Text 3 the oldest university in russia

Exercise 1. Read the text and find the information about the number of departments and chairs, research institutes and museums of this educational establishment and about its age and the staff.

Notes:

scholar, scientist – ученый

list - перечень

endless - бесконечен

post- graduates - аспиранты

dormitories - общежития

internationally recognized - признаны во всем мире

conveniences – удобства

Moscow University is the oldest University in Russia. It was founded more than 250 years ago by the great Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. The University produced a great number of brilliant scholars such as Zhukovsky, Stoletov, Sechenov, Timiryasev, Pavlov and Vernadsky, classics of Russian literature: Lermontov, Griboyedov, Turgenev and Chekhov also studied at the University. The list of such great names is endless.

Today every fifth Russian academician is its graduate.

There are 16 departments, 275 Chairs, 360 laboratories, four research institutes, a computer center, four observatories, a botanical garden and its branches and three museums.

There are over 120 academicians and corresponding members of the All Russia Academy of Sciences among the 8,000 instructors.

There are about 2,000 foreign students and post-graduates from 101 countries in the University. They live in dormitories with all modern conveniences and comfort.

The teaching standards in Moscow University are very high and internationally recognized.

Text 4

Exercise 1. Read and translate the dialogue.

Institute life.

Kate: Hello, Ann. Haven’t seen you for ages. What are you doing now?

Ann: I’m studying in the teacher training institute.

Kate: Are you, really? What are you doing?

Ann: I’m doing foreign languages.

Kate: How very interesting! You know my sister is leaving school this year and her dream is to enter this institute. Will you tell me some words about your institute?

Ann: Most willingly. What are you interested in?

Kate: What languages are you doing?

Ann: German and English. German is my first language and English is the second. I have taken it up only this year.

Kate: Which of them do you find more difficult?

Ann: English grammar is easy but pronunciation is my weak point. I have to work hard at it in the language laboratory. On the whole, English is easier in my opinion.

Kate: How long will your course run?

Ann: Five years. In the fourth and fifth years we’ll have our teaching practice at school.

Kate: How many periods do you have daily?

Ann: As a rule we have one or two lectures, then a seminar or a class in English or in German.

Kate: Is it a hard job to do two foreign languages?

Ann: If you don’t miss classes and work regularly you are sure to make a good progress.

Kate: Do students sometimes fail at the exams?

Ann: They do, if they work by fits and starts.

Kate: Thanks a lot for this useful information.

Ann: You are welcome.

Exercise 2. Make up a dialogue (with your fellow student):

a) in an analogue with the dialogue: “Institute life”, but change some facts meaning your specialization.

b) imagine you’ve met a student of a USA or Britain university in an informal situation. What would you like to know about his (her) student’s life (or university)? What can you tell him (her) about your university?