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Файл:Learning to Speak English. Учебное пособие по разговорному английскому языку
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TAPESCRIPTS
TAPESCRIPT 1A
FOREIGN STUDENTS AT SHUKHOV BELGOROD
STATE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Many foreign students from different countries study at Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University. They can choose
from all degree courses taught at the University. The students may
become civil engineers, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers,
computer engineers, architects, economists, accountants and others.
The Bachelor’s degree course lasts four years. Before being admitted
to the first year of study foreign students take a year’s preparatory
course. Doing this course, they learn the Russian language and some
other subjects necessary for their future profession. The entrance requirements for the University are complete secondary education
equivalent to the Russian eleven-year secondary education and maximum age of 35. Foreign students enjoy all the privileges of the Russian system of higher education – highly qualified teaching, the use
of the University library, sports and cultural facilities, and others.
TAPESCRIPT 1B
MOSCOW UNIVERSITY
Universities have long been sources of scientific knowledge
and culture. Moscow University is the largest and one of the oldest
institutions of higher education in Russia. M. Lomonosov, the great
Russian scientist, founded it in 1755. The university trains students
with a high degree of culture and knowledge. It has a lot of fine traditions and possesses excellent training facilities. Those studying at
the University are students and researchers at the same time. Sixteen
faculties, which embrace 276 departments, train students in 237 degree courses. Practically, all the nationalities of the Russian Federation are represented. Some 75 per cent of the students receive scholarships. The University’s international ties are numerous and varied.
Thousands of foreign students and postgraduates study there. Many
university professors and lecturers go abroad to lecture and research.
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In recent years, they have delivered lectures in many countries including the USA, the UK, France, Canada and other countries. Moscow University has long-term agreements on cooperation with universities in a number of countries.
TAPESCRIPT 2A
STUDENT LIFE
After being admitted to the university your student life begins.
Oleg Petrov was admitted to Shukhov Belgorod State Technological
University two and a half years ago. Now he is a third-year Bachelor’s degree student doing a mechanical engineering course. He lives
in the hall of residence in Kostyukov Street. Oleg is a full-time student, that is he attends classes and lectures in the daytime, whereas
the University admits accepts a lot of students for correspondence
and distance learning courses. Petrov is a diligent student; he tries
hard not to skip his classes or lectures. While in the third year he is
doing quite a number of subjects. Oleg is good at Strength of Materials and Mathematics. He has passed quite successfully the winter
end-of-term tests and examinations. Petrov is in the habit of doing
his homework in the University library. He is a great book-lover and
usually borrows magazines and fiction literature from the library. As
the librarians always insist on books being returned in time, Oleg
never breaks the rule. Recently Petrov has become very interested in
computers. As soon as a chance came about, he went to see some
new types of computers that had been installed at the University
computer center. He is also very keen on experimenting in the field
of modern mechanical engineering facilities in big industrial cities in
Russia. There are a lot of serious problems to tackle here and a lot of
technical books to read. Oleg is eager to get down to business, that’s
why he has of late joined the scientific club at his institute. He will
surely make a very good researcher in the near future.
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TAPESCRIPT 2B
THE STUDENT ROB FELLOWS
Hello! My name’s Rob Fellows. I come from Dundee, a town
on the east coast of Scotland, but I’m a student at Durham University, in the north of England. I’m studying French and German, and I
can speak the languages quite well. I also know a little Spanish, so I
can speak four languages. I’m enjoying the course a lot, but it’s very
hard work! I live in Durham Castle, because the Castle is part of the
University, with about thirty other students. The course started two
years ago, and I’m in my third year. After the course, I’m going to
work in France, but I don’t know where yet.
TAPESCRIPT 3A
ST PETERSBURG UNIVERSITY
St. Petersburg University is one of the most important educational and scientific centers in this country. Its history goes back to
1819. This educational institution gave the world such outstanding
public men, writers and scientists as I.P. Pavlov, I.I. Mechnikov, D.I.
Mendeleyev, and others. The University occupies many buildings not
only in St. Petersburg, but also in Petrodvoretz, one of its suburbs.
