III. Put one of the nouns in the box into each gap.

 

outcome hangover comeback

breakthrough takeaway feedback

by-pass check-up outlook

outbreak breakdown downfall

 

a. The ___________ of communication between management and workers means the strike will continue.

b. His career as a pop singer has suffered over the past few years, but now with a new album and a world tour, he's trying to make a___________.

c. I had too much beer last night. Today I've got a d I go to the dentist twice a year for a __________.

e. The ____________of the election is that Labor has a majority of 90.

f. There used to be so much traffic going through our town, but since the ________ was built we only have local traffic.

g. The weather should be stable over the next few days, and the __________for the weekend is warm and sunny.

h. There has been an __________of food poisoning as a result of people eating contaminated meat pies.

i. There has been a significant ___________in the search to find a cure for the common cold.

j. Producers often ask their customers to complete questionnaires on their products, because they need to get ____________to see what the people think.

k. “What's for supper?” “A Chinese ____________.”

1. He used to be a highly successful businessman, but he lost the lot. Greed was his ___________.

IV. Rewrite the sentences, making them more emphatic.

a. I love the seasons in England. What __ England ____.

b. Where does he get his money from? I don't understand this. The thing _______ is where _________.

c. She has a sense of humor. I like this about her. What _____________.

d. I don't like the dark winter evenings. It's ______________.

e. Those children need firm guidance. What ______________.

f. Jenny always has to know best. I don't like this about her. The thing ____________ is the way _______________.

g. I don't want money. I want love. It isn't _______________.

h. John never buys you a drink. I can't stand this. What __________ is the fact that ___________.

i. Kathy's sincere. You have to remember this about her. The thing _________.

j. He's jealous because I'm rich and he isn't. It's the fact ___________.

V. Supplementary reading. Translate the article and write a paragraph about the problems in teaching talented children.

GIFTED STUDENTS

Education of gifted students is an area in the field of special education concerned with the instruction of students who have exceptionally high abilities. “Giftedness” is described as exceptionally advanced performance or the potential for outstanding performance in intellectual, creative, leadership, artistic, or specific academic fields. Children who demonstrate outstanding talents come from all social, cultural, and economic groups.

Educators believe that gifted students require special education services because their learning needs differ significantly from those of the general population. They learn more rapidly and are able to understand more abstract and complex ideas. They are also able to transform existing knowledge into new and useful forms, and to create new knowledge recognized for its originality, complexity, and elegance. Special education services and facilities for gifted children may enhance these abilities. In addition, some gifted learners may require special counseling services to address social or emotional adjustment issues that are complicated by their exceptional abilities.

Many regular elementary and secondary schools in this country and abroad offer special programs designed specifically to meet the needs of gifted students. Some schools provide specialized education programs to gifted children exclusively. These schools offer advanced education in mathematics, science, technology, the arts, or other academic disciplines. Many school districts rely on intelligence tests to identify gifted students. However, most guidelines for determining giftedness recommend the use of a combination of standardized test scores, rating systems developed by individual schools, classroom observational records, and performance assessments.

Gifted children may study a specially modified curriculum or may progress through academic subjects at an accelerated pace. Acceleration involves adapting education programs so that students may progress through particular subject material quicker than usual. These modifications may take place within the regular classroom setting or they may involve changing the child’s placement in school. Some gifted children gain early entrance to kindergarten, skip grades, enter college earlier than usual, or take specific courses with older children. Ideal programs for gifted students consider the individual needs of children and offer multiple options for services. These programs generally involve both advanced course materials and acceleration.

Early efforts to modify the education of gifted children focused on providing early entrance to kindergarten, grade-skipping, and early entrance to college. Beginning in the 1960s these kinds of acceleration programs fell out of favor with some educators, who believed that putting gifted students in classrooms of older children had the potential to create social and emotional difficulties for the gifted students. However, in the 1970s American educator Julian Stanley implemented a highly successful accelerated academic program for gifted mathematics students at the middle-school level. His work documented positive outcomes of this practice and serves as a rationale for the use of acceleration in many schools today.

In the 1970s American educator Joseph Renzulli developed highly influential models for enriching the curriculum and instruction of gifted students. Renzulli proposed a definition of giftedness based on exceptionally high academic ability, creativity, and commitment to perform specific tasks. His Enrichment Triad Model and Schoolwide Enrichment Model are two of the most widely used models for developing programs and curriculum for gifted students in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES

BOLOGNA PROCESS

The purpose of the Bologna process (or Bologna accords) is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention. It is named after the place it was proposed, the University of Bologna in the Italian city of Bologna, with the signing in 1999 of the Bologna declaration by Ministers of Education from 29 European countries. This was opened up to other countries signatory to the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe; further governmental meetings have been held in Prague (2001), Berlin (2003), Bergen (2005), London (2007) and Leuven (2009).

