11. Ответьте на вопросы к тексту.

1. What is the percentage of men and women students in British universities? Of students studying arts subjects and sciences?

2. What is a graduate?

3. What is the duration of terms and vacations in a British university?

4. What do the abbreviations B.A., B.Sc., M.A. and M.Sc. stand for? When can these degrees be received by a student?

12. Составьте диалог по следующим темам.

1. Explain why, in your opinion, women constitute only one-quarter of full-time students in Great Britain.

2. Discuss differences in systems of education provided by London University and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

13. Прочитайте текст, обращая внимание на перевод следующих слов.

the May Balls - Майский бал

relaxation – отдых, расслабление

undergraduate – cтудент (обычно старших курсов)

spirit of release – дух свободы

race – гонки, соревнования

skill – мастерство, умение, сноровка

festivity – празднества, торжества

climax – кульминация

to glide – скользить

punt – лодка

May week at cambridge

The most interesting time of year in which to visit Cambridge is during May Week. This is neither in May nor a week. For some reasons which nobody remembers, May Week is the name given to the first two weeks in June, the very end of the University year.

May Week denotes not so much a particular period of time as the general atmosphere of relaxation at the end of the year's work. It starts for each undergraduate when he finishes his examinations.

Everything as far as possible has to happen in the open air-parties, picnics, concerts and plays. May Week seems like a celebration of the coming of spring, till then ignored in favour of examinations, and this spirit of release seems to take over the entire (the whole) town. People go to the river behind the colleges which stand next to the river to watch May boat races, in which young energetic men are ready to show off their skill.

Music and drama also have a part to play in the festivities. Nearly every college of the University (and there are over 20 of them) holds a May Week concert or presents a play in the open air.

But the most important events are the May Balls for which some girls do their best for month in advance to get invitations. College May Balls are the climax of May Week and for many undergraduates are the final event of their university life, when the river is lit with coloured lights, ballroom orchestra plays for dancers and punts glide romantically down the river.

14. Ответьте на вопросы к тексту.

1. What is May Week?

2. When does it take place?

3. How long does it last?

4. What are the most important events during May week?

15. Подготовьте реферирование текста «May Week at Cambridge».

16. Объясните значение следующих пословиц. Приведите иллюстрирующие их ситуации.

1. A little learning is a dangerous thing.

2. Better untaught than ill taught.

3. To know everything is to know nothing.

4. The wish is father to the thought.

5. Learn wisdom by the follies of others.

6. Knowledge is a city, to the building of which every human being brought a stone.

17. Ответьте на вопросы к текстам, рассказывающим о некоторых видах университетов в Великобритании.

1. How did polytechnics change their status since 1960-s?

Polytechnics

During the 1960-s the best of many technical collages (supported by the local authorities) were given the status of University. Although their main studies are still in technological subjects, they have introduced other subjects such as languages and social sciences. Many of these former polytechnics were in large cities where there was already a University, so there're now some towns and cities in Britain which have two Universities.

2. What kind of people have the opportunity organized by The Open University?