【正文】
each beads in the lower deck has a value of 1. Beads are considered counted, when moved towards the beam that separates the two decks. After 5 heads are counted in the lower deck, the result is carried to the upper deck。 after both heads in the upper deck are counted, the result 10 is then carried to the leftmost adjacent column and so on. Floating point calculations are performed by designating a space between 2 columns as the decimalpoint and all the rows to the right of that space represent fractional portions while all the rows to the left represent whole number digits. The abacus is one of many counting devices invented to help count large numbers. The earliest counting device was the human hand and its fingers. Then, as larger quantities (larger than ten human fingers could represent) were counted, various natural items like pebbles and twigs were used to help count. Merchants who traded goods not only needed a way to count goods they bought and sold, but also to calculate the cost of those goods. Until numbers were invented, counting devices were used to make everyday calculations. 。Listening on Page 62 Read these questions before listening and discuss them in pairs. 1. What functions are already included on a mobile phone? 2. Which ones do you find useful? 3. What else do you expect a mobile phone to do for you? □ a mobile that “think” □ a mobile that spends your money □ a mobile that can