LESSON 6

GOVERNMENT TO RESCUE IT? [1]

Task 1. Read and translate the text:

Задание 1. Прочитайте и переведите текст:

The Internet and computer growth in Russia has been the envy or every European and North American country during the past few years. But growth in all IT areas is expected to slow by aconsiderable amount. Cell-phone growth in Moscow and St. Petersburg is limited to subscribers exchanging models, while subscriber growth is limited to the regions. Mobile communication companies had hoped that 3G technology would prove to be a boom, but the lack of equipment capable of handing such a technology is holding back development.

"Informatization" of the country means simply buying more computers and increasing. The Internet usage has nearly reached the limit that current technological equipment can provide. There is not enough money to increase capacity. The largest computer and Internet service providers in Russia will reach yearly turnover of $500 million, which is far too small of a sum to begin improving communication structures on their own.

Moreover, Russian IT faces another problem: Most of the people who need computers live in cities of one million or more, and those people have already bought them. The majority who live outside of "wired" urban areas have absolutely no reason to buy a computer.

The government did launch the Electronic Russian program, which was designed to create an electronic government that would increase interaction between citizens find their elected leaders. Different ministries and political organs could not agree on how to implement the program, and it came to nothing. The government has developed a new plan. This time a single ministry will be responsible for "informatization," and its decisions will be carried out by all government organs. The IT created office will have to have not only the necessary resources but also a fair share of political leverage. If this is not done, then Russia will have to wait many years for IT businesses to become large enough to put pressure on the government to "informatize."

The most popular Internet service is e-mail. Most of the people, who have access to the Internet, use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages. However, other popular services are available on the Internet: reading USENET News, using the World-Wide Web, telnet, FTP, and Gopher. In many developing countries the Internet may provide businessmen with a reliable alternative to the expensive and unreliable telecommunications systems of these countries. Commercial users can communicate over the Internet with the rest of the world and can do it very cheaply. When they send e-mail messages, they only have to pay for phone calls to their local service providers, not for calls across their countries or around the world. But who accually pays for sending e-mail messages over the Internet long distances, around the world? The answer is very simple: user pays his/her service provider a monthly or hourly fee. Part of this fee goes towards its costs to connect to a larger service provider. Part of the fee got by the larger provider goes to cover its cost of running a worldwide network of wires and wireless stations.

Task 2. Answer the following questions:

Задание 2. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. How can you describe the present day situation on the communication structures market?

2. What are the main challenges while spreading Internet?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of spreading computers and Internet access to more people?

4. How can the government use Internet?

5. Can you imagine and describe as much ways of using Internet as possible?

6. Has Internet and computer growth in Russia been the envy of every European and North American country during the past few years?

7. But growth in all IT areas is expected to slow by a considerable amount, isn't it?

8. Did the government launch the Electronic Russian program?

9. What does the government do for a new plan?

10. What is the most popular Internet service?

11. Who can communicate over the Internet with the rest of the world?

12. What must the government realize?

13. The largest computer and Internet service providers in Russia will reach yearly turnover of $500 million, won't it?

Task 3. Match the English words given below with their Russian equivalents:

Задание 3. Соотнесите следующие ключевые слова с соответствующим переводом:

• Internet growth • a considerable amount • a current technological equipment • Increasing Internet usage • mobile communication companies • communication structures • spreading computers • Internet access • a computer growth • an electronic program

• компьютерный рост • электронная программа • компании мобильных структур • распространение компьютеров • структуры связи • доступ в Интернет • увеличение Интернет обращения •поток технологического оборудования • значительное количество • расширение Интернета

Task 4. Find these words and word — combinations in the text:

Задание 4. Найдите в тексте предложения, содержащие нижеследующие слова и выражения:

• a mobile communication

• e-mail messages

• a service provider

• a worldwide network

• the World-Wide Web

• a local service provider

• a wireless station

Task 5. Complete the following sentences corresponding to the contents of the text:

Задание 5. Закончите предложения:

1. Cell phone growth in...

2. Mobile communication companies had.....

3. The largest computer.....

4. The majority who.....

5. The government, however, did not.....

6. Let us hope that the.....

7. The most popular Internet.....

8. The answer is.....

9. Commercial users can.....

10. The IT office eventually to be.....

Task 6. Say whether the statements given below are true or false:

Задание 6. Определите истинность или ложность следующих предложений:

1. The Internet growth in European country has been the envy of every North American country.

2. But growth in all IT system is expected to slow by a considerable amount.

3. Most of the people who need computers live outside of "wired" urban areas.

4. A smallest computer and Internet service providers in the USA will reach yearly turnover of $100 million.

5. The most popular computer service is e-mail.

6. The government, however, do launch the Electronic the USA program.

7. Part of this fee goes towards its costs to connect to a larger service providers.

8. The Internet is a local program.

9. Russian IT hasn't got any problem.

10. The government did not give up and is developing a new plan.

Task 7. Translate the sentences from Russian into English:

Задание 7. Переведите с русского языка на английский:

1. Правительство запустило электронную программу России, целью которой явилось создание с помощью электроники расширенного взаимодействия между гражданами страны и их избранными лидерами.

2. Большинство людей, особенно нуждающихся в компьютерах — это те, которые живут в городах свыше 1 млн жителей.

3. Выгодное распространение компьютеров и доступ к Интернету большого количества людей покрывают все затраты производителя электронных машин.

4. Наиболее популярная услуга Интернета — это электронная почта.

5. Большинство людей, имеющих доступ к Интернету, используют его в основном с целью отправки и получения сообщений по электронной почте.

Task 8. Fill in the blanks the preposition “in”:

Задание 8. Вставьте предлог “in” там, где это необходимо:

1.About ten years ago telephone was the only means... communication which people could use... their home.

2.... present computers make our life much more comfortable.

3. Now we can send messages... each other... fax, e-mail or communicate... the Internet.

4. Those who have the Internet can communicate not only … people.

5. They can get... information... any library all over the world.

Task 9. Make the sentences negative and interrogative:

Задание 9. Преобразуйте следующие предложения в вопросительную и отрицательную форму:

1. The Internet and computer growth in Russia has been the enwy European

and North American country during the past few years.

2. Mobile communication companies had hoped that 3G technology would prove to be a boom.

3. The Internet usage has nearly reached the limit.

4. The largest computer and Internet service providers in Russia will reach yearly turnover of $500 million.

5. Most of the people who need computer live in cities of one million or more.

6. The government did launch the Electronic Russia program.

7. Different ministries and political organs could not agree on how to implement the program.

8. The government is developing a new plan.

9. This time a single ministry will be responsible for "Informatization".

10. In many developing countries the Internet may provide businessman with a reliable alternative to the expensive and unreliable telecommunications systems of these countries.