Text b Mining and Geological Higher Education in Russia.

In Russia young people get mining education at special institutes which train geologists and mining engineers for coal and ore min­ing. The total number of students of an institute includes full-time students, part-time students and postgraduate students.

Russian higher educational establishments offer different spe­cializations for the students. Thus, at the geological institutes, the students specialize in geology, the science which deals with differ­ent problems connected with the Earth, its history, the study of rocks, their physical and chemical properties. One of the main tasks of geology is to prospect, discover and study the deposits of useful minerals.

Geology is both a theoretical and an applied science. Mining ge­ology is of great importance to the mining engineer. As a rule, min­ing geology includes economic geology.

The outstanding Russian geologist V.A. Obruchev says that geol­ogy is the science of the Earth which reveals to us how the Earth took shape, its composition and its changes. Geology helps prospect for ores, coal, oil, salt and other useful minerals.

Higher mining schools (universities, academies, institutes and colleges) develop a wide range of courses and programmes that meet the requirements of the society. They offer courses in mining tech­nology, machinery and transport, hydraulic engineering, electrical engineering, industrial electronics, automation, surveying, geodesy, information technology, etc.

The main trend in the development of higher mining education is the introduction of courses in environmental protection, manage­ment (environmental human resources), economics and manage­ment of mining enterprises, marketing¹ studies, computer-aided design (CAD)² and others.

Computer science is also of great importance. The course aims at providing students with understanding how software and hardware technology helps solving problems.

Laboratory work is an important part in training specialists. Ex­periments in laboratories and workshops will help students to de­velop their practical skills. They have a short period of field work to gain working experience.

The students go through practical training at mines, plants and other industrial enterprises. They become familiar with all stages of production and every job from worker to engineer. Here they get practical knowledge and experience necessary for their diploma (graduation) papers.

A lot of students belong to students' scientific groups. They take part in the research projects which their departments usually con­duct. Postgraduates carry out research in different fields of science and engineering.

Sport centres give the students opportunities to play different sports such as tennis, football, basketball, volleyball, swimming, skiing, water polo, boxing, wrestling and others.

Students graduate from mining and geological higher schools as mining engineers, mining mechanical engineers, ecologists, mining electrical engineers, geologists, economists and managers for mining industry.

Notes

1. marketing - (маркетинг) процесс выявления и удовлетворения спроса на изделия компании

2. computer-aided design (CAD) - автоматизированное проектирование

Ex. 18. Read the word combinations and translate them.

mining engineers higher mining schools

ore mining mining technology

full-time students hydraulic engineering

part-time students electrical engineering

postgraduate students industrial electronics

theoretical science information technology

applied science environmental protection

mineral deposits human resources

structural geology computer science

practical skills hardware/software technology

practical training diploma paper

Ex. 19. Answer the following questions.

1. Where can one get mining education in Russia?

2. What does geology study?

3. How did Obruchev define (определять) geology?

4. Does geology deal only with prospecting for useful minerals?

5. What specializations does the Mining Institute offer?

6. What subjects do the students study?

7. Where do the students go through practical training?

8. What does the computer course aim at?

9. Do the students play sports?

Ex. 20. Find in the right column Russian equivalents of the following wordcombinations.

physical and chemical properties the deposits of useful minerals a wide range of problems valuable deposits mining mechanical engineer to carry out scientific research take shape undeigraduates graduation paper hardware and software

а) широкий круг проблем б) ценные месторождения полезных ископаемых в) горный инженер-механик г) вести научно-исследовательскую работу д) принимать форму e) техническое и программное обеспечение ж) студенты (последнего курса) з) дипломная работа и) физические и химические свойства к) месторождение полезных ископаемых

Ex. 21. Find in the right column English equivalents of the following word combinations.

оканчивать институт поступать в университет получать образование готовить геологов и горных инженеров высшие горные учебные заведения приобретать опыт cтуденческие научные общества заниматься различными видами спорта

а) to train gelogists and mining engineers б) to gain experience в) to play different sports г) students' scientific groups д) to graduate from the institute е) to get education ж) to enter university з) higher mining schools

Ex. 22. Find in the column B suitable adjectives for the nouns from column A.