The main building of the University was originally Peter I’s “Twelve
Colleges”. Next door to it is a two-storey building which houses the
faculties of Philology and Oriental Studies. The teaching staff of the
University consists of professors, assistant professors and lecturers,
many of them are well-known not only in this country, but also
abroad. In October 1994 Elizabeth II, Queen of Britain, visited St.
Petersburg University during her state visit. She met professors and
students in the University main hall and visited some of the laboratories. In her speech addressed to the professors, undergraduates and
graduates she said: “We know that it was not faint-hearted who first
created the splendours of St. Petersburg from flat and barren wasteland; and I am confident that the young people who will emerge from
the lecture halls of this University to be a new generation of builders
will be able to draw on those same qualities of vision and courage”.
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TAPESCRIPT 3B
SOME FACTS OF THE HISTORY OF
EDUCATION IN RUSSIA
Between the 10th and 13th centuries Russia developed a high
civilization, which formed the foundation of the Russian culture in
the following centuries. During this period numerous cultural treasures were accumulated. The written works of the time show that the
level of knowledge on most natural phenomena was as high as that of
Ancient Greece. Monasteries were cultural and educational centers.
They had large libraries and well-equipped book-making shops, in
which not only church manuscripts were copied and translated but
original books were written. Today we can confidently say that Ancient Rus was a state of high culture and knowledge. In prerevolutionary Russia there was a network of primary schools for
common people. Nevertheless illiteracy among common people was
very high. Well-off people taught their children in grammar schools
or commercial schools. The history of higher education begins from
1755 when the first University was founded in Moscow on the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov.
TAPESCRIPT 4A
UNIVERSITIES
British universities are not open to everyone. To get a place,
you normally apply in your last year at school, before you have taken
your A levels. The university makes you an offer; for example, it will
give you a place if you get at least one grade A and two Bs in your A
levels. The offer depends on market forces; for popular, highprestige courses, the university will ask for very good A level results.
The number of students on a particular course (for example, Economics at Cardiff University) is strictly limited. The system does not
allow students to follow full-time courses in a casual way, having a
job or living in another town as they study. Students are quite closely
monitored, and have to see their teachers regularly. Consequently,
drop-out and failure rates are low.
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The negative side of the system was that, compared with other
countries, a rather small percentage of British school leavers actually
went on to university. But there has been a dramatic improvement;
the numbers have doubled over the last 20 years. One explanation of
this is that in the 1980s many polytechnics and higher education colleges were given university status. As a result, many cities now have
two universities – an old one and a new one. For example, in Bristol
there is Bristol University and the University of the West of England;
in Oxford there is Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University.
Officially, all universities in the country are equal in status. But they
differ greatly in reputation and public image. In general, the older a
university is, the higher its status. So the most prestigious are the
ancient ones – Oxford and Cambridge – followed by longestablished ones such as London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Some of this is just based on tradition and snobbery. In fact,
each university has strengths and weaknesses, and sensible students
make their choices according to their own particular needs and priorities. About half of British students go away to university, rather
than attend the one closest to home. This is an expensive thing to do;
the government used to give grants (money to live on during studies),
whereas now students have to borrow money or get their parents to
pay. But still many students find that combining study and family life
is impossible. British universities are very popular with overseas students. There are about 70,000 – mostly from Africa, the Arab world
and Far Eastern countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The
Erasmus programme arranges exchanges (from three months to one
year) for students and teachers between universities in 24 countries
including all the members of the European Union. The UK is the
most popular destination, receiving over 25 per cent of all Erasmus
students.
