AI and expert systems

Task 7

Task 8

1 2

IS)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Listening

/

You are going to hear a conversation in which David, a graduate student doii research in the field of artificial intelligence, explains to a friend, Kevin, what AI and expert systems are. Before you listen, try to write short definitions to explain:

artificial intelligence expert systems

Now listen to the conversation and modify your definitions as necessary.

Listen again to the recording and answer these questions:

Does visual perception require intelligence when done by humans?

What two categories of task are mentioned in relation to AI programs?

Which category of task is AI more successful at?

What is the relationship between AI and expert systems?

What examples of existing expert systems are mentioned?

In what way do expert systems imitate human experts?

Why does the Japanese system have two parallel inference engines?

What is the function of inference trees?

Task 9 o Read this adapted extract from the tapescript and fill in the gaps with the

missing words.

_________ used for?

kevin: What are e._.._.

david: They're built for commercial a.

used for a variety of tasks - medical d_______

machine translation, and so on. But the point about them is that you can
i___________ them about how they came to a particular c_____________ *.

kevin: So, in that respect, they imitate human experts.

david: Yes. I read recently about a Japanese system that can be used by

1-------------- to draw conclusions about new legal cases. It refers to

d--------------- of statutory laws and legal precedents and is able to see

similarities in the r------------- — processes used to decide each case - exactly

as a s--------------- lawyer would.

kevin: How can it do that?

david: The system has two reasoning mechanisms, known as i____________ "

, which work in p

----- One operates on the written

laws, the other operates on the legal precedents. They draw all the possible
conclusions and then output them in the form of i___________ 1_⁴

Now listen again to the recording and check your answers.

Task 10

Reading

Read quickly through the text which follows and note down the answers to the following questions:

1 What does the expert system ROI do?

2 How did Scott French 'clone' Jacqueline Susann?

3 What other applications of AI are mentioned in the text?

One tough cookie

he software division of Mrs. Fields Cookies, Fields Software Group, has sold a version of its AI-based Retail Operations Intelligence 5 system to fast-food giant Burger King Corp. The expert system, called ROI, assists in the management of franchised or multiple-location retail operations

10 by creating work schedules, recommending marketing tactics, and assisting in personnel hiring. Fields has been successful with this package and has started

15 commercializing it. Now Burger King is developing its own expert system in an attempt to outperform its hamburger competitor McDonald's. Maybe it can clone

20 Ronald McDonald's expertise.

AI waxes poetic

Cloning a well-known figure is no joke. Just This Once is a new novel

25 30

making the rounds in the publishing world. It was written by Scott French, who claims that 10% of the novel was written by him, 25% was created by an AI program he created to imitate novelist Jacqueline Susann, and the remainder was a collaborative effort between himself and the computer. Susann, who died in 1974, wrote the definitive trash novel -and one of history's all-time bestsellers - Valley of the Dolls. French used Nexpert Object and took development lessons from Bechtel AI Institute to program his system with hundreds of formulas he had developed regarding Susann's essential plots and characterizations; it created a 350-page novel, which some in the literary community are

"^ calling 'computerized literary ghost- 60 writing'. While not all the reviews on his methodology are positive

50 (some think it is a violation of
Susann's intellectual property),
French claims, 'I don't think you 65

can copyright the way a person thinks.' If French gets a book deal,

55 this would be the first computer-
generated novel ever published. Just
this once, indeed. • 70

Hundreds of other places are employing AI; some of the

applications may seem mundane while others are intriguing. From expert systems that help you plan your garden to voice systems that help doctors treat critically injured patients in emergency rooms to natural language front-ends for multimedia systems that feature models, actors, and actresses, AI is being accepted in arenas outside those traditional realms of science and engineering. ■

Task 11

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Answer these questions about the text.

What does the acronym ROI stand for?

Why is Burger King developing an expert system?

What kind of books did Susann write?

What percentage of his novel did French write jointly with his computer?

Has French's novel been well-received?

How does French justify his action?

Has French found a publisher for his book?

Where has AI traditionally been accepted?

Task 12 Choose the definition

1 franchised (1. 8)

2 hiring (1.12)

3 outperform (1. 17)

4 clone (1.19)

5 making the rounds (1.

