Unit I: Higher Education in Russia

The English

They dress in what they like;

They are interested in sport;

They partake in all activities;

If they think they ought.

They all succeed in doing.

They work in five short days,

Which leaves them the two longest ones

To spend in different ways.

Then some indulge in gardening,

Or walking in the rain.

And some delight in cricket,

Or in riding in the plain.

In spite of what’s around him

The average Englishman

Does crosswords in the newspaper

in pencil – if he can.

Involved in any accident

The English take a pride

In being unemotional;

They take things in their stride.

In any circumstances –

Whatever they may be –

The English solve their problems

With an English cup of tea.

 

Dialogue

- Every nation has a reputation of some kind. For example, everybody believes that the French are light-minded and the Germans are punctual.

- What kind of people are the English?

- They say that unlike the Americans, the English are cold, reserved and conservative.

- That isn’t always true.

- Of course not. But we are talking about the reputation they have.

XIX. Read the extracts about the late Princess of Wales, Diana Spencer. Write out the words that describe her personality.

- Her grace, her ease with ordinary people and her indefi­nable magic lit up the lives of all who met her. Diana impressed the whole world.

- Always concerned, always caring, she became increasingly committed to the campaign against landmines.

- Even when experiencing her own grief, she didn’t hesitate to try and bring comfort and compassion to others. She used her unique combination of compassion and charisma in the service of others. The list of charities Diana supported was wide-ranging. By last year she was associated with over 100 charities, a large proportion benefiting children, ill, AIDS victims.

- She will be remembered for remarkable warmth and sensitivity towards the patients…

- All who met her were struck by her interest and commitment to homeless people.

- With the face of a movie star and the personality of an angel, Diana brought warmth to the Royal Family. We heard the rumors of Royals displeased with Diana’s outspoken manner, but to us, the honesty of her candid remarks and manner had a lot to do with her worldwide appeal.

- Diana fought to make her sons realise that the old British way of “keeping a stiff upper lip” was not expected of them. She tried to encourage them to express their feelings when they were upset telling them gently that there was nothing wrong with letting their true emotions emerge.

- Diana was a caring, generous and warm-hearted individual with a tireless and relentless need to help others.

XX. Match the English proverbs given below with their Russian equivalents. Speak on the situations when one can use them.

1. to wear one’s heart upon one’s sleeve

a) У него все из рук валится (он очень неловок).

2. They are hand and glove.

b) Два сапога пара.

3. Extremes meet.

c) Душа нараспашку.

4. Jack of all trades and master of none.

d) Мудрый, как сова.

5. His fingers are all thumbs.

e) Преданный душой и телом.

6. All sugar and honey.

f) Трудолюбивый, как пчела.

7. As busy as a bee.

g) Их сам черт связал веревочкой.

8. As true as steel.

h) Крайности сходятся.

9. As wise as an owl.

i) Скользкий как угорь.

10. Birds of a feather.

j) Сахар Мёдович.

11. As slippery as an eel.

k) За все берущийся и ничего не умеющий делать человек.

XXI. a) You are going to read an article about the changing state of the family. Look at the following statements and check the meaning of the words in bold in your dictionary or with your teacher.

q More young people are moving away from home and leaving their family roots.

q Marriage is becoming less important to many young people.

q Families are spending less time together.

q The divorce rate is rising.

q More parents are bringing their children up alone without a partner.

q More women are having careers rather than starting families.

q The average family is getting smaller as the birthrate falls.

   b) In groups, discuss which of these things are happening in your country and why.

XXII.     Read the article and tick þ the topics above if they are mentioned.

A Quiet Revolution?

As divorce rates rise and fewer couples bother with marriage, we ask if the traditional nuclear family is becoming a thing of the past.

While you are reading this article, somewhere in the Unit­ed States two couples will get married and another will get divorced. One in three American children now lives with only one parent, and the United States is not alone in this: in Canada and France the divorce rate has doubled in the last twenty-five years, and in Hungary and Greece it has increased by 50 %. Even in Japan, where the tradi­tional family is still strong, divorce went up by 15 % between 1980 and 1995.

