Using English at Work：33 Having Computer Problems(5)

The computer sometimes stops working for no reason, but the computer tech always makes me feel guilty, as if I had done something to break the computer.

When the computer tech arrives, she sits down at my computer, meaning that she sits on a chair in front of my computer, and asks me a lot of questions to find out what the problem is.

I tell her about the problems I had and she asks if I had any problems while working on my word processing program.

A "word processing program" is a type of computer software that lets you make written documents by control the size, the style, and the color of the text among other things.

Microsoft Word is the word processing program that most people use, in the United States anyway.

I say that everything was fine when I was working with the word processing program, but that I did have some trouble formatting² one of my files.

"To format¹" means to change the appearance of a document, usually by changing the spacing between the lines, or changing the size and style of the text, perhaps adding a border or a line around the paper.

For the first page of the report, some people like to format the title so that it's in the middle of the page, for example.

I was formatting my report when I started having computer problems.

Next, I got an error message.

An "error message" is a short message that appears on your computer screen when something has gone wrong, or when the computer is no longer working properly.

"Error" means mistake; in this case, there's some problem with the computer.

Sometimes error messages say things like "A fatal³ (or deadly) error has occurred," and then when you click "OK" the program shuts down and you lose whatever document you were working on.

"To shut down" means to close down, to no longer be operating on your computer.

The opposite would be "to open up a program."

This time, I got an error message while working on my spreadsheet program.

A "spreadsheet program" is a type of computer program that lets you enter numbers and perform calculations⁴, such as adding, subtracting⁵, and other math formulas.

1 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

2 formatting   

n.格式化v.使格式化( format的现在分词 )；规定…的格式（或形状、大小、比例等）；安排…的格局（或规格）；设计…的版面

参考例句：

• Select the block of text and-click and choose Default Formatting. 选择目标文字块，点击鼠标右键，选择默认格式。 来自互联网
• There are emerging conventions about the content and formatting of documentation strings. 这里介绍文档字符串的概念和格式。 来自互联网

3 fatal   

adj.致命的，灾难性的；重大的，决定性的

参考例句：

• The enemy got a fatal blow in the battle.敌人在战斗中受到致命的打击。
• I made the fatal mistake of letting her talk.我让她讲话是犯了严重的错误。

4 calculations   

n.计算( calculation的名词复数 )；盘算；自私的打算；推断

参考例句：

• We can exclude the possibility of total loss from our calculations. 我们可以在预测中把彻底失败的可能性排除在外。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He scored out both calculations and did them again. 他把两个计算结果都划掉，又把它们计算了一遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 subtracting   

v.减，扣除，做减法( subtract的现在分词 )；减去

参考例句：

• Cash income is calculated by subtracting total trading income from total receipts. 现金收入是从总收入中减去总贸易收入来计算的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Making Boolean calculating to a component, at first execute union, then subtracting. 对组合体执行布尔运算时，先加后减。 来自互联网