Colleges and universities

Higher education is given in colleges and universities. There are about 3000 institutions of higher education in the United States. Some of them are public, others are private. A public institution is owned and operated by a government. The cost of education in private institutions is paid by the students. Approximately 700 of all private institutions are controlled by religious groups.

More than 30% of young American adults attend college. Each college or university in the USA has its own requirements for admission. Most of them require students to take a standard entrance exam. In addition some colleges require a personal interview.

The most common college degree is a bachelor of arts, or a B.A. degree. This degree usually requires four years of study. During the first two years, a student often takes liberal arts courses to receive a general education. Liberal arts courses include the study of literature, languages and history. Then, in the last two years of college, a student focuses on major subjects, his or her specialization. Then the students may go on studying, and with a year or two of further study get a master’s degree. After another year or two of research, they may get a still higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). Higher education trains people to become teachers, engineers, dentists or do other professional work.

A university is larger than a college. The most well-known universities in the USA are Columbia and Michigan, Cornell, Nee York and Buffalo.

Tuition and living costs at a state university might be about 1000 dollars a year. Private universities are even more expensive.

Students are classified as freshmen (first-year students), sophomores (second-year students), and juniors (third-year students). All the students who have graduated from the senior class are called advanced students or graduate students. Some graduate students get grants or stipends, which cover the cost of their education.

Exercise I

Find the equivalents of the following Russian words and word combinations in the text:

Высшее образование, учебное заведение, приблизительно, взрослые, требования к поступлению, типовые вступительные экзамены, собеседование, бакалавр, гуманитарные курсы, сосредоточиться на главных предметах, обучение, первокурсник, второкурсник, студент предпоследнего курса, выпускник, стипендия.

Exercise II

Arrange these words in suitable pairs

bachelor courses

higher for admission

attend students

private education

requirements interview

entrance exam

liberal arts studying

go on stipends

graduate college

get of arts

personal universities

Exercise III

Translate the words and word combinations in brackets using their equivalents from the text:

1. There are about 3000 (высших учебных заведений) in the USA.
2. The cost of education (в частных учебных заведениях) is paid by the students.
3. Most colleges and universities require students to take a (типовой вступительный экзамен).
4. The most common college degree is (бакалавр искусств).During the first two years students take (гуманитарные предметы) to receive a general education.
5. In the last two years of college students (концентрируют свое внимание на основных предметах).
6. Students graduate from the college with the degree of (Доктор Философии).
7. University students are classified as (первокурсники, второкурсники, студенты предпоследнего курса и выпускники).
8. Some graduate students get (дотации или стипендии).

UNIT III: RUSSIAN FEDERATION

TEXT A Vocabulary

on a large scale-зд. в больших количествахplain-равнина

a number of-ряд, несколькоto influence -влиять

it is to be noted-cледует отметитьtemperate zone-умеренная зона

the legislative branch-законодательная властьto create-создавать, творить

the executive branch-исполнительная властьto carry out- выполнять

the judicial branch-судебная властьto elect -избирать

total-общий, всеобщийelection-выборы

government -правительство

OUR COUNTRY

The total area of Russia is a little more than 17 million square kilometers. The population is about 160 million people. The capital of Russia is Moscow.

The greater part of the territory of Russia is vast plains with low mountain ranges and long rivers.

The Urals divide Russia into the European and Asian parts.

The Volga and the Ural are the longest rivers in the European part of the country. The longest rivers in the Asian part are the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena which flow into the Arctic Ocean. The world’s largest inland sea is the Caspian. Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake.

As Russia is a very large country, its climate is very different. However, we can say that it is mainly continental. The Arctic Ocean influences the weather on a great territory of the country. In some parts of our country winter lasts as long as six months.

The European part of Russia is in the temperate zone with warm or hot summers and rather mild winters.

Our country is very rich in mineral resources; especially it is rich in gas, oil and forests which are exported to different countries on a large scale.

From an agricultural country before the 1917 Revolution our country has become a highly developed industrial and agricultural state. After the Revolution heavy industry has been created; there have appeared such new branches of industry as aviation, machine-building, chemical, automobile and many others. A number of hydroelectric power stations have been constructed as well.