What is more, the nature of the fatally is changing. In Sweden and Denmark, around half of all babies are now born to unmarried parents, and in the United Kingdom and France more than a third. Even in Ireland, traditionally the most Catholic country in Europe, the rate of birth outside marriage is 20 %.

Families are also getting smaller. The average Turkish family had seven members in 1970; today it has only five. And in Spain and Italy, where families were always traditionally large, the birthrate was the lowest in the developed world in 1995. This fall in the birthrate is due in part to the fact that, as more women have careers, they are waiting longer and longer to start a family. The age at which the average woman has her first baby is now 28 in Western Europe, and it is getting later.

So the nuclear family is clearly changing, but is it in danger of disappearing completely?

The truth is that it is still too early to tell. In some countries these patterns are actually reversing. In the United States, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, the birth-rate is rising once more; and in Denmark for example, marriage is becoming more popular again. In the United States the divorce rate in fact fell by 10 % between 1980 and 1990, and it is continuing to fall.

Perhaps a new revolution is beginning?

XXIII. Read the article again. Which ONE of the following statements is NOT true according to the information in the main text?

a) Although there is not very much divorce in Japan, there is more than before.

b) Although Ireland is strongly Catholic, quite a lot of Irish people are now having children without getting married.

c) Although families in Spain and Italy were often big in the past, these days they are becoming smaller.

d) Although a lot of people in France have children without getting married, marriage is becoming more popular there again now.

e) Although there are a lot of divorces in the United States, there are not as many as there were fifteen or twenty years ago.

Review

I. Make up a dialogue about your family (relatives, their names, age, place of birth/residence, occupation, hobby, appearance, character).

II. Speak about your family. (Use the same plan as that in task I). You may use these sentences and expressions:

1. Before I start talking about my family let me introduce myself.

2. And now I’m going to tell you about my family.

3. To begin with…

4. To tell the truth…

5. And finally a few words about…

6. Put it into a few words…

2. Higher Education

Young people of Russia get higher education at institutes[2], universities and academies. They enter a higher institution after leavings secondary schools. Of course, not all the people who want to get higher education can be admitted to an insti­tution. There are from two to ten applicants for each vacancy at various higher schools and only the best in knowledge are able to pass competitive entrance exams.

Those who hadn't a chance of being accepted to the insti­tute go to work at various plants and in offices. It doesn't mean, however, that such people have no opportunity to get higher education. Almost all higher schools in Russia have evening or extra-mural departments for the people who want to combine their work with study.

The study in Russia is free of charge or paid. Full-time students (day students) get state scholarship, the amount of which depends on their success in studies. Part-time students get extra-paid leave for the period of their session.

The course of study at higher schools runs four or six years, in other words it consists of 4 or 6 academic years. Each academic year is divided into two terms, an autumn term and a spring term. At the end of each term the students have exams and credit tests (session).

The schools of higher education have a comprehensive cur­riculum, which consists of a number of theoretical (pure) and applied sciences. The students study general-educational and specialized subjects.

At the end of study students submit the graduation projects (papers) or hold final exams (in humanities). The main purpose of the project is to evaluate the standard of the graduates’ knowledge and abilities. Sometimes projects are used by industrial enterprises. After graduation the graduates get diplomas.

Exercises:

I. Read the following words from the text:

paid

entrance

term

knowledge

applicant

higher

accept

comprehensive

competitive

charge

education

opportunity

curriculum

success

specialized

university

extra-mural

theoretical

course

various

academy

department

humanities

evaluate

vacancy

admitted

combine

applied

final

scholarship

II. Complete the sentences:

1) Young people enter… 2) There are five applicants… 3) Only the best in knowledge are able… 4) Besides day-time study almost all higher schools in Russia… 5) If you want to combine work with study… 6) The study in Russia is… or… 7) Part-time students get… 8) The course of study consists of… 9) An academic year is divided into… 10) Young people get higher education at… 11) At the end of each term… 12) The curriculum consists of… 13) At the end of study… 14) The main purpose of a graduation paper… 15) After graduation…

III. Compose sentences using word combinations:

after leaving secondary schools; to be admitted to the institute; applicants for a vacancy; entrance exams; to be able to pass competitive exams; have an opportunity; combine smth. with smth.; extra paid leave; to consist of; to be divided. into; comprehensive curriculum; pure (applied) science; standard of knowledge and ability.

