Text 3. Students’ life and Studies.

I. Words to be remembered:

1.	assignment – зд. задание;
2.	attend – посещать (лекции и т.п.);
3.	competition – конкурс;
4.	competitive – конкурсный;
5.	credit test – зачет;
6.	enrolment – зачисление;
7.	evaluate – оценивать;
8.	extent – степень;
9.	free of charge – бесплатный;
10.	fulfill – выполнять, осуществлять;
11.	full time student – студент дневного отделения;
12.	grants – стипендия;
13.	habit – привычка;
14.	manage – зд.суметь, справиться;
15.	participate – принимать участие;
16.	recreation – отдых;
17.	student identification carol – студенческий билет;
18.	student’s record book – зачетная книжка;
19.	take examination – сдавать экзамены;
20.	term paper – курсовая работа;
21.	tuition – обучение;
22.	tuition-fee – плата за обучение;
23.	various – различный, разнообразный.

II. Before reading the texts try to answer the following questions.

1. What entrance tests is it necessary to take to enter your University?

2. What papers identify your student Status?

3. Do you pay for your tuition?

4. What year student are you now?

5. What subjects have you been studying this year?

6. Do you attend all lectures and classes?

7. How often do you have various tests? In what subjects?

8. Do you often do to concerts, parties or discos held at the University?

1. A secondary school certificate is not a ticket that allows someone to automatically enter a university. There are widely used standardized tests for those who wish to attend a university. Secondary school students take those tests and according to the results they become the University students. The tuition fee for them is free of charge. But there also exists a paid form of education for those who haven’t managed to meet the competition requirements. After the enrolment you get your identification card and record book.

2. The University training course for full-time students lasts for 5-6 years. The semester system divides the academic year into two almost equal terms. During a semester students must attend lectures and practical classes and prepare for them regularly, participate actively in seminars, fulfill written assignments, do laboratory works. At the end of each semester students take examinations.

3. Students’ progress is evaluated through oral or written tests, through participation in class discussions, through term papers, credit tests and final examinations in each course. If students do well and receive good and excellent marks they are given state grants.

4. If students work hard from the beginning and develop good study habits, they will certainly be successful in their studies – and still have time for relaxation, for social and other activities. As to cultural and recreational activities at the University, they are quite various, and to a great extent arranged by students themselves. They participate in concerts, parties, discos, in the variety of folk orchestras, in the choreographic ensemble, etc. Every year there are several sports programs organized: chess competition, football championship and other sport events.

The immense number of cultural festivals and celebrations, which take place all year long, demonstrates international cultural diversity. The annual festival “Student’s Autumn”, National Cuisine Feasts, Faculty Days, National Student’s Union Holidays with a wide range of cultural activities present a perfect chance for the students to display their skills and abilities.

III. After reading the text:

־ translate the paragraph dealing with the entrance to the University;

־ name the forms of cultural and recreational activities at the University;

־ translate the paragraph concerning the requirements to the students.

IV. Debate the following points:

1. Students work a lot only at the examination period.

2. To pass an exam it’s enough to have listened to the lecture course in the subject.

3. Spending much time on cultural life hinders (мешать) students in their studies.

4. As a rule, girls study better than boys.

To begin with, you can use the following:

That’s right – Верно

As I see it – На мой взгляд

In my opinion – По моему мнению

It’s common knowledge that – Общеизвестно, что

On the one hand, … on the other hand … – С одной стороны, с другой стороны

Certainly not – Конечно же нет

I shouldn’t say so – Я бы так не сказал(а)

On the contrary – Наоборот.

V. Additional text for reading, translating and discussing.

There are many universities in Belarus. Some serve mainly local students; others have national and international student bodies ¹. Some are private, some public. Some are very hard to get into, while others will take any school graduate. A decision as to which institution to attend may depend upon cost, distance from home, size, programs offered, and whether it will offer the kind of social life you want. Whatever your decision is or has been, you should remember that no institution is perfect. Problems you may have had in school aren’t going to disappear because you are in university. Furthermore, university life means set of demands. Aside from the competition and standards of work, there’s another big difference between school and university. You spend relatively few hours in class, and except for labs, discussion sections, and seminars, you are hardly graded ² at all for what you do in class. Instead of an hour or two of homework for five classes, you have two or three hours of outside work for every hour in class. Therefore, if you are carrying a course load ³ of fifteen semester hours, you can expect to spend about thirty hours a week in study and preparation. You will have time between classes that you can use profitably ⁴ or waste, as you choose.