TAPESCRIPT 4B
MODERN UNIVERSITIES
With the advance of industrialization in the nineteenth century
and the growth of manufacture the government needed technicians
and scientists. The older universities did not produce them. Therefore, the government organised science classes in industrial centres
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and they developed into either technical colleges or the “Modern
Universities”, e.g. London, Durham, Manchester, Birmingham,
Leeds, Sheffield, etc. Every university is autonomous and responsible only to its governing body. The regulations differ from university
to university. While there are similarities between them, they all differ considerably from Oxford or Cambridge, where there is a number
of separate colleges, each with their own regulations and courses of
study. The new, so-called “redbrick” universities which have various
faculties, e. g. Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social
and Economic Studies, etc., differ from university to university. In
each faculty there may be a number of departments dealing with separate subjects. The University of Stirling is the first new university
built in Scotland. There are more eight new universities that appeared in Britain after the war. The University of Sussex at Brighton
is probably the best known modern one. The University of York, in
contrast, is conservative and adopted many of the traditions of older
universities. Among professional educationalists the new Universities provide an opportunity for a wide experiment in teaching methods, and an outlet for the energies and enthusiasms of young and
revolutionary teachers: Sussex, East Anglia, and Essex experiment
with multi-subject schools of studies instead of the traditional singlesubject departments. At Sussex, for example, all students take a preliminary course in philosophy and history as well as their major subject. York, on the other hand, believes that most students will still
want single-subject courses, but it introduces a new way of studying
music at the university. They also experiment with the social side of
university life. At Sussex, for instance, tutors follow students at
meals and live in a common room with the students. At most of the
universities the students are themselves largely responsible for discipline. The British government does not think to build more new universities. There is a tendency to expand the older ones and make colleges of technology into universities. An old university can take
3,000 more students by adding staff and laboratories whereas a completely new university for 3,000 students costs up to 15 million
pounds. Even at Stirling where the Government already owns the
site, the buildings alone cost about 8 million pounds, not including
halls of residence. There are thirteen subject departments not to mention the cost of building libraries and buying other equipment. One
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must mention that many educationalists say that it is better to enlarge
the older universities. We know that the entrance examinations at
British universities are very strict. However, at the University of Sussex and some others one can see some relaxation at entrance exams,
for the British government needs a large number of capable scientists.
TAPESCRIPT 5A
INSTRUCTION CONDUCTED AT
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
In the USA instruction is provided by the members of the faculty by the lecture method and informal discussions. The aim is to
develop in students logical thinking, creativity and imagination.
Computers are being increasingly used everywhere: in libraries, laboratories for facilitating research and data processing. A distinctive
feature of recent decades at American colleges and universities is the
growing number of graduate students who are involved in research
projects. The official name of an institution does not necessarily indicate the level of teaching it provides. Some schools designated
universities do not provide courses beyond those leading to the
Bachelor’s degree, while others called colleges offer programmes
leading to the PhD and enjoy great prestige. Universities and colleges in the USA differ greatly in the quality of teaching, enrollment
and prestige. The largest campuses are the University of California
with its nine campuses, the City University of New York, Michigan
State University and others. But there are universities to which the
term leading may be applied. These are Chicago, Harvard, MIT,
Princeton, Stanford, Yale and some others. These universities are
esteemed according to the amount of research done in them, which is
to a great extent budgeted by the Federal Government. In recent decades federal money has become a major factor in the total performance of many universities. Such schools are usually referred to as
research universities. It is considered very prestigious to go to Grad-
uate School at such a university. Ranking just below the “leading”
universities are universities where scientists and scholars of international renown are also to be found but not in such dense clusters as at
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Harvard or MIT. In the minor universities there is a limited number
of able professors who can guide a graduate student in doing research for his thesis. This does not mean, however, that first-rate scientists are to be found only in the leading universities. The American
system of higher education consists of three stages: stage one – junior and community colleges with a two-year training; stage two –
Liberal Arts Colleges and Undergraduate Schools of colleges and
universities providing a four-year training and awarding the Bache-
lor’s degree, and stage three – Graduate Schools of universities and
colleges awarding the Master’s degree and the PhD.
