Task 3. Read and translate the following text using a dictionary. As long as we live we continue to learn, and the education we receive when we are young helps us to continue learning
As long as we live we continue to learn, and the education we receive when we are young helps us to continue learning. We are taught to read and write, and are taught many of the essential facts about the world and shown how to sort them out so that later in life, we shall be able to find out things ourselves and not to ask other people
The first teachers were fathers and mothers, but very early in the history of man children began to be taught by people other than their fathers and mothers. It is thought that schools first started in Egypt 5 or 6 thousand years ago, and that it was the invention of writing which made them necessary. Reading and writing were quite different from the skills used in everyday life, and writing made it possible to store up knowledge which grew with each generation. Specially trained people were therefore needed to teach it.
Only the sons of nobles attended the first Egyptian schools, which taught reading, physical education and good behaviour. In ancient India the priestly caste decided what should be taught to each of the four castes, or groups, into which people were divided. Only the priestly caste was allowed to learn the Hindu scriptures. In China, until the l9th century, education was organized according to social classes, and consisted largely of learning the scriptures by heart.
A clear example of the way in which even neighbouring peoples produce different types of education comes from ancient Greece. Sparta and Athens were two Greek states. The Spartans, hard and warlike people, gave a purely military education to their children. At the age of seven all boys of noble families were taken from their homes and sent to live in schools. They were kept under a very strict discipline and were taught hunting, military scouting, swimming and the use of weapons. The Spartans despised literature, and some people think they could not even read.
At the very same time, also for the nobles only, the Athenians were building what we call a liberal education - one that helps a man to develop all sides of his nature, helps him to make and appreciate beautiful things helps him to find the best way of life. They thought it important to educate the body as well as the mind, and had a programme of physical training which consisted of running, jumping, wrestling and throwing the discuss. As time went on Athenian education paid special attention to reading, writing and literature and these were taught by a special teacher, known as the "grammatist". Common people were not educated; they were lined in craftsmanship, workmanship and trades.
Greek philosophers, or thinkers, always discussed what education should try to do and what it should include. Plato wrote a book called The Republic, which is one of the best books ever written on education, and since those days Greek ideas have influenced European education, especially secondary and university education.
The Romans were very good at organizing, and they were the first people to have schools run by the government free of charge. Throughout their great empire there was a network of these schools which provided for three stages of education.
At six or seven all boys (and some girls) went to the primary school, where they learned 'three R's" reading, writing, and arithmetic. Most children were not taught more than this, but at 12 or 13, boys of the rich families went on to the "grammar" school to study the Greek and Latin languages and literatures, that is, what had been written in those languages. At 16, young nobles who wanted to enter politics or the service of their country went to the schools of rhetoric to be trained in rhetoric, or public speaking.
In Great Britain the first teachers we read about were craftsmen. They taught children to read, write and count, to cook and mend their own shoes. In the early 19th century the main system of teaching was the "Monitor" system*. The teacher could manage a class of 100 or more by using older pupils or "monitors" to help him. The schools had long desks which were sometimes arranged in tiers so that the teacher could see every child in a large class.
Task 4. Read out the following words and word combinations and give the Russian equivalents:
essential facts about the world, different skills, to attend school, to learn scriptures by heart, hard and warlike people, under strict discipline, military scouting and the use of weapons, to appreciate beautiful things, wrestling and throwing the discus, Greek ideas influence European education, to enter politics, to be trained in rhetoric, arranged in tiers, people were divided into 4 castes.
Task 5. Give the English equivalents of the following:
гуманитарное образование, изобретение письменности, накапливать знания, хорошие манеры, состоять главным образом из, исключительно военное образование, презирать литературу, развивать все стороны человеческой натуры, особое внимание уделялось чтению и письму; профессиональное мастерство, искусство и ремесла, по всей великой империи, мастера, привилегированная каста духовенства; школы, находящиеся в ведении государства.
Task 6. Find in the text synonyms to the following:
to get, to find out, to start, to teach, to keep, to consist of, to debate, to affect (влиять, воздействовать), free, well-off, to wish, skilled workman, taught, higher education, that’s why.
Task 7. Find in the text antonyms to the following:
weak, the last, impossible, to complete, peaceful, to miss lessons, bad behaviour, to receive, the worst, modern, same, to appreciate, illiterate, these, unnecessary, younger.
Task 8. Complete the sentences:
1. As long as people live … .
2. First schools … .
3. The first Egyptian schools taught … and were attended by … .
4. Sparta and Athens, two … , produced … .
5. The Spartans were … therefore they gave … .
6. Boys of noble families in Sparta … and … where … and … .
7. Liberal education helps … .
8. A special teacher called “grammatist” taught … .
9. Uneducated common people were trained in … .
10. European education is still influenced by … .
11. The Roman three stages of education included … .
Task 9. Choose the right variant:
1. The first teachers were
a) craftsmen b) parents c) grammatists
2. The first schools started in
a) Russia b) Italy c) Egypt
3. In China until the 19th century education included
a) a lot of writing b) a lot of reading c) a lot of learning by heart
4. Sparta and Athens had … systems of education.
a) similar b) the same c) different
5. The Spartans taught their children the following except
a) the use of weapons b) reading c) military scouting d) writing
6. Roman schools run by government were
a) very expensive b) for nobles only c) free of charge
7. Rhetoric or public speaking was taught
a) at primary schools b) at grammar schools c) at the schools of rhetoric
8. In the early 19th century in Great Britain the teacher could easily manage a class of 100 pupils because a) long desks were arranged in tiers b) he saw very well c) older pupils or “monitors” helped him.
Task 10. Agree or disagree to the following statements explaining, why:
1. Education is not necessary.
2. Fathers and mothers are the first teachers.
3. Writing was one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind.
4. Purely military education is not complete.
5. Liberal education is many-sided.
6. The Romans started three stages of education.