1. What does your education mean to you?
2. Does education guarantee a good job?
3. What are some important factors in determining which university to attend?
4. Who selects the university you will attend – you or your parents?
5. What are the qualities of a good student?
6. How much free time does a higher school student in your country have?
7. Do you live in a dormitory while you go to university? Who are your roommates?
8. Would you consider studying abroad?
9. What’s the best advice you would tell a brother/sister or friend who is now entering university?
10. How has your life changed since beginning university?
11. What is the biggest difficulty in being a university student?
12. Why is a university education important? What does a university education provide?
Task 2. 2.1) Read the following quotations.
1. “You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”
2. “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
3. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
4. “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
5. “Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
6. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Work in small groups. Who do you think said them? The pictures may help you.
a)Nelson Mandela
b)Leonardo da Vinci
c)Oscar Wilde
d)Augustine of Hippo
e)Martin Luther King, Jr.
f)Mark Twain
How do you understand these quotations? Think of the situations that can illustrate them.
READING
Read the text quickly.Find and read aloud those parts of the text which are concerned with:
a) the history of BSATU
b) the faculties of the University
c) the teaching staff of the University
d) the subjects taught at the University
OUR UNIVERSITY
The Belarusian Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture was founded in October, 1954 and started training specialists on ''Mechanization of Agriculture'' and ''Electrification of Agriculture''. 200 students were admitted in 1954.In 1992 the Belarusian Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture was granted the status of university and celebrated its 38th anniversary as theBelarusian Agrarian and Technical University.Since 2000, the University has been officially named as Educational Institution "Belarusian State Agrarian and Technical University"(BSATU).
Nowadays BSATU is one of the leading universities of the country. Young people from Belarus and other countries enter the university. The educative process and scientific research are conducted by highly competent teaching staff that consists of academicians, Corresponding Members of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences, professors, associate professors, lecturers and experienced teachers.
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The University has eight faculties. Full-time students get education at business and management, farm machinery service, engineering and technology, agro-mechanical and agro-power faculties. Extramural students study at the faculty of electrification and the faculty of mechanization. Faculty for preparation and vocational guidance of the youth is for those who are going to enter the university.
The agro-mechanical faculty trains mechanic engineers. The agro-power faculty trains engineers for electrification and automation of farm production. The farm machinery service faculty trains farm machinery maintenance engineers and engineers-managers. The business and management faculty prepares economists-managers and economists-organizers in the field of agro-business. The engineering and technology faculty trains metrology engineers and standardization andcertification engineers. And the extramural department is for correspondence-course students. It trains agricultural specialist who combine work and study.
All the faculties provide the students with capital knowledge of technical, economic, social and agricultural sciences during 4, 5 or 6 years of studying at the university.
The academic year is divided into two terms. During the term the teaching staff give lectures, hold seminars and havepracticals with the students in various subjects: physics, higher mathematics, technical drawing, technology of metals etc. Nobody can deny vital importance of mastering foreign languages nowadays. English, German, French and Spanish are taught at the University. At the end of each term of the academic year the students take exams. Every summer they have their industrial practice activities. Most of the students do not need to pay for their studies and even receive monthly state grants, though a certain number of young people enjoy a fee-paying education.
Advanced students can join the Students' Scientific Society and carry out their research works under the guidance of supervisors. Annually the Students' Scientific Conference is held where the students present their scientific works. Research results obtained by the students are used in practical work.
Today the University has a nice, well-planned University campus which consists of 6 university buildings, 9 hostels, a canteen and the University youth center. The University buildings have all necessary facilities for studying and provide the students with well-equipped scientific laboratories, workshops, classrooms and a computer centre. A large library is at the students’ disposal as well. It has more than 500 000 books for educational and research work.
Special attention is given to sport at the University. Most of the students are fond of sport and spend much time at the University sporting centre. 8 well-equipped gyms for a wide variety of sports are at the disposal of the students and the teaching staff. Moreover there are sporting halls equipped with training apparatus in 5 hostels. The University has one of the best sport bases in the Republic. It is possible to do 19 kinds of sports here.
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Also the university can boast of having a modern stadium with artificial turf. It has 1000 seats, 4 running tracks, basketball and volleyball fields. The University is proud of its Olympic and world champions.
