Unit Two Hardware Passage One. A short Introduction

Training target: In this part ， our target is to train your reading comprehension. We have made the flexible sentences strong black and marked the subject ， predicate and object of them. Try to grasp the main idea of these sentences.

Text. Like a person ， a computer is composed of two parts: the bone—hardware and the soul—software. Let us get closer to the computer from the basic components.

When talking about computer ， such image as Pic2.1 will appear in our mind: a display screen known as the basic output device ， a keyboard usually together with a mouse as the basic input device ， and a cabinet known as a machine box.

With the development of science and technology ， modern computer becomes more and more flexible ， and the hardware family becomes stronger and stronger. A lot of new components appear just as Pic2.2 shows: a printer ， a scanner ， and even a pair of speakers. scanner printer speakers

 All the components of a computer that we can see and feel are hardware. They work together to help us with our daily work. Then how can a computer manage so many devices? The real secret lies in the machine box. When we take the cover off a small computer and look inside ， we will see a few circuit boards ， some wires and some cables. The real computer appears in front of us.

 So what is the most important thing about a home computer? For the vast majority of ordinary home and business users ， what really matters on their home computers may be four things related to technology:

 ● Noise. Current home computers may have a fan on the CPU ， a fan on the motherboard ， a fan on the video display adapter ， a fan on the power supply ， and one or two fans to push cooling air through the case. This produces a continuous background noise that can be annoying. The vendors are looking forward to new designs that may eliminate noise in 2004 ， but some current systems are better than others. Remember ， each of these fans is a ＄ 5 plastic part based on technology that hasn’t changed in decades. If consumers didn’t rush out to buy the system with the lowest price ， vendors might spend ＄ 6 and get a much better fan.

● Size. The CPU and other chips in a laptop are more expensive because they are designed to run on battery power.By less money you can get conventional desktop technology in a smaller package. A modern motherboard can include the audio ， LAN ， USB ， and the video adapter. There may not be need for adapter card slots ， but it is better to include a few for future expansion.

 Keyboard. For the full-time computer user ， the most important part of the machine is usually ， the keyboard. This is not an advanced modern device. The design of today’s keyboard is not much different from the electric typewriter of thirty years ago. Good design is still important. A moderately fast typist may press 200 keys each minute all day long. It is not very difficult to make a keyboard that can record the keystroke. It is much more complicated to make a keyboard that feels good and is comfortable to use. In the modern era ， where employees complain of hand injuries due to poorly designed keyboards ， an extra ＄ 100 may be much less expensive than an insurance claim.

● Screen. The quality of the screen is also important. A larger screen is easier to read. A faster refresh rate reduces flicker. For a secretary ， using the system for word processing and casual queries ， the keyboard and screen are much more important than anything in the system unit. Performance may be less significant than comfortable.

 You can’t tell whether a computer is too loud by looking at a picture in the newspaper or on the Web. You also can’t hear an individual machine in a sales room filled with computers. On the other hand ， you do not need any complex measuring instrument or technical training to figure out how loud a system is if you can get it alone in a room. If you buy a system from one of the big national vendors ， and it is too loud ， you are probably afraid to do anything to improve it.The small computer shop may customize a system with higher quality parts ， and anyone willing to open the case can replace all the fans with quieter models.

The End