Higher education in britain

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MY FAMILY

I am Alex Sidorov. Alex is my first name and Sidorov is my surname. I am seventeen years old. I want to tell you a few words about my family. My family is large. I have got a mother, a father, a sister, a brother and a grandmother. There are six of us in the family.

First of all some words about my parents. My mother is a teacher of biology. She works in a college. She likes her profession. She is a good-looking woman with brown hair. She is forty-four but she looks much younger. She is tall and slim.

My father is a computer programmer. He is very experienced. He is a broad-shouldered, tall man with fair hair and grey eyes. He is forty-six. My father often sings and when we are at home and have some free time, I play the guitar and we sing together. My father knows all about new radio sets and likes to repair old ones. He is also handy with many things.

My parents have been married for twenty-six years. They have much in common, but they have different views on music, books, films, sports.

My parents are hard-working people. My mother keeps house and takes care of me and my father. She is very good at cooking and she is clever with her hands. She is very practical. My father and I try to help her with the housework. I wash the dishes, go shopping and tidy our flat.

My grandmother is a pensioner. She lives with us and helps to run the house. She is fond of knitting.

My sister Helen is twenty-five. She is married and has a family of her own. She works as an accountant for a joint venture company. Her husband is a scientist. They have got twins: a daughter and a son. They go to a nursery school.

My brother Boris is eleven. He is a schoolboy. He wants to become a doctor but he is not sure yet. Three months ago he dreamed of being a cosmonaut.

We have got a lot of relatives. We are deeply attached to each other and we get on very well.

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MY WORKING DAY

Usually I get up at 7 o`clock on week-days. I do my bed and open the window. Sometimes I do my morning exercises, but not always. Then I go to the bathroom. There I wash myself and clean my teeth. Sometimes I take a shower. After that I go back to my bedroom, dress myself and brush my hair. In five minutes I am ready for breakfast. I usually have a cup of tea or coffee and a sandwich. After breakfast I take my bag, put on my coat and go to the college.

I live not far from my college and it takes me only ten minutes to walk there. I am never late for the first lesson because I come to the college a few minutes before the bell. I leave my coat in the cloakroom and go to the classroom. The lessons begin at eight o`clock and at half past one they are over. Sometimes after the lessons I go to the library to take some books. I usually do my hometask at home. As a rule, I have no free time on my week-days.

Sometimes I have dinner at my college canteen. For dinner I usually have soup for the first course, meat or fish with some salad for the second. I drink milk or a cup of tea.

Twice a week I go to the swimming pool. I play volleyball in the college team and we have our training at our big gymnasium.

In the evening all the members of our family get together. We have supper together, watch TV or read books. Reading is my hobby. I like to read detective stories or books of modern writers. At about eleven o`clock I go to bed.

4. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:

1. When do you usually get up on your working day?

2. What do you do in the morning when you get up?

3. What do you have for breakfast?

4. How much time does it take you to get to your college?

5. Do you have dinner at home or at college canteen?

6.What do you usually have for dinner?

7. Do you often go to the library?

8. When does your family have supper?

9. Do you go in for sports?

10.When do you usually go to bed?

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HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRITAIN

In Britain higher education is got mainly at universities and colleges of higher education. They accept students with "A" levels from 18. Students study for a degree which takes an average 3 years of fulltime study. Most students graduate at 21 or 22 and are conferred their degree at a special graduation ceremony.

The oldest universities in Britain are Oxford and Cambridge dating from the 12th and 13th centuries. The largest is the university of London (London University) which was founded in 1836. About 80000 students study at London University.

Admission to the universities is by exams and selection. Women are admitted on equal terms with men, bur the general proportion of men to women students is three to one, at Oxford it is six to one, and at Cambridge ten to one.

A college is sometimes a part of a university. For instance, the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London are composed of groups of largerly autonomous colleges. A college may be quite independent. There is a great number of different colleges - technical, commercial, colleges of art, science, medicine, etc.

After passing his/her examinations a university graduate will leave with the degree of Bachelor of Arts (BA), Science (BS), Medicine (BM), Music (BMus), Laws (LLB), etc.