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D. SPEAKING

D1. Recall you experience of entering the university. What was the most difficult thing you had to overcome? The easiest thing you experienced? Describe your emotions before/ during/ after the exams. Were you sure that you would pass the exams?

D2. Speak about your studying at the university. Answer the questions below. Note the helpful vocabulary.

1.Can you remember your feelings and emotions during your first day in the university? What were they like? How do you feel now?

2.Speak about the educational process you are involved in:

a)In your opinion, is your curriculum perfect/imperfect?

b)What kind of classes have you got? What classes do you like?

c)Do you try to keep pace with the programme?

d)Can you say that you are a diligent student?

HELPFUL VOCABULARY

Wonderful (deep, strong, strange) feeling; feeling of relief (sadness, helplessness); mixture of emotions; to feel confused (enthusiastic, excited, anxious, nervous); hard to express the feelings; to realize a dream (an ambition); to study hard; to make progress in…; to succeed in…; to find sth difficult; to have trouble with; to be strong (excellent, poor, weak) student

LESSON 2

A. LANGUAGE STUDY

A1. Study the difference in the meaning of the following words:

UNIVERSITY TEACHER – any person who teaches at a university (преподаватель)

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PROFESSOR – 1) in Britain means a teacher of the highest rank (профессор)

James Challis is a Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge

Regius Professor ( профессор, кафедра которого учреждена одним из английских королей, особенно в Оксфорде и Кембридже)

2) in the US means any university teacher of senior academic staff

Everybody seems to have money these days. Except college professors.

LECTURER (Br.E.) – this is the largest group of teachers. They not only give lectures, but also take classes and seminars (лектор, преподаватель).

David is now a lecturer in Economics at Bristol University.

READER – this grade exists in most English universities. It denotes a university teacher ranking between lecturer and professor. It is not a large group; there may be only one reader in a department (лектор,

преподаватель)

Reader in Phonetics at London University (in the University of London).

TUTOR – 1) a teacher who gives lessons to a small group of students (преподаватель)

2)a member of staff who is responsible for the supervision of a certain number of students (куратор)

His tutors in English and History give him favourable reports.

3)a private teacher may be also called a tutor (репетитор)

When she was ill she studied at home with a private tutor.

INSTRUCTOR – (BrE) in Britain it isn’t a teacher in a university or college. An instructor teaches a particular skill (инструктор, тренер)

A swimming instructor; a driving instructor

(AmE) in the USA instructor denotes the first grade of university teacher and is similar to the Russian “ассистент”.

Compare the positions you’ve studied with the ones in Russia. Can you name some courses in your university which are conducted by people who hold those positions?

A2. There are a lot of common expressions based on DO and MAKE. Learn them and complete the sentences below.

1.Mrs. Thatcher said she could …..business with Mr. Gorbachev.

2.Listen, Sergeant, it’s my duty to …..an example of you, and I’m going to …..my duty as you have always asked me to.

3.I will …..all my best to help you.

4.…..me a favour, please – turn the radio down while I’m …..my lessons.

5.Dressing smartly for your exams helps you to …..a good impression.

6.He still has to …..his military service.

7.Please, …..an effort to arrive early, don’t be late.

8.To …..him justice, we must admit that his intentions were good.

9.You are …..fast progress in your studies.

10.If you keep criticizing people, it can …..a lot of harm.

11.She …..the shortest speech I have ever heard.

12.He decided to study law – I hope he’s …..the right choice.

13.Have you any comments to …..upon my story?

14.At some time in our life we all …..something wrong, and we all …..mistakes.

15.Eat more fruit: it will …..you good.

B. READING

B1. Read the passage without using a dictionary and say what the main ideas of the text are. If you fail to guess the meanings of the words in italics, find their explanation in a dictionary.

It is difficult to get into a top Japanese university, from which most of the big companies recruit their staffs. Pre-university examinations, throughout school life, are horrifically competitive. Nine-year-olds have been treated for ulcers after going to evening classes five nights a week. In one year, 335 schoolchildren killed themselves through the pressure to succeed.

But once at university, life is a doddle. Exams are easy and can be sat again. More than 95 per cent of students graduate successfully, often with

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a minimum of work. A survey showed that 98 per cent of students own television sets and refrigerators – and more of them have washing machines and electric footwarmers than have bookcases. The survey found that “reading cartoon magazines is the favourite pastime”.

Attitudes were tested in the same survey: the words that Japanese students like include hometown, femininity, fidelity to parents, virginal purity and duty. The concepts they most dislike include women’s lib, punk fashion and datsu-sara (the term means to quit a salaried job in a large corporation, with guaranteed employment for life). While they wait to join the big company, Japanese students have a good time.

Did you manage to make some conclusion on what values and believes your Japanese counterparts have? Do you share any? Is there any striking difference between Russian and Japanese students?

B2. Word hunting. Find the words in the text which mean the same as the following expressions:

a)to take an exam once more;

b)to go away from, to stop;

c)this adjective means a situation in which people try hard to do better than each other;

d)to find new people to work for a company, organization or military force;

e)an activity that occupies one’s time pleasantly;

f)the personnel of an enterprise, all people who work for a company;

g)a general idea or understanding;

h)an attempt to find out about people’s opinions by asking a set of questions;

i)(colloquial) a walk;

j)what you think or feel about something or someone, especially when this is shown in the way you behave

A5. Give your own explanation of the following concepts: femininity

fidelity to parents punk fashion women’s liberation

Think of some other concepts which are popular among students these days:

_____________

_____________