126

Supplementrary material

Text 1

Text 1

Life Begins at 50 for Third Age Students

The period after earning a living and raising a family is an age of discovery for students at the Third Age universities, which are growing rapidly in Britain. They find it is never too late to learn, and that intellectual stimulation can lead to better health for (he elderly.

At first glance it's the usual Cambridge scene: the light for places to park [he bicycle, the hasty greetings called across the courtyard, the scramble for decent seats next to your friends, the silence before the lecture begins. The difference here i^ that the greetings are a little cheerier, the scramble a little more intense, the silence a little more avid, and, though you may not notice it, there are more grey hairs. The students at the new Cambridge University are all aged 50 or over.

The Wednesday afternoon lecture is the main event of the week for members of the University of the Third Age, or 'U3A' as they call it. But every day there are classes going on all over town ranging from Chinese to computers. Founded only three years ago, the new university now has more than 700 members. It was the first of its kind in Britain, but the idea caught on quickly and Third Age universities have started up all over the country.

Although Shakespeare chronicled Seven Ages of Man, the new university makes do with four. The Third Age comes when the First Age of childhood and the Second Age of earning a living and bringing up a family are over. It may well last as long as 30 years, beginning in the fifties and going on into the sixties, seventies and eighties. The belief and the hope is that an active Third Age can postpone the Fourth Age of weakness and death, squeezing that into the shortest period possible.

Thirty years is a long time to feel bored, lonely and useless; it's not nearly long enough for the members of the University of the Third Age to do all the things they want to do. Barbara Brown is a case in point. A widow and a grandmother, her life is still as busy and active as ever. 'We dash to classes and then we meet up for coffee. I'm learning French. 1 never had the time before. People say you can't learn a new language when you're old, but that's nonsense. It just depends on your drive and willingness to do it. The difference with U3A is that we feel we're using our brains. We're not superior, not at all. We're just extending our knowledge, starting again really - and it's fun.'

Students pay £10 for six months' membership of the university and for this they can go to as many, or as few, classes as they wish. There are also regular social and sporting events. One of the reasons why so much activity is possible and costs so little is that the teachers give their time free and seem to enjoy it just as much. Richard Bennett, a retired schoolteacher who takes one of the French

127

classes, says the great joy is that everybody is motivated. There are none of those little boys in the back row trying to hide under their desks. 'Most of us who teach also learn. I'm doing cookery and music. We're doing areas of 20th-century music I'd never explored before and I'm finding out all sorts of things.'

The new university is a cooperative venture and everyone can contribute something, by teaching or learning, by delivering the newsletter or making the coffee. The university belongs to its students and they choose the classes. Many classes started because two or three people discovered a mutual interest, found someone to take the lead and it has grown from there. In this - and in many other ways - it is quite different to the other Cambridge University. Dr Peter Snow, who is a Fellow of Trinity College and thus knows both from the inside, was a founder member of U3A. 'We have a claim, I think, to be what some people call the true university because we insist that nobody needs qualifications to join. Nobody is paid, there are no awards, no exams, we are not agents for any outside body which wants to know whether Smith is better than Brown. All our people study because they want to - for aesthetic, literary or other reasons - and this is what a university is/or.'

The University of the Third Age is fiercely independent and has no ties with any other educational institutions. Peter Snow is adamant that it should remain so. Too much, he feels, is done for the elderly, not enough by them. Organising their own university answers part of their need for intellectual stimulation. But in France, where the movement began, they take the opposite view. There the new universities are run in, and by, the established institutions.

U3A takes its name from the Universite du Troisieme Age launched in Toulouse in 1972. Professor Francisque Costa was one of the founders. He says they were moved partly by their awareness of the growing number of elderly people who were bored and lonely and partly by the fact that a law was passed requiring educational institutions to do something about it. This was no mere act of charity. The French government was convinced by the research which said that as soon as people have no stimulation, stop working, and stop being interested in life around them, they decline physically. If you stimulate the brain you are physically fitter. The economic a consequences were clear: it was in the government's interest to promote the educational and cultural stimulation of elderly people because that would cost less than the health care that would otherwise be needed. Universities of the Third Age sprang up all over France and most other European countries soon followed suit. Professor Costa is delighted with the results. 'It has been proved that elderly people can progress - they can do research, they can learn languages. Even if you decline in some ways, in others you can grow - you can be more creative in old age than in your younger days.'