6 trash (1. 34)

7 ghost-writing (1. 47)

8 mundane (1. 60)

that best expresses the meaning of the word or phrase.

licensed to sell another company's products

individual

specially selected

a managing

b employing

c training

a do better than

b remove from the top position

c survive longer than

a copy

b use to one's own advantage

c make people laugh at

23) a circulating

b making no progress

c making a bad impression

a printed on cheap paper

b popular

c of poor quality

a writing under someone else's name

b writing stories intended to frighten

c writing for someone who is dead

a ordinary

b simple

c world-wide

Sk 13

Writing

Read this summary of the first paragraph of the text on page 149, then compare it to the original.

The software division of Mrs. Field's Cookies has sold a version of its Al-basecl system for assisting in the management of retail operations to Burger King. who are now developing their own system in an attempt to outperform McDonald's.

1 Note the information that has been omitted from the summary.

2 Look carefully at how the remaining information has been re-ordered and
condensed.

3 Now complete the summary of the text, keeping it as concise as possible.

Word-play

isk 14

The clues below contain anagrams of words from this unit. Enter the words in the grid, then solve the anagram in the bold boxes to find the hidden word.

Expert systems have been used in medical.

2 A set of instructions for making something, (lamurof)

3 Modernize, (dapetu)

4 A rival company, (torpetimoc)

5 Used of lines which are the same distance apart at any point, (alerlapl)

6 Assessment, (tualiaveno)

7 Having formal permission to sell another company's goods in a particular
geographical area, (danrifcesh)

8 An exact copy, (ecnol)

9 Machines are still not very good at doing this, (nartgslanti)

Hidden word clue

This kind of engine is one of two reasoning mechanisms in an expert system.

151

Language focus M

Cause and effect

Understanding the different ways of expressing the relationship between the causes and the effects of an action is very important when you are reading English. This cause-effect relationship is commonly used in texts about ■ computing.

Before we look at some of the ways of expressing cause and effect, note carefully this important distinction.

We can mention the cause before the effect.

Example:

(cause) (effect)

Dust often causes the recording condition of disks to deteriorate.

We can mention the effect before the cause.

Example:

(effect) (cause)

Deterioration in the recording condition of disks is often due to dust.

There are many different ways of expressing cause and effect. 1 Verbs linking cause and effect:

Examples:

1 The introduction of computer technology brought about significant change!
in office routines, (cause -> effect)

2 Computers can create artificial objects in their memories. This allows
developers to test product design without actually creating a real prototype.
(cause -> effect)

3 The extensive use of computers in schools is resulting in a new generation c
computer-literate students, (cause -► effect)

4 The problems were caused by the volume of network traffic* (effect ■*—
cause)

Note: * See Language focus H for an explanation of the passive used in example 4.

2 Connectives introducing cause:

due to

as the/a result of

since

because

in response to

As

Examples:

1 Early computers developed quickly as a result of their use in military
applications, (effect ■*— cause)

2 Teachers must rethink their roles as computer'technology is creating a
revolution in the classroom, (effect -«— cause)

3 Because off-the-shelf programs do not always fit a company's needs, software
often has to be specially developed, (effect ■*— cause)

3 Connectives introducing result:

with the result that

so that

thus

therefore

consequently

hence

for this reason

thereby

4

Examples:

1 Computers can remove many of the routine and boring tasks, thereby leaving
us with more time for interesting, creative work, (cause -> effect)

2 Carpel tunnel syndrome is a serious medical condition. For this reason,
computer users should be careful of their posture and take frequent breaks.
(cause-► effect)

3 When using an online database service, you must pay for the time you use.
Consequently, you should have a good idea of what you want before you log
on. (cause -► effect)

Another way of showing causal relationship is by introducing the cause with if. Both the cause clause and the effect clause verbs are in the present tense.

Examples:

1 If your company has a LAN, you can share the use of a printer with your
colleagues, (cause -► effect)

2 It is easy to transport your data to another location if it is stored on a disk.
(effect •«— cause)

xercise 1

Read the following sentences and underline the part which expresses the cause.

1 Because a modem can be used for inter-computer communication, many

people can now do their office work on their computer at home and transfer the files to a computer at the office.