BSATU provides a good engineering education. For its almost 60 years period of existence the University has already trained thousands of qualified specialists. The graduates of the University work not only at the farms of our republic but also at different plants, factories, industrial enterprises, research laboratories and institutes, joint ventures and banks.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
(A) Exercise 1. Give the English equivalents for the following words and word combinations.
Поступать в университет
Факультет
Преподавательский состав
Студент дневного отделения
Быть студентом первого (второго …) курса
Доцент
Читать лекции
Учебный год
Семестр
Сдавать экзамены
Выполнять
Проводить семинарские занятия
Уделять внимание
Университетский городок
Мастерская
Общежитие
(A) Exercise 2. Choose the correct translation of the underlined words.
1. Students awarded their Bachelor’s Degree are called graduates.
a) выпускать b) выпускники
2. Most of the students do not need to pay for their studies and even receive monthly scholarship.
a) стипендия b) пособие
3. Our University Curriculum comprises a lot of subjects.
a) учебный план b) учебный предмет
4. Many full-time students become members of the Students' Scientific Society.
a) студент, не получивший диплом b) студент дневного отделения
5. An academic year in the UK is divided into three terms of about 10 weeks each.
a) календарныйгодb) учебныйгод
6. The Academy has excellent facilities for acquiring practical skills by future specialists.
a) оборудование b) тренажеры
7. What happens if a student misses classes?
a) пропускать b) скучать
(A) Exercise 3. Underline the correct word.
1. 3000 students were taken / admitted to the university last year.
2. The teaching staff conducts / carries out the educative process and scientific research.
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3. Steve is in his second course / year.
4. I know you are graduating /finishing from the University.
5. I often visit / attend public lectures at the University of London.
6. We take exams at the end of each term / period of the academic year.
7. The University has already studied / trained thousands of qualified specialists.
8. I’ve already failed my credit / session in philosophy.
(B) Exercise 4. Match the words with their definitions.
| 1. academician | a) to study (a subject) intensively, as for an examination; |
| 2. disposal | b) the body of teachers or lecturers of an educational institution |
| 3. extra-curricular | c) financial aid awarded to a student |
| 4. swot | d) a member of an association or institution for the advancement of arts, sciences, or letters. |
| 5. staff | e)manage to learn or cope with something |
| 6. scholarship | f) the power or opportunity to make use of someone or something |
| 7. master | g) the grounds and buildings of a university |
| 8. campus | h) educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum |
(B) Exercise 5. Fill in the gaps with the correct words from the box.
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The (a) _________ year in Britain begins in September and is divided into three (b) ________. Universities (c) ________ for the summer holiday in July. University courses normally last three years and then students (d) ________, which means they receive their (e) _________. At university, teaching is by (f) ________ (an individual lesson between a teacher and one or two students), (g) ________ (a class of students discussing a subject with a teacher), (h) ________ (when a teacher gives a prepared talk to a number of students) and of course private study. Most people who receive a university place are given a (i) ________ by the government to help pay their (j) ________ and living expenses.
(B) Exercise 6. Fill in the correct prepositions where necessary.
1. Ann likes her studies at the University, though it takes much time to get ready … classes.
2. There are sporting halls equipped … training apparatus … 5 hostels.
3. Young people from Belarus and other countries enter … the university.
4. All the faculties provide the students … capital knowledge of technical, economic, social and agricultural sciences.
5. The academic year is divided … two terms.
6. The students have lectures, seminars and practicals … various subjects.
7. Highly-qualified tutors and professors work … the University.
8. After graduating … the University young people go to work to different parts of Belarus.
9. I am … my last year at Technical College.
10. I often attend … public lectures at the University of London.
11. Advanced students carry … their research works … the guidance of supervisors.
(B, C) Exercise 7. Nick describes his admission to the university. Speak of your own experience to your group-mates. Replace the words in italics by the synonyms given in the box.
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Nick is eighteen. At school he made up his mind to enter the Belarusian State Agrarian and Technical University. He always took an active part in social activities and scientific work at school. Nick has always been interested in physics and maths. In June he left school and got his school leaving certificate. Then he took his centralized testing, passed the tests quiet well and was admitted to the University. Now Nick is a first-year student. He studies full-time and doesn’t need to pay for his education. Nick likes his studies at the University, though it takes much time to get ready for classes.
(C) Exercise 8. a) Read the dialogue and translate the words in bold. Mind your grammar! Finish pieces of argumentation choosing among the given arguments the one that can be added in full accordance with the speaker’s viewpoint.