In Britain we seemed not to have noticed how old we were getting; that one fifth of our population - some ten million people - were in their sixties or older and that many of them were bored and lonely, desperate for something more intellectually stimulating than a game of bingo and a singsong. Now it is spreading like wildfire. They raise funds by subscription and donation because they don't want government funds with strings attached. Each university develops its own character and programme in response to the needs and resources of the area, and ideas are shared through a nation-wide network with its own newsletter.

128

The founders believe many of the new universities will grow to a size of 1,200 to 1,500, which is the pattern in France. They will take on their own research projects and lobby for the needs of their own age group. Above all, they will correct the public image of Britain's Third Age population. It will become accepted that, once the Second Age is over, a new time of creativity and fulfilment can begin. Marion Dawson, who attended that Wednesday afternoon lecture in Cambridge, would have found that hard to believe two years ago. When her husband died in Hong Kong, where they had lived for some time, she felt she had lost everything. She came back to Cambridge and had to build a new life. But she wanted to keep in touch with her Chinese friends, to be able to read their letters without an interpreter. So she joined a Chinese class at the University of the Third Age. Now, to her great delight, she can already express her own thoughts quite fluently in Chinese. She has ventured into other U3A activities and made new friends. 'It has given a purpose to my life again - something totally different - and I'm enjoying every minute of it.'

At Christmas, when so many older people can only look back in loneliness, Marion Dawson and her friends can look forward together - to the new discoveries and new delights that the New Year will undoubtedly bring.

Sonia Beesley

Vocabulary

Earn a living – заработать на жизнь

Raise a family – поднимать семью

Discovery – открытие

Rapidly – быстро

Glance – взгляд

Elderly – пожилой

Hasty – поспешный; торопливый

Greeting – приветствие

Courtyard –внутренний дворик

Scramble – схватка; борьба

Decent –приличный

Cheer – радостный

Intense – интенсивный

Avid – жадный; алчный

Notice – замечать

Grey (hairs) – седые (о волосах)

Event – событие

Range (from…to…) – варьировать

Found – основывать

Catch* on – захватить

Chronicle – вести хронику

Make do – иметь дело

Be over – закончиться

Bring* up – воспитывать

Postpone – здесь: отодвинуть

Weakness – слабость

Squeese – сжать; втиснуть

Bored – скучный

Lonely – одинокий

129

Widow – вдова

Dash – устремиться; ринуться Drive – побуждение; стимул

Willingness – желание; охота Membership – членство

Social –здесь: общественный

Cost* - стоить

Enjoy – нравиться; наслаждаться Retire – уходить в отставку; на пенсию Take classes – ходить на курсы

Row – ряд

Hide* - прятаться, скрываться Cookery – кулинария Explore –исследовать Venture – предприятие

Contribute – делать вклад

Deliver –доставлять

Newsletter – информац: бюллетень Belong – принадлежать

Mutual – взаимный

Take the lead – взять инициативу Fellow – член колледжа

Trinity – Троица

Founder – основатель Insist – настаивать

Join – вступать, присоединяться Award – награда

Body – здесь: учреждение Literary – литературный

Fiercely – жестко Independent – независимый

Adamant – твердый, непреклонный Remain – остаться

View – точка зрения Launch –здесь: основать Partly – частично

Awareness – знание, уверенность Pass a law – принять закон Mere –простой

Charity – благотворительность

Convinced –убежден

Research – научное исследование Decline – приходить в упадок

Fit – в хорошей физической форме

Consequence – последствие

Promote – способствовать

Otherwise – иначе

Spring* up – возникать, появляться

Follow suit – следовать примеру, подражать

Delighted – довольный

Creative – творческий Notice – замечать

130

Population – население

Spread like wildfire – мгновенно распространяться Raise funds – находить финансирование

By subscription – по подписке

Donation – дар, пожертвование

Be dependent (on) – зависеть(от) In response – в ответ

Share –разделять

Pattern – образец

Lobby – здесь: защищать, поддерживать Correct – исправлять

Accept – принимать, допускать Fulfilment – осуществление, реализация

Attend(classes) – посещать (занятия)

Keep* in touch – поддерживать отношения

Interpreter – переводчик Fluently - свободно

Venture – отважиться, осмелиться

Purpose – цель Undoubtedly - несомненно

Comprehension Check.