2 Many people do not explore new software because they are comfortable with
what they already have.

3 When robots malfunction, it is usually due to mistakes in the programming or
the design.

4 Laser printers can be quite expensive and are therefore often shared through
networks.

5 Voice-recognition systems are becoming more sophisticated. Thus, keyboards
may be unnecessary in the future.

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

]

3 4

2 3

5 6

7 8 9

Read the following sentences and underline that part which expresses the effect /result.

Computers can remove many of the routine and boring tasks from our lives,

thereby leaving us with more time for interesting and creative work.

Because there are many different types of printers, you must analyse your

needs before making a purchase.

Since anyone can consult your files on a computer, it is a good idea to protect

sensitive files with a password.

Fax boards are available to plug into your computer, so you do not have to buy

a fax machine.

Computers have been reduced in both size and cost as a result of advances in

design and technology.

The sentences below have appeared in previous units. Read them again and circle the marker showing a cause-effect relationship and underline the part of the sentence that expresses the cause. The first one has been done for you.

By 1980, I BM decided there was a market for 250,000 PCs, iso) they set up a

special team to develop the first IBM PC. (Unit 1)

Because of these and so many other different judgements, there can be no

absolute. (Unit 3)

Global communication and computer networks will become more and more a

part of professional and personal lives as the price of microcomputers and

network access drops. (Unit 6)

One of the features of a computer virus that separates it from other kinds of

computer program is that it replicates itself, so that it can spread to other

computers. (Unit 7)

...Lehigh is waiting to infect other unsuspecting computers if you boot from one

of those four infected floppies. (Unit 7)

As they became more proficient on the computer, some showed gains in their

overall self-confidence, as well. (Unit 10)

Robots are better at this task, not because they are faster or cheaper than

humans, but because they work in a place where humans cannot. (Unit 11)

This automatic accuracy is particularly valuable in this kind of industry

because locating and fixing mistakes is costly. (Unit 11)

Artificial worlds are being built up in a computer memory so that people can

walk through at will, look around, and even touch objects. (Unit 12)

Multimedia

Start-up

Faski

Discuss these questions.

1 Can you think of any actual or potential applications of multimedia in
industry?

2 Do you think multimedia systems will ever become as popular as conventional
audio-visual systems?

Listening

Task 2

(Hi You are going to hear Nathan Ward, a multimedia applications developer,

answering questions on various aspects of multimedia. Before you listen, try to predict the answers to these questions:

1 Why is multimedia similar to graphics?

2 How does Nathan Ward define multimedia?

3 Which types of data are involved?

4 Is it easy to adapt most PCs for multimedia applications?

5 What does the term 'full-motion video' refer to?

6 Are there industry standards for multimedia?

7 What is the best platform for multimedia, according to Ward?

8 What is the most popular application of multimedia?

Now listen to the recording and check your guesses.

Task 3

El Listen again to the conversation and complete the table below.
Hardware requirements for multimedia

1___________________________________________________________

2________________:__________________________________________

3__________________________________ __________________ _____

4____________________________________________________...............

5 _______________________,_________________________________

6____________________________________________________________

Task 4

(SI

3 Read this extract from the tapescript and try to fill in the gaps. The first letter of each missing word is given.

nathan ward: 'Full-motion video' refers to the impression the v ____

has that he or she is watching f____________ -__________ television. The

idea is to c__________! full-motion video in r___________!t_ __ ____!

and digitize and c___________ the information so that the system can treat

it like any other digital data s____________ Some systems do it better than

others.
interviewer: I see. Getting back to h__________! requirements, apart from

the e___________ cards that you mentioned, is there anything else that is

needed?
nathan ward: Yes. The machine must have i_____________ for a variety of

input and output d____________

interviewer: Such as?

nathan ward: Such as a CD-ROM d__________ ", VCR, d _... _

a_________ 'tape...

interviewer: Isn't there a problem of c__________!!?

nathan ward: There is, but that situation is changing. Microsoft's

b________..... -1....................... MPC specification has some support, but it's

only a start. The lack of s___________ is the main reason that multimedia is

not bigger than it is. Once these are in place, users will have easy

p_______.... ²"-and-p___________ "compatibility, and developers will be

able to develop a...................... that can run on a variety of p

Now listen again to the cassette and check your answers.

