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Unit II: Higher Education Abroad

I.a) Read the text.

Higher Education in Great Britain

Higher education in Great Britain is provided at universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and other establishments of higher education. There are 46 universities in Britain. The oldest and best known of them are located in Oxford, Cambridge, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Birmingham. English universities greatly differ from each other in history, traditions, general organization, methods of instruction, etc.

Good A-level results in at least two subjects are necessary to get a place at a university. However, good exam passes alone are not enough. Universities choose their students after interviews. For all British citizens a place at a university brings with it a grant from their local education authority.

A university consists of a number of faculties: divinity, medicine, arts (philosophy), law, music, natural sciences, economics, engineering, agriculture, etc. After three years of study a university graduate gets the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, etc. Later he may proceed to the Degree of Master and then a Doctor's Degree. The first post-graduate degree is that of Master, conferred for a thesis based on at least one year's full-time work. Everywhere the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy is given for a thesis, which is an original contribution to knowledge. Research is an important feature of university work.

The Polytechnics, like universities, offer first and higher degrees. Some of them offer full-time and sandwich courses. Colleges of Education provide twoyear courses in teacher education or sometimes three years if the graduate specializes in some particular subject.

Some of those who decide to leave school at the age of 16 may go to a further education college where they can follow a course in typing, engineering, town planning, cooking, full-time or part-time. Further education colleges have strong ties with commerce and industry.

There is an interesting form of studies, which is called the Open University. It is intended for people who study in their own free time and who “attend” lectures by watching television and listening to the radio. They keep in touch by phone and letter with their tutors and attend summer schools. The Open University students have no formal qualifications and would be unable to enter ordinary universities.

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Vocabulary:

College of Education ['kOlIG] – педагогический колледж (трехгодичный педагогический институт; в 1965г. такие колледжи получили статус университетов).

A-level ['eI'levl] – экзамен на повышение уровня по программе средней школы.

Grant [grRnt] – стипендия (обычно выплачивается студентам из средств гос. бюджета или местных органов власти).

Bachelor of Arts ['bxtSqlqrqv'Rts] – бакалавр искусств (обладатель степени бакалавра по одной из гуманитарных или математических наук в университетах). Сокращенное обозначение B.A. ['bJ'eI] ставится после фамилии.

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. ['bJ'es'sJ]) – бакалавр наук, обладатель первой ученой степени.

Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. ['bJ'ed]) – бакалавр педагогических наук.

Master of Arts (M.А. ['em'eI]) – магистр искусств, обладатель второй ученой степени. Выпускникам Оксфордского и Кембриджского университетов эта степень присваивается без экзамена, на основании определенных сроков практической работы после окончания. Для получения степени магистра выпускникам других Вузов требуется написание работы на основе проведенных исследований. Наблюдается тенденция присвоения этой степени после года практической работы.

Master of Philosophy (M.Phil. ['em'fIl]) – магистр философии. Эта степень относится не только к философии, но и к математике, филологии и другим наукам. Работа, выполненная для получения этой степени, должна содержать частично материал, разработанный автором.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. ['pJ'eIC'dJ]) – доктор философии. Для получения этой степени требуется написание самостоятельной работы на основе трехлетних (и более) исследований. Можно сравнить со степенью «кандидата наук».

Doctor of Science (D.Sc. ['dJ'es'sJ]) – доктор наук.

Doctor of Letters (D.Lett. ['dJ'lIt]) – доктор литературы. Последние две степени можно сравнить со степенью доктора наук в России. Существенным отличием является то, что в Великобритании не требуется специальной защиты диссертации. Достаточно предоставить опубликованные работы совету или комитету.

Polytechnic [pOlI'tFknIk] – политехникум.

Sandwich course ['sxndwIC'kLs] – курсы «сандвич» (для работающих, обычно при техническом колледже, где занятия чередуются с работой на предприятии).

Open university ['qupn jHnI'vWsItI] – открытый университет, университет для всех (функционирует с 1971 года).

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b)Answer these questions after the text:

1)Where is higher education provided in Great Britain?

2)Where are the best-know universities situated in Britain?

3)What is necessary for getting a place at a university?

4)Differentiate between the first, the second and the highest degrees given after the graduation from a university. What is necessary for getting these degrees?

