Traduo de Texto

HARDWARE

Hardware is not difficult to understand. It is nuts and bolts and microchips. But what is
software? Perhaps the easiest way to think of it is in terms of a simple analogy: hardware
is to software as a television set is to the shows that appear on it. Computer programs,
rather like those aired on TV, are a man-made effort to turn lifeless hardware into
something one might want to spend some time with. Programs, like television scripts, are
written not in English, but in English-like commands that vary from machine to
machine. BASIC, for example, is a language most desktop computers are wired to
understand. In the past, computer owners had to write their own software. Today
thousands of prewritten programs are on the market, ranging from games to
accountants tools. Running those software packages, as opposed to writing them, is no
more difficult than playing a CD or a videotape. Just find the appropriate disc, put it in a
disc drive and push a button. In a matter of seconds the computer is programmed and
set from balancing the books to finding misspelled words to playing a video game.

Vocabulary

hardware: computador (a mquina)
understand: entender
nuts and bolts: porcas e parafusos
But: mas
What: o que
software: programa de computador
perhaps: talvez
easiest: mais fcil
way: maneira, forma
to think: pensar
of: de
to: para
as: como
set: aparelho, pronto, preparado
that: que
to appear: aparecer
on: em, no, na
rather: em vez, de preferncia
like: como, da mesma forma que
those: aqueles
to air: transmitir
man: homem
made: feito
effort: esforo
to turn ... into: transformar em
lifeless: inanimado, sem vida

to wire: equipar, preparar
into: em, dentro
something: algum
to might: pode
to want: quer
to spend: gastar
some: algum
with: com
written: escrito
vary: variar
machine: mquina
for: por
most: mais, o maior
desktop: mesa
wired: com fio
past: passado
owner: dono, proprietrio
had: ter (no passado)
their: seus, suas, deles, delas
own: prprio
today: hoje
thousand: mil
market: mercado
to range: variar
accountant: contabilista
tool: ferramenta, instrumento

market: mercado
to range: variar
accountant: contabilista
tool: ferramenta, instrumento
to run: operar, fazer funcionar
package: pacote
opposed: oposto, contrrio
them: eles, os
no: no, nenhuma
than: que


1. Corno se chama a parte fsica, concreta, do conjunto de peas que formam um
computador?
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2. Qual a analogia feita no texto para explicar os termos hardware e software?
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3. Qual a forma de comunicao entendida pela maioria dos microcomputadores?
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4. Falando da facilidade de operao dos programas de computador existentes no
mercado, que comparao feita? E o que ao contrario, difcil nos programas?
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to play: jogar, tocar
just: apenas
to find: encontrar
to put: colocar
to push: empurrar
button: boto
matter: questo, matria
second: segundo
misspelled: erros ortogrficos
to balance: contabilizar