Before the signing of the Bologna declaration, the Magna Charta Universitatum had been issued at a meeting of university rectors celebrating the 900th anniversary of the University of Bologna – and thus of (Western) European universities – in 1988. One year before the Bologna declaration, education ministers Claude Allegre (France), Jürgen Rüttgers (Germany), Luigi Berlinguer (Italy) and the Baroness Blackstone (UK) signed the Sorbonne declaration in Paris 1998, committing themselves to “harmonising the architecture of the European Higher Education system”.

The Council of Europe together with the members of the Europe Region of UNESCO have jointly prepared the Lisbon recognition convention on recognition of academic qualifications as part of the process, which has been ratified by the majority of the countries party to the Bologna process.

Goals

The Bologna process was a major reform created with the claimed goal of providing responses to issues such as the public responsibility for higher education and research, higher education governance, the social dimension of higher education and research, and the values and roles of higher education and research in modern, globalized, and increasingly complex societies with the most demanding qualification needs.

With the Bologna process implementation, higher education systems in European countries are to be organized in such a way that:

it is easy to move from one country to the other (within the European Higher Education Area) – for the purpose of further study or employment;

the attractiveness of European higher education has increased, so that many people from non-European countries also come to study and/or work in Europe;

the European Higher Education Area provides Europe with a broad, high-quality advanced knowledge base, and ensures the further development of Europe as a stable, peaceful and tolerant community benefiting from a cutting-edge European Research Area;

there will also be a greater convergence between the U.S. and Europe as European higher education adopts aspects of the American system.

Academic aspects

In much of continental Europe, the previous higher education system was modelled after the German system, in which there is a clear difference of vocational and academic higher education. This mostly has an impact on the old engineer's degrees. The conflation of the two types of degrees can be counterproductive in the following cases:

The vocational three-year degrees are not intended for further study, so those students who also want to advance to a master's degree will be at a disadvantage.

The master's degree effectively becomes the minimum qualification for a professional engineer, rather than the bachelor's degree.

The academic three-year degrees prepare only for continuing towards master's, so students who enter the workforce at that point will not be properly prepared. Yet they would have the same academic title as the fully trained vocationally educated engineers.

The end-result of the change is that the agreements between professional bodies will require reevaluation in some cases as qualifications change.

The requirement of 60 ECTS per year assumes that 1,500-1,800 hours are available per year. However, the Bologna process does not standardize semesters, which means that if the summer break at the university is long, the same material has to be crammed into a shorter study year. Also, there have been accusations that the same courses have been simply redefined e.g. 1.5 times shorter when the local credits were converted to ECTS, with no change in course content or requirements. This effectively increases demands with nothing to compensate.

The Bologna process has been implemented concurrently with other reforms, which have been attached as “rider” to the implementation itself. These reforms go far beyond the minimum provisions necessary to implement the Bologna process, and include introducing tuition fees, overhauling departments, and changing the organization of universities.

Effects by state

Contrary to popular belief, the Bologna process was not based on a European Union initiative. It constitutes an intergovernmental agreement, between both EU and non-EU countries. Therefore, it does not have the status of EU legislation. Also, as the Bologna Declaration is not a treaty or convention, there are no legal obligations for the signatory states. The participation and cooperation is completely voluntary.

Although the Bologna Declaration was created outside and without the EU institutions, the European Commission plays an increasingly important role in the implementation of the process. The Commission has supported several European projects (the Tuning project, the TEEP project) connected to quality assurance etc. Most countries do not currently fit the framework – instead they have their own time-honoured systems. The process will have many knock-on effects such as bilateral agreements between countries and institutions which recognise each others' degrees. However, the process is now moving away from a strict convergence in terms of time spent on qualifications, towards a competency-based system. The system will have an undergraduate and postgraduate division, with the bachelor degree in the former and the master and doctoral in the latter.

In mainland Europe five year plus first degrees are common, with some taking up to eight years not being unheard of. This leads to many not completing their studies; many of these countries are now introducing bachelor-level qualifications. This situation is changing rapidly as the Bologna process is implemented.

Depending on the country and the development of its higher education system, some introduced ECTS, discussed their degree structures and qualifications, financing and management of higher education, mobility programmes etc. At the institutional level the reform involved higher education institutions, their faculties or departments, student and staff representatives and many other actors. The priorities varied from country to country and from institution to institution.

France

In France the baccalauréat is awarded at the end of secondary education and allows students to enter university. It is followed by a two-year Diplôme d'études universitaires générales (DEUG), followed by a third year, the licence. The licence is the equivalent of a UK Bachelor's degree.

