- •Contents
- •Chapter 1. School Education.
- •School education in the uk
- •1. Complete the chart with the words below. Some words may be used more than once.
- •2. Listen again . What do the terms mean? Are they the same in Britain and the usa?
- •3. Use the table to speak about the school system in England and the usa. Then make a similar story about the school system in your country.
- •1. Read the story of a girl’s first school day. Complete the gaps with the missing verbs. My First Day of School
- •2. How does the writer of the song feel about his schooldays? Were they a completely happy time? What words / lines tell you this? Compare your opinions in a group.
- •Chapter 2. School Memories and Experiences.
- •Remember the Days of the Old Schoolyard
- •1. Read the text about school days’ memories.
- •2.Look at the words in bold in the above text and try to explain them.
- •3. Fill in the sentences with the correct words from the list below:
- •4. Complete the phrases with the correct word(s) from the list below.
- •5. Fill in the phrases with the correct preposition from the box. Then choose any five items and make sentences.
- •6. Problem verbs corner
- •1. Translate the sentences from the text:
- •2. Choose the right verb:
- •1. Match the word(s) in a with their English equivalents in b and their Russian equivalents in c.
- •2. Fill in the gaps with the word(s) from the list:
- •3. Consider the situation and answer the questions.
- •1. You will hear Tim Moores, who went to Harrow, one of the most famous public schools in Britain, in the 1950s. He was sent there at the age of twelve and ran away four years later.
- •2. Listen to the text once and discuss the following:
- •3. Use the words in the list below (taken from the text) to complete the following summary.
- •4. Writing task.
- •Chapter 3. Leaving School.
- •1. Read the text about education in Russia.
- •2. Fill in the gaps with the synonyms from the text:
- •3.Answer the questions:
- •4. Discussion. Discuss these questions with a partner. Share your ideas with the rest of the class.
- •5. What do you remember about the system of school education in Great Britain? How does it differ from Russia?
- •1.Answer the questions.
- •2. Match the words with their definitions:
- •3. Find in the text the equivalent to the following Russian word(s):
- •4. Use some of the above words to complete the sentences:
- •1. Read the text and compare your list with what you can find in the text. Unified State Examination in Russian Federation
- •2. Read the statements and decide if they are true or false.
- •3. Find the English equivalents in the text:
- •4. Match the words in bold type in the text with their synonyms.
- •6. Do Russian and British systems of testing the school leavers’ knowledge have anything in common? What are the differences?
- •High School Crisis in the United States
- •1. Match the word(s) or expression(s):
- •Exams: a Survival Plan
- •1. Find the English equivalents for the following expression:
- •2. Fill in the phrases with the correct word(s) from the box.
- •3. Fill in the gaps with the right preposition(s) from the box.
- •5. Discussion. Discuss these questions with a partner.
- •2. Try to guess if the following statements are True or False:
- •3. Read the text and check your predictions.
- •4. Discussion. Discuss the following in groups:
- •Chapter 4. University Education.
- •1. You can normally do these subjects at university but not always at school:
- •2. Read the statements spoken by university students. What is each person studying?
- •1. Match the verbs on the left to the nouns on the right. Some verbs can be used more than once. Translate the phrases into your language.
- •2. Replace the underlined word with its synonym(s) from the previous exercise.
- •3. Answer the questions:
- •Studying at a British university.
- •1. Answer the questions:
- •2. Compare the system of higher education in the uk to your country. Answer these questions:
- •1. Match the words in a to their definitions in b:
- •2. Complete the sentences using the vocabulary from the previous exercise.
- •3. Read the text and decide if the statements below are true or false. What’s a university education worth?
- •4. Discuss the questions with your partner:
- •1. Discuss these questions with a partner. Share your ideas with the rest of the class.
- •2. Match the words in a to their definitions in b:
- •3. Now listen to the programme and answer the questions:
- •4. Read the statement and decide if they are true or false. Correct the false ones.
- •1. Answer these questions with a partner.
- •2. Read the information about universities in the usa and say which university:
- •3. Now read the text again and fill in the table with the information about the universities:
- •4. Prepare a report about a world famous university. Include the following information:
- •Chapter 5. Starting University Life.
- •1. Read the article which gives advice to students embarking on their university career. Match the headings 1-10 below to the paragraphs a-h.
- •Freshmen Survival Advice for Life
- •2. Vocabulary work. Find the English equivalents in the text for the following words and phrases.
- •3. Match the words in a and b to make phrases and use them in the sentences below.
- •4. Fill in the gaps with the right preposition and give the Russian equivalent.
- •5. Fill in the missing parts of speech. Some of the answers come from the text.
- •6. Discuss the advice in the article in small groups or pairs. Consider the following:
- •1. Discuss these questions with a partner. Share your ideas with the rest of the class.
- •2. Use the words and phrases in the box to complete the sentences below.
- •3. Listen to the students. Put the experiences and tips about student money in the order you hear them.
- •4. Discuss the tips you heard.
- •1. Read the text and answer the questions below. Who Needs a Degree? No number of letters after your name can teach you about life.
- •2. Read the statement and decide if they are true or false. Correct the false ones.
- •3. Match the words from the text with their definitions.
- •4. Find the English equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases.
- •5. Discussion. Discuss in the questions groups.
- •6. Writing. Choose one of the quotations you feel you are most capable to write on.
- •References:
1. Read the text and compare your list with what you can find in the text. Unified State Examination in Russian Federation
Traditionally, the universities and institutes conducted their own admissions tests (1) regardless of the applicants’ school record. There were no uniform measure of graduates’ abilities; marks issued by high schools were perceived as (2) incompatible due to grading variances between schools and regions. In 2003 the Ministry of Education (3) launched the Unified State Examination (USE) program. The set of standardized tests for high school graduates, (4) issued uniformly throughout the country and rated independent of the student’s schoolmasters was supposed to (5) replace entrance exams to state universities. Thus, the reformers reasoned, the USE will help talented graduates from remote locations to (6) compete for admissions at the universities of their choice, at the same time eliminating admission-related bribery.
University heads (7) resisted the novelty, arguing that their schools cannot survive without charging the (8) applicants with their own entrance examinations. Nevertheless, the legislators enacted USE in February 2007. In 2008 it was (9) mandatory for the students and optional for the universities; it will be fully mandatory 2009. Universities are still allowed to (10) introduce their own entrance tests in addition to USE scoring; such tests must be publicized (11) in advance.
The first nation-wide USE session covering all regions of Russia was (12) held in the summer of 2008. 25.3 % students failed literature test, 23.5 % failed mathematics; the highest grades were recorded in French, English and society studies. Twenty thousand students filed objections against their (13) grades; one third of objections were settled in the student’s (14) favour.
2. Read the statements and decide if they are true or false.
Russian universities and institutes used to have their own entrance exams.
This was so because schools in the country had different grading systems.
The Unified State Examination program started in 2007.
The purpose of this program was to help intelligent school-leavers from all over the country enter prestigious universities.
The program was welcomed by the Russian universities.
Now pupils don’t have to take exams to any university.
The first all-Russian USE was a success.
The subjects that school-leavers proved to know best are foreign languages and society studies.
About 33% of pupils who were dissatisfied with their marks in USE improved their results.
3. Find the English equivalents in the text:
вступительные экзамены
безотносительно к чему-либо
выпускники
по всей стране
запустить (начать) программу
набор стандартизованных тестов
оценивать независимо от кого-либо
заменить вступительные экзамены
прием в университет
взяточничество, связанное с зачислением в университет
противиться нововведениям
несопоставимые оценки