Ex. Answer the following questions:

1.What life period is called the Third Age?

2.What are the first two age periods?

3.When was the University of the Third Age founded?

4.How many ages of a Man did Shakespeare describe?

5.Why do elderly people study?

6.How much do they pay for their studies?

7.Is this University financed by the government?

8.Who founded this University?

9.Who teachers at this University?

10.What classes are taught there?

11.What was the French government convinced of?

12.How many elderly people are there in Britain? What is their age?

13.Are there as many such institutions in Britain as in France?

Topics to discuss.

1.The Third Age University. Its history, sources of financing.

2.Students of this institution.

3.Aims of such universities.

4.Tuition fee at the University.

5.Ties with other universities.

6.Professor Francisque Costa.

7.The Universite du Troisieme Age.

8.Marion Dawson's story.

Text 2

STUDYING ABROAD (Vanessa's experience).

131

Studying abroad is wonderful, if you have the opportunity. I was fortunate to have that opportunity three times. I studied in France, Canada and the former Soviet Union, in what is now Russia. I studied in France while I was completing my bachelor's degree at home in California. I studied French language and literature, which I was in love with at the time - it was so special to be in the land of Moliere and Voltaire, Zola and Sartre! I spent about a year there and during that time I lived with a French family, which gave me a lot of opportunities to speak French, as well as to eat the wonderful food. I was in a small country town, not Paris, so I was able to enjoy the beautiful countryside - the rivers, the forests and, in the distance, the mountains. I received a diploma for my efforts, while in France. Then, after I had completed my bachelor's degree in California, I went to Canada to do a master's degree in comparative literature. I spent a year and a half in Canada, from autumn through two winters to the second spring. I was living in an apartment with a friend, who was studying on the same program as me, so that was very convenient. I really enjoyed the work in Canada, because the classes in Canada were very small. However, I was not allowed to have a job, which made it very hard to make ends meet. After I finished my master's degree in Canada, I had the opportunity to go to the former Soviet Union for three months. There I lived in a student hostel, with other foreign and Soviet students, and I studied Russian language and literature. I found that extremely interesting, though it was a very hard language to learn, especially the grammar and the pronunciation. I spent three months in the Soviet Union and received a certificate, written in beautiful Russian script. The people there were extremely friendly, and the theatre was just glorious. For me, going abroad to study was not just serious effort. I had a lot of fun too.

Ex. Find in the text equivalents to these words and phrases:

учиться на степень магистра, сравнительная литература, ей повезло, завершить, на расстоянии, бывший, другой/иной, чрезвычайно, усилие, почерк, провести (время), удостоверение/свидетельство/аттестат(амер.), жилье/размещение, произношение, преимущество/достоинство, недостаток.

Ex. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad?

•being away from your family and friends;

•living in new accommodation;

•meeting new people;

•eating different food;

•getting a better qualification;

•seeing different scenery;

•getting to know a different culture.

Ex. Complete the chart, which summarises the content of Vanessa's talk.

Write a word or a short phrase in each gap.

132

beautiful countryside

Qualification

Text 3

CHELSEA CHOOSES A COLLEGE.

First Daughter Chelsea Clinton finally let the world in on her big decision: She is turning aside (отклоняять) offers from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Brown to attend (посещать) Stanford. That means she'll spend much of the next four years in Palo Alto, Calif., 3,000 liles away from her parents. But by all accounts (по всем рассчетам), the president has already put a positive spin (здесь: взгляд, мнение) on the distance, saying:

"Planes run out there, and phones work out there. And E-mail works out there, so we'll be all right." Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has faced

(сталкивалась) daily questions with her daughter's decision, said simply: "I'm just grateful (признательна) that this day has come." Aparently Chelsea was leaning toward (склонялась к) the Northern California univesity as early as last December but fretted (мучалась сомнениями) up to the last minute.

