B. Our University Active Vocabulary

to make up one’s mind

to enter the University

to be admitted to the University

to follow one’s bent

to take a 5-year course including two compulsory languages an option of taking a third language

compulsory subjects

optional subjects

to be equipped with, to be well-equipped, to be badly equipped

to have access to

to have at one’s disposal, to be available for

to have every opportunity to study well

to take great pains with classes

to gain knowledge

to cover a lot of material

to make a careful / thorough study of smth.

to get rid of mistakes in the shortest possible time

to read up for an exam, to revise for an exam

to get a better command of the language

to master the language

to enrich vocabulary

to do everything at the last minute

to take / do / sit an exam

to pass an exam

to fail / flunk an exam

to do badly / well at one’s exam

to have bad / good luck

to devote to

to train in smth.

the faculty of the University

to hold / give a lecture on, to lecture on, to arrange a lecture on

to hold a seminar on / in

to have tutorials on / in

to borrow books from the library

extra-curricular activities

to join a debating club

amateur groups

Read the following passage and elicit the information about Vitebsk State University.

Our University

Last year I made up my mind to become a teacher of English. It wasn’t a spontaneous decision as I had always wanted to devote my life to learning foreign languages. I passed my entrance exams to Vitebsk State University successfully and now I’m a first-year student of the English Philology Department of the Philology faculty.

Among the other departments at our university one can find the Biology Department, the Department of Physics and Maths, the Art Department, the History Department, the Law Department and others. All in all there are 11 departments at our university which train not only teachers in different subjects but also other specialists such as lawyers, artists, philologists, ecologists, computer-programmers, sociologists, psychologists, etc. Nearly 5 thousand students study here.

The Philology faculty is the biggest one as about 600 students study here. The dean of our Faculty is a professor. There are five chairs at our faculty. The English Philology chair is held by an associate professor. The students of our department take a five-year course including two compulsory languages. We are lucky to have an option of taking a third language.

The faculty of the university consists of professors, assistant professors, senior teachers and lecturers who are highly qualified specialists. Most of them have a high academic degree. They give lectures, hold seminars and have tutorials with students on different subjects such as Practical Grammar, Practical Phonetics, Oral and Written Practice, History of English Literature, Foreign Literature, Russian Literature, Linguistics, History of Great Britain, Latin, Modern Russian and so on.

There is a very good proverb which reads “No pains, no gains” and I may say that our students take great pains with their classes to gain as much knowledge as possible. We have at our disposal a number of classrooms, computer classes with access to the Internet, an assembly hall, a canteen, a buffet where we can have a snack, two gyms and a stadium, laboratories equipped with all sorts of audio-visual aids which help us practise the pronunciation, get a better command of the language and get rid of mistakes in the shortest possible time.

There are thousands of books on different subjects and in different languages in the library which can help us enrich our vocabulary and master the language. As soon as a school-leaver is admitted to the university he is allowed to borrow from the library any book he needs. Sometimes we have a real avalanche of homework but I always try to cope with the workload. I don’t skip my classes as I understand that it is better to keep pace with the programme otherwise you may start lagging behind your groupmates and it will be much more difficult then to catch up with the others.

Our senior students may take part in the work of scholarly societies where they do their scientific research.

For those who go in for sports there are different sports clubs. For those who are fond of poetry, art, dancing, music there are different amateur groups where our students have every opportunity to develop their talents and follow their bent. So we may say that our university has all facilities for studies and extra-curricular activities.