TAPESCRIPT 5B
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1636, Harvard University is one of the oldest and
most prestigious universities in the United States. From its classrooms have emerged six American presidents – from John Adams to
John F. Kennedy – and an impressive group of statesmen, business
leaders, and literary figures. Its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just across the Charles River from Boston, provides a rich architectural mix that includes the ivy-covered brick of Puritan New
England and the concrete and glass of contemporary design. Today,
the university includes Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduate colleges, 10 professional schools, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and an extension school. There are some 1,600 students from every state and 45 foreign countries in it; tuition is about $22,000 a year
(not including room and board), and 70% of those attending receive
financial aid in the form of load or outright grants. The university’s
library system is the largest in the world; it contains more than 10
million volumes and subscribes to 100,000 periodicals. There are
three notable art museums, which house works from ancient Egyptian to contemporary American. There are also the Botanical Museum, 40 acres of fields, an experimental forest located in New England, a centre for a study of the Italian Renaissance in Italy, and a
centre for Byzantine studies in Washington, D. C.
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TAPESCRIPT 6A
ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE
Today, when English is one of the major languages in the
world, it requires an effort of the imagination to realize that this is a
relatively recent thing – that in Shakespeare’s time, for example, only a few million people spoke English, and the language was not
thought to be very important by the other nations of Europe, and was
unknown to the rest of the world. English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside England, in all the continents of the world. This exporting of English
began in the seventeenth century, with the first settlements in North
America. Above all, it is the great growth of population in the United
States, assisted by massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that has given the English language its present standing
in the world. People who speak English fall into one of three groups:
those who have learned it as their native language; those who have
learned it as a second language in a society that is mainly bilingual;
and those who are forced to use it for a practical purpose – administrative, professional or educational. One person in seven of the
world’s entire population belongs to one of these three groups. Incredibly enough, 75% of the world’s mail and 60% of the world’s
telephone calls are in English. Geographically, English is the most
widespread language on Earth, second only to Chinese in the number
of people who speak it. It is the language of business, technology,
sport, and aviation. This will no doubt continue, although the proposition that all other languages will die out is absurd.
TAPESCRIPT 6B
HOW DIFFERENT STUDENTS ORGANIZE
THEIR ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING
1. I have a little notebook. It’s an address book with the letters
of the alphabet, and I write the new words in two or three times a
week. I write the English word first, then the translation, and a short
sentence as an example. I try lo learn ten new words a day.
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2. I have a little notebook. I always have it with me. I try to fill
one page a day. Sometimes I put words in groups, like fruit – all
kinds of fruit, you know? Or colours, or clothes, or things and the
shops where you buy them. I have some grammar pages, where I
write irregular verbs, or a page for prepositions. I think prepositions
are difficult, you know – on Sunday, in the morning, listen to a concert – but you say phone someone. In my language we say phone to
someone.
3. I stick little bits of paper all over my house! Sometimes I
write what the thing is. On the mirror, I have mirror, on the door
handle, I have door handle. Yeah, I know, it’s funny. My friends
think What’s the matter with her? but I like it. And sometimes I write
the words that are new, from the last lesson, and I put the word on
the kitchen door and I see it every two minutes!
4. I write the new words on a little piece of paper, with the
English on the one side and the Turkish on the other side. I write the
English word in a sentence so I know how to use it, and what words
it’s used with. Then in my left pocket, I have the new words, and in
the day, when I’m having a break or travelling on the bus, I take out
the new words, and if I remember them they go into my right pocket.
If I don’t remember them, they go into my left pocket again.
5. I am very lazy! I don’t do anything special at all! But I read
a lot. I always have an English book in my bag. There are a lot of
simple books, you know? Stories in easy English, they have questions at the back and they explain some difficult words, but I just
enjoy the story and I think I learn new words and I don’t know I
learn new words, but I see a word six, maybe seven times, and then I
know it! And the stories are good!
6. I have a picture dictionary, which is good for learning words
in groups, you know, jobs, the names for all the things in a car, like
steering wheel, brake. But I don’t know how to pronounce the words.
7. I have a little cassette recorder, and after the lesson I record
onto the tape the sentences that have the new words. Then when I am
driving I can listen to them.
8. I like to look up words in my dictionary. Especially, I like to
find different parts of speech for the same word, like act, actor, actress, adjective active, adverb actively, noun action. That I think is
very useful – see! Use, useful, useless! A word family! And some-
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