V. Are you satisfied or not satisfied with the school you went to and the quality of education you received? Express your opinion.

TEXT

VI. Read the text.

The merry-go-round of college life is something that one never forgets. It’s a fascinating, fantastic, fabulous experience, irrespective of the fact whether one is a full-time or a part-time student.

Who can forget the first day at the university when one turns from an applicant who has passed entrance exams into a first-year student? I did it! I entered, I got in to the university! A solemn ceremony in front of the university building and serious people making speeches. Hey, lad, do you happen to know who they are? Who? The rector, vice-rectors, deans, subdeans…and what about those ladies? Heads of departments and senior lecturers? Okay. Some of them must be professors, some – associate or assistant professors, but of course, all of them have high academic degrees. And where are our lecturers and tutors? Oh, how nice…

The monitors hand out student membership cards, student record books and library cards – one feels like a real person. First celebrations and then days of hard work. So many classes, so many new subjects to put on the timetable! The curriculum seems to be developed especially for geniuses. Lectures, seminars and tutorials. Home preparations; a real avalanche of home works.

If one can not cope with the work load of college he immediately starts lagging behind. It is easier to keep pace with the program than to catch up with it later. Everyone tries hard to be or at least look diligent. Final tests and examination sessions. The first successes and failures: ‘I have passed!’ or ‘He has not given me a pass, I failed!’ Tears and smiles. And a long-awaited vacation.

The merry-go-round runs faster. Assignments, written reproductions, compositions, synopses, papers. Translations and marks. ‘Professor, I have never played truant, I had a good excuse for missing classes’. Work handed in and handed out. Reading up for exams. ‘No, professor, I have never cheated – no cribs. I just crammed’.

Junior students become senior. Still all of them are one family - undergraduates. Students’ parties in the students’ club. Meeting people and parting with people. ‘You know, Nora is going to be expelled and Dora is going to graduate with honors’. Yearly essays, graduation dissertations, finals.

What? A translator’s certificate? You mean, I’ve got a degree in English? I’m happy! It’s over! It’s over…Is it over? Oh, no…A postgraduate course, a thesis, an oral, and a degree in Philology!

Vocabulary

VII. Read and memorize the following definitions.

applicant - someone who has formally asked, usually in writing, for a job, university place

assignment - a piece of work that a student is asked to do

catch up with - to improve and reach the same standard as other people in your class, group etc

certificate - an official paper stating that you have completed a course of study or passed an examination

cheat - to behave in a dishonest way in order to win or to get an advantage, especially in a competition, game, or examination

class - a period of time during which someone teaches a group of people

college - a large school where you can study after high school and get a degree [= university British English]

cope with - to succeed in dealing with a difficult problem or situation

cram - to prepare yourself for an examination by learning a lot of information quickly [= swot British English]

crib - a book or piece of paper with information or answers to questions, which students sometimes use dishonestly in examinations

curriculum - the subjects that are taught by a school, college etc, or the things that are studied in a particular subject

dean - someone in a university who is responsible for a particular area of work

degree - a course of study at a university or college, or the qualification that is given to you when you have successfully completed the course

department - one of the groups of people who work together in a particular part of a large organization such as a hospital, university, company, or government

diligent - someone who is diligent works hard and is careful and thorough

dissertation - a long piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one written for a university degree

enter the university - to start studying at the university

entrance exam – if you pass an entrance exam it gives you permission to become a member of the university

essay - a short piece of writing about a particular subject by a student as part of a course of study

exam=examination - a spoken or written test of knowledge, especially an important one

expel - to officially force someone to leave a school or organization

fail an exam - to not pass an examination

failure - a lack of success in achieving or doing something

full-time student – a student who studies all the hours of a week during which it is usual for people to study

get in to the university - to be allowed to be a student at the university

graduate - to obtain a degree, especially a first degree, from a college or university

graduate with honors -if you finish high school or college with honors, you get one of the highest grades

hand out - to give something to each person in a group, distribute

hand your homework/assignment/paper in - to give it to the teacher

head of the department - a person in charge of the department

keep pace with - to change or increase as fast as something else, or to move as fast as someone else

lag behind - to move or develop more slowly than others

lecture - a long talk on a particular subject that someone gives to a group of people, especially to students in a university

lecturer - someone who gives lectures, especially in a university

make a speech – to give a talk, especially a formal one about a particular subject, to a group of people

mark - a letter or number given by a teacher to show how good a student's work is (=grade American English)

monitor – a student who has been chosen to help a teacher in some way in class

part-time student- a student who studies for only part of each day or week

play truant - to stay away from school without permission

postgraduate - someone who is studying at a university to get a master's degree or a PhD

professor - a teacher of the highest rank in a university department

read up - to read a lot about something because you will need to know about it

rector - the person in charge of certain colleges and schools

seminar - a class at a university or college for a small group of students and a teacher to study or discuss a particular subject

student - someone who is studying at a university, school

student membership card – a card showing that you are a student of the university

subject - an area of knowledge that you study at a school or university

success - when you achieve what you want or intend

test - a set of questions, exercises, or practical activities to measure someone's skill, ability, or knowledge

thesis - a long piece of writing about a particular subject that you do as part of an advanced university degree such as an MA or a PhD

timetable - a list of the times of classes in a school, college etc

to pass an exam - to succeed in an examination or test

tutor - a teacher in a British university or college

university - an educational institution at the highest level, where you study for a degree

vacation - one of the periods of time when universities are closed

work load - the amount of work that a person has to do

READING COMPREHENSION.