After the licence, students can choose to enter the maîtrise, which is a one-year research degree. The maîtrise may be followed by either a one-year vocational degree, the diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées (DESS), or a one-year research degree, the Diplôme d'études approfondies (DEA). The DEA is preparation for a doctorate, and can be considered equivalent to an M. Phil.. After the DEA, students may pursue a doctorat, which takes at least three years. The DESS was created in 1975 for students who have already completed their fourth year degrees. It was intended to be a University Doctorate degree with a more practical approach - instead of research - and includes the production of a paper of about 120 pages which is defended in front a jury of three international specialists in that very field. The mini-thesis is then kept in the libraries of the University issuing the DESS; whereas a copy of each PhD Doctorate thesis is distributed by its author to every french university library.

Higher education in France is also provided by non-university institutions dedicated to specific subjects. For example, the Diplôme d'ingénieur (engineering diploma) is awarded to students after five years of study in state-recognized Ecoles d'ingénieurs, especially the Grandes Ecoles. Degrees from these schools are generally favoured over university degrees due to their selective admissions procedures. In contrast, public universities are legally obliged to accept any students who have passed High School.

The baccalauréat and the doctorat are unchanged in the new Bologna system, but the DEUG and the old licence have been merged into a new, three-year licence. The maîtrise, DESS, and DEA have also been combined into a two-year master's degree, which can be work-oriented (master professionnel) or research-oriented (master recherche). The Diplôme d'ingénieur degree is still separate from the university degree but students with such a degree may lawfully claim a Master degree as well.

Strikes occurred in France in 2002-2003 and 2007 against the reforms. Strikes were more related to the under funding of the French universities since May 1968, than to the Bologna process itself. The two main students’ organisations object some aspects of the application to the French scheme but welcome the European process, which aims to facilitate full grade in various universities.

Germany

In Germany the process is already underway, many subjects of the humanities and social studies can be completed with a B.A. and many subjects of the natural sciences with a B.Sc. at an increasing number of universities. The Bachelor's degree in engineering can be a B.Eng. or a B.Sc., depending on the focus of studies. The new postgraduate Master's degrees (M.A., M.Sc., M.Eng. and other) are seen as equivalent to the old five year first degrees Diplom (one subject, can be in all sciences) and Magister Artium (interdisciplinary, common in social and cultural sciences). The number of old degree courses is declining and they will be replaced by the new degrees up until 2010 in some states.

Ukraine

Since the mid-90s, Ukraine took steps to reform its education frameworks in consistence with the Bologna process. By mid-2000s, most Universities grant lower Bachelor's degree (about 4 years) and higher Master's degree (about 6 years). In the Soviet times the only degree was Specialist, which is discontinued by now. Masters are eligible for post-graduate courses. The post-graduate system (Aspirantura) has not been reformed, with Kandydat nauk and Doktor nauk degrees being granted.

United Kingdom

The UK is unusual in that graduates with a Bachelor's (Honours) degree can undertake doctoral studies without first having to obtain a Master's degree; however, the vast majority of students do obtain a Master's degree before pursuing doctoral research. It should also be noted that unlike many university systems in many other countries, British undergraduates are required to undertake a significant amount of independent research, usually in the form of an independent research project and thesis. Opponents argue that a Master's degree experience is required to train the student for their doctoral studies – both in practical techniques and enhanced knowledge of a field.

England and Wales

The first academic degrees in England and Wales available to undergraduates students are either a three-year (“Honours”) Bachelor's degree, or a four-year degree equivalent to a three-year Bachelor's plus an integrated one-year Master's, or a three-year degree plus a year spent in employment (“sandwich courses”) or in a foreign university. Postgraduate Master's degrees generally take only one additional academic year to complete beyond the initial 3-year Bachelor's degree. Note, however, that the academic year for postgraduate Master's programmes in UK usually lasts twelve months (full-time). A research doctorate leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree may be completed after 3 or 4 years of additional full-time study.

Scotland

Scottish students can leave school and enter University at age seventeen with national Higher Grade certificates, as Scottish university courses generally last a year longer than in England and Wales. It is often possible for school students to take Advanced Highers, equivalent to English A-levels, and join the courses at the second year.

A unique aspect is that the Ancient Universities of Scotland issue a Master of Arts as the first degree in humanities.

 

EDUCATION IN UKRAINE

Ukraine produces the fourth largest number of academic graduates in Europe.

Ukraine's educational system has produced nearly 100% literacy.

Secondary education is compulsory. As a rule, schooling begins at the age of 6.

Major universities

Kiev University (National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev)

National Technical University of Ukraine (National Technical University of Ukraine

“Kiev Polytechnic Institute”)

Kharkiv University (Karazin Kharkiv National University)

Lviv University (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv)

Donetsk National University

Chernivtsi University (Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University)

Odessa University (I.I. Mechnikov Odessa National University)

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute”

Lviv Polytechnic

Ostroh Academy

The Ukrainian educational system is organised into four levels: primary, secondary, higher and postgraduate education.