Reading

Read these sentences and decide which one best summarizes the text which follows.

Computers cannot yet match the technological achievements of conventional audio-visual systems.

Although multimedia computer systems are improving very fast, they do not yet reflect the multimedia world we already live in.

Multimedia computer technology will soon be widely used in business, in industry, and in the home.

jet aircraft technician peers into the bowels of a malfunctioning engine searching for the source of the problem. 5 Finally, he spots it. Buried deep within the engine is the troublesome part. He will have to replace it. A complicated procedure, to say the least.

10 The technician goes to his high-powered workstation attached to a network and calls up the information on the part and the replacement procedure. An image

15 of the part seated in the engine appears. In another window, an instructor demonstrates the repair procedure in full-motion video while the technician listens through

20 the audio channel as the instructor explains the process. Diagrams pop up to further clarify key points. In a text window, he reviews lists of necessary parts and tools he will

2 5 need to complete the repair.

Still confused about an irregularity in this situation, the technician presses the help key and a real-time image of a live

30 supervisor pops up in another window. Using the attached microphone, the technician discusses the particular problem with the supervisor, who directs

35 more information onto the

technician's screen. The technician points a video camera at the part in question to show the supervisor the specific situation.

40 Welcome to the world of high-end multimedia. The situation described above is not quite here yet, but most of the pieces already

exist to make this scenario

45 become a reality using a networked RS/6000 or other high-powered workstation. Or take this example of a scenario that is more likely

50 today. A manager creates a detailed business presentation involving text, graphics, digitized photographic still images, and tables of spreadsheet data all

55 combined in a single compound document. Before sending the document across the network to a colleague, the manager picks up the microphone and attaches

60 an audio note to one of the tables, reminding the colleague about something unusual or potentially confusing in the accompanying figures.

65 Using a networked RS/6000 equipped with the necessary audio boards and Bolt Baranek & Newman's (Cambridge, Mass.) BBN/Slate, a compound

70 document/office automation application, this scenario is possible today. High-end multimedia is only in its infancy, but it is here. And over the next

75 few years, industry observers expect multimedia development to accelerate as current barriers are overcome. Multimedia is not a new

80 phenomenon, although it is new to business computing. We live in a multimedia world. At home, we experience a variety of media through our television: full-

85 motion video, still images,

graphics, sound, and animation.

At school, we learn through systematic exposure to different media: the instructor's words, text,

90 audio tapes, graphics, and a variety of visuals and video.

Computers, however, have tended to be uni-medium. Traditionally, computers were text-

95 based, and this continues to be the

primary format for business information. A few systems have provided sound or graphics, but until recently, the efforts were 100 rudimentary compared to the seamlessly integrated, high-quality visuals, video and audio we experience every evening at home. ■

► Vocabulary

peers into the bowels of (1.1) - looks down into

Task 6

Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) in relation to the information in the text. If you think a statement is false, change it to make it true.

1 LJ The jet aircraft technician first locates the faulty part and makes a mark

on it.

2 LJ The technician calls up his supervisor from his workstation to get

information about the faulty part and the replacement procedure.

3 LJ The technician can display a computer-generated graphical

representation of a supervisor on his screen.

LJ This kind of repair procedure could well be possible before long.

LJ You can already buy multimedia business presentation applications.

D Industrial experts expect multimedia development to get faster and faster.

LJ Multimedia existed long before the inventibnof the computer.

LJ In terms of quality, multimedia computer systems have only recently become comparable with the media we already use.

Task 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

v. -■ ^

Using the line references given, find the wbrds.ih the text whiojl#iean:

catches sight of (lines 1-5) -" * '

order of doing things (lines 5-10)

instruments (lines 20-25)

appears (lines 30-35)

top quality (lines 40-45)

made up of two or more parts (lines 5 5-60)

early stages of development (lines 70-75)

obstacles (lines 75-80)

undeveloped (lines 95-100)

10 smoothly (lines 100-104)

Speaking

Work in pairs using the information in the advertisement below.

Student A: You are interested in upgrading your PC to use multimedia. Describe your machine to the salesperson and ask about the various options available, prices, etc.

