1.Remember the following words and word combinations:
to date äàòóâàòè(ñÿ)
to dominate äîì³íóâàòè
to preserve an antique way of life çáåðåãòè ñòàðîäàâí³é óêëàä æèòòÿ
to found çàñíóâàòè
grantñòèïåíä³ÿ
to apply toçâåðòàòèñÿ
unusually wide range of subjectsíàäçâè÷àéíî øèðîêèé ä³àïàçîí ïðåäìåò³â
to inspireíàäèõàòè
heritageñïàäùèíà
2.Read and translate the text paying attention to the active words and word combinations.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN.
The academic year in Britain’s universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education is divided into three terms, which usually run from the beginning of October to the middle of December, from the middle of January to the end of March, and from the middle of April to the end of June or the beginning of July. There are about one hundred universities in Britain. The oldest and best-known universities are located in Oxford, Cambridge, London, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham.
Good A-level results in at least two subjects are necessary to get a place at a university. However, good exam passes alone are not enough. Universities choose their students after interviews. For all British citizens a place at a university brings with it a grant from their local education authority.
English universities greatly differ from each other. They differ in date of foundation, size, history, traditions, general organization, methods of instruction, way of student life.
After three years of study a university graduate will leave with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc. Later he may continue to take a Master’s Degree and then a Doctor’s Degree. Research is an important feature of university work.
The two intellectual eyes of Britain - Oxford and Cambridge Universities - date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The Scottish universities of St. Andrew’s, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
In the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries the so-called Redbrick universities were founded. These include London, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Birmingham. During the late sixties and early seventies some 20 ‘new’ universities were set up. Sometimes they are called ‘concrete and glass’ universities. Among them are the universities of Sussex, York, East Anglia and some others.
During these years the Government set up thirty Polytechnics. The Polytechnics, like the universities, offer first and higher degrees. Some of them offer full-time and sandwich courses. Colleges of Education provide two-year courses in teacher education or sometimes three years if the graduate specializes in some particular subject.
Some of those who decide to leave school at the age of 16 may go to a further education college where they can follow a course in typing, engineering, town planning, cooking, or hairdressing, full-time or part-time. Futher education colleges have strong ties with commerce and industry.
There is an interesting form of studies which is called the open University. It is intended for people who study in their own free time and who ‘attend’ lectures by watching television and listening to the radio. They keep in touch by phone and letter with their tutors and attend summer schools. The open University students have no formal qualifications and would be unable to enter ordinary universities.
Some 80,000 overseas students study at British universities or futher education colleges or train in nursing, law, banking or in industry.
3.Answer the questions.
a) How is the academic year divided?
b) What universities do you know?
c) What Degrees does a university graduate get?
d) What is an important feature of university work?
e) How old are the universities?
f) What do the Polytechnics offer?
g) What do colleges of Education provide?
h) What is a further education college?
i) What do you know about the open University?
j) How many overseas students are there at British universities?
4.Speak in pairs about the higher education in Great Britain.
5.Compare the higher education in Great Britain and Ukraine.
READING
Text A. Learning to Combine the World of Work and Study.
1.Read and translate the text using the dictionary.
Most university students have traditionally taken jobs in their holidays, particularly summer. But working your way through college was seen very much as a US tradition. However, it is now becoming widespread in Britain.
According to a survey by the National Union of Students (NUS ), 42 per cent of UK undergraduates are having to combine full-time studies with paid work during term-time. Clearly this figure must hide big variations because London Guildhall University announced that 80 per cent of its students work for between five and 25 hours a week during term.
But there is one silver lining to this particular cloud. Working during your course not only provides you with much needed cash but can equip you with some additional skills not normally to be had from holiday work. Combining earning with learning may be onerous, but these extra skills do make you even more attractive to recruiters when you graduate and start a career. There are basically three types of students work. There are formal placements, which may be a mandatory or optional part of your degree; there are part-time or vacation jobs, which are relevant either to your degree or to the career you eventually hope to follow; and there is casual work with little or no relevance to your course or your intended career.
Increasing numbers of universities and colleges recognise the need for students to have access to part-time and vacation work, and offer a variety of job-search schemes.
Does working during term-time harm your studies? It depends. In the NUS survey, 48 per cent said they would have got higher grades if they were not employed. But only 15 per cent of the same sample said employment had affected their study “slightly“. Much seems to depend on the number of hours worked.
2.Make up the questions on the text.
3.Report if it is good to combine the work and study.
4.Write a review on the text.
Text B. Au-Pair in Britain.
1.Read and translate using the dictionary.
One of the ways open to a girl student of the English language to improve her linguistic knowledge is to come to Britain for a year as au-pair girl. It certainly seems to be a very popular method, for every year sees more and more girls entering English homes as au-pair girls.
Forty years ago it was only used to describe a girl who came here to perfect her linguistic or professional knowledge; lived as a member of an English family; and the family provided her with “pocket money“. She was not paid a salary. As a member of the family she helped with the house-work and, if there were any, helped look after the children; but she was not asked to do more than would normally be expected of a teenage daughter of an average middle-class (particularly professional-class) English family.
Au-pair girls come mainly from Europe, although increasing numbers are arriving from Asia and South America. In the 1960s it was reckoned there were 9.000 au-pair girls in Britain; today an estimated number is 30,000 in London alone. The concept of the relationship between an au-pair and the English family with whom she is staying still exists in the advisory booklet which the Home Office first published in the 1960s. But conditions for the girls vary greatly. They are treated as cheap labour, many of them placed by agencies with no interest in their future welfare.
An article entitled “Law sought to protect au-pair girls’ interests“ was published in one of the British newspapers recently. The author wrote: “Au pair girls in Britain need a legally binding agreement to protect them against exploitations: not more than five hours a day domestic work, at least one free day a week, sufficient pocket money (7.50 pounds are considered about right), time to study and meet people. The girls cannot go on strike; that sort of action goes against the spirit of the system, which is intended to be one of fellowship, hospitality and a good relationship between the girl and the family.“
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au-pair girl – ³íîçåìêà, ùî îïàíîâóº ìîâó, ïðàöþþ÷è çà æèòëî òà õàð÷óâàííÿ
2.Do you have your own experience of the au-pair? Air your view.
3.Retell the text.
4.Write a review on the text.
TALKING POINTS
1. Read, learn and act.