网络工程专业英语chap1.docVIP

1.1 The Invention of the Computer It is hard to say exactly when the modern computer was invented. Starting in the 1930s and through the 1940s, a number of machines were developed that were like computers. But most of these machines did not have all the characteristics that we associate with computers today. These characteristics are that the machine is electronic, that it has a stored program, and that it is general purpose. 很难确切地说现代计算机是什么时候发明的。从2 0世纪3 0年代到4 0年 代，制造了许多类似计算机的机器。但是这些机器大部分没有今天我们所 说的计算机的所有特征。这些特性是：机器是电子的，具有储存的程序, 而且是通用的。  1.1 The Invention of the Computer One of the first computerlike devices was developed in Germany by Konrad Zuse in 1941. Called the Z3, it was general-purpose, stored- program machine with many electronic parts, but it had a mechanical memory. Another electromechanical computing machine was developed by Howard Aiken, with financial assistance from IBM, at Harvard University in 1943. It was called the Automatic Sequence Control Calculator Mark I, or simply the Harvard Mark I. Neither of these machines was a true computer, however, because they were not entirely electronic. 第一个类似计算机的装置之一是1 941年由德国的K onradZuse研制的， 叫做Z 3,它是通用型储存程序机器，具有许多电子部件，但是它的存储器 是机械的。另一台机电式计算机器是由霍华德.艾坎在I BM的资助下于 1943年在哈佛大学研制的。它被称为自动序列控制计算器M arkI,或简称 哈佛M arkI。然而，这些机器都不是真正的计算机,因为它们不是完全电 子化的。  1.1 The Invention of the Computer 1.1.1 The ENIAC Perhaps the most influential of the early computerlike devices was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or ENIAC. It was developed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania. The project began in 1943 and was completed in 1946. The machine was huge; it weighed 30 tons and contained over 18,000 vacuum tubes. 也许早期最具影响力的类似计算机的装置应该是电子数字积分计算机， 或简称E NIAC。它是由宾夕凡尼亚大学的J .PresperEckert和J ohn Mauchly研制的。该工程于1 943年开始，并于1 946年完成。这台机器极 其庞大，重达3 0吨，而且包含1 8,000多个真空管。  1.1 The Invention of the Computer 1.1.1 The ENIAC The ENIAC was a major advancement for its time. It was the first