and it comes back to the bank, all that needs to be entered manually is the amount. Of all the scanning devices, you are probably most familiar with bar code readers. Many retail and grocery stores use some form of bar code reader to determine the item being sold and to retrieve the item price from a computer system. The code reader may be a hand-held unit, or it may be embedded in a countertop. The bar code reader reads the Universal Product Code (PC), a pattern of bars printed on merchandise. The UPC has gained wide acceptance since its

introduction in the 1970s. Initially, workers resisted the use of the code because the system was used to check their accuracy and speed. Today, bar codes are used to update inventory and ensure correct pricing. From taking exams, you are already familiar with Mark Sense Character Recognition systems. Every time you take a test with a „fill in the bubble” Scantron form and use a #2 lead pencil, you are creating input suitable for an optical mark reader (OMR). A #2 lead pencil works best because of the number of magnetic particles in that weight lead. The OMR senses the magnetized marks, enabling the reader to determine which responses are marked. Almost any type of survey or questionnaire can be designed to be suitable for OMR devices. 14. Have you received a package from United Parcel Service recently? If so, you probably signed for it on a special pad, using an electronic pen. Pen-based systems are especially useful for people who do not like to type or who are frequently on

the move. Personal digital assistants, such as the Apple Newton, are designed for people on the go. The Newton can link entries with stored files For example, if you write „Call Bill and wish Happy Birthday”, the Newton adds a line to your „To do” list and links in Bill’s phone number from your telephone directory. If you get mad at your friend Mary Ann and want to delete her name from the directory, you just make an X through Mary Ann’s name and number. The Newton serves equally well as a calendar, calculator, and notepad. Pen-based systems are not perfect; they do not always register handwriting correctly, improvements will be needed for pen-based computing to gain widespread acceptance. A different type of pen, a light pen, is used by many engineers and architects. The light pen uses a photoelectric (light-sensitive) cell to indicate screen position to the computer. You operate the pen by touching it to the screen Light pens are frequently used for computer aided design

(CAD) applications. Another tool used in CAD applications and other graphics applications is a digitizing tablet. A digitizing tablet consists of a grid on which designs and drawings can be entered. The tablet is pressure-sensitive, and the user draws directly on the tablet using a special pen called a stylus. Probably the most intriguing output device is the robot. Most robots are not the way you may imagine; they have little resemblance to R2D2 of Star Wars or Data of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Most robotic devices consist of a single arm that can perform a preprogrammed task. Robotic devices are frequently used in manufacturing for such tasks as spray painting or assembling parts. 15. The mouse is a palm-size device with a ball built into the bottom. The mouse is usually connected to the computer by wires and has from one to four buttons. The mouse may be mechanical or optical. Mice come in many shapes and sizes When you move the mouse over a smooth surface, the ball rolls,

and the pointer on the display screen moves in the same direction. The Apple Macintosh, with its graphical user interface, made the mouse popular. Now most microcomputer systems, regardless of the manufacturer, use a mouse. With the mouse, you can draw, select options from a menu, and modify or move text. You issue commands by pointing with the pointer and clicking a mouse button. In addition to minimizing typing errors, a mouse makes operating a microcomputer easier for beginning users. A trackball is like an upside-down mouse. Used similarly to the mouse, the trackball is frequently attached to or built into the keyboard. The main advantage of a trackball is that it requires less space than a mouse. The mouse is not practical for people using a laptop computer in a small space. Early alternatives, like trackballs cliped to the side of the keyboard, have not proved satisfactory. The Apple Powerbook uses a central trackball The IBM ThinkPad replaces the trackball with a red plastic

button located in the middle of the keyboard. You move the button with your thumbs. The newest Apple Powerbooks have on the front of the keyboard a mall square of plastic that moves easily to control the pointer. Although the mouse is still the most popular pointing device, these innovations may change that situation in the near future. A plotter, like a printer, produces hard-copy output. Plotters, which produce high quality color graphics, are generally categorized by whether they use pens or electrostatic charges to create images. Plotters are generally more expensive than printers, ranging from about $1,000 to $75,000 (or even more)