Now open page 12 and read the endings of these quotations. Match them with the beginnings.

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Perm State University

Welcome to Perm State University.

1. You may have many reasons for having come to this university. You may want to widen your experience and to make new friends. You may be leaving home for the first time. You may be wanting to start again and take up missed opportunities. However, there’s one reason which is more important of all. You have come to university because you want to learn. You want to start on a learning process which will help you to move forward in your life. Perm University, the oldest in the Urals, offers its students a wide choice in academic subjects, levels of study and different ways of attending.

2. Our university was opened as a branch of St. Petersburg University on October 14 in 1916. The idea of a higher educational centre in the Urals was very much discussed at the turn of the 20^th century. This dynamically developing region needed its own research and educational centre. Perm fought for the right of having its own university for a very long time. The Perm public moved forward a lot of projects of setting up a university. Decisive role was played by a successful businessman Nikolai Meshkov. Due to his efforts Perm was able to offer the most favourable financial conditions and the central government made its decision in favour of Perm. In 1916 the University had only three facilities: that of history, languages and literature, of physics and mathematics and the faculty of law. The first rector of Perm University was professor K.D. Pokrovsky, a famous astronomer of Pulkov observatory. In the 1920s – 1930s on the basis of the university there were set up the Perm Agricultural, Medical and Pedagogical Institutes.

3. Today Perm University is one of Russia’s largest centres of research and education. There are 11 faculties: those of mechanics and mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, geography, economics, history and politology, philology, law, philosophy and sociology. Over 15 000 students are being trained for 34 professions at full-time, part-time and correspondence departments. The staff of the university includes 850 lecturers among whom there are 3 Academicians and Corresponding Members of the Academy of Science of Russia, 15 Honoured Scientists of Russia and 10 Honoured Educationalists of Russia.

4. One of the first questions most students ask, is “What can I expect and what will be expected from me?” You will find that during your time at the university you will be involved in a variety of learning activities, some new, some familiar. They are:

- lectures: these are the most traditional teaching methods in higher education. Your role is principally to listen and to make notes.

- seminars: these are discussion sessions with your tutor and a small number of other students. Seminars are more informal than lectures. Remember: you should take an active part. You should know beforehand what the seminar will be about so that you can do the necessary reading and preparation.

- tutorials: these usually involve just you and your tutor. They give an opportunity for you to discuss your work and get some help with difficult points.

- practicals or workshops: these are classes designed to help you learn a skill which will be useful to you during or after your course. Working with computers is a typical example.

- lab sessions: these are intended to help you learn to handle equipment and to give you the experience to carry out experiments relevant to your work.

In addition to all this you will have to do a fair amount of studying on your own: reading, making notes, researching, writing, and of course, learning and revising your work. All these learning methods have one thing in common. They put the emphasis on you, the learner. Your tutors are there to help and to guide you but you have to do the work. In other words, you will become an active, independent learner, responsible for your own learning. This concept of independent learning is central to higher education.

5. The course of studies at Perm university lasts five years. There are two terms a year. At the end of each term you will have to take exams: mid-sessional and sessional. At the end of the course of studies you will have final examinations.

The curricula of different faculties include a lot of subjects, both general and special. Specialization usually begins in the second or third year. The study of theory is accompanied by practical training. Our academic staff are involved in applied research and many of them have a background in business and the professions. Our research is recognized for its excellence both nationally and internationally.

6. One thing you will not have enough of is time. This does not mean that you should work all the time, nobody expects that. It would make you a very one-sided person. You must have time for your friends, family, sport, hobbies as well as eating, sleeping, shopping and other daily musts. That’s why you need to plan your time carefully.

7. The University places great importance on the improvement of its facilities for students, both educational and social. The territory of the university has become a real campus with hostels and numerous canteens and cafes. The Students’ Recreation Centre and the Sports Club have become popular not only with our students but also with the young people of Perm. There are numerous clubs and societies, including the Ensemble of folk Dance (“Rodnik”), the Musical Theatre, dance-group “Non-Stop”, the String Ensemble. There is also the opportunity of attending the solo singing classes given by prominent opera singers. The Student’s Choir, a prize-winner of International Festival, has given a lot of concerts both in Russia and abroad. There is the Student’s Drama Society which took part in an international festival in Germany.

8. The university library is as old as the University itself. It is the largest in the city with its 1.5 million volumes. It provides the students with all the necessary scientific publications and manuals.

More than 900 computers are incorporated into a network and have direct access to Internet via satellite. Distant education enables the students to learn sociology, economics, mathematics, physics and biology via computer network and Internet.

9. Eight university museums (e.g. Museum of the University history, Museum of Archeology, Museum of Botany, museum of Mineralogy and others) help to educate and bring up the generations of students. They are part of the cultural heritage of Perm.

Our university has got its own newspaper “The Perm University” and its own radio. Students take an active part in collecting material and preparing programmes broadcast daily during the breaks.

10. The most popular sport events at the University are All-University Games in ten obligatory and six optional sports, a traditional athletic relay race for the prize of the University newspaper, the first-year students’ games, skiing races in winter.

Every October we organize ‘a First-year students’ day” for freshers. Competitions and festivals of students’ amateur artistic groups stand out in the memory of several generations. The famous annual students’ festival known as “Student Spring”, one of the biggest cultural events, has been held at Perm University for over forty years.

11. Before 1989 Perm was closed for foreign visitors. Nowadays the University is actively contracting the universities and research centres of the world. Long-term agreements and exchange programmes have been signed with the leading universities of Great Britain (e.g. Oxford University), France, the USA and East Europe.

12. Most students do foreign languages in the first and second years. Those who want to continue their studies may join special evening language courses organized by the English Department.

Mastering foreign languages is a must nowadays. If you want to have a successful career you should be able to speak one or more foreign languages.

13. You may be having mixed feelings about your studies right now. You are excited at the thought of new opportunities and experience but at the same time you are worried about whether you will cope with it all. We want you to enjoy your learning and get a great deal from it.

Good luck!

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