Text 2 – Computers
(Text adapted from History of Computing. Retrieved from
https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~mitra/csFall2006/cs 303/lectures/history.html)
When you hear the term computers, it’s difficult to imagine different devices from a laptop or a small desktop. Believe it or not, they weren’t always like they are today. They used to be very large and heavy, sometimes as big as an entire room. Some technology professors historically define computers, as “a device that can help with computations”. The word computation involves counting, calculating, adding, subtracting, etc. The modern definition of a computer is a little wider, because in our day and age, computers store, compile, analyze and compute an enormous amount of information. Ancient computers were very interesting. Actually, the first computer may have been located in Great Britain, at Stonehenge. It is a man-made circle of large stones. Citizens used it to measure the weather and forecast the change of seasons. Some specialists say that another ancient computer is the abacus. It was used by the early Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians to count and calculate. Even though they are no longer in use, certainly, these early devices are fascinating. Computers are embedded in our history and some people say that we are completely dependent of them. No matter the complexity of the task, easy or difficult, some people can’t do anything without them. Do you contest or share this opinion?
Observe the expression: “They used to be very large and heavy”, then read the statements and mark the alternative in which the highlighted expression is correctly explained.
I. The expression is equivalent to affirming that an action was practiced in the past and, currently, is no longer practiced.
II. The expression is equivalent to affirming that an action was practiced in the past and, currently, continues to be practiced.
III. The expression is equivalent to affirming that an action was practiced only once in the past and, currently, it is still practiced.
