Mum's hobby

My mother is keen 0 photographer (photograph) who takes every opportunity she can to practice. She has a great deal of 1 ... (equip), some of which is very 2 ... (expense), so she has to be very 3 ... (care), especially if she goes somewhere 4 ... (danger). Some of her photos have caused a great deal of 5 ... (amuse), although the rest of us are sometimes 6 ... (patient) with her, because she often takes photos at 7 ... (convenient) times. However, we all 8 ... (admiration) her skill and her 9 ... (determine) to improve her techniques. After all, having our photos taken is not usually 10 ... (bother).

5. WRITING

20. This is a part of a letter from Sean, your English pen friend.

…I’m thinking of starting music lessons. Do you play any instruments? Have you ever had lessons? I’m not really sure what instrument to choose. What do you suggest? I want to be able to play pop music, I think.

Write back to Sean answering his questions. Write 100-140 words. Remember the rules of writing (see Appendix).

21. Write a report about the most popular hobbies and free time activities among young people. Remember to give your report a suitable title and divide it into sections with headings.

Example:

The most popular hobbies and free time activities among young people

Introduction

As requested I interviewed/asked/made a survey …. . As a result, I have some general points to make and a few recommendations.

1. Variety of hobbies and interests

On the whole… tend to…

Not only (but also)…

The people I interviewed felt that…

Some/Many/Most people/Boys/Girls said…

30% said that…

2. Positive side

One good feature is…

In addition to this…

Most people think…

3. Problems

One problem is that…

Although…

Unfortunately…

4. Conclusion

In spite of these criticism, …

To sum up…

Unit 3. My studies

1. WORD STUDY

   1. Read and learn new words and word combinations

      education / compulsory education/ higher education/ further education	образование/ обязательное/ высшее/ дополнительное
      primary school	начальная школа
      secondary school	средняя школа
      get a place at university	поступить в университет
      revise for exams	готовиться к экзаменам
      graduate from university	заканчивать университет
      get a degree	получать степень
      pass an exam/ fail an exam	сдать экзамен/ провалить экзамен
      establish	организовывать, устанавливать
      regulation	указание, регламент
      department	отделение, факультет
      alumnus	выпускник
      equipment	оборудование
      hostel	общежитие
      manual	учебник
      competition	соревнование, конкурс
      drop out	бросать (обучение)
      complete	завершать
      full-time study	очное обучение
      part-time study	заочное обучение
      attend	посещать
      Bachelor’s degree	степень бакалавра
      Master’s degree	степень магистра
      day release classes	освобождение от работы на один или несколько дней для повышения квалификации
      timetable	расписание
      compulsory subjects	обязательные предметы
      optional subjects	факультативные предметы
      skip classes	прогуливать занятия

   2. Match the words with their definitions.

1	higher education	a	an establishment which provides accommodations for students
2	degree	b	a chart showing how the weekly time of a school or college is allotted to classes
3	hostel	c	education at universities or similar educational establishments, especially to degree level
4	drop out	d	fail to attend
5	timetable	e	abandon a course of study
6	skip	f	a book of instructions, esp. for operating a machine or learning a subject; a handbook
7	manual	g	an academic rank conferred by a college or university after examination or after completion of a course, or conferred as an honour on a distinguished person
8	revise	h	to prepare for an examination

3. Fill in the gaps using the words in the table.

Compulsory, establish, graduate, competition, optional, attend, day release

1. Our university offers a wide range of … subjects.

2. … is a system in which workers spend one day each week at a college in order to study a subject connected with their work.

3. … education in Sweden takes the form of a nine year comprehensive school for children aged 7-16.

4. All children are required to … classes every day.

5. The … for university places is greater than ever this year.

6. The school was … in 1989 by an Italian professor.

7. He … from Glasgow University in 1990.

1. READING

4. Before you read answer the following questions:

1. What is education? What part does education play in your future career?

2. What age do children usually start primary school?

3. What age do children leave secondary school?

4. What age does compulsory education start? At what age does it finish?

5. Do most people go on to higher education? Why? Why not? Do they have to pay?

6. What did you like about your school most of all?

7. Why did you enter Mari State Technical University?

5. Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph.

1. The structure of the University

2. Some facts from the history of MarSTU

3. Studying and accommodation

4. In close collaboration with enterprises

5. Up-to-date technology

6. Variety of opportunities

6. Read the text

Mari State Technical University

1. In 1918 a forestry department was established at Kazan State University. According to the regulation of Narkompros dated 5 June 1932 Kazan Forestry Technical Institute was moved to Yoshkar-Ola and was renamed into Povolzhskiy Forestry Engineering Institute. On March 31^st, 1995 Mari Polytechnic Institute named after M. Gorky was renamed into Mari State Technical University.

2. Nowadays there are 10 departments at MarSTU and more than 11 thousand students from all parts of Russia. Among over 50 thousand alumni of the University there are famous people, including governors and heads of large enterprises. Mari State Technical University today comprises ten departments and two centers: Woodworking Technology Department, Machine-Building Department, Radio Engineering Department, Civil Engineering Department, Information Science and Computer Engineering Department, Forestry and Ecology Department, Nature protection, Management and Water Conservation Department, Social Studies Department, Administration and Management Department, Economics Department, Centre for Fundamental Education, Centre for Humanitarian Education.

3. There are a lot of advantages of studying here. The university is very well equipped – there are modern classrooms and laboratories in 5 study buildings of the university. We are very proud of our hostels with light and clean rooms, where students from other regions can be accommodated. Moreover, there are scientific library with a stock of over 1 million textbooks and training manuals, modern sports complex, theatre-studio, club of merry and witty, chamber choir, studio of classical and pop music, - the prize winner of many Russian competitions.