It is to be noted that the first atomic power station in the world began operating in Obninsk near Moscow in 1954, the first atomic ice-breaker in the world was also built in Russia. For a number of years our country played a leading role in the field of space exploration. In 1957, the first artificial satellite (sputnik) in the world was launched in Russia. On the 12^th of April we celebrate Cosmonautics Day in the memory of the first space flight carried out by Yury Gagarin in 1961.

The new political system has brought great changes in all spheres of life in Russia. The Russian Federation is an independent state with a president at the head. The president is elected every four years at general elections.

The political system consists of three branches of power:

1. the legislative branch is the Parliament that is divided into two houses – the Upper House, that is the Federation Council, and the Lower House, the Duma.
2. the executive branch is the government with Prime Minister at the head.
3. the judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court.

There exist a great many political parties and organizations (political as well as social) in our country today.

Exercise I

Answer the questions:

1. How large is the territory of Russia?
2. How large is the population of Russia?
3. What parts do the Urals divide Russia into?
4. Can you name the longest rivers in Siberia and the Far East?
5. Which is the largest inland sea in the world?
6. Which is the deepest lake and where is it? What’s its depth?
7. Why do we say that the climate in Russia is various?
8. What influences the climate of large territories in our country?
9. What mineral resources is Russia rich in?
10. What has been created in our country after the 1917 Revolution?
11. What can you say about the first atomic power station in the world and about the first atomic ice-breaker?
12. When and where was the first sputnik launched into space?
13. Who was the first to make a space flight? When did it happen?
14. What kind of state is the Russian Federation?
15. What period is the president elected for?
16. What are the three branches of power in our country?

Exercise II

Complete the sentences:

1. The greater part of the territory of Russia …
2. The Urals divide Russia …
3. Lake Baikal is …
4. The climate of Russia is …
5. The Arctic Ocean influences …
6. The European part of Russia is in …
7. Our country is very rich in …
8. After the 1917 Revolution there have appeared such …
9. The first atomic power station in the world began …
10. In 1957 … was launched in Russia.
11. On the 12^th of April we celebrate …
12. The Russian Federation is …
13. The legislative branch is …
14. The executive branch is the government …
15. The judicial branch is headed …

Exercise III

Read and translate the dialogues:

Dialogue 1

REPORTER: (Addressing Mr.Butler who headed an expedition to Kamchatka): How do you do, Mr. Butler? I’m Alexander Somov, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times.

MR. BUTLER: How do you do, Mr. Somov?

R.: Our newspaper is very much interested in the results of your expedition. Have you had a good journey? Have you seen much of our country?

B.: The journey was quite safe and comfortable. As to your country, it’s really very large. We especially felt it when were coming back by train. It was very interesting to cross the whole country from the Far East to St. Petersburg.

R.: What impressed you most during your expedition?

B.: First of all, it’s Kamchatka itself with volcanoes and unusually high geysers.

R.: And what about Siberia? What have you seen there?

B.: We have visited Irkutsk, Novosibirsk and some other industrial and cultural centers. We saw your beautiful Lake Baikal. We met many interesting people. I must say that Russians are very friendly. I’m very sorry, Mr. Somov, but we are in a hurry now. Goodbye!

R.: Thank you for the interview, Mr.Butler. Goodbye!

Dialogue 2

(Somov is phoning Mr. Butler on the next day)

SOMOV: Is that you, Mr. Butler? Good morning!

MR. BUTLER: Good morning, Mr. Somov!

S: Could I ask you a few more questions, Mr. Butler?

B: Yes, of course. I’m free now and I’m ready to talk to you.

S: Mr. Butler, you have seen our Far East, Siberia, you have been to Altai. Is there anything else you would like to see?

B: Yes, there is a region in your country which greatly attracts tourists. It’s the “Golden Ring of Russia”. I’ve heard a lot about it but I don’t know what it is.

