Windows. Learn the Basics.

Windows is a program that makes it easy for you to tell your personal computer what to do. Instead of memorizing commands and typing them at a prompt, you tell the computer what to do by selecting buttons, pictures (called “icons”), and commands from menus. Most of the time, you use your computer’s mouse to make the selections; choosing a command is as easy as pointing to an option and clicking a button on the mouse. Windows is designed to be easy to learn and easy to use. With Windows, you can run more than one application at a time. Each application you run, such as Word, Excel, or Netscape, appears in a separate window, as if you had several computer screens but just one monitor. By learning to manage the different windows, you can easily work on several different projects at the same time. One major feature of Windows is its flexibility. You can do a task in several different ways.

When you turn on a computer with Windows installed, you first see a screen called the Desktop. Each window you open sits on this desktop. The desktop is just like your own desk: you can keep it as orderly or as messy as you like. On the Desktop, you will see several icons, which are small pictures that are graphic representations of computer files, devices or programs. You can customize your desktop by right clicking on any blank area and choosing Properties. The Properties window gives you information about the desktop and allows you to make changes to it. You will see various tabs on the top of the screen in the Properties window.

Windows does give you a tool that makes it easier to keep things tidy as you move from task to task: the Taskbar, located at the bottom of the window. At the far left side of the Taskbar is the button for the Start menu. The Start menu is the place you generally go to start any program. You can also shut down your computer from this menu.

The programs or tasks that you are running are shown in the small rectangles near the middle of the task bar. Near the right side, you will see the programs or tasks that have been started automatically when you started Windows. On the far right, you will usually see the time displayed.

Depending on how you have arranged your desktop, you usually see several icons on the left side of the screen. You can use My Computer to manage files and folders on your hard drive (usually C:\) and any other drives to which you have access, such as a CD-ROM drive, floppy disk drive (A:\), or your Local Area Network (LAN) server.

The Recycle Bin is where you discard files. Additional icons on your desktop may provide access to files and shortcuts (shortcuts are icons that have a small white arrow in the low left corner to point to a program, folder or other item) to programs you frequently use.

Every window has a Title Bar at the top. The Title Bar has the name of the program and the name of the file. This is important information, not to be overlooked. The Title Bar also has three small icons in the upper right corner, that allows you minimize a window (make it smaller), maximize a window (make it larger) or close a window. The menus at the top of the screen are called drop down menus. When you click on any of the words in the menu a list of choices drops down.

There is often one or more toolbars under the menu choices. A toolbar is a row of icons. These icons are shortcuts for choices that are in the menus. You can perform most functions more quickly by using the icons on the toolbar. You display or hide the toolbars by finding the Toolbar menu, most often found in the View menu.

Scrollbars are used to display the contents of a window that extend beyond the window’s current viewing area. A scrollbar is a gray rectangle with small black arrows on both ends. It can be seen on the left side and/or bottom of a window. You can click on the arrows to make the screen move up and down or side to side.

When you open (double click) My Computer, you will see an icon for the Control Panel. When you open the Control Panel, you will find yourself in the area where you can control the Windows environment.

1) Which of the statements expresses the main idea best? Why do you think so?

1) Windows is one of the most popular and easiest computer programs.

2) In Windows, you can easily have several programs running at the same time.

3) Windows is a very flexible program that’s why you can do the same task in several different ways.

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

1) In Windows you must memorize the commands and type them to tell your computer what to do.

2) The screen you see first when you turn on your PC is called the Desktop.

3) The Recycle bin is the place where you store all your files and folders.

4) In Windows you must close one program before you start another one.

5) In Windows everything begins and ends at the Help button.

6) In Windows, you can often do the same thing several different ways.

7) My computer lets you access the parts of your computer where files and programs are stored.

8) Start button provides access to very few programs and files.

3) Answer the questions:

1) What is Windows?

2) Why do you need Windows on your PC?

3) At what button does everything begin and end in Windows?

4) What is an icon?

5) What is a shortcut?

6) What does the icon My Computer represent?

7) What information is shown in the Task bar?

8) What information can you read in the Title bar?

9) What do three small icons in the upper right corner do?

10) Where can you find a list of choices?

11) What is a Tool bar?

12) What are scrollbars used for?

13) From which panel can you control the Windows environment?

E-commerce

Many companies are beginning to use the Internet for commerce. The mass media have been noting recently that e-commerce hasn’t met their financial expectations and many Internet start-ups have gone bankrupt. In reality many businesses have set up electronic commerce sites. Successful technology companies have been creating online shopping sites for business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions. The examples of the companies that have successfully been using the Internet to sell their products are Dell and Cisco. Dell is generating more than seven million dollars a day in web sales, while Cisco exceeded one billion dollars in annual sales over the web in 1998. In e-commerce small companies can compete with big companies. In fact the Internet is very attractive to small companies for several reasons:

- it makes the size of a company irrelevant. Large and small companies have the same access to customers and can create the same kind of Internet presence;

- it makes the location of a company irrelevant. Customers from anywhere can easily use your company’s site;

-it increases feedback. If for example your company sells printing equipment you can go to a printing discussion group and see what subjects are of interest to people, what they are saying about you or your competitors’ products.

