1.2 Going to University

If you want to go to university, you usually apply during your last year at school, when you are 17-18. You can apply to study at any university in Britain and most people choose a university that is not in their own town. So, university students usually live away from home. Students get a grant or a loan from the government to study.

At the beginning of your last year at school you receive an application form. On this form you choose up to five universities where you would like to study. The form is sent to those universities with information from your school about you and your academic record. If the universities are interested in your application, they will ask you to attend an interview. If they are still interested after the interview, they will offer you a place.

Any offer, however, is only conditional at this stage. Applications and interviews take place several months before students do their A-level examinations. These are the exams that you do at the end of your time at school. So, when a university makes an offer, it will tell you the minimum grades that you will have to get when you do your A-level exams. If you don't get those grades, then you will not be able to accept the place. It will be offered to someone else and you must apply again to another university.

You don't have to accept your place immediately. Some students don't want to go straight from school to university, so after they have taken their A-levels, they take a year out to work or travel. (1241)

Скажите, верны или нет следующие утверждения. Неверные утверждения исправьте:

1. Students can apply to universities in their home towns only.

2. Students can apply to five universities to study.

3. A-level is the highest level of your university exams.

4. If you don’t want to study after you enter the university you can take a year out of the university and start studies next year.

1.3 International Organizations

Almost every country is a member of the United Nations (UN). Most countries also belong to other smaller international groups. Britain belongs to three other international organizations: the Commonwealth of Nations, the European Union (EU) and NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

The Commonwealth consists of most of the countries that were once parts of the British Empire. There are 53 members. Some are very large countries like Canada, India and Australia. Some are just small islands like Barbados and Tonga. The head of the Commonwealth is the Queen. There is also a Secretary-General, who is chosen from any one of the 53 countries. The Commonwealth promotes educational programmes and exchanges between the different countries. Every four years they hold the Commonwealth Games.

Britain is one of the fifteen countries of the European Union. It joined in 1973 at the same time as Denmark and the Republic of Ireland.

Joining the EU brought many changes. Previously, Britain had bought a lot of food from the other countries in the Commonwealth, but after joining the EU, she had to buy it from European countries instead. This caused some problems for Commonwealth countries like New Zealand.

NATO is a military organization. It consists of most of the countries of Western Europe together with Canada and the United States. Its headquarters is in Brussels. (1183)

Ответьте на вопросы к тексту:

1. Name the member-countries of the Commonwealth.

2. What are the tasks of the Commonwealth?

3. How many countries are members of the EU?

4. According to the text what must Britain do as a member of the EU?