USA Education Reader. High School and college culture. Книга для чтения

6.Varda typed the book by one of the authors they discussed, because she could not take it from the library.____________

7.Dr. Jayne had always realized that Varda was intelligent and interested in the subject. ______

8.Varda got the highest grade possible for the course and won a scholarship. ______

Choose the correct variant.

1.The I of the story, Varda, had a very difficult time in her first year at Berkeley because …

a.her teacher was not just to her..

b.she had to study very hard to win a scholarship.

c.she had to work as a waitress, to babysit, to wash dishes and to lead a study-group.

d.she had to work to support herself and study well enough to win a scholarship for her next year at Berkley.

2.Varda needed the scholarship so badly because …

a.she could leave her jobs and concentrate on studies.

b.she could leave her jobs and join extracurricular activities.

c.she could take more difficult subjects and study better.

d.she could study less hard.

3.Varda chose Dr. Jayne’s course because …

a.it was necessary to win a scholarship.

b.it was popular with students.

c.it was a feast of exciting ideas.

d.she believed in herself and wanted to take challenging subjects and really learn something.

4.Dr. Jayne gave Varda lower grades than the rest of the students because …

a.he was not just to her.

b.he wanted to stimulate Varda to work harder.

c.he did not think she worked hard enough.

d.he did not know how hard her life was.

5.Finally Dr. Jayne gave Varda the highest possible grade for his course because…

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a.he understood how difficult her life was.

b.he saw her typed copy of The Wasteland.

c.she had been working really hard all throughout his course.

d.he liked her last essay.

Provide English equivalents from the text for the following key words you will need to discuss Varda’s story:

подвергать сомнению, зубрить, упорство,

сбываться (о мечтах), приходить на помощь,

заслуживать более высокой оценки, учебная дисциплина (курс), представляющая определенные

трудности.

Translate the underlined phrases in the following sentences from the story:

2.Making the Grade. (the title of the story)

3.Instead, we used paperbacks.

4.… but to me it was a feast of exciting ideas.

5.To add insult to injury, I found that my study-mates had received Bs.

6.I’d used persistence in finding jobs or scrubbing floors, but not in pushing myself intellectually .

7.Although I chose challenging courses, I was used to coasting towardAs.

8.My efforts yielded another 77.

9.I dragged out my dog-eared, note-blackened texts, arguing my points as I had done before.

Paraphrase the underlined phrases in the following sentences using the words from the story:

1. After that, I had to provide more money — my poor parents couldn’t help me.

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2.… I’d wanted very much to take part in extracurricular activi­

ties…

3.I didn’t think that I should bring up my need for a scholarship as an excuse.

4.I believed I could be successful in my studies and take difficult subjects.

5.I was sure that my answers deserved a higher grade.

6.I’d never realized how hard other students worked for what came easily to me.

7.How did it happen that I received a C-plus every time I worked hard and now, when I’d written a parody, I earned anA?

Match the columns to define the cultural lacunas on the left after you have done some search in the Internet and in the Glossary.

ENHANCING COMPREHENSION

Look through the story and describe

–Varda’s hardships during her first semester at Berkley.

–Varda’s feelings about getting a lower grade than she deserved.

–Varda’s second semester at Berkley University.

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–Varda’s efforts to achieve a better result in her last test and final exam.

–the lesson Varda learnt in Dr. Jayne’s class.

Answer the questions

Why did Varda decide to transfer to Berkley University? Why did she choose Professor Jayne’s course on literature?

Did she have to kiss the scholarship good-bye after getting another C plus for her third exam?

Why do you think Professor Jayne gave Varda lower grades than she really deserved?

What extracurricular activities did Varda join the next year at Berkley? Was she a success? Was it thanks only to the scholarship she received for being anAstudent?

CULTURE PERSPECTIVE

1.What are the culturally marked words you were able to identify in the story? Which of them are absolutely new for you?

2.What is a snap course? Consult the Glossary. Would you explain it to a non-speaking English student in your country?

3.Comment on the culture specific word study group. Do you have such a form of learning in Russian colleges? What is similar and what is different from the USAcounterpart?

4.What is a teaching assistant in USAcolleges? How different is it from ассистент (штатная должность в российских вузах)? Consult the glossary.

5.Explain to a non-speaking English student in Russia cultural peculiarities of the word a final. How many exams do USA students have before the final while studying a course? Are assessment practices similar in USA and Russian universities? Comment on the similarities and differences. Which practices do you prefer?

6.What is a co-op residence on a U.S. campus? How are halls of residence (dorms) and co-op residences different from each other? Consult the glossary. What are the major differences between U.S. dorms and общежитие in Russia?