PC specifications 386 25MHz 4 MB RAM 105MB hard disk VGA colour monitor 3 expansion slots

Student B: You work for a company that sells hardware and software. Find out what your customer wants and check that his/her PC can be upgraded, by referring back to the list you made in Task 3. Explain the options that are available and try to persuade the customer to buy one of the products advertised.

Task 9

Writing

Work in pairs. You manage a company specializing in multimedia hardware and software. Prepare a leaflet to inform companies of the potential benefits of using multimedia. Invite them to contact you for a free consultation.

Computer-to-video conversion

Reading

Task 10

Read the text opposite and answer these questions.

1 What are the main differences in the way images are produced on a TV screen
and on a computer screen.

2 Why did the developers of the PAL system invent interlaced video? What are its
advantages and disadvantages?

3 Which of the two suggested ways of getting a signal from a computer to record
on a VCR do you think is preferable? Why?

-iS-

How they work

lthough the computer screen
has the standard
characteristics of a TV display,
images are produced in a very 45

5 different way. If you want to record
anything from your computer to
video for play-back on a TV monitor,
you need a print-to-tape device.
In a TV display, a tight beam of 50

10 electrons scans the screen in much
the same way you read a page of
text-from the upper-left corner, it
moves line by line to the lower
right. Usually, one pass writes the 55

15 entire image once. The number of
passes the beam writes per second
is called the vertical refresh rate and
is measured in kiloHertz. Most
computer systems follow the 60

20 American TV standard and use a
vertical refresh rate of 60kHz
whereas PAL, the European TV
standard, requires 50kHz.
Another difference is with 65

25 bandwidth. When PAL was defined, the bandwidth available for a TV signal was very narrow. While the TV image had to be refreshed at least 50 times a second for flicker to 70

30 remain unnoticeable, there was not
enough bandwidth to transmit all
625 lines of one TV image in a
fiftieth of a second. The developers
of PAL, therefore, employed a 75

35 clever trick called interlaced video.
They split each frame of the image
into two fields of 312.5 lines, the
odd lines into field A, the even ones
into field B. The fields are 80

40 transmitted at a rate of 50 per

second, leaving us with an effective

frame rate of 25 per second while eliminating most of the flicker.

This is fine for viewing from several yards, but should you move as close to your TV as you would to your computer screen, you'd end up with a headache after half an hour. Also, if any parts of the displayed image occupy only one horizontal scan line, that scan line will flicker quite noticeably at 25kHz.

All video equipment works with PAL-standard, 50kHz interlaced video. Computers tend to use 60kHz (or more), no interlaced video and look more stable. To get a signal from your computer to record on a VCR, there are two possibilities:

1 Use a display adaptor that can
produce PAL-standard video.
You would not be able to
connect such a card to a
standard computer monitor,
however. A video monitor or a
multi-sync monitor is needed.
You wouldn't want to look at
such a screen for hours on end
- interlaced video is not
suitable for word processing.

2 Put up with the standard
display signal from your
computer (probably 60kHz)
and use a scan converter. It
can take a video signal with
one refresh or scan rate, and
convert it to the other. A scan
converter is actually a small
digital frame-grabber with
asynchronous video output.

Task 11

Vocabulary

yard (1. 45) - measure of length (1 yard = 0.914m)

Match the sentence halves to form complete sentences.

If you want to play back anything from your computer on a TV monitor,

If your computer systeta. follows the American TV standard,

If you use a monitor with interlaced video for word processing,

If you use a display adaptor that can produce PAL-standard video,

5 If you want to use the standard display signal from your computer,

a it will have a vertical refresh rate of 60kHz.

b you must use a scan converter. c you need a print-to-tape device.

d you cannot use a standard

computer monitor, but must use a video or multi-sync monitor instead.

e you will get a headache!

Task 12

Which of the two configurations for computer-to-video conversion suggested in the text does this diagram show?

Task 13

Word-play

Find the hidden words in this square. Some appear vertically, some horizontally, and some diagonally. They may be upside-down or back to front. Use the clues on the opposite page to help you. The number of letters in each word and the first letter of the word appear in brackets after the clue.

