Никоненко Тамара Петрівна

   It’s hard to believe that the first personal computer, the prototype of the computer now found in homes and offices around the world, was developed less than thirty years ago. The original PC, as it’s known, came in a form of an electronic kit, a piece of hardware strictly for the hobbyist. The software for that machine – the language that allows us to tell the computer what we want it to do – was developed by William Gates.
   Bill Gates was born in 1955 in Seattle. He became interested in computers when he was 13 years old. Bill attended Harvard University. There he began to develop the computer language called Basic. Later William returned to Seattle where he established the Microsoft Company in 1975. It employed only three workers at first. Microsoft developed software for established American companies like General Electric, City Bank and International Business Machines company, known as IBM. In 1981 IBM began selling a personal computer that used Microsoft products as part of its operating System. By then Microsoft had already 129 workers.
   Today four of five of the world’s personal computers run on Microsoft software, on what is called Microsoft DOS or on its latest incarnation – Windows. Windows system makes it much easier to use a computer. It’s through the Windows system that we may gain access to the Internet, the global computer network.
   Microsoft does thousands of millions of dollars in business each year. It now has more than 16 thousand workers in 48 countries. Microsoft produces computer programmes in  30 languages and sells them in more than 100 countries.
   Thanks to the success of his company, William Gates has earned about seven billion dollars. He is one of the richest men in the world.
Vocabulary
an electronic kit – електронний конструктор
hardware – апаратне забезпечення
software – програмне забезпечення
an incarnation – втілення
an access – доступ

   The sun had three daughters: the eldest was Autumn, the middle was Summer and the youngest was Spring. They led a merry life in their father’s home. But then it was time to send them to the Earth. The Sun’s children were to become the seasons. First to fly was Spring. She was so pretty and young. When sending her on her journey the Sun decided to make her a present of eternal youth. Three months later the Sun sent Summer to the Earth. The father decided to make her a present of eternal beauty. And at last it was time for Autumn to leave her father’s house. “Take all my wealth”, the Sun told her. “I give you all the gold I have; be kind, give people all you have, and people will love you”.
   On the other side of the world Winter, the only daughter of Frost was getting ready for her journey. Her father worried about her. She was a plain girl. She had no rich clothes, because the father couldn’t give her any presents. Frost got together all the wealth he had and it was just a handful of silver. Winter stepped on to the Earth. It became cold. The birds flew away. People put on warm clothes and hurried to the shelter of their houses. No one asked Winter into his or her houses. Winter started to work. She made little snowflakes and tossed them to the sky, and the snowflakes started to fall slowly down on the Earth. The Earth was changing. She threw all her silver on the Earth. The silver mixed with the snow and began to sparkle. The icicles were talking to each other like bells. And the drawings Winter made on the windows were like a work of art. All over the Earth people began to talk about Winter and started to wait for her to come, because the best present Winter gave them was Christmas.
Vocabulary
eternal youth – вічна молодість
shelter – сховище
to toss – кидати
to sparkle – блищати

   One day a party of Americans were having dinner at the Ritz Hotel in London. When, fish was served, some of them began telling interesting stories about finding jewels inside fish.
An old man who had been quietly listening all the time and saying very little at last remarked: “I have heard all your stories, now I shall tell you one”.
   “When I was young”, he went on, “I worked for a big firm in New York, and as it always happens to young men, I fell in love with a girl and very soon became engaged.
   About two months before our marriage I was suddenly sent to England on business. Because I had a lot of business there, I stayed in England somewhat longer than I had expected. It was very strange, but I hadn’t got a single letter from my girl, all this time. But just before going home, I bought a beautiful diamond ring, intending to give it to the girl I was going to marry. One morning, on board the liner crossing the Atlantic I was looking through an American news­paper, which somebody had given me, and saw an announcement of the girl’s marriage to another man. I got so angry that I threw the ring overboard.
   A few years later I was having dinner at a restaurant in New York. Fish was served, and while eating it, I felt something hard between my teeth, and what do you think it was?”
   “The diamond!” exclaimed several of the Americans.
   “No”, said the old man, “it was a fish bone”.
Vocabulary
to intend = to be going to – збиратися
an announcement – оголошення
a marriage – одруження
a bone – кістка

   Television is the most popular entertainment in British home life today. In London people have four TV channels: BBC I, BBC II, ITV=Independent Television (Channel III) and Channel IV.
   The BBC is known for its objectivity in news reporting. The BBC is financed by payments which are made by all people who have TV-sets. People have to pay the licence fee. In 1932 the BBC World Service was set up with a licence to broadcast first to Empire and then to other parts of the world. There is no advertising on any BBC programme.
   ITV started in 1954. Commercial television gets its money from advertising. The programmes on this channel are financed by different companies, which do not have anything to do with the content of these programmes. ITV news programmes are not made by individual television companies. Independent Television News is owned jointly by all of them. So it has been protected from commercial influence.
   There are different types of TV programmes in Great Britain. BBC and ITV start early in the morning. One can watch news programmes, all kinds of chat shows, quiz shows, soap operas, different children’s programmes, dramas, comedies and different programmes of entertainment on these channels.
   News is broadcast at regular intervals and there are panel discussions of current events. Broadcasts for schools are produced on five days of the week during school hours. In the afternoon and early evening TV stations show special programmes for children. Operas, music concerts and shows are presented at various time. A large part of TV time is occupied by serials.
   Britain has two channels (BBC II and Channel IV) for presenting programmes on serious topics, which are watched with great interest by a lot of people. These channels start working on early weekday mornings. But they translate mostly all kinds of education programmes.
   Weekend afternoons are devoted to sport. Sport events are usually broadcast in the evening.
   These are the main channels in Great Britain. Only about a fifth of households receive satellite or cable.

   After forty-five minutes of dancing the bell rang. The dancers left the dance floor and slowly headed for the beds in the next room. Fifteen minutes later, the bell rang again and the weary dancers straggled back to the dance floor. All day and all night, the same dancers continued to dance. Weeks passed and they kept on dancing. They were called dance marathons and people were crazy about them in the 1930s. In the longest marathon, the dancing went on for 5,148 hours or nearly 215 days. It was just after the stock market crash of 1929 in the United States. The Great Depression that followed affected everyone, and thousands of people were out of jobs. For some young people, entering a dance marathon was simply a way to earn money for food. As long as they continued to dance, they got food to eat.
   The first 500 hours of a dance marathon were the most difficult. Dancers had to get used to sleeping while leaning on their partners. Feet got sore and swollen, and tempers flared as dancers got tired. Three times a day, tables were pulled out on the dance floor and the dancers ate — while dancing.
   For many people, watching a dance marathon, was a cheap form of entertainment. At any time of day or night they could go and watch the dancers in the marathon. They yelled and threw money at their favorite dancers to encourage them to keep dancing. Some made bets on who would quit or fall down next.
   Dancers in a marathon were pushed to their limits. Without proper sleep, many got sick. When several dancers died from overexertion in a 1929 dance marathon, government officials tried unsuccessfully to outlaw marathons. Instead, marathons continued to be popular until the United States entered World War II. The wartime economy brought the country out of the Depression and people finally began to lose interest in dance marathons.
Vocabulary
outlaw – оголошений поза законом
overexertion – перенапруження
weary – виснажений
straggled – йти врозбрід
sore – запалений
swollen – опухший
temper – гнів
flare – спалахувати
yell – пронизливо кричати