S: Oh, it’s a really popular tour which embraces a number of towns in Central Russia: Zagorsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Suzdal and some others. They are old Russian towns which are famous for their ancient architecture, churches and monasteries. If one wants to have an idea of the life of Russians a few centuries ago, one should certainly make this tour. You will admire an unusual excursion to the past and it will certainly help you understand present Russia much better.

B: Thank you for your advice, Mr. Somov.

Exercise IV

Make up your own dialogue on the topic.

Exercise V

Answer the questions:

1. Have you ever traveled about Russia?
2. What places have you been to?
3. Where did you go last time?
4. Why did you go there?
5. What did you like (dislike) there and what impressed you most?
6. What places would you like to visit in the future?
7. What region of our country do you live in?
8. What places of interest are there in your region and in your town?

TEXT B

MOSCOW

Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow’s history. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 13^th century Moscow was the centre of the struggle of Russian lands for the liberation from the tartar yoke. In the 16^th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That is why it became the main target of Napoleon’s attack. Three quarters of the city was destroyed by fire during Napoleon’s occupation, but by the mid-19^th century Moscow had been completely restored. After the October Revolution Moscow became the capital again.

Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about nine hundred square kilometers (ancient Moscow occupied the territory of the present-day Kremlin). The population of the city is over 9 million.

Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. It has more historic associations than any other place in Moscow. The Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral (Vasily Blazheny) are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, the Spasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country. On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world. St Basil’s Cathedral was built in the mid-16^th century in memory of the victory over Kazan. There’s a legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnik, because he didn’t want them to create another masterpiece.

There are a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches and monuments in Moscow. Now Moscow is being reconstructed and we all hope that in a few years the city will become even more beautiful.

There are more than 100 museums in Moscow. The largest museums are the Pushkin museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery. Other unique museums in Moscow include the All-Russia Museum of Folk Arts, the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art, Alexei Bakhrushin Theatre Museum, Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture and many others.

Moscow is famous for its theatres. The best-known of them is the Bolshoi Opera House. Drama Theatres and studios are also very popular.

Moscow is a city of students. There are over 100 higher educational institutions in it.

Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the centre of political life of the country.

Names

Ivan the Terrible –Иван Грозный Peter the Great –ПетрВеликий (Петр I) The Tzar-Cannon– Царь-пушка The Tzar-Bell – Царь-колокол

The Bell Tower of Ivan the Great – Колокольня Ивана Великого

St Basil’s Cathedral –собор Василия Блаженного

the Bolshoi Opera House –Большой театр оперы и балета

The State Tretyakov Gallery – Государственная Третьяковская Галерея

Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture - Музей музыкальной культуры им.Глинки

Alexei Bakhrushin Theatre Museum – Театральный музей имени Бахрушина

the All-Russia Museum of Folk Arts- Всероссийский музей декоративного, прикладного и

народного искусства

the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art-Музей древнерусского искусства имени

А. Рублева

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts–Музей изобразительных искусств имени А.С.Пушкина

Exercise I

Answer the questions:

1. When was Moscow founded?
2. Is there a monument to Yuri Dolgoruky in Moscow? Where is it?
3. When did Moscow become the capital?
4. In 1712 the capital was moved to St Petersburg, wasn’t it? When did Moscow become the capital again?
5. Was ancient Moscow a big city? What’s the total area of modern Moscow?
6. What’s the population of Moscow?
7. What places of interest in the centre of Moscow do you know?
8. What do you know about St Basil’s Cathedral?
9. What can you see on the territory of the Kremlin?
10. What are the most famous Moscow museums? (art galleries?)
11. What theatres in Moscow do you know?
12. What is your favorite place in Moscow?

Exercise II

Translate from Russian into English:

Москва – это столица России с населением примерно (some) 9 миллионов человек. Москва – самый большой и один из старейших городов нашей страны. Она была основана Юрием Долгоруким в 1147. В 1997 году Москва отпраздновала свое 850-летие.

Москва – крупный индустриальный и культурный центр. Здесь более 550 исследовательских институтов и более 80 высших учебных заведений (institutes of higher education), более 50 музеев, около 1000 библиотек. Москва- это политический центр России, где находятся президент, парламент и правительство.