- •Сборник текстОв для самостоятельного чтения и экзаменационные темы
- •Contents
- •Выписка из программы курса "Иностранные языки для неязыковых факультетов и вузов"
- •Требования, предъявляемые к студенту по окончании курса
- •О работе с англо-русским словарем
- •Term 1 my working day Learn the following words and expressions:
- •Read and translate the text “My Working Day”
- •Our university Learn the following words and expressions:
- •Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
- •Read and translate the text “Our University”.
- •Answer the questions:
- •Great britain Learn the following words and expressions:
- •Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
- •Mind some proper names:
- •Loch Lomond – озеро Ломонд
- •House of Commons – Палата Общин
- •Conservative party – консервативная партия
- •Read and translate the text “Great Britain”
- •What languages are spoken in the uk?
- •Read the texts about some British sights
- •Term 2 london Learn the following words and expressions:
- •Mind some proper names:
- •Practice the pronunciation of the following words:
- •Read and translate the text “ London”
- •Read the texts about some London sights
- •My future profession Learn the following words and expressions:
- •Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
- •Read and translate the text “My Future Profession”
- •Answer the questions:
- •Read about some school policies of one of the English schools
- •Heinrich pestalozzi
- •Learn the following words and expressions:
- •Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
- •Read and understand the text “Heinrich Pestalozzi”
- •Answer the questions:
- •Read the text about Friedrich Froebel
- •Term 3
- •The faculty of primary schooling
- •The faculty of pre-school psychology and pedagogics
- •Higher Education
- •Elementary and Secondary Education
- •Adult and Continuing Education
- •The faculty of mathematics The Whole Numbers
- •Addition of Whole Numbers
- •Subtraction of Whole Numbers
- •Multiplication of Whole Numbers
- •Division of Whole Numbers
- •Fractions
- •Addition of Fractions
- •Subtraction of Fractions
- •Multiplication of Fractions
- •Division of Fractions
- •Addition and Subtraction of Decimal Fractions
- •We discard the digits 2 and 3. But we do not simply ignore these discarded digits. They may cause a change in one of the digits we intend to use. If we have 45.6723
- •Multiplication of Decimal Fractions
- •Division of Decimal Fractions
- •Quotients with Repeated Decimals
- •The faculty of biology The Cell
- •Some Familiar Proteins
- •Enzymes and Genes
- •The faculty of geography a Country Across the Channel
- •The faculty of physical culture Sports and Recreation
- •Term iy
- •The faculty of primary schooling
- •The faculty of pre-school psychology and pedagogics
- •Standards
- •The United States Educational Structure
- •Reform and Progress
- •Examining Schools
- •The faculty of mathematics Numbers
- •The faculty of biology What Is a Mutation?
- •Evolution and Heredity
- •Animal Behaviour
- •The faculty of geograpgy The Face of Britain
- •The faculty of physical culture Sports and Money
- •Leisure Sports
- •Anything That Has Wheels
- •Список литературы
- •Сборник текстОв для самостоятельного чтения и экзаменационные темы по английскому языку
- •614990, Г. Пермь, ул. Сибирская, 24, корп. 2, оф. 71,
- •614990, Г. Пермь, ул. Сибирская, 24, корп. 1, оф. 11
Reform and Progress
A major conflict has always existed between two goals of American education. One is the comprehensive, egalitarian education with the goal of providing equal opportunity. The other is the highly selective educational emphasis that aims at excellence and the training of academic and scientific elite. Some Americans feel that more money and efforts should be spent on improving comprehensive education. Others think that more money should be provided for increasing scientific knowledge and maintaining America's position in technology and research. And some people, of course, demand that more money be spent on both.
A series of studies in the 1980s criticised American public schools. As a result, better training and payment for teachers has been advocated and more stress has been placed on academic subjects. But striking a balance between a comprehensive, egalitarian education and one of specialisation and excellence has always been a difficult task, and is likely to remain so.
Schools and universities have also been asked to do more and more to help with, or even cure, certain social and economic problems, from the effects of divorce to drug problems, from learning disabilities to malnutrition. Most school systems not only have lunchrooms or cafeterias, they also offer to give free or low-cost meals, sometimes including breakfast, to needy pupils. They also employ psychologists, nurses, staff trained to teach the handicapped, reading specialists, and academic as well as guidance and employment counsellors. Because of their traditional ties with the communities, schools are expected to be involved in many such areas. There is a growing belief among some Americans that the public schools cannot really handle all such social problems, even if enough money were available where it is most needed.
Examining Schools
One of the major markers of education in America - and one that is often noted by observers abroad - is the degree of constant self-examination. In the U.S. today, when pupils and students are tested, so, in effect, are their teachers, the curricula, the schools and universities, and the entire set of systems.
Each year hundreds of research studies are published which critically examine the nation's schools. Most of the large school districts employ full-time educational researchers. Almost all of the universities have departments for educational research and measurement. And, of course, there are many public and private institutes, educational commissions, think tanks, foundations, and professional organisations, which publish their reports and studies and voice their opinions. Newspapers publicly report the test results of local schools each year. These are compared with those of other cities, states, or countries. How do our schools "measure up?" What are the weaknesses? What can be done? This evaluation process is constant and continuing across the country.
In certain periods this examination is more intense. When the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite in 1957, a great debate across the United States started. Was America "falling behind" in science and technology and in "the space race?" How did American school children compare in mathematics and foreign languages? This led to a massive investment in science education as well as to a search for, and support of, gifted pupils. The Civil Rights movement, too, had a shock effect on American education, all the way from pre-school programs to post-doctoral studies. Billions of dollars were made available for special programs for the educationally disadvantaged, for bilingual education, and for seeing minority students better represented in higher education. In the 1980s and into the '90s, again, America was swept by a great public debate over the quality, content, and goals of education.
Summing up results is extremely difficult. There are, for instance, literally thousands of special programs and hundreds of experimental schools across the nation. Since 1968 alone, Native American tribes have established 24 colleges of their own, mostly two-year institutions. In 1991, a survey of programs offering literacy instruction to linguistic minority students had 600 different programs return a questionnaire. Of these programs, all but 10 had been started since 1980. School "choice" approaches - allowing parents more freedom in determining which public, or, in some cases, private schools their children can attend - have been started in many districts. And, as another example, many areas have started "magnet" schools. These offer special curricula, perhaps an emphasis on science, mathematics, or even dance, and attract, and motivate, students.
Given America’s history and that of its people, their many backgrounds, needs, and desires, the fact that American education is sensitive to its weaknesses (and aware of its strengths) speaks well for the future.