Page 52 - ENGLISH 8

Mouse

The computer mouse is a pointing device with one or more
buttons and is held under one of the user’s hands. It is primarily
made of three parts: the buttons, the handling area, and the rolling
object. The mouse is one of the types of input unit. You can make
commands with this device.

Central processing unit (CPU)
The work that a computer does is called data processing. It
includes storing information, finding the right information and
doing calculations. The part of the computer that processes the data
(information) is called the CPU (Central Processing Unit), so CPU is
also known as the brain of the computer. It contains only electronic
components. They are called microchips.

Hard drive

The hard drive sits inside the CPU casing. It is also called the hard
disk. It has a huge magnetic memory. It stores all your
documents and files, so it is one of the storage devices of a
computer. You can have your documents stored here.

Optical drive
An optical drive is also known as a CD/DVD drive. It uses light
to read and write data. It is the drive you use to burn CDs,
DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. It gives a computer persistent storage
to allow it to save data, so it is another storage device of a
computer.
Monitor

A computer monitor is also known as Visual Display Unit (VDU)
or screen. It looks like a television. The monitor shows the re-
sult of the data processing as an output of the computer pro-
gramming, so it is one of the output devices. You have your
calculations displayed on the monitor.

Other common computer parts are the flash-drive and printer. Though they are not the
basic parts, you would better know their functions. Flash drives are also known as
pen-drives. You can have your data stored in them. Printers are output devices. They are
used to print the result of your computer work.

Grade 8/English Book 59