Find words which mean:

1 A strange thing or event. (10, P)

2 An instrument that changes soundwaves into electrical current. (10, M)

3 A display___ is one device used in computer-to-video conversion. (7, A)

4 Mend. (6, R)

5 A person who monitors the way people work to check that things are done
properly. (10, S)

6 An opening on a computer into which fits an expansion board. (4, S)

7 To shine unsteadily. (7, F)

8 A____ document is made up of two or more documents combined together.

(8,C)

9 A____ converter is another device used in computer-to-video conversion.

(4, S)

10 The technique whereby still drawings are given the appearance of movement. (9, A)

164

Language focus N

Making predictions

A prediction is a statement about a particular subject in which we say what we think will happen in the future. Predictions are not always absolute, but can be expressed with different levels of certainty, according to the context in which they are made.

1 Certainty can be expressed by:

will (definitely, certainly)

certain, sure

without a doubt, without question

2 Probability can be expressed by:

probable, probably, likely most/highly probable, most probably most/highly likely

3 Possibility can be expressed by:

may (not), might (not), can, could possible, possibly, perhaps

4 Improbability can be expressed by:

improbable, unlikely

doubtful, questionable

probably not

most/highly improbable/unlikely

most/highly doubtful/questionable

most probably not

5 Impossibility can be expressed by:

present or future past

cannot, could not could not

not possible, impossible not possible, impossible

These expressions are used in sentences in different ways: Examples:

1 Notebook computers will definitely be cheaper next year.

2 It is (highly) probable/likely that notebook computers will be cheaper
next year.

3 Notebook computers may/might be cheaper next year.

4 Perhaps notebook computers will be cheaper next year.

5 It is unlikely/doubtful that notebook computers will be cheaper next
year.

6 Notebook computers will most probably not be cheaper next year.

7 Notebook computers will definitely not be cheaper next year.

8 It is impossible that notebook computers will be cheaper next year.

Sometimes, predictions are made subject to certain conditions. In such cases, sentences typically have two parts: the if-clause and the main clause.

Examples:

1 // the price of notebooks fall next year, I will buy one.

2 If the system crashes, we will lose all our latest data.

When the if-clause comes second, there is no comma between the two clauses. Examples:

1 I will buy a notebook if the price of notebooks fall next year.

2 We will lose all our latest data if the system crashes.

As with the simple predictions listed above, it is possible to express different levels of certainty about the likelihood of the condition (in the if-clause) by changing the tense of the verbs from the future and present forms to the more 'remote' past and conditional forms.

Examples:

1 If the price of notebooks falls next year, I will buy one. (The speaker thinks it
is possible that the price of notebooks will fall next year and, if it does, he
will buy one.)

2 If the price of notebooks fell next year, I would buy one. (The speaker thinks
it is unlikely that the price of notebooks will fall next year but, if it does,
he will buy one.)

3 If the system crashes, we will lose all our latest data. (The speaker thinks it
is possible that the system will crash and, if it does, we will lose all our
data.)

4 If the system crashed, we would lose all our latest data. (The speaker thinks
it is unlikely that the system will crash but, if it did, we would lose all
our data.)

The first form, as in sentences 1 and 3 - [(!/+ present) + will] - is known as the first conditional. The second form, as in sentences 2 and 4 - [(!/+ past) + would] - is known as the second conditional.

Exercise 1 Match the if-clauses (1 to 6) to the main clauses (a to f) to make complete

sentences.

1 If you never read computer
magazines...

2 If you never back up your hard b...it is unlikely that you will have a
disk... problem with computer viruses.

3 If you had a modem... c... we would have a bigger range of

typefaces and fonts to choose from.

4 If you don't copy pirated software... d...you will miss important new

products.

5 If I knew more programming e...I would get a better job.
languages....

6 If we bought a better printer... f...you will probably lose some

important files.

Exercise 2

2 3

Complete the sentences with the words below. Are the sentences first (F) or

second (S) conditionals?

LJ If you-------------- your VDU in direct sunlight, it--------------

damaged.

If you--------------- your screen for too long, you-------------- a

headache.

If you--------------- to link your PCs with a mainframe, you-------------

to install a network.

If the market for portable computers------------, prices---------------

even more next year.

If we---------------- a fax machine and e-mail facility, we------------- so

many letters each day.

