Idiom Box

9. Study the idioms in the box; fill them into the gaps making all the necessary changes.

can of worms the icing on the cake Catch-22 rule of thumb step on toes separate the wheat from the chaff

1. “Teaching has always been my main source of income, writing textbooks has only ever been ………………………… and I don’t expect that to change.”

2. “With so many books coming out on the market every year, you can’t possibly read them all. What you tend to do is to let the reviewers …………………… ”

3. I'm new here, so I don't want to ……………………………..

4. Business development professionals often rely on simple ………………..to sort potential relationships and weed out unlikely partners.

5. It's a …………….situation - without experience you can't get a job and without a job you can't get experience.

6. I just don't know what to do - every solution I can think of would just open up a whole new…………....

10. Speak your mind

The issue of education and money generates heated debate. Should education be free of charge and available to everyone? Should still tuition be paid to cover expenses of the institution? Did the free of charge educational system of the USSR bear fruit? Speak your mind supplying examples of your own.

Higher Education in the USA

UNIT 4

I. Before you read

Wise People Talk

Discuss the quotations in groups. To what extent do you agree with the authors?

• Read, read, read. Do, do, do.

Louis L'Amour

• Learning is like a jigsaw puzzle. When you first lay the pieces out, it doesn't make much sense. When you start to connect the pieces, you then begin to see how it all fits together.

Anonymous

• I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

M ark Twain

Phrase Bank

• It's from this angle that one must seriously consider this problem.

• N takes up the point that…

• I don't profess to be an expert on the subject, but…

• Let me give you a brief example of...

• This view is universally held.

II. Read the text with an eye for the vocabulary units in bold; come up with their explanations and translations. Higher education in the usa: application process

applicant/prospective student

undergraduate

admission office

entrance requirements

apply for admission

application pack

transcript

test scores

application form

recommendation

academic criteria

campus

“passing” grade

Once applicants have settled on five or six institutions that are of interest, they should contact the undergraduate admission office in writing or by e-mail requesting information and application materials. Applicants should contact a college or university at least one year before their intended entry date.

Entrance requirements of various institutions may differ considerably. In general they involve satisfactory completion of a high school curriculum and participation in certain high school courses. Many schools will not admit students whose high school grades are below a certain average.

Applying for admission a prospective student submits the required forms and credentials to his/her chosen institution. Application pack generally includes the following:

• previous academic record (high school transcript);

• test scores;

• a completed application form;

• recommendations from high school teachers;

• written essays that reflect accomplishments and goals;

• some colleges require an interview with college officials, either on campus or by telephone.

Apart from these academic criteria, an institution considers a more flexible set of non-academic characteristics, such as demonstrated leadership ability, creativity and community service.

As far as test scores are concerned, there is no “passing” grade, and each college has its own way in interpreting them. The scores are meant to provide common, nationwide measuring sticks and standards for comparison. Both the ACT and the CEEB send score reports to the student’s high school and to the colleges to which the student is applying.