When Chelsea heads off (отправляться) to Stanford's lush (буйный), mission-style campus in September, she'll be one of 1,610 freshmen

(первокурсники), culled (выбранный) from 16,8444 applicants (абитуриенты, претенденты). Half of the class of 2001 will be women, and half will be minorities; two thirds scored (набрали очки) about 1400 on the Scholastic (учебный) Assessment (оценка) Tests (SATs). Like roughly (приблизительно)

40 percent of her class, she's expressed an interest in becoming a doctor. That means her courses probably will include (включать) English, chemistry,

calculus (вычисление), and a required (обязательный) freshmen course called "Cultures, Ideas, and Values (ценности)". Chelsea has already demonstrated her brain power: She's a National Merit (заслуга)) Scholarship finalist, an honor accorded to (оказанный) 0.5 percent of U.S. high school seniors (старшеклассники).

Answer the following questions:

1.What is Chelsea's final decision when choosing a college?

2.What universities' offers did she turn aside?

3.How far is the chosen college located from her parents' place?

4.What is Chelsea's parents' attitude to distances?

5.When will Chelsea graduate from the unicersity?

6.What profession did she choose?

7.Does Chelsea have any awards?

Topics to discuss.

1.Chelsea's class.

2.Subjects to be studies at her class. Supplementary material

Text 4

133

Russian Agencies Denied U.S. Aid.

(Peter Eisler's article from "USA TODAY", April 17, 1998).

WASHINGTON - The State Department has declared 20 Russian agencies and research facilities ineligible to receive millions of dollars in U.S. government assistance because they may have provided missile technology to Iran.

The State Department' s list, obtained by USA TODAY, was sent in March to managers of U.S. programs that finance commercial ventures for Russian institutions formerly involved in Soviet weapons work. Since then, U.S. officials have denied funding to at least three

Russian projects, because they were on the list. Future projects with institutions on the list will be rejected unless the Clinton administration is satisfied they aren't helping Iran.

Despite longstanding concerns about the exodus of weapons technology from Russia to rogue states, the move marks the first time specific institutions have been penalized.

"What we're doing is limiting our cooperation with Russian entities which might have or might be providing assistance to Iran's missile program", said Gary Samore, special assistant to the president on nonproliferation and export controls. "If someone came to us proposing a project involving one of these entities, we might still approve it, depending on the specifics." The government spends nearly $50 million a year on ventures for former Soviet institutions that have struggled since the Communist regime's demise. The idea is to keep their scientists engaged in nonmilitary projects - instead of having them sell their weapons know-how to the highest bidder. The State Department's list, based on information gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies, includes Russian institutions raging from universities to government agencies. The 20 institutions are a small fraction of Russian entities involved in nonproliferation projects funded by two U.S. assistance programs launched in 1994. The Russian Space Agency - a major U.S. partner in developing an

international space station and other costly endeavors - was included on the State Department's list. But department officials said it was included in error. Among the projects denied U.S. funding since March:

* A proposed project at Baltic State Technical University in St.Petersburg to apply rocket motor technology in the high-temperature destruction of chemical wastes.

*A project involving TsAGI, Russia's Central Aerodynamic Institute, on using aerospace technology to develop high-tech plastic joints for industry.

*A project led by the Moscow Aviation Institute to develop new methods for

evaluating the thermal properties of composite materials.

Michael Shurgalin, a spokesman at the Russian Embassy, denied the Russian institutions were helping Iran with missile technology. The Clinton administration opposes sanctions, preferring a policy of engagement. But Israel and some in Congress want Russia punished, saying there is strong evidence that Russia, China and North Korea help Iran's efforts to develop midrange missiles.

QUOTATIONS and JOKES.

The specialist is a man who fears the other subjects.

Martin H.Fisher.

134

When there are two PhD's in a developing country, one is Head of State and the other is in exile.

Lord Samuel

Soon learnt, soon forgotten.

Anonymous.

And if the student finds that this is not to his taste, well, that is regrettable. Most regrettable. His taste should not be consulted; it is being formed.

Flannery O'Connor

Whatever is good to know is difficult to learn.

Greek proverb.

What is research, but a blind date with knowledge?

Will Henry.

Unit III

Educational Environment Студенческая жизнь, заботы, развлечения,

контакты Грамматика: степени сравнения прилагательных, включая способы

усиления значения типа too hot, much longer, ….

модальные глаголы, сослагательное наклонение, условные предложения,

многозначность глаголов should, would, could, might, need….

Introductory text