Ex. 2 Read and translate the text. Using a dictionary, translate paragraphs 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29 in writing.

1. Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: local, state, and federal, in that order. Child education is compulsory, and there are also a large number and wide variety of higher education institutions throughout the country that one can choose to attend, both publicly and privately administered.

2.Public education is universally available. School curricula, funding, teaching, employment, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards. The American educational system comprises 12 grades of study over 12 calendar years of primary and secondary education before graduating, and often becoming eligible for admission to higher education.

3.The age range for which school attendance is required varies from state to state. It begins from ages five to eight and ends from ages fourteen to eighteen. Compulsory education requirements can generally be satisfied by educating children in public schools, state-certified private schools, or an approved home school program. In most public and private schools, education is divided into three levels: elementary school, middle school (sometimes called junior high school), and high school (sometimes referred to as secondary education).

4.In almost all schools at these levels, children are divided by age groups into grades, ranging from kindergarten (followed by first grade) for the youngest children in elementary school (5-6 years old), up to twelfth grade, the final year of high school (17-18 years old). The exact age range of students in these grade levels varies slightly from area to area. Some states allow students to leave school between 14–17 with parental permission, before finishing high school; other states require students to stay in school until age 18.

5.In large cities, sometimes there are private preschools catering to the children of the wealthy. Because some wealthy families see these schools as the first step toward an elite college education, there are even counselors who specialize in assisting parents and their toddlers through the preschool admissions process.

6.Most parents send their children to either a public or private institution. According to government data, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private schools. Parents may also choose to educate their own children at home; 1.7% of children are educated in this manner. Many select moral or religious reasons for homeschooling their children. The second main category is "unschooling," those who prefer a non-standard approach to education.

7.The American school year traditionally begins at the end of August or the day after Labor Day in September, after the traditional summer recess and ends in late May or early June.

8.There are often three school start times: for elementary, for middle/junior high, and for high school. Elementary schools starts at 7:30, middle schools/junior high school starts at 8:15 and senior high schools at 9:00. However, all school districts establish their own times.

9.There are more than 16000 school districts in the country. 440,000 yellow school buses carry over 24 million students to and from schools.

10.Primary education is represented by Elementary school which includes kindergarten through fifth grade (or sometimes, to fourth grade, sixth grade or eighth grade). Most children enter the public education system around ages five or six.

11.Basic subjects are taught in elementary school, and students often remain in one classroom throughout the school day, except for physical education, library, music, and art classes. In general, a student learns basic arithmetic and sometimes rudimentary algebra in mathematics, English proficiency (such as basic grammar, spelling, and vocabulary), and fundamentals of other subjects.

12.Typically, the curriculum in public elementary education is determined by individual school districts. The school district selects curriculum guides and textbooks that reflect a state's learning standards and benchmarks for a given grade level.

Secondary education in the United States refers to the last six or seven years of statutory formal education. Secondary education is generally split between junior high school or middle school, usually beginning with sixth or seventh grade (at or around age 11 or 12), and high school, beginning with ninth grade (at or around age 14) and progressing to 12th grade (ending at or around age 18).

13."Middle school" usually includes sixth, seventh and eighth grade; "Junior high school" typically includes seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. Middle schools (still commonly called by the older names "junior high school" and "intermediate school") are schools that span grades 6 through 8 or 9. Schools that overlap the 9th grade typically are referred to as "junior high schools". Both are between primary education/elementary education and high school. In school districts divided into middle and junior high schools, one of the main differences between the two is elective courses.

14.Upon arrival in middle school or junior high school, students begin to enroll in class schedules where they take classes from several teachers in a given day. The classes are usually a set of four or five (if foreign language is included in the curriculum) core academic classes (English or "language arts," science, mathematics, history or "social studies," and in some schools, foreign language) with two to four other classes, either electives, supplementary, or remedial academic classes.

15.A class period is the time allotted for one class session. A period is usually 30–90 minutes long. Most schools have 7-8 class short (30–45-minute) periods on their daily schedule, although some have an alternating block of 3–4 class periods each day (typically 90 minutes).

16.At middle/junior high school students are given more independence, moving to different classrooms for different subjects, and being allowed to choose some of their class subjects (electives).

17.Senior high school is a school attended after junior high school. High school is often used instead of senior high school and distinguished from junior high school. High school usually runs either from 9th through 12th, or 10th through 12th grade. The students in these grades are commonly referred to as freshmen (grade 9), sophomores (grade 10), juniors (grade 11) and seniors (grade 12).

18.Generally, at the high school level, students take a broad variety of classes without special emphasis in any particular subject. Students are required to take a certain minimum number of mandatory subjects, but may choose additional subjects ("electives") to fill out their required hours of learning.

19.The following minimum courses of study in mandatory subjects are required in nearly all U.S. high schools:

ü Science (usually three years minimum, normally biology, chemistry and physics);

ü Mathematics (usually four years minimum, normally including algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, statistics, and even calculus);

ü English (usually four years minimum; many schools count journalism, public speaking/debate, foreign language, literature, drama, and writing (both technical and creative) classes as English/Language classes.etc.);

ü Social sciences (usually three years minimum including various history, government/economics courses; they are world history, US History, government, and economics. Government and economics classes are sometimes combined as two semester courses. Additional study options can include classes in law (constitutional, criminal, or international), criminal justice, sociology, and psychology);

ü Physical education (at least two years, although some states and school districts require that all students take Physical Education every semester.