For Avtotravel, a small company in a car business, the Internet has a lot of advantages. Usually a customer visits the Volkswagen site to find information on the Passat, the Toyota site to learn about the Camry and the Ford site to investigate the Taurus. He can also visit the Avtotravel site to get information concerning its products and prices. The Internet provides him with an easy way to shop for different products so he compares features, functionality and prices online.

The Avtotravel company has not only been dealing in cars, it has also been offering the cars to rent. The company has understood that e-commerce is not a marketing tool; it’s a new business channel. Avtotravel has integrated e-commerce into its overall marketing and sales strategy. It helps the company to maximize the benefits of online purchasing.

Avtotravel has been successful in driving customers to the site through web advertising. Banners are a very popular form of web advertising. The general rule for advertising is that a site needs over three million visitors a day.

Answer the following questions using the text

1. Why are many companies beginning to use the Internet?

2. What two types of on-line shopping have companies been creating?

3. Why is the Internet attractive to small companies?

4. What method of advertising has Avtotravel been using successfully?

5. What is the role of e-commerce for Avtotravel?

6. What net-companies do you know? What makes them successful?

Translate the following word-combinations from Russian into English.

Заключить сделку; привлекать потребителей; изучить преимущества конкурентов; получить доступ к средствам массовой информации; покупать оборудование; снабжать потребителей информацией о новых товарах; внешняя торговля; арендовать машину; создать успешную компанию; конкурировать с крупными компаниями; иметь много недостатков; сравнить главные характеристики товаров; иметь коммерческий успех; иметь обратную связь с потребителями; извлечь выгоду из своего положения.

Intelligence

In everyday terms we all know what the word “intelligence” means. We use the term to describe certain qualities of behaviour. One of them is the ability to solve problems. When solving a problem we often need infor­mation about it and we may also be under pressure of time to use our knowledge effectively. Sometimes an element of originality is required in everyday prob­lem solving. People who can cope with the problems seem to have supe­rior speed of thought, originality and mental alertness. Such descriptions are most often used by people when asked to say what intelligence means to them. But psychologists do not all agree with them. For instance, is it possible to be intelligent in one situation but not in anoth­er? Sometimes a person is bright and competent at work and uninteresting for friends or relatives. Are there different kinds of intelligence? Detectives, mathematicians and scientists all tend to deal with problems in which they must converge their thinking upon a single correct solution. Economists, politicians and businessmen, on the other hand, need to be divergent and flexible in their approach to the problems that confront them and they are often faced with having to devise and choose between a number of close solutions to the same problem. Which of these two types of thinker is more intelligent? Is intelligence some­thing that may be taught to people? Psychologists have not been able to get close to answering these questions. Most of the work on this topic has been done for practical use than for establishing a theoretical base. So intelligence is the thing that is measured by an IQ test.

Answer the questions:

1. What does the term “intelligence” mean?
2. What is the first thing we need when solving a problem?
3. What is considered to be typical of people who have the ability to cope with the problems?
4. Are there different kinds of intelligence singled out in psychology?
5. Are psychologists certain about the true nature of intelligence?
6. What is an IQ test measured by?

EATING OUT
Many housewives in Britain have nice kitchens in their apartments. But they have neither time nor desire to cook. They often buy ready-made food at the supermarkets or go to restaurants.
A very popular pastime is eating out in a restaurant. In most towns there is a wide variety of restaurants serving different types of food at different prices. Most British towns now have Chinese or Indian restaurants which serve quite cheap food; Italian restaurants are also popular and French restaurants are famous for expensive high quality cooking.

When you have looked at the menu and chosen what you want to eat, the waiter will come and take your order. Normally, you tell him what you want for the first two courses. He will take your order for dessert and coffee later.

In some places you can dance to disco music between the courses of your meal. “Dine and dance” is offered by the restaurants of large hotels and clubs.
While having your drink or a meal you may enjoy a cabaret. This can be any kind of show: music, singing, dancing, or people telling stories and jokes.
When you finish eating, ask the waiter to bring you the bill. In most restaurants a service charge (10— 15 %) is added into the total sum that’s why it’s not necessary to give the waiter a tip.
According to the restaurant etiquette you don’t shout “Waiter” loudly across the room if you want to call him. You raise your hand and try to catch the waiter’s eye without shouting or waiving your arms. It’s not easy to get the waiter’s attention, but it’s much more polite than shouting — which would make you very unpopular.
As well as restaurants most towns have a number of bars and cafes where you can get sandwiches and other snacks. There are also hamburger restaurants specializing in cheap meals — especially hamburgers. Many pubs now have restaurants or grill rooms too. In some you can get a full range of dishes, in others the choice is more limited.
A fairly recent development is the growth of take-away restaurants. Here you can buy cooked meals to take home. Fish and chip shops have been and still are very popular. You can have some meal there (fish, but sometimes chicken or sausage too) or take it away to be eaten somewhere outside. Now there are take- away Chinese and Indian restaurants in many towns and special take-away restaurants serving fried chicken are also popular. Your order is packed in special containers particularly because you don’t have to pay V.A.T. on it.

Answer the questions:

1. Why do many people in Britain by ready-made food or go to the restaurants?
2. Are restaurants in Britain mostly British?
3. What is offered in the restaurants besides food and drinks?
4. Is it necessary to give the waiter a tip?
5. What do you do if you want to call the waiter?
6. What are take-away restaurants?
7. Why is your order packed in special containers in take-away restaurants?

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20