5)What other institutions of higher education are there in Great Britain?

II. a) Read the text.

Some Differences in the Organization of Education

in Britain and America

Differences in the organization of education in Britain and America lead to different terms. One crucial word, school, is used in overlapping but different ways. A place of education for young children is a school in both varieties. But the word school in B.E. is never used to refer to a university or other college of higher education. An American high school student graduates; a British secondary school pupil (never student) leaves school. To graduate is possible only from a university, polytechnic or college of education in British usage; graduating entails taking a degree. British universities have 3 terms; American universities have 2 semesters (or in some recent cases, 4 quarters). A British university student takes 3 years, in the typical case, to get his degree; these are known as the first, second and final years. The American university student typically takes 4 years, known as freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years. While he is studying, the American majors in a particular subject, but also takes electives; the British student usually takes a main and subsidiary subjects. The British term honours degree signifies that the student specializes in one main subject, perhaps with one subsidiary. The American student earns credits for successfully completing a number of self-contained courses of study, the credits eventually reaching the total needed for him to receive a degree. There is no counterpart to the credit system in British high education at present.

The British student who has already taken a first degree (usually a B.A. or B.Sc. except in Scottish universities) is a post-graduate; theAmerican equivalent is a graduate. In American universities those who teach are known as the faculty; in Britain they are the staff, possibly dignified as the academic staff.

B.E. has no equivalent to A.E. co-ed a girl student, nor is there any B.E. equivalent of the American sorority or fraternity, i.e. nationwide university clubs or associations with restricted membership.

Vocabulary:

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When the examination paper came back, the student saw that the professor had written on his paper: “God gets 100, you get zero. Happy New Year!”

to get 100 - получить самую высокую оценку zero - самая низкая оценка

3. My Flat

We live in a new 16-storeyed block of flats in Strogino. It’s situated in a very picturesque place not far from the Moskva River. There’s a big supermarket on the ground floor and it’s very convenient to do every day shopping.

Our flat is on the fifth floor. It’s very comfortable and well-planned. We have all modern conveniences, such as central heating, electricity, gas, cold and hot running water and a telephone. There are three rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a hall in our flat. There's also a balcony and we can enjoy a lovely view of the river.

The largest room in our flat is the living room and we use it as a dining room and as a sitting room. In the middle of the room there is a big table and six chairs round it. Opposite the window there is a wall unit with lots of books, a TV-set and a videocassette recorder. There are two comfortable armchairs and a small coffee table in the right-hand corner. There is also a sofa and an electric fire in our living room. We like the living room best of all, because in the evenings we gather there to have tea, watch TV, talk and rest.

My room is the smallest room in our flat, but it is very cosy and light. There is a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, an armchair and several bookshelves in my room. There is a thick carpet on the floor. The walls in my room are light-brown and there are some big posters on them. I like my room very much, but from time to time I change it round. I quite often move the bed and change the posters on the wall.

Our kitchen is large and light. It is very well equipped. We have got a refrigerator, a freezer, a microwave oven, a coffeemaker and a toaster. We haven’t got a dishwasher yet, because it is very expensive. But I’m sure we shall buy it in the nearest future.

Exercises:

I.Complete the following sentences using the text:

1)There are… in the right-hand corner.

2)Our smallest room is very…

3)I have a flat in a new…

4)There are… rooms in my flat.

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5)We have… in our kitchen.

6)… because in the evenings we gather there.

7)I like… very much, but from time to time…

8)… there is a wall unit.

9)We have no dishwasher, because…

10)My flat is very…

II.Give English equivalents for the following words and use them in the sentences of your own:

а) 16-ти этажный, многоквартирный дом, первый этаж, удобный, современные удобства, центральное отопление, электричество, водопровод, жилая комната, кухня, столовая, гостиная, стенка (мебельная), левый угол, уютный;

б) не далеко от, больше всего, время от времени, довольно часто, в ближайшем будущем, быть уверенным, вид на…, быть расположенным.

III.Translate into English:

1)Я живу в 15 (10, 8, 5, 1) -этажном доме. Я живу в многоквартирном доме.

2)Я живу недалеко от Иртыша, но далеко от центра города. (The centre of the city (Br.); Downtown (Am.)).

