Without looking back at the article, complete the following sentences using the verbs in the box. Then put the sentences in the correct order

Became felt finished had suffered left managed puts(2) was was waiting

a) Matt __________ for her, his eyes full of tears.

b) Now it__________ Ann’s turn to wait for a donor liver.

c) Ann Storm ________________ nervous at work.

d) Ann __________ on her coat, and Matt __________ his arm around her.

e) A donor liver __________ available. She_________ the hospital after ten days.

f) Matt __________ to say, “I need a liver transplant.”

g) Tests showed Ann __________ liver failure.

Think of a true story. It could be personal, about people you know, or invented. Make notes like those in Exercise 2.

Unit 13 Education

СОӨЖ

Schools

1. Read the article. What does Dr Ryde think the advantage of sending children to his school is?

TOT. COM_____________________________________

Every week, a group of British pupils file into class to start their lessons, turn on their computers and obediently follow their teacher’s instructions. For an hour, they are taught mouse techniques, keyboard skills, and reading and writing, using the computer. However, these are toddlers, hardly out of nappies. (A) _______ .

At Ryde College they take the idea that ‘It’s never too young to start’ very seriously indeed. Since the college opened in 1982, more than a thousand pupils have achieved exam results at an earlier than usual age.

The college was founded by Dr Ronald Ryde, a former university lecturer, now aged seventy. (B) _______ . Word spread around the neighbourhood and Dr Ryde soon had to move to a special centre to cope with the demand for his services. To the man who happily puts seven-year-olds in for GCSEs, the ‘Technology for Toddlers’ classes were the next logical step. (C) _______ . Aside from the actual lessons, parents are also encouraged to get the children to practise their their new skills at home.

The parents of these young computer whiz kids have no qualms about giving their children a head start. Kevin Mills, forty-four, enrolled his son, Piers, a year ago, just before his second birthday, after he showed an interest in playing with a computer at home. Elick Harding, a marketing manager and father of Safiya, another of the toddler students, admits his daughter is not always in the mood to sit still and learn but says her vocabulary and reading skills are now streets ahead of other children her age. (D) _______ .

Whereas toddlers are tutored during the day, the older children attend either in the evenings until as late as 9 p.m. or at weekends. So, there is an issue about when they get to run around and climb trees like their friends. (E) _______ . Last year parents Teeta and Kaushik Radia, whose son, Krishnan, become the youngest child ever to get a GCSE in Information Technology, aged just six, complained that Ryde College pushed young children into sitting exams for the publicity.

Dr Ryde remains unrepentant. ‘I would argue that it’s a crime to hold children back. (F) _______ . All of us here are committed to education, not publicity.’ Dr Ryde sees his college not as a hothouse for brilliance – he claims there is no great secret to their success other than small class sizes and traditional schooling methods – but rather as a way to make up for the time wasted in normal state secondary schools. ‘All too often the first years in secondary are lost years and teachers waste them getting all the children up to the same level.’

Glossary

GCSE =General Certificate of Secondary education. National exams in all subjects, usually taken at age sixteen.