4. Radio Engineering Department is one of the oldest and most interesting departments. There are different majors here such as Biomedical Engineering, Computing Systems Design and Technology, Radio Engineering, Radio Communication and Broadcasting, Quality Management. There are several Bachelor and Master Degree Studies: Design and Technology of Electronic Devices, Radio Engineering, Telecommunications. There are four Chairs: Chair of Radio Equipment Engineering and Production, Chair of Design and Production of Computing Systems, Chair of Radio Engineering and Communication, Chair of Medical-Biological System Engineering.

5. The department maintains well-equipped computer classrooms, schematic and engineering design classrooms, microelectronics and nanotechnology, radar equipment, audiovisual and testing equipment laboratories, etc. For the last three years five new laboratories of fiber-optics communication, combined antenna and feeder facilities, Wi-Fi technology were introduced into the academic process.

6. In research and production sphere the department is developing cooperation with leading enterprises in this field. The department opened its offices with specialized laboratories at the following enterprises: JSC Volgatelecom, JSC Mari Engineering Plant. As a part of cooperation agreements the students of the department undergo practical training at the Federal Service Office for Surveillance in the sphere of communications in the Mari El republic, at JSC Svyaztransneft, at Rostselmash Concern and at other well-known Russian enterprises.

7. Make as 10 questions to the text. Then, ask your partner to answer them.

8. With a partner, make a list of reasons for going to university. Then read the article quickly and check the reasons given. Are they the same as yours?

9. Read the article again and fill the gaps with these extracts.

a) As it is, with the current virtually non-existent level of financial support in this country, students already often have to take out loans to pay for general living costs.

b) many graduates have to accept positions which are not challenging or well-paid.

c) and most accept that they should pay something towards the benefits they receive from a university education.

d) but the proposed increase is too much.

e) The intended increase in university fees has come at the wrong time.

10. Find reasons in the article for not going to university. Read the article.

The true cost of university fees

The recent government announcement of an increase in university fees for the coming academic year has angered young people planning to go to university. In addition, it has caused some of them quite understandably to question the value of a university education.

In an ideal world, university education would be free and open to all. However, in most western countries, students do contribute to the cost of going to university, 1) … . These benefits include the opportunity to get good jobs in the future.

But is it that simple? It is true that university graduates may get better jobs, but this clearly means that they will then pay higher taxes, which contribute to the economy of the whole country. So, isn't adding further increases to university fees in effect asking students to pay twice? 2) … This can result in them getting heavily into debt. Annie Costello, who became President of the National Union of Students earlier this year, says that the average student debt already runs into thousands of pounds. Furthermore, many students have to depend on their parents to finance their education.

3) ... . It will discourage some students from going to university because they simply cannot afford it. This is not good news for the Government, whose stated aim is to encourage 50 percent of young people to go on to higher education. Already, many young people are questioning the value of a university education. Everyone seems to have a degree these days, they say, so when they graduate from university, they cannot be sure they will get a well-paid job. And this seems to be the reality: 4) … . Therefore the decision to raise university fees will almost certainly affect the student intake, leading to a drop in numbers.

The proposed increase in fees is unfair to students. Many are already having problems dealing with debt. There's nothing wrong with asking students to contribute to the costs of a university education, 5 …. We call on the Government to reconsider their decision or risk losing a generation of educated young people.

11. Make as 10 questions to the text. Then, ask your partner to answer them.

1. LISTENING

12. You are going to hear an interview with Alan, a Scottish student of electronics at a college of further education. Here is Alan’s weekly timetable. Some of the information is missing. Before you listen, try to answer these questions about the timetable.

1. What time does Alan start in the morning?

2. What time does he finish for the day?

3. What do you think happens between 10.15 and 10.45?

4. What other time does this happen?

5. How often does he have Maths?

6. When is the lunch break

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8.45-10.15	Electrical Principles	Analogue Electronics	Analogue Electronics	Electrical Principles	5)
10.45-12.15	1)	2)	Communications	Computing	6)
1.15-2.45	Maths	3)	4)	Maths	Maths
3.00-4.30	Programmable Systems	3)	4)	Programmable Systems	Digital Electronics

Now listen to the interview again and answer these questions.

1. Why did so many students drop out of the Alan’s course?

2. Why does he dislike communications?

3. Why is it hard to use the indoor stadium?

4. Why is there a problem with his motorbike?

13. Fill in the gaps in this text. Each gap represents one word. Compare your answers with your partner. More than one answer is possible for many of the gaps.

In the UK, you 1) … study electronics at a college of further education or a university.

A college of further education will 2) … students who have completed a minimum of four years 3) … secondary school. Most students study full-time 4) … colleges also offer day release classes 5)… people employed by local businesses who are given time 6) … work to attend courses. Colleges also provide evening 7) … for full-time workers and members of the local community 8) … want to study in their spare time.

Most university students will have completes six years of secondary 9) … . Some will have completed four years and 10) … taken a course at a college of further education.

From a college you can 11) … a certificate or diploma. A diploma usually requires a longer period of study 12) … a certificate. Universities give degrees. A Bachelor’s degree takes three to four years of 13) … . A Master’s degree usually requires a further 14) … .

Now listen to the text and note the words used on the tape for each gap.

1. SPEAKING

14. Study this list of courses. Do any match the courses offered by your local colleges or universities?

Course Guide