166

would not post leave

grows will get

will be would need

wanted will be reduced

look at installed

Now make up three first conditional and three second conditional sentences of your own.

Computer graphics

Start-up

Task 1 Work in pairs. Look at the photograph below and discuss these questions.

1 What do you think the photograph was used for?

2 How was the image achieved?

Listening

Task 2 El Listen to these descriptions of the images below. Match each description with

the appropriate image.

10 2 0 3D 4 □ 5 □

Task 3

Reading

Match each of the following words with the appropriate definition:

light-sensitive substance on the surface of film

device that uses compressed air to spray paint

succeed in representing on film

alter by making minor changes

large printed picture used for advertising purposes

Task 4 Compare the two photographs below.

1 How many differences can you find?

2 Why do you think the changes were made?

TERMINAL 3 TO NEW YORK, TOKYO AND LOS ANGELES.

Task 5

Use the table below to note down the steps taken to produce the final poster and the reason for each alteration.

Alteration Reason

Task 6 These are answers to questions about the text. Write the questions.

1 During May and June.

2 Woollams' Moira Gaskin O'Malley.

3 Apex Graphics.

4 To launch the new Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow.

5 No, the shot of the tunnel was taken at Heathrow, but the shot of the jumbo
was taken at Gatwick.

6 To create just the right scene.

7 A 'Welcome to Heathrow poster.; '

8 Because it fitted in with the chosen slogan: 'Now there's light at the end of the
tunnel'.

Task 7 Using the line references given, look back in the text and find words that have a
similar meaning to:

1 built-in (lines 15-20)

2 goes down and then up again (lines 20-25)

3 traditional (lines 25-30)

4 be rated (lines 35-40)

5 nearby (lines 50-55)

6 dark patch (lines 60-65).

7 difficult to represent (lines 6 5-70)

8 used unnecessarily (lines 80-85)

Bit colour

Task 8

Reading

Before you read the text, try to answer these questions.

How many distinct shades of colour can the human eye see?

What is:

a a pixel?

b a bit?

c a byte?

d a grey scale display?

Roughly how many different colour shades can be generated from 24-bit

colour?

If your machine has 24-bit colour and a one million-pixel display, how much

memory will you need to drive the screen?

Now read the text and check your answers.

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10

24-bit colour

Short explanation:

If your computer has 24-bit colour, then it can display photographic images in colour on its screen that have natural-looking tones.

Long, long explanation:

In principle, there is an infinite number of shades available between a solid colour and pure white. In practice, the human eye can detect somewhere between 150-200 distinct shades, so as long as you've got more than this, you can produce an undetectably smooth progression of shades (there are exceptions, but

they're not worth going into 40

20 here).

Cheapo computer monitors
can't display shades - you get
solid black or white and
nothing else (in many cases 45

25 you get black or green). It is
possible to fake shades on one
of these monitors by a sort of
poor man's halftone process
called dithering, but this is 50

30 useless for serious image viewing and retouching.

What you need is a
computer that can show true
shades on its screen. 55

35 A computer builds up a picture from a series of building blocks called pixels. Each pixel is a square (normally) of a single colour. 60

The more pixels you can divide the picture into, the higher the resolution of the complete image. The computer organizes itself by describing each pixel that it wants to display as a code in the binary mathematical set (numbers built up from a series of 0s or Is). Each 0 or 1 is called a bit.

Computers are generally structured to work in groups of eight bits (called a byte). These eight numbers can be used to count up to 256, and so can describe 256 shades of grey from black to white, which is more than enough to satisfy the eye.

A computer which can assign eight bits to describe ►

172

"^ each pixel will produce perfect
black and white photographs
on its monitor. A monitor that
can show all these shades is 90

65 called a greyscale display.

Now your eye can detect those 150-200 shades in all three of the colours it can see: red, green, and blue. If you use 95

70 eight bits to describe colour, you only get 256 colours, which isn't enough -you get a mildly posterized effect, although the dithering process 100

75 can simulate more colours at the expense of quality. To get the full colour photographic effect on a computer monitor, you need 105

80 to be able to generate 256 shades for each colour. This takes eight bits of information per colour, giving a total of 24 bits. This is the 24-bit colour 110

85 that you keep reading about in computer magazines. If you

take all the possible variations
of 256 shades of three colours,
you end up with a possible 115

16.7 million colour shades.