IV. Give English, equivalents for the following word-combina­tions and use them in the sentences of your own:

высшее образование, вуз, поступить в институт, три заявления (претендента) на одно место, сдать конкурсные экзамены, иметь возможность получить высшее образование, зачислять (быть зачисленным) в институт, получать стипендию, сочетать работу с учебой, бесплатный, высшее учебное заведение, дополнительно оплачиваемый отпуск, учебный год, в конце семестра, состоять из, делиться на, чистые и прикладные науки, специальный предмет, защитить проект.

V. Put questions to the sentences:

1) Young people enter higher schools after leaving secondary schools. (When…?)

2) There are from two to ten applicants for each vacancy at various higher schools. (How many…?)

3) In our Academy the course of study lasts five years. (How long…?)

4) A student submits his graduation project at the end of study. (What…?)

5) After graduation the graduates get diplomas. (When…?)

VI. Answer the questions:

1) Where do young people of Russia get higher education? 2) After what stage of education can people enter higher institutions? 3) What competition is there usually at our higher schools? 4) What kind of young people are admitted to institutes? 5) What opportunities have those young people who have failed to become full-time students? 6) What kind of higher institutions are there in Russia for the people who want to combine their work with study? 7) What privilege have evening and extra-mural students? 8) How long does the course of study run? 9) When do stu­dents have exams? 10) What curriculum have our higher schools? 11) How is the graduate's standard of knowledge checked up?

VII. Read the given below dialogues and find the English equivalents to the following word-combinations:

обучать студентов, получать научную степень, вводить степень бакалавра (магистра), платить за обучение, получать стипендию, курс обучения, дальнейшее образование, в здании университета, посещать занятия, территория университета (вместе со всеми учебными и вспомогательными постройками), учебный корпус, студенческое общежитие, студенческий клуб, снимать комнату.

– 1 –

- My name is Dmitry. I study at the Siberian Automobile and Highway Institute.

- Will you explain to us what you mean? The word “institute” sounds a bit unusual to an English ear. Is it a college or a kind of university?

- Well, it’s a higher educational establishment, which trains students in different qualifications.

- By the way, are the graduates of Russian institutes or universities given a degree?

- No, they are not. The system of scientific degrees in our country is different. The graduates are given diplomas, which are actually the same as the British first degree (degree of bachelor). But I think the degrees of bachelor and master will be introduced when the reforms in the sphere of higher school are completed.

- Do students in Russia pay tuition?

- No, almost all forms of education in our country are free (of charge). Students of higher and secondary specialized education establishments get grants. Though nowadays there are a lot of new educational forms where tuition is paid by the students.

- What’s the term of instruction at Russian universities, institutes and academies?

- It’s different in different types of higher education establishments, but in most of them it’s 5 years.

– 2 –

- Is there any system of further education in Russia for those adults who work after leaving school?

- For these people almost every university and institute has evening and extra-mural departments.

- Do such students get any instruction on the premises of the university (institute) and if so, how often do they come?

- Students of the evening departments attend classes four times a week. As to the extra-mural students, they have classes during mid-sessional examinations (in winter) and sessionals (in June).

– 3 –

- Your university has a large campus.

- Yes, rather. Here is the administrative building. Farther and behind it there are four teaching blocks. The library and the students’ hostel are on your left. There you can also see the union building.

- It’s quite a campus.

- Yes, I know what you mean. The university was planned and built as a single, separate complex in the outskirts of the city.

- And where do the students of the university live?

- As far as I know most of them live in the hostel, the other live with their families or they rent rooms.

VIII. Make up your own dialogue on the following situation: a foreign student wants to know as much as possible about the system of higher education in Russia.

IX. Discuss the following problems in two groups, one of them supporting the given below statements, the other – disproving them. Read pros and cons in the tables. Think of some more, which are important in your opinion. Try to make your opponents change their minds.

1) It is necessary for a future engineer to study a foreign language.