F) The program receives questions or comments telephoned in by listeners (2-3 members of the group can participate in this way).

Unit 3

Belarusian agricultural academy

Topical Vocabulary

1) aptitude for research – склонность к научной работе;

2) to contribute – способствовать, вносить вклад;

3) tutorial room – аудитория;

4) assembly hall – актовый зал;

5) at somebody's disposal – в чьем-либо распоряжении;

6) teaching is maintained – преподавание ведется;

7) assistant professor – доцент;

8) internal student – студент очного отделения;

9) external student – студент заочник;

10) hostel accommodation – место в общежитии;

11) extra-mural department – заочное отделение;

12) recreation hall – комната отдыха;

13) amateur activities – художественная самодеятельность;

14)school of higher learning – высшее учебное заведение (вуз);

15) vocational practice – производственная практика;

16) "junior" colleges – младшие, или местные, двухгодичные колледжи, обучение в которых рассчитано на удовлетворение местных нужд в специалистах;

17) tuition fee – плата за обучение;

18) freshman – студент первого курса;

19) sophomore – студент второго курса;

20) junior – студент третьего курса;

21) senior – студент четвертого курса;

22) technical institutes – технические ииституты, которые не присваивают степеней бакалавров; после двух или трехгодичного курса дают квалификацию техников;

23) fraternity (от греч. frater – a brother) – братство, община; (амер.)студенческая организация;

24) sorority (от греч. soror – a sister) – (амер.) университетский, женский;

25) collegiate – университетский клуб

Ex. 1. Read the text.

Text A

The Belarusian Agricultural Academy is one of the oldest higher agricultural establishments in the Republic of Belarus.

About 1000 freshmen are enrolled every year in nine faculties: agronomy department, agricultural ecological department, zoo-engineering department, land use planning department, farm mechanisation department, hydro melioration and construction faculty, economics department and business and law, bookkeeping department. Foreign students make up about 2-3 per cent of the total. The Academy comprises more than 50 chairs, an experimental farm, a pedigree cattle farm, experimental fields, repair shops and a printing house.

The Academy occupies sixteen study buildings. Numerous tutorial rooms, lecture halls, an assembly hall, laboratories, a polyclinic, a hospital, a well-stocked library with a reading hall, a canteen are at students' disposal. The library of the Academy has a big collection of books, more than a million. There are many textbooks, a lot of books on different specialities and also Russian and foreign technical journals there. Study and research laboratories are provided with modern equipment. There is also a computer centre. The Academic Town is buried in the greenery of gardens and parks. In the botanical garden and dendrology park more than 500 species of trees and bushes grow.

Teaching is maintained at a very high level. There are 800 teachers at our Academy, among them there are professors, Doctors of Science, assistant professors, Candidates of Science. They give lectures and practical instruction and carry out research work in different spheres of knowledge. More than ten thousand students study at the Academy. Alot of students get scholarships, many of them are provided with hostel accommodation. There is an extra-mural department at the Academy too.

The Academic year is divided into 2 terms: winter and summer. Terminal examinations are held in January and June. Final exams are held at the end of the course of studies. Students have morning and afternoon classes. The period of study at the Academy lasts from 4 to 5 years. According to the Academic curriculum the 5-year period is divided into: 1) two years of general study when students are taught different subjects of general nature; 2) three years of professional training when students learn special subjects, quite necessary for the given profession. Each year students take oral tests and examinations. If students pass them successfully, they are granted a monthly scholarship.

At the end of the 4th year undergraduates are sent for a few months (from 4 to 8) to a factory, a research institute, some agricultural enterprises in order to get some practical skills in their future profession. Working there students start their work at a diploma paper. At last the time of vocational practice is over and students come back to the Academy. Here they get consultations of their professors on some vague items and get ready to defend their diploma paper in the presence of the examiners' body.

The Academy provides students, future specialists with a high standard of theoretical and practical knowledge. They acquire fundamental knowledge in social science and special subjects. Those students who have aptitude for research take part in the work of Students' Scientific Society. But students not only study well, they rest merrily as well. Those who live in a hostel often get together at the recreation hall to listen to music, to dance, to play chess to watch TV or discuss some problems. They pay much attention to sports, and they all go in for one kind of sport or another. There is a sports complex with a winter swimming pool and a stadium. Those who are fond of poetry, singing or dancing take part in the amateur activities. They make a good performance at the evening parties and amateur shows. There are all opportunities for all-round development of future specialists.

The Academy has a good deal of contacts with foreign educational establishments and it also co-operates with research institutes abroad. The Academy actively collaborates with the leading universities of many countries in the world. Many delegations from the Netherlands, France, the USA, Germany, Poland and other countries visit the Academy. Those who study at the Academy and who teach there also go abroad for establishing new contacts. The main task of the Academy is to train highly qualified specialists who will continue glorious traditions of the oldest agricultural higher school and contribute to the development of the agriculture of our republic.