Text b My native country (village)

I live in the country. It is my native village. I was born there and have lived all my life in it. My country is situated near Ulyanovsk. It is an old Russian country. It is about 1000 years old. It is a beautiful and green. We are proud of the old church in the centre of the village. We have a school and a museum.

There is a forest near my country where people like to walk, to pick flowers or mushrooms, pick flowers. But people have many cows, sheep and pigs. So every day all the year round the people have to spend much time looking after their animals. They also have poultry and must look after the poultry giving them food and water and collecting the eggs. The people have a lot of all sorts of fruit and vegetables and have also to do some work in the kitchen garden and take care of the fruit trees.

But the country air and plenty of exercise make the young people stronger and better fit for their work at the Institute. I like my country very much. During the week-end the people like to go to our club and amuse themselves, dancing and singing till late at night or looking films.

Vocabulary

To be proud of - гордиться

To be situated - быть расположенным

Church - церковь

Animal - животное

Mushroom - гриб

Poultry - домашняя птица

To amuse - развлекать, веселить

Exercise 1. Answer the questions:

1. What is your native country?

2. Where is it situated?

3. How do people usually amuse themselves?

4. What are you proud of?

Exercise 2. Are these statements true or false?

1. We are proud of the old church in the centre of the country.

2. So every day all the year round the people amuse themselves dancing and singing.

3. The people have a lot of all sorts of fruit and vegetables.

4. It is a beautiful green city.

5. But people don`t have many cows, sheep and pigs.

Exercise 3. Complete the sentences from the text.

1. My country is situated…

2. There is a …

3. We have a …

4. They also have …

5. But the country air …

Exercise 4. Make up your own questions:

1. It is an old Russian country.

2. My country is situated near Ulyanovsk.

3. The people have to do same work in the kitchen garden.

4. We have a school and a museum in my country.

5. There is a forest near my country.

Exercise 5. Translate into Russian.

1. People must look after the poultry.

2. There is a lake near my country.

3. We like to take a boat, row up and down the river and have a pleasant time.

4. If the weather is fine the young people get together in the open air.

5. They can go to the woods to pick flowers or mushrooms.

Exercise 6. Translate into English.

1. Моя родная деревня расположена недалеко от Ульяновска.

2. У нас есть небольшой стадион в деревнею.

3. Я помогала маме ухаживать за домашней птицей.

4. Я люблю работать в огороде.

5. Я часто ходила в лес за грибами.

«Учебно-познавательная сфера общения»

Тема: Образование в России и за рубежом

Text a Education in Russia

Citizens of Russia have the right to education which is guaranteed by the Constitution. The public educational system in this country incorporates pre-school, secondary school, specialized secondary and higher education.

Pre-school consists of kindergartens and creches. Children there learn reading, writing and arithmetic. But pre-school education isn't compulsory,children can get it at home.

Compulsory education is for children from 6(7) to 17 years of age.

The main link in the system of education is the secondary school which prepares the younger generation for life and work in modern production. There are various types of schools: general secondary schools, schools specializing in a certain subject, lyceums and so on. Tuition in most of them is free of charge, but some new types of schools are fee-paying. There have appeared many private schools in Russia. Parents pay for these schools and fees are rather high.

The term of study in a secondary school is 11 years and consists of primary, middle and upper stages. The school year extends from September 1 to the end of May and is divided into four terms. Study program in schools is fixed but in the nearest future schoolchildren or their parents will have a choice of study subjects.

Children are accepted to the first grade at the age of 6 or 7, depending on individual development of each child. Students of elementary classes are normally separated from other classes within their own floor of a school building. They are taught by a single teacher through all four elementary grades except for physical training and foreign languages.

At the middle stage of a secondary school the students learn the basic laws of nature and society at the lessons of history, algebra, literature, physics and many others. After 9^th grade students have to sit for examinations. Also they have a choice between entering the 10th grade of a secondary school and enrolling in a specialized secondary or vocational school to get some profession.

Russia is on the stage of bringing new technologies in education. In almost every school there are new models of computers and almost every school has a direct connect to the Internet. The Internet gives an opportunity for remote education with the help of e-mail, special forums and teleconferences.

The Ministry of Education launched the Unified State Examination (USE) program. The set of standardized tests for high school graduates, issued uniformly throughout the country and it has replaced entrance exams to state universities. Thus, the reformers reasoned, the USE will empower talented graduates from remote locations to compete for admissions at the universities of their choice.

Higher education in Russia is undergoing great changes. Russia is in the process of migrating from its traditional education model to a modernized degree structure in a line with Bologna Process model. Russia co-signed the Bologna Declaration in 2003. Russia enacted a law that replaces the traditional five-year model of education with a two-tiered approach: a four-year Bachelor’s degree followed by a two-year Master's degree.