A properties workers development equipment role subjects training scientist minerals

B a) basic b) rich c) practical d) prominent (outstanding) e) rapid f) reliable g) skilled h) valuable i) physical

Ex. 23. Read the text without a dictionary and retell it in short.

Text C

In pre-revolutionary Russia there were several higher mining schools which trained geologists and mining engineers. The oldest Russian school of mining was in St.Petersburg, where some well-known scientists taught: A.P. Karpinsky, B.I. Boky and others. Among the famous scientists who lectured at the Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk) Mining Institute was Professor I.K. Sobolevsky, whose subject was mine surveying and geodesy.

The Technological Institute in Tomsk was opened in 1900. It was the oldest industrial and cultural centre of Siberia. The Tomsk Tech­nological Institute had three departments: engineering, chemical and mining. The Don Polytechnic Institute founded in Novocherkassk in 1907 also had a mining department. In 1916 a new Mining Institute in Yekaterinburg came into existence.

The total number of students did not exceed two thousand with only 60 to 70 mining engineers who graduated from mining institutes each year. That was far below the number needed. It was quite obvious that the small number of these institutions could not cope with the problem of training specialists in the field of mining and geology. Little wonder that there was a shortage of mining engineers and geologists in the mining regions of pre-revolutionary Russia.

After the Revolution the Moscow Mining Academy was the first higher mining educational establishment. In the early thirties the Academy established close contacts with the coal, oil and ore mining industries. The Academy's scientists carried out research in the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, in the Donbas and in other indus­trial areas.

The need for geologists and mining engineers increased so much that the Academy could not cope with the problem of train­ing a large number of specialists for the country. Among the new colleges which grew out of the Academy were the Moscow Mining Institute, the Oil Institute, the Institute of Geological Prospecting and others.

In 1950 a new mining institute appeared in Kemerovo, the centre of the coal and chemical industries in West Siberia. The Institute trained mining engineers for the coal and ore mining indus­tries of the Kuzbas. Later the Kemerovo Mining Institute was transformed into the Polytechnic Institute which is now one of the largest and most important engineering colleges in West Siberia.

• find in each passage the sentence revealing its main idea;

• read the first two passages and name all the Mining Institutes existing in pre-revolutionary Russia;

• find in the text the sentences giving the assessment to their activity;

• find the English equivalents to the following Russian words:

высшие учебные заведения; известные ученые; основы-вать; контингент студентов; справляться с (чём-л.); не удиви-тельно, что; недостаток горных инженеров и геологов; в на-чале 30-х годов; проводить исследования; к тому времени; большое количество; среди новых институтов; появляться; горнорудная промышленность; преобразовывать.

Ex. 24. Finish the following questions and answer them.

1. How many __________ in pre-revolutionary Russia?

2. Where __________ the oldest Russian school of mining?

3. What well-known __________ taught at St.Petersburg School of Mining?

4. What subject ___________ Professor Sobolevsky?

5. When ___________ a mining institute in Yekaterinburg into existence?

6. ___________ a shortage of mining engineers and geologists in

pre-revolutionary Russia?

7.What new mining institute __________ in 1950 in Kemerovo?

Ex. 25. Define which of the three titles best suits the text.

1. Mining Education in Russia.

2. Mining Education in Siberia and the Far East.

3. The Development of Mining Education in Russia.

Ex. 26. Translate the Text with a dictionary.

In his book "Reminiscences of a Mining Engineer" Academician A.M. Terpigorev writes: "What I want to say to the young people of our country is: 'Love your work, put your heart and soul, all your knowledge and ability into it, and above all, never shirk small jobs, for it is small things that make up a great accomplishment. Be true patriots!

'If you love your people, if you link up your whole life with them and give them all your energy and knowledge, the people will respond with love and recognition. That is the conclusion I have drawn from my own life.' "

• express your attitude to the words of Academician A.M. Terpigorev.