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  3. In the beginning computers were human. Then they took the shape of metal boxes, filling entire rooms before becoming ever smalle

In the beginning computers were human. Then they took the shape of metal boxes, filling entire rooms before becoming ever smalle

admin2010-10-28  29
问题      In the beginning computers were human. Then they took the shape of metal boxes, filling entire rooms before becoming ever smaller and more widespread. Now they are evaporating altogether and becoming accessible from anywhere.
    That is about as brief a history of computers as anyone can make it. The point is that they are much more than devices in a box or in a data center. Computing has constantly changed shape and location -- mainly as a result of new technology, but often also because of shifts in demand.
     The first" computers" were indeed people. The word originally meant an individual who solved equations, often using a mechanical calculator. Hundreds of them were employed by big companies that needed to do a lot of number-crunching, such as airplane manufacturers. It was only around 1945 that the word came to describe machinery.
    But even after that,, computing kept undergoing changes -- or, in the jargon, platform shifts. The mainframe, the original computing platform, was replaced by minicomputers, which in turn gave way to personal computers, which are now being pushed aside by hand-held devices and smart-phones. With each step the architecture --- the underlying structure of computing -- became more distributed.
    Now, this special report will argue, computing is taking on yet another new shape. It is becoming more centralized again as some of the activity moves into data centers. But more importantly, it is turning into what has come to be called a "cloud", or collections of clouds. Computing power will become more and more disembodied and will be consumed where and when it is needed.
   The rise of the cloud is more than just another platform shift that gets geeks excited. It will undoubtedly transform the information technology (IT) industry, but it will also profoundly change the way people work and companies operate. It will allow digital technology to penetrate every corner of the economy and of society, creating some tricky political problems along the way.
What does the word "computers" originally mean according to the passage?
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答案An individual who solved equations．
解析 由定位句可知，“computers”原来的意思就是“解方程的人”，故本题答案是An individual who solved equations．
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