In most courses you won’t be required to do your homework on a daily bases. Rather, you are likely to be given a syllabus ⁵ outlining an entire semester’s work. Nobody checks to see if you are keeping up ⁶ with the reading or working on the required term paper. You might have an occasional quiz or a midterm exam, but in some courses there will be only one exam, the final. If you let all the reading go to the end of the term, you won’t be able to do enough cramming ⁷ before the exam to perform well, even if the course is only moderately difficult.

You will be treated like an adult who can be given some general directions and then left to figure out ⁸ how and when to do what needs to be done. Many university students aren’t prepared to take the responsibility that goes with this freedom. But if you have a realistic idea of what lies ahead and how to prepare for university life, your chances of liking university and of doing well will be very much better. University isn’t training for life; it is life, that’s why students love their university years and look back on them with warm memories.

1.организация

2. оценивать

3. нагрузка

4. с пользой

5. конспект

6. поддерживать постоянно

7. вбивать в голову, зазубривать

8. понимать.

Dialogues on University Life.

Read and reproduce the following situational dialogues.

I

־ I beg your pardon, where is the Medical University situated?

־ Just before you, on the other side of the street. There is the entrance.

־ Thank you very much. Are you a medical student?

־ No, I’m not, but I’m going to take my entrance tests.

־ What a luck! I’m going to enter the Medical University too.

II

Hello, Peter! Glad to see you. I haven’t seen you for ages. Did you enter the Medical University?

־ Yes, I did. I entered it in September. Now I’m a first-year student.

־ How long will the course of studies last?

־ It will last for six years.

־ So, in six years you’ll become a specialist. How lucky you are!

־ By the way, what will be your future speciality?

־ It will be therapy, I think.

III

־ We’ve got a new philosophy lecturer this term.

־ How do you like him?

־ He makes an impression of a highly qualified teacher. Besides, he is very strict. And I think it’s good.

־ As for me, I prefer not very strict teachers.

IV

־ Excuse me, are you from the Pharmaceutical faculty?

־ Yes, I am.

־ And from what group?

־ 12.

־ Fine. I am to speak to your monitor. Is he here?

־ Yes, there he is standing. Let’s come up to him.

V

What foreign language do you study?

־ English. And I like it very much.

־ Do you? Then you must be good at languages. As for me, I have a lot of trouble with it. I’m afraid I have no abilities for languages…

־ Sorry, but do you work at your English regularly?

־ To tell the truth, I don’t. Perhaps, I got a little too interested in sports.

־ I see. It’s not easy for you to keep up both sports and studies. And what are you going to do about it?

־ I really don’t know. Maybe, I have to change something in my daily routine.

VI

־ You wouldn’t like to fail in your physics exam tomorrow, would you?

־ Of course, I wouldn’t. Who would?

־ But you haven’t been working at all these days. Perhaps, you think you are clever enough to pass the exam without any efforts…

־ No fear. I’m quite at home in physics. I’ve been studying it properly during the term.

VII

־ Can you help me with these formulas? I’m so poor at chemistry now…

־ Are you? It’s hard to believe. You were at the top of the class at school, as far as I remember.

־ It was at school… And here I haven’t got a single good mark in chemistry yet. You see, I’ve missed rather many classes. Though it isn’t my fault. I’ve been ill for nearly a month and now I can’t keep up with the group.

־ I see. Certainly, I’ll help you. Come to me any time you like.

־ Thank you. See you tomorrow then, if you don’t mind.

־ Till tomorrow.

VIII

־ What room are we in for the next lesson?

־ Has the time-table changed? It must be room 328.

־ Well, I don’t know. I’ve just forgotten to look it up. It seems to me, last week we had it in room 204.

־ Let’s ask the monitor. He is sure to know things like that.

IX

Have you written your term-paper?

־ Certainly. I already handed it in to the teacher a couple of days ago. And what about you?

־ I only started it the day before yesterday. I didn’t think the work would be so difficult. And now I see I won’t manage it on time.

־ Well, it’ll teach you a lesson. You are in the habit of putting off everything till the last moment.

X

־ Are you going back to the hostel? What’s happened? Classes are beginning in some 5 minutes. You may be late.

־ I hope I won’t. I’ve forgotten to take my notes and I’ll need them at the seminar. I’m going to give a talk.

־ Can’t you speak without any notes?

־ Oh, no. I don’t feel very sure of myself yet…

־ Then hurry up. Good luck! Bye.

־ Bye. See you later.

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