Questão 3172374

Text 2 – Computers

(Text adapted from History of Computing. Retrieved from https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~mitra/csFall2006/cs303/lectures/history.html)

When you hear the term computers, it’s difficult to imagine different devices from a laptop or a small desktop. Believe it or not, they weren’t always like they are today. They used to be very large and heavy, sometimes as big as an entire room. Some technology professors historically define computers, as “a device that can help with computations”. The word computation involves counting, calculating, adding, subtracting, etc. The modern definition of a computer is a little wider, because in our day and age, computers store, compile, analyze and compute an enormous amount of information. Ancient computers were very interesting. Actually, the first computer may have been located in Great Britain, at Stonehenge. It is a man-made circle of large stones. Citizens used it to measure the weather and forecast the change of seasons. Some specialists say that another ancient computer is the abacus. It was used by the early Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians to count and calculate. Even though they are no longer in use, certainly, these early devices are fascinating. Computers are embedded in our history and some people say that we are completely dependent of them. No matter the complexity of the task, easy or difficult, some people can’t do anything without them. Do you contest or share this opinion?

Note the adjective order in the sentences: “It is a made-man circle of large stones”. Mark the correct alternative regarding the explanation about the position of adjectives in English.

I. the made-man circle - the inversion of a noun (man) with an adverb (made) is one of the possibilities for forming noun groups with an emphasis on adjectives.

II. circle of large stones – the preposition 'of' is an indication that the previous word is a verb.

III. large stones – the position of the adjective (large) before the noun (stones) is one of the possible formations of the order of adjectives.