Lesson 11. Higher Education in Great Britain

 

Pre-reading

Task 1. You are going to read an article about higher education in Britain. Before you begin answer the following questions:

1. Are you getting primary, secondary or higher education?

2. Is higher education free in your country / in other countries?

3. Do more young people go to universities today than they did in the past? Why?

4. What well-known British universities have you heard of?

 

Task 2. Read the article and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-G for each paragraph (1-6) of the article. There is one extra heading you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (1):

A - Academic awards

B – Financial issue

C - Beginning of higher education in Europe

D – Examination procedure

E - Higher education development

F – Greater desire to study

G – Unequal chances

 

Higher Education in Great Britain

(1 - C. There are around 100 universities in Great Britain. Some are very old. Oxford and Cambridge founded in the 12-th and 13-th centuries are among the oldest universities in Europe. They both have a long and eventful history and are regarded as being academically superior to other universities and as giving special privilege and prestige.

(2 -) Higher education began to expand in the 19-th. The 3rd university to be founded in England was at Durham in 1832, and was followed by other new universities in major cities in the late 19-th and 20-th centuries. There were further waves of expansion in the 1960s and the 1990s.

(3 -) Nearly 50 % of 18 year olds now go to higher education in Great Britain. This is a big increase. 20 years ago, only 14 % of 18 year olds went to university. Many students go to a university in a different city or part of the country from where their families live.

(4 -) Most universities in Great Britain teach a wide range of subjects - engineering, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, law, accountancy, and some have medical schools. After three or four years the students will take their finals. Those who pass examinations successfully are given the Bachelor’s degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA. or Bachelor of Science (BSC.. The first postgraduate degree is Master of Arts (MA. or Master of Science (MSC.. One must study for it two years more and do a research work. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD. is the highest degree. It is given for some original research work which is an important contribution to knowledge.

(5 -) Although universities get most of their funding from the state, higher education is not free. Until the 1990s, however, higher education was not only free, students also received grants from the government. When the government decided to expand higher education in the 1990s, it was no longer possible to provide it free of charge and to give grants. Nowadays students’ fees have increased to £3000 a year.

(6 -) There are big debates over whether fees and taxes are discouraging students from poorer families from going to university. Government is insisting that universities use some of the money they earn in fees to offer grants to students from poorer families.

Vocabulary

Task 3. A. Find the English equivalents of Russian words and word-combinations:

1. основанный

2. расширяться

3. целый ряд предметов

4. инженерное дело

5. естественные науки

6. гуманитарные науки

7. право

8. бухучет

9. степень бакалавра

10. бакалавр / магистр гуманитарных наук

11. бакалавр / магистр естественных наук

12. сдать экзамен

13. исследовательская работа

14. вклад в знания

15. финансирование

16. стипендия

17. бесплатно

 

B. Fill in the prepositions if necessary:

1. She is superior … other students... knowledge.

2. I decided to go … the classical university.

3. Our university teaches … languages.

4. My friend is studying … the degree … medicine.

5. Jane’s contribution … the project was very important.

6. Don’t discourage her … learning.

C. Match the words with their synonyms:

1. privilege	A. scholarship
2. expansion	B. high status
3. research	C. charge
4. original	D. get
5. state	e) advantage
6. receive	f) development
7. prestige	g) investigation
8. finals	h) government
9. fee	i) unusual
10. grant	j) examinations

 

D. Match the words with their antonyms:

1. superior	A. decrease
2. major	B. narrow
3. increase	C. rich
4. wide	D. encourage
5. pass	e) spend
6. free	f) same
7. discourage	g) inferior
8. poor	h) paid
9. earn	i) minor
10. different	j) fail

 