20.Courses such as physical and life science serve as introductory alternatives to those classes. Other science studies include geology, anatomy, astronomy, health science, environmental science, and forensic science. Many states require a "health" course in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexuality, drug awareness and birth control. In some places contraception is not allowed to be taught for religious reasons. Anti-drug use programs are also usually part of health courses. Foreign language and some form of art education are also a mandatory part of the curriculum in some schools.

Common types of electives include:

ü Computer science/information technology (word processing, programming, graphic design, video game design, music production, film production);

ü Athletics (football, baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo, soccer, softball, wrestling, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, boxing, skiing/snowboarding, golf, mountain biking);

ü Vocational education (woodworking, metalworking, computer-aided drafting, automobile repair, agriculture, cosmetology);

ü Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting, photography, film studies, and art history);

ü Performing arts (choir, drama, band, orchestra, dance, guitar)

ü Journalism/publishing (school newspaper, yearbook, television production, literary magazine)

ü Foreign languages (French, German, Italian, and Spanish are common; Chinese, Japanese, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Latin, Korean, Dutch, and Portuguese are less common);

ü Business Education (Accounting, Data Processing, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Business, Information and Communication Technology, Management, Marketing, and Secretarial);

ü Family and consumer science/health (nutrition, nursing, culinary, child development, and additional physical education and weight training classes);

ü Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

Some American high schools offer drivers' education. At some schools, a student can take it during school as a regular course for a credit. At some schools, drivers’ education courses are only available after school.

21.All American states must test students in public schools statewide to ensure that they are achieving the desired level of minimum education. Students and schools must show some improvement each year. When a student fails to make adequate yearly progress, he is obliged to attend summer school to catch up.

22.Post-secondary education in the United States is known as college or university and commonly consists of four years of study at an institution of higher learning. There are 4,495 colleges, universities, and junior colleges in the country.

23.Like high school, the four undergraduate grades are commonly called freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years (alternatively called first year, second year, etc.). Students traditionally apply for admission into colleges.

24.Students can apply to some colleges using the Common Application. There is no limit to the number of colleges or universities to which a student may apply, though an application must be submitted for each. With a few exceptions, most undergraduate colleges and universities maintain the policy that students are to be admitted to (or rejected from) the entire college, not to a particular department or major. Some students, rather than being rejected, are "wait-listed" for a particular college and may be admitted if another student who was admitted decides not to attend the college or university. The five major parts of admission are ACT/SAT scores, GPA, College Application, Essay, and Letters of Recommendation. Not all colleges require essays or letters of recommendation, though they are often proven to increase chances of acceptance. Medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have set prerequisite courses that must be taken before enrollment.

25.Two-year colleges (often but not always community colleges) usually offer the associate's degree such as an Associate of Arts, although some community colleges offer a limited number of bachelor's degrees. Some community college students choose to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a bachelor's degree. Community colleges are generally publicly funded and offer career certifications and part-time programs. Community colleges often have open admissions, with generally lower tuition than other state or private schools. Some community colleges have automatic enrollment agreements with a local four-year college, where the community college provides the first two years of study and the university provides the remaining years of study, sometimes all on one campus. The community college awards the associate's degree and the university awards the bachelor's and master's degrees.

26.Four-year institutions may be public or private colleges or universities. Most public institutions are state universities. State universities are organized in a wide variety of ways, and many are part of a state university system. Some private institutions are large research universities, while others are small liberal arts colleges that concentrate on undergraduate education. Curriculum varies widely depending on the institution. Typically, an undergraduate student will be able to select an academic major or concentration, which comprises the main or special subjects, and students may change their major one or more times.

27.The most common method consists of four years of study leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.,) or sometimes another bachelor's degree.

Graduate study, conducted after obtaining an initial degree and sometimes after several years of professional work, leads to a more advanced degree such as a master's degree, which could be a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA), or other less common master's degrees such as Master of Education (MEd), and Master of Fine Arts (MFA). Some students pursue a graduate degree that is in between a master's degree and a doctoral degree called a Specialist in Education (Ed.S.).

28.After additional years of study and sometimes in conjunction with the completion of a master's degree and/or Ed.S. degree, students may earn a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or other doctoral degree.

29.Annual undergraduate tuition varies widely from state to state. In 2009, average annual tuition at a public university (for residents of the state) was $7,020. Tuition for public school students from outside the state is generally comparable to private school prices.

30.Depending upon the type of school and program, annual graduate program tuition can vary from $15,000 to as high as $50,000. Note that these prices do not include living expenses (rent, room/board, etc.) or additional fees that schools add on such as "activities fees" or health insurance. These fees, especially room and board, can range from $6,000 to $12,000 per academic year.

31.The mean annual Total Cost (including all costs associated with a full-time post-secondary schooling, such as tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board) for 2010:

Public University (4 years): $27,967 (per year)

Private University (4 years): $40,476 (per year)

The total cost of all higher education in 2002 was $289 billion.

Ex. 3 Give the English equivalents to the words and words-combinations:

ü Державна освіта/государственное образование;

ü Курс, необхідний як передумова/курс, необходимый как предварительное условие;

ü Приватна школа, офіційно схвалена державою/частная школа, официально одобренная государством;

ü Заможна родина/состоятельная семья;

ü Порівняний з/сравнимый с чем-либо;

ü В масштабі штату/в масштабе штата;

ü Частково збігатися/частично совпадать;

ü Відображати критерії/отражать критерии;

ü Релігійна причина/религиозная причина;

ü Бути занесеним до листа очікування/быть внесенным в лист ожидания;

ü Елементарна алгебра/элементарная алгебра.

Ex.4 Find the synonyms in the text to the following words:

A second-year student, payment for studying, to get a degree, compulsory, improvement, to be called, a treaty, to vary, to choose, to include, additional course.