3)Мой дом расположен в живописном месте.

4)Я живу на первом (2, 5, 9) этаже.

5)Моя квартира очень комфортабельная и хорошо спланирована.

6)У нас в квартире есть все современные удобства.

7)У нас есть электричество, газ, водопровод, центральное отопление.

8)Наша квартира состоит из кухни, прихожей, ванной комнаты, жилой комнаты и двух спален.

9)У нас в квартире есть столовая, гостиная и спальня.

10)Напротив окна находится журнальный столик и два кресла.

11)В правом углу жилой комнаты расположен удобный диван.

12)По воскресеньям мы собираемся в нашей столовой, чтобы поужинать вместе. (to have supper)

13)Моя комната самая маленькая, и я время от времени делаю в ней перестановку.

14)Наша кухня очень удобная и хорошо оборудована.

IV. Give equivalents to the following sentences using the text:

1)I live in a new five-storeyed block of flats.

2)My house is situated not far from the market, so it's very convenient to do shopping.

3)There is a lovely view of the river from my window.

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4)We have not all modern conveniences: there is electricity, gas, central heating and no telephone in our flat.

5)We often use our living room as a sitting room and as a dining room.

V. Answer the questions:

1)What house do you live in?

2)Where is it situated?

3)What is situated not far from your house?

4)Is there a shop on the ground floor?

5)What floor is your flat on?

6)What modern conveniences have you?

7)How many rooms does your flat consist of?

8)Have you a balcony? What view is there from your balcony (window)?

9)What are the largest and the smallest rooms in your flat?

10)What is there in the left-hand corner of your living room?

11)What is there in the right-hand corner of your bedroom?

12)What is there in your bedroom?

13)Do you change your room round quite often?

14)Is your kitchen well-equipped?

15)What is there in your kitchen?

VI. a) Study the following words:

– 1 –

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b) Translate the sentences using the words from this exercise:

1) У моей бабушки двухкомнатная квартира в новом квартале. 2) Он живет в студенческом общежитии. 3) Его кабинет хорошо оборудован, в нем современная удобная мебель. 4) В углу нашей спальни стоит большой книжный шкаф, а напротив него – письменный стол. 5) В центре нашей гостиной стоит широкий обеденный стол. 6) У нас в спальне над туалетным столиком висит красивое антикварное зеркало. 7) На полу в жилой комнате у нас дорогой ковер. 8) У окна стоит письменный стол и табурет.

VII. Ask each other about your flats. Begin your questions in the following way:

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IX. Read the dialogues and find English equivalents for the following word-combinations:

свой собственный дом; снимать квартиру; хозяйка дома или квартиры, сдаваемых внаем; квартирная плата; кондиционирование; выходить на (об окнах); высотный дом; частный дом.

–1 –

I’m glad to meet you, Mr. Denissov. I’d like to make friends with you. Please put down my address. I’ll be happy to receive a letter from you.

And you must write down mine. I’ll gladly correspond with you.

Robert W. Scott, 16, East Street, Salisbury ['sOlzbqrI], England.

Thank you, Mr. Scott. Now put down my address. Andrei P. Denissov, House 15, Flat 80, Matrossov Street, Tambov, Russia. If you write the address in Russian, you’ll have to change the order of names.

Thank you very much. Well, I know that. I’ll send you a postcard as soon as I return to Britain.

–2 –

I’m sorry, Mr. Scott, but when you gave your address you failed to mention the number of your flat. What is it?

That’s right. I didn’t mention because I haven’t got one. I live in a small house.

I see. Is it your own house or do you rent it?

I have a house of my own. I inherited it from my parents.

–3 –

I say, Harry, have you got a home of your own or do you rent a flat?

I rent a room from a landlady.

Is your rent high?

Very high. Rents in Britain keep going up. I have to move from one district to another searching for lower rents.

–4 –

What kind of home do you live in, Mr. Denissov?

I live in a four-room flat with all the modern conveniences including airconditioning. Two of the rooms overlook the river.

Is your apartment as Americans say in a tall block?

Yes, I live in a new multistoried block of flats of experimental design.

You Russian people are progressing pretty fast in housing construction. I say

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