Some computers, such as the Macintosh, offer 32-bit colour: the spare eight bits can be used to control transparent 120 overlays of colour - you get 256 levels of transparency.

You only really need 24-bit
colour if you are going to do
colour photographic 125

retouching on-screen or similar 'painting' on-screen. For linework and picture placing, an 8-bit colour monitor is perfectly adequate, 130 as you can still define colours for print even if you can't show them on the screen.

Naturally, there's a bottom line in all this, or everyone would be using 24-bit colour. To start with, you need special 135 circuit boards which plug into

your computer and drive the monitor. An 8-bit board is cheaper than a 3 2-bit one.

You also need plenty of memory. A typical high resolution colour monitor can display about a million pixels. The 24 bits that your computer uses to describe each pixel can also be described as three bytes. To describe a million pixels takes three million bytes. In other words, a hefty three megabytes of your computer's memory is assigned to driving the screen. With 8-bit colour, you only need one Mb.

Generally, 24-bit colour boards include extra memory and processors to speed up the display performance.

Your opinion:

It's cheaper to be colour­blind. ■

► Vocabulary

detect (1.12) - recognize

dithering (1. 29) - a process which makes the transition between shades seem

smoother

retouching (1.31)- making minor changes in a photograph a mildly posterized effect (1. 73) - a slightly crude image there's a bottom line (1. 108) - it is expensive hefty (1.126)-large

Task 9 Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) in relation to

the information in the text. If you think a statement is false, change it to make it true.

1 CH If a computer can generate more than 200 distinct shades of colour, the

human eye will see a perfectly smooth progression of shades.

2 D Everybody should have a computer that can show true shades on its

screen.

A group of eight binary numbers is called a byte.

Under certain circumstances, 8-bit colour can provide more than 256 colours.

5 lD 32-bit colour offers 256 times as many shades of colour as 24-bit colour.

6 D To run 24-bit colour, you need three times as much memory to drive the

screen as you do to run 8-bit colour.

Task 10

Use the information in the text to complete the dialogue in your own words.

A _____________________________________________________?

B Yes, I'd like to find out a little about 24-bit colour.

A _____________________________________________________?

B Well, first of all, I'd like to know what sort of quality it will give me on my monitor.

A ______________________________________________________

B As many as that? What add-ons do I need?

A ______________________________________________________

B How much memory will I need to drive the screen?

A ______________________________________________________?

B It's a high-resolution screen.

A ______________________________________________________

B That's a lot! I use colour mainly for linework and picture-placing. Do you think it's worth buying 24-bit colour?

Task 11

Writing

Write a summary of the text. You should aim to limit your summary to about 150 words. Start by underlining the important ideas in the text. Try, where possible, to combine more than one idea in each sentence.

Task 12

Word-play

Solve the crossword puzzle using the clues below. The words are taken from all fifteen units.

Across

A device for converting digital data into a sound signal that can be transmitted

by a telephone network. (8,7)

One kind of printer. (6)

and 6 An________ is a smoothly varying electrical pulse that was the

basis for all telephone communication until recently. (6,6)

6 See 5 across.

7 Someone who is extremely knowledgeable about a particular subject. (6)

. for operating systems means that programs have

to be specifically written for each existing system. (8)

9 A million floating point instructions per second. (8)

11 A robot with some physiological structures similar to those of humans. (6)

12 To transmit a virus to a computer. (6)

13 To go into a computer file. (6)

14 Erase or omit. (6)

15 An operation performed by the control unit. (7,8)

Down

1 To jumble up a string of characters so that it can be read only after decoding.
(8)

2 This unit forms part of the CPU. (10-5)

3 A device fitted over a computer screen to stop dangerous emissions. (9,6)
10 Another way of saying 'logs off. (5,3)

Appendix 1

Letter writing

1 Presentation and structure p. 176

2 Enquiries and replies p. 178

3 Quotations and orders p. 182

4 Letters of complaint and replies p. 188

5 Employment p. 192

The aim of this section is to help students of computer science and those already working in computing-related jobs to improve their letter-writing skills. All the most common types of work-related letters are covered, and special attention is given to presentation and structure.

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