Schools receive 50% of there funding from the city budget and 50% from the national Government budget. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine intends to give general education schools the option to independently manage the financial resources assigned from the state budget starting from January 1, 2010.

Primary and secondary education is divided into “younger”, “middle”, and “senior” schools. Younger school comprises grades 1 to 4. Grades 5-9 are usually referred to as “middle school”, while 10-12 are “senior school”. Despite the names, students usually study in the same school building throughout their primary and secondary education. Primary schooling lasts 4 years and middle school 5. The middle school curriculum varies slightly between schools. There are then 3 profile years.

The new 12-year education system instead of an older 11-year one has got valid in 2001. Those who began their education from 2001 stay in the school for 12 years rather than 11 years. As a result there will be no graduating seniors in Ukraine in 2012.

During grades 9 and 12 (11 till 2011), which is usually around the age of 18 (17), students take various exams. The current examination system is undergoing change. At grades 9 and 12 (11) students take IGTs (Independent Government Tests), which allow twelfth (currently eleventh) graders to enter university without taking separate entrance exams. In 2008 entrance exams were abolished and the IGTs became the standard for determining entrance eligibility.

In school year 2009-2010 potential graduates are scheduled to undergo external independent testing after the final state examination, in the following subjects: Ukrainian language and literature, history of Ukraine, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, geography, and one foreign language (of the pupil's choice) in either English, German, French, or Spanish. The results of the testing will have the same status as entrance examinations to institutions of higher education.

Higher education is either state funded or private. It is common practice that university candidates are not required to pass an entrance examination if they are willing to pay for their education. Students that study at state expense receive a standard scholarship if their average marks at the end-of-term exams and differentiated test is at least 4 (see the 5-point grade system below); this rule may be different in some universities. In the case of all students with a grade 5, the scholarship is increased by 25%. For most students the level of government subsidy is not sufficient to cover their basic living expenses. Most universities provide subsidized housing for out-of-city students. Also, it is common for libraries to supply required books for all registered students. There are two degrees conferred by Ukrainian universities: the Bachelor's Degree (4 years) and the Master's Degree (5–6 years). These degrees are introduced in accordance with Bologna process, in which Ukraine is taking part. Historically, Specialist's Degree (usually 5 years) is still also granted; it was the only degree awarded by universities in the Soviet times.

Upon obtaining a Master's Degree or Specialist, a student may enter a university or a scientific institute to pursue postgraduate education. The first level of postgraduate education is aspirantura that usually results in the Kandidat Nauk degree (Candidate of Sciences). Candidates must pass three qualifying exams (in the field of specialty, in a foreign language of their choice and in philosophy), publish at least three scientific articles, write a dissertation and defend it. This degree is roughly equivalent to the Ph.D. in the United States. After graduation a student may continue postgraduate education. This takes from two to four years of study in doctorantura. Significant scientific results must be obtained and published, and a new thesis written. This produces a Doctor Nauk degree (Doctor of Sciences), but the more typical way is working in a university or scientific institute with parallel preparation of a thesis. The average time between obtaining Kandidat and Doctor degrees is roughly 10 years, and most of new Doctors are 40 and more years old. Only one of four Kandidats reaches this grade. Kandidat Nauk may keep the position Associate Professor in universities, or Researcher/Senior Researcher in scientific institutes. Doctor Nauk can hold position of full Professor, Head of Laboratory or an equal/higher positions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science is considering changing the Soviet style Kandidat Nauk and Doctor Nauk degrees to Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor Habilitation, as has happened in several other post-Soviet countries.

Ukrainian universities use a traditional 5-point scale:

“5” = “excellent”

“4” = “good”

“3” = “acceptable”

“2” = “unacceptable”.

“5”, “4”, “3” can be described as “Satisfactory”, “2” - as “Fail”. Students who get a failing grade of “2”, have two more chances to pass an examination. Since 2006 (and even earlier in some universities), university students are graded on a rating scale of 0 to 100. These grades can be transformed to the 5-point scale as follows:

from 90 to 100 means “5”

from 75 to 89 means “4”

from 60 to 74 means “3”

from 0 to 59 means “2”

Both the rating scale and the 5-point scale are used in university registers. As for secondary schools, they also used the above-mentioned 5-point scale till 2000. Since 2000 secondary schools use a 12-point scale, which could be transformed into the traditional 5-point scale as follows:

“12” = “5+”

“11” = “5”

“10” = “5-”

“9” = “4+”

“8” = “4”

“7” = “4-”

“6” = “3+”

“5” = “3”

“4” = “3-”

“3” = “2+”

“2” = “2”

“1” = “2-”

Here signs “+” and “-” denote respectively better and worse version of a mark, for example, “4-” means “somewhat worse than good”.