Higher education in great britain

1. Most big towns in Britain have both a university and a college of higher education. Here are 91 universities in Britain and 47 colleges of higher education.

2. English universities greatly differ from each other. Students apply¹ to universities month before they take their A-levels². The students are given a personal interview³ and the universities then decide which students they want. They offer them a place which depends on A-level results. The more popular the university, the higher the grades⁴ it will ask for.

3. Most British students choose to go to university a long way from their hometown: university is seen as a time to be independent, to live away from home and develop new interests

4. British students do not have to pay to go to university, but do need money to live away from home while they are studying. Some students whose parents do not earn a lot of money are given a grant from the local educational authority⁵. If students do not get a grant, parents have to pay for their children. Some students borrow money from the bank which must be paid back after they leave university. In theory the grant pays for rent, food, books, transport and socializing. In fact, the grant is not a lot of money. Students used to work⁶ during the holidays to earn more money, but it is now difficult to find such jobs.

5. Not all students study full time at university or college. Many people combine their studies with work. Some companies release their staff for training⁷ one or two days a week or for two months a year. Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest universities in Britain and they have the highest academic reputation.

Пояснения к тексту:

1. подавать заявление

2. экзамен на повышенном уровне по программе средней школы

3. собеседование

4. более высокий проходной бал

5. местный орган образования

6. работают

7. освобождают от работы для учебы

5. Прочитайте 4-й абзац и вопрос к нему. Из приведенных вариантов ответа укажите номер предложения, содержащего правильный ответ на поставленный вопрос:

What is grant?

1) … money borrowed from the bank.

2) … money for rent, food, books, transport and etc.

3) … money have to pay to go to university.

Вариант 9

1. Перепишите следующие предложения; подчеркните в каждом из них глагол-сказуемое и определите его видо-временную форму и залог. Переведите предложения на русский язык. В разделе б) обратите внимание на перевод пассивных конструкций (см. образец выполнения 1).

1. When Shakespeare became successful in London he bought the biggest house in Stratford.

2. Most London buses have a conductor, who will come round (зд. обойдет всех пассажиров) and collect fares.

б) 1. The main places the bus goes to are shown on the front of the bus.

2. Birmingham is surrounded by typically English countryside-quiet meadows and woodland, sleepy old-world villages, impressive castles and ancient churches.

2. Перепишите следующие предложения; подчеркните Participle I и Participle II и установите функции каждого из них, т.е. укажите, является ли оно определением, обстоятельством или частью глагола-сказуемого. Переведите предложения на русский язык (см. образец выполнения 2).

1) The London underground is often called the tube, because it looks like a long, narrow and dimly lit tube, with its walls plastered with all kinds of advertisements

2) There are hundreds little fishing villages on the south-west coast.

3) The members of the groups that form the Opposition sit on the left, directly facing the Government benches.

4) The light above Big Ben at night and the flag during the day-time signal for the people of London that the members of Parliament, are watching over the nation’s interests.

3. Перепишите следующие предложения; подчеркните в каждом из них модальный глагол или его эквивалент. Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1) One dog can search a warehouse in ten minutes, whereas the same search would take six men an hour.

2) If you climb another 118 steps, you will be able to stand outside the dome and look over London.

3) English conservatism, on a national scale, may be illustrated by reference to the public attitude to the monarchy.

4) Fine buildings, theatres, museums and big shops can be found in the West End.

4. Прочитайте и устно переведите с 1 по 3 абзацы текста. Перепишите и письменно переведите 2 и 3 абзацы.

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

1. The Open University was founded in 1964 by the Labor Government for those people, for some reason, had not a chance to enter any of the universities, especially those above normal student age. It takes both men and women at the age 21 and over. At the beginning of the 1990s some 150000 students followed the Open University courses.

2. No formal academic qualifications are necessary for entry to these courses, but the standards of its degrees are the same as those of other universities. The first course began in 1971, and in a decade the number of undergraduates reached 65,000. It’s a non-residential¹university. In teaching the university uses a combination of television and radio broadcasts, correspondence courses and summer school, together with a network of viewing and listening centres².

3. Lecturers present their courses on one of the BBC’s television channels and by radio. They have also produced a whole library of short course-books, which anyone can buy at bookshops. Students write papers based on the courses and discuss them with tutors at meetings or by correspondence once a month.

4. Degrees are awarded on the basis of creadit³ gained by success at each stage of the course. Six credits are necessary for a BA degree⁴ and eight credits for a BA Honors degree. The time of staying on at the Open University is unlimited.

Пояснения к тексту:

1. без постоянного помещения

2. видео- и аудио центры

3. «успешно» – оценка за сданные экзамены

4. степень бакалавра

What are degrees awarded on?

1) … because students write papers.

2) … because the time of staying on at the Open University is unlimited.

3) … on the basis of credits gained by success at each stage of the course.

Вариант 10

а) 1. The Science Museum houses the earliest English locomotive actually built (1784).

2. Cambridge University was exclusively for men until 1871.

б) 1. In the 1970s, most colleges of the Cambridge University opened their doors to both men and women, and almost all colleges now are mixed, but it will be many years before there are equal members of both sex.

2. The colleges are not connected with any particular study.

1) Every college is governed by a dean.

2) A college is a group of buildings forming a square with a green lawn in the centre.

3) Mary (queen) had been living quietly in Suffolk (Саффолк – графство) while England was governed by a group of Protestant nobles acting as regents for the boy king.

4) The dominating factor in Cambridge is its well-known University, a center of education and learning, closely connected with the life and thought of Great Britain.

1) In order to enter the university, one must first apply to a college and become a member of the university through a college.

2) Students studying literature, for example, and those trained for physics may belong to one and the same college.

3) The fact is that one is to be a member of a college in order to be a member of the University.

4) There are many libraries at Cambridge, and in one of them among the earliest books by Shakespeare and other great writers one may see an early description of Russia by an Englishman on diplomatic service there (in 1591) and a Russian reading book of the 17-th century.

4. Прочитайте и устно переведите на русский язык с 1 по 3 абзацы текста. Перепишите и письменно переведите 2 и 3 абзацы.

BIRMINGHAM

1. Long famous as an international business centre, Birmingham has developed into a modern and exciting city whose buildings and shops are second to none¹.

2. Buying and selling has been an important part of life in Birmingham for more than eight hundred years. In fact men used to sell their wives there as recently as the 18-th century! (In 1733 Samuel Whitehouse sold his wife to Thomas Griffiths in the market place for a little more than a pound!) Although neither husbands nor wives are for sale nowadays, Birmingham’s markets offer a large choice of other goods.

3. Each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, the colourful rag market can be found. People used to² come to buy and sell old clothes (rags) but now there is a wide selection of modern fashions for everybody.

4. Years ago farmers used to sell their animals at the Bull Ring, but now it is one of the biggest open-air markets and shopping centers in the United Kingdom. People enjoy shopping there because it has modern shops, together with atmosphere of a traditional street market.

Пояснения к тексту:

1. непревзойденный

2. обычно; как правило

Why do people enjoy shopping in Birmingham?

1) … because they used to sell and buy their wives there.

2) … because they used to sell and buy rags and animals there.

3) … because it has modern shops, together with atmosphere of a traditional street market.