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7.What grades are A-plus, B-plus and C-plus equivalent to in Russia?

8.Comment on the culture-specific information in the sentence

He seemed to be expecting­ me, although I didn’t have an appointment.

9.Translate the sentences containing culturally marked words from the story:

a)I’d already paid tuition for the semester and for one month at the co-op residence.

b)At the end of the semester, I had the В average I needed for a scholarship­.

c)It didn’t occur to me to take a snap course.

d)To many students, it was just a degree requirement ...

e)I confronted the teaching assistant, who referred me to Professor Jayne.

f)I co-wrote, acted, sang and danced in an original musical comedy produced by the Associated Students.

10.Share the information you have found about the italicized cul- turally-marked words with your group mates:

Berkeley, degree requirement, The Wasteland, T.S. Eliot, Royal manual typewriter, Associated Students, drama department, campus theater, the Daily Cal.

SUMMARIZING

A.Sum up the story as if you were Dr. Jayne explaining to his teaching assistant why he gave Varda lower grades than she deserved.

B.Sum up the story as if you were Varda explaining to your friends/parents how you got the hardback copy of The Wasteland.

LEADS FOR DISCUSSION

1.What do you think was the most important lesson Varda learnt in Dr. Jayne’s class?

2.WhatdoyouthinkofthestrategyDr.JayneusedtomakeVarda work harder? Do you think he could use any other strategy to teach Varda the same lesson? Would that strategy work with everybody?

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3.Have you ever been in a similar situation? How did you feel? Whatdidyoutrytodo?HowwouldyoufeelifyouwereVarda?Would you react the same way?

4.Can you recall a situation when you learned something more in class than just the subject? What kind of life lesson was it? How did it happen?

5.Read the final paragraphs of the story once more. Varda states that the most important thing she learned at university was not the courses she took, but the fun she had writing and acting and the lessons Dr. Jayne taught her. Can you agree with her? What is the most important thing you learned in class? What do you think is the most important thing people can learn in class?

CULTURALWEB

Having read and discussed the story, you can add some new culturally marked words representing college organization and management, academics, social activities and relationships to the Web to get a systematic cultural picture of USAcollege education.

PROJECT WORK

2.In study groups make a presentation of the system of academic degrees in the USA higher education. Make use of Internet resources and the Glossary.

3.In groups of two or three study the degree requirements for Bachelor ofArts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Sciences (B.S.) in any university or college of your choice. Google an official site of the university.

STORY 13.

MY FRIEND KIM

PRE-READING TALK

Read the title of the story and guess what this story can be about. Now scan the first paragraph and compare with your first guess. Do you think it’s a love story or something else?

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INTERACTIVE READING

Read the story and say how meeting Kim changed Rob’s character and life.

After reading the story, do a test and some other exercises to enhance your comprehension and build your vocabulary.

While reading, you will come across a number of culturally marked words. Most of them can be found in the Glossary at the end of the book.As for the culturally marked words in italics, they are not included into the Glossary, so be sure to consult the Internet sources, other dictionaries and encyclopedias to find out culture-specific phenomena they stand for.

MY FRIEND KIM

I’d seen her around campus long before I pledged the Kappa Sigma fraternity the winter of my sophomore year. I’d admired her from afar — the epitome of the untouchable­ college beauty. I’d decided that if I were forced to choose one perfect girl, she would be the one. Even though our paths crossed several times a day, I felt as if she lived in some remote corner of a distant universe. I was sure she had no clue I existed.

She was there the night, several weeks into my pledge-ship, when I was invited to join the brothers at a local honky-tonk.Afavorite band was playing that night, and I welcomed the chance to get out of my stuffy dorm room and away from the grind of studying.

I arrived late and took a seat at a table alone in the back of the room. The others didn’t notice me from their front row of clustered chairs near the stage, but I didn’t care. I was in no mood to socialize with the same slave drivers who made me scrub the floors and take out the trash. I made a pact with myself to hang out for fifteen minutes and then beat a hasty retreat.

I heard a familiar laugh.... Then I saw her. She was sitting­ among them, and I wondered who had made her laugh, wishing it had been me. She seemed to shine, making­ everything and everybody else in the room fade to insignificance. I looked around and wondered if anybody

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else saw her, but they all seemed too caught up in their corners of conversation to notice. How could they not? She was stunning. Radiant. I discovered that if I shifted my chair a little to the left, I had a clear view of her. I could watch her surreptitiously — the band in front of her providing­ the perfect cover.