E. Match the words with their definitions

1. law	A. the study of chemistry, physics, biology
2. medicine	B. the study of the design, construction and control of engines, cars, buildings, bridges, roads, and electrical machines.
3. natural sciences	C. the study of keeping and checking financial accounts
4. humanities	D.the study of sociology, anthropology, economics, politics, geography
5. engineering	e) the study of the legal or judicial system
6. social sciences	f) the study of preventing, diagnosing, or curing illness and disease
7. accountancy	g) the study of literature, philosophy, and the arts

Word-Formation

Task 4. Look at the words and fill in the table:

word	prefix	base word	suffix
eventful	-	event-	-ful
expansion
higher
education
engineering
accountancy
successfully
postgraduate
government

Grammar

Present perfect (I have done) – Настоящее перфектное время

Study the example: Ann can’t open the door. She has lost her key.

Present Perfect (настоящее перфектное время) образуется с помощью вспомогательного глагола have в настоящем времени (have / has) и причастия II смыслового глагола. Причастие II правильных глаголов имеет окончание –ed: worked, played, cried, stopped и др. Причастие II неправильных глаголов – третья форма глагола: gone, done, lost, been, written и др.

 

Утвердительная форма	Отрицательная форма	Вопросительная форма
I have lost…(I’ve lost)	I haven’t lost…	Have I lost…?
You have lost…(You’ve lost)	You haven’t lost…	Have you lost…?
He / She / It has lost…(He’s lost)	He / She / It hasn’t lost…	Hashe / she / it lost…?
We have lost…(We’ve lost)	We haven’t lost…	Have we lost…?
They have lost…(They’ve lost)	They haven’t lost…	Have they lost…?

 

Present Perfect используется

· для обозначения только что произошедшего действия:

Ow! I’ ve broken the plate!

The train has just arrived.

· для описания действия, произошедшего в прошлом, но результат которого актуален в настоящий момент:

‘Is Mike here?’ ‘No, he’ s gone. ’ (He is not here now)

He told me his phone number but I’ ve forgotten it. (I can’t remember it now)

My parents haven’t come yet. (They are not at home now)

· когда мы говорим о периоде времени, начавшемся в прошлом и продолжающемся до настоящего момента:

He hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast.

My parents have lived in London for ten years. (They still live in London)

I’ ve never eaten caviar. (In my life)

Ken has done different jobs (In his life).

Have you ever been to America?

 

Сравните использование Present Perfect и Past Simple:

Present Perfect	Past Simple
Ann has lost her key. She can’t open the door and get into the house.   Ситуация актуальна в настоящий момент. У Энн нет ключа сейчас.	Ann lost her key yesterday. She couldn’t open the door and get into the house.   Описывается ситуация в прошлом. Возможно, Энн уже нашла ключ.

See also Lesson 12.

Task 5. Read the situation and write sentences:

1. Jim is looking for his record book. He can’t find it. (lose one’s record book) He has lost his record book.

2. I am not going to the cinema with you. (see the film)

3. My friends are away on holidays. (go to England).

4. This is her first day at the ice-hockey match. (not be to ice-hockey matches)

5. It was raining two hours ago. It’s not raining now. (stop raining)

6. ‘Can I use your car?’ ‘I’m afraid you can’t. (break the car)

7. They came to Bristol five years ago. They still live there. (live in Bristol for five years)

8. This is my first cake. (not make cakes before)

 

Task 6. Ask questions about things your friend has done. Make questions from the words in brackets:

1. (ever / play / tennis?) Have you ever played tennis?

2. (always / live / in this city?)

3. (ever / speak / famous person?)

4. (ever / write / poems?)

5. (the most beautiful place / ever / visit)?

 

Task 7. Translate the sentences into English:

1. Я уже написал письмо, но еще не отправил его.

2. Я учусь на этом факультете уже 2 года.

3. Ты уже прочитал эту статью? – Нет, я только начал читать ее.

4. Мой брат никогда не слышал о Кембридже.

5. Почему ты еще не сдал экзамен?

6. Мы уже выбрали тему исследования.

7. Ты когда-нибудь был в Германии?

8. Стипендия выросла в два раза.