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Level B2 (Tech History)295 words • ~2 min

The First Computer Bug

By Grace Hopper & Computing History

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The Tortoise and the Hare
A Hare was once making fun of the Tortoise for his slow and steady pace. "Do you ever get anywhere?" he asked with a mocking laugh. "Yes," replied the Tortoise, "and I get there sooner than you think."
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Full Story Reading Context

In the sweltering heat of late summer 1947, computer scientists at Harvard University were diligently troubleshooting an unexpected glitch in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator.

The massive machine was failing calculations, yet every line of mathematical logic appeared mathematically sound on paper.

When operators opened the heavy mechanical cabinet to inspect Relay Number 70 in Panel F, they gasped in astonishment: an actual live moth was wedged between the electrical contacts, impeding the circuit.

The team carefully removed the winged insect with tweezers and taped it into their daily engineering logbook with the handwritten note: "First actual case of bug being found."

Pioneering programmer Grace Hopper popularized the tale, and ever since, programmers across the globe describe tracking down software defects as "debugging."

Key Vocabulary in this Story
troubleshooting/ˈtrʌb.əlˌʃuː.tɪŋ/noun

Tracing and correcting faults in a mechanical or electronic system.

sự xử lý sự cố / gỡ lỗi

glitch/ɡlɪtʃ/noun

A sudden, temporary malfunction or irregularity of equipment.

trục trặc nhỏ

impeding/ɪmˈpiː.dɪŋ/verb/adj

Delaying or preventing someone or something by obstructing them.

cản trở / ngăn chặn

pioneering/ˌpaɪəˈnɪr.ɪŋ/adj

Involving new ideas, methods, or ground-breaking development.

tiên phong