Iimaginedmyselfsaunteringuptoherandaskinghertodance.What would she say? Would she just laugh or simply look right through me? Maybe my voice would crack, and I’d turn and slink away as if it had all been a mistake. Then I could simply spend the rest of my college years going around corners and taking roundabout routes to avoid seeing her.

At that moment, she turned toward the back of the room — her eyes searching as if she’d felt my thoughts on her. I blushed bright red when her gaze rested on me. I saw her lean over and whisper something to one of the brothers, and then she got up and weaved her way back through the cluster of tables. She was coming toward me.

For a moment, my heart began to race, thumping so violently­ I was sure she could see the fabric on my shirt moving­. I looked over my shoulder and saw the “Restroom” sign. I breathed a sigh of relief. Who was I kidding? I took one last sip of my ginger ale. It was time to go home.

“Hey, Rob, what are you doing back here all by yourself?”

I looked up, and she was standing right in front of me. She was smiling as if we’d known each other all our lives. I swallowed hard. My voice vanished into thin air. She pulled out a chair and sat down at my table.

“How’d you know my name?” I finally managed to mumble, several octaves higher than normal.

“I asked around,” she said with a twinkle in her brown eyes. “I always make a point of knowing the names of all the cute guys on campus.”

I flushed a deep crimson, and even though I’m sure she noticed, she didn’t mention it. She took a sip of my ginger ale and began to talk. She told me all about herself, where she grew up, what her family was like, her favorite movies, what she liked to eat, her hopes and dreams and disappointments. Fifteen minutes turned into a half hour;

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an hour became two. We talked and laughed like old friends. There were people all around and a band playing somewhere behind us, but I’d long since lost consciousness­ of the din of voices, the music, the smell of smoke. We’d slipped into our own world — one where a new friendship was being born.

By the time the band finished its third encore, Kim Lattanze had stepped off the pages of my imagination and into my life. She hugged me good-bye at the door and walked off into the night.

We became the best of college friends in the months and years that followed. On graduation day, we hugged good-bye and promised to always stay close. At first, we kept our pledge with cards, letters and numerous phone calls. Sometimes we’d run into each other at some alumni gathering or football game. She’d take me by the hand and pull me to a corner, where we’d take up right where we left off as she’d pepper me with questions about my family, career and love life. We’d always leave with a promise to be a little better at staying in touch.

But soon the times between promises grew longer and longer, and our paths took us in different directions. She moved toAtlanta and became a buyer for a department store, and I eventually packed up and drove to California to try my hand at screenwriting.

Fifteen years later, my thoughts sometimes still drift back to those college days. I recall an evening — a moment kept alive in the memory of Kim’s smiling eyes, one small but unforgettable minute in time, a shy boy, a beautiful girl and the precious gift of friendship she’d brought to my table that night.

And now, when I invariably find myself scanning the corners of rooms at parties, I stay vigilant — always on the lookout for that timid stranger who might feel a little out of place, a little left out. I can recognize myself in those bashful souls, and then I think of Kim. What would she do in a situation like this? I walk over and say hello.

Robert Tate Miller

[From Chicken soup for the college soul: inspiring and humorous stories about college [compiled by] Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger, Dan Clark. Health Communications, Inc. Deerfield Beach, Florida (1999). – p. 207–210].

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WHILE-READINGACTIVITIES

Decide if the statements are true (T) or false (F).

1.Kim Lattanze was one of the most popular and beautiful girls on campus. ___

2.Rob was very enthusiastic about the party where he met Kim. ___

3.Kim was introduced to Rob by one of his brothers. ___

4.Kim and Rob fell in love for life. ___

5.Rob became a screenwriter. ___

6.Kim taught Rob to be attentive and helpful to people around. ___

Choose the correct variant.

1.Rob never dared to talk to Kim because …

a.she was very beautiful and he was too shy.

b.she was popular on campus and he was not.

c.she was a girlfriend of his fraternity member.

d.she lived in some remote corner.

2.At the party where Rob met Kim, he felt …

a.happy and at ease because there were his brothers – his fraternity members.

b.unhappy and lonely because he did not want to talk with people from his fraternity as they had not been nice to him lately.

c.nervous because he had to return to his room to study very

soon.

d.depressed because Kim didn’t pay attention to him.

3.Kim came up to Rob because …

a.one of his friends asked her to.

b.she noticed Rob watching her and got angry.

c.she saw that he felt lonely and wanted to cheer him up.

d.she found him cute.

4.After the party, Kim …

a.became Rob’s girlfriend.

b.became a very close and dear friend to Rob.

c.joined Rob’s fraternity.

d.peppered Rob with questions about his family, career and

love life.

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