Read Text 1B and answer the following questions.

1. What do you do after you get up in the morning?

2. How do you get to the University?

3. How long does it take you to get to the University?

4. When do your classes begin and are over?

5. What do you do during a ten-minute break?

6. When and where do you have lunch?

7. Do you often have to stay at the University after your classes?

8. Do your fellow students come to see you at home?

9. What do you do in the evening?

10. When do you usually go to bed?

8. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions and reproduce the context in which they are used.

To do morning exercises, to get breakfast ready for somebody, to leave home for, in order to, to get to the University, to have a class, to see a time-table, to stay at the University, to listen to the tape-recorder, to have a short rest, to come to see somebody, to be on.

9. Say whether you agree or disagree with these statements. Give your reasoning. The following phrases may be helpful:

Quite so. Exactly. It’s (partly) true. Just the opposite. I don’t think so. I can’t agree with you.

1. I don’t do morning exercises in the morning.

2. It takes me about twenty minutes to have breakfast.

3. I leave home for the University in the morning.

4. The bell usually rings at 9.00 a.m.

5. We have four classes a day.

6. I never stay at the University after my classes.

7. When I come home, I immediately begin doing my homework.

8. I don’t like watching TV in the evening.

10. Put the following headings in a logical order according to the Text.

1. Coming home after my classes.

2. My first class according to the time-table.

3. The things I do in the evening.

4. My friend Mike’s coming to my place.

5. The things I do in the morning.

6. Going to bed.

7. The things I do during breaks.

8. Getting to the University.

9. Staying at the University after my classes.

10. Doing my homework.

11. Read Text 1B again. Give a brief outline of the information each paragraph contains.

TEXT 1C

STUDYING AWAY FROM HOME

1. My name is Helen. I came to Belgorod two months ago because I want to be a professional civil engineer, and the best higher educational institution in this field is here in Belgorod. I’m doing a civil engineering course at the Belgorod State Technological University, which is very hard work, but I’m really enjoying it. The course is very interesting. I’m living with another girl in a flat in Popov street. We rent this flat from my parents’ friends. It’s small, but it’s comfortable. My boyfriend, Nick, lives in the same street with his parents. They are very kind, and often cook meals for me.

2. I know my parents are worried about me living in Belgorod, but it is very safe here. It’s so exciting in Belgorod, there is so much to do and see. It was difficult in the beginning, especially getting to know this city, and I didn’t know many people, but it’s fine now. I have a lot of good friends. I love my Mum and Dad very much, but I don’t want to live at home for the rest of my life. I phone home every Sunday, and I regularly send them letters. Mum reads them, but I don’t know if Dad does.

12. Ask your groupmates about Text 1C and let them answer these questions.

1. When did Helen come to Belgorod?

2. What course is she doing?

3. Who is she living with?

4. What is the room she rents like?

5. Where does Helen’s boyfriend live?

6. Why are Helen’s parents worried about her?

7. Why was it difficult for Helen in the beginning?

8. Does Helen want to live with her parents for the rest of her life?

13. Consider the following statements.

1. I came to Belgorod to do a civil engineering course because the Belgorod State Technological University is the best higher educational institution in the field.

Do you agree? Can you give your reasons?

2. My parents are worried about me leaving and studying away from home.

Do you agree to that? What is really meant?

3. I don’t want to live at home for the rest of my life.

How do you understand it? Can you express your opinion on the above?

14. Discuss pros and cons of living and studying away from home.

Here are some useful expressions for the supporters:

The point I’m making is …; it is generally felt …; I’m bound to say …; I’m inclined to point out …; everyone knows that …; etc.

Some useful expressions for the opponents:

That’s not the point …; I think it’s absurd to …; anyone can see …; the facts just don’t support …, etc.

15. Retell the story as if it happened to you.

16. Make up a story about your student life based on the information given in the above Texts.

SPEAKING

DIALOGUE 1

TALKING OF EXAMS

Peter: How many exams did you take last term?

Bob: Four.

Peter: Did you pass all of them?

Bob: Certainly, but I didn’t do very well, unfortunately I got a sat in physics. How about you?

Peter: I passed three exams and failed mathematics.

Bob: But you were quite good at mathematics. Why did you fail the subject?

Peter: I’m afraid I was loafing the second half of the term; that’s the reason.

Bob: They say: you either go forward or slip back.

17. Memorize and reproduce Dialogue 1.

18. Make up dialogues of your own using Dialogue 1 as a model.

Situations: You meet your friend and talk about:

a) progress in studies;

b) end-of-term tests passed;

c) examinations passed.

DIALOGUE 2

TALKING OF STUDYING ENGLISH

Henry: Are you still studying English?

James: Yes, but I don’t get enough time for it. I have so many other things to do.

Henry: It’s the same with me. I can read English now without much difficulty, but I still find it rather difficult to speak it. Moreover, I don’t always understand people when they speak English to me.

James: We don’t hear English spoken enough, I suppose. Do you listen to the radio programmes from England?

Henry: Yes, I listen to the news and talks from London. That helps me to understand spoken English but not to speak English.

James: We must go to England, or the USA, for a holiday one day.

Henry: Yes, that’ll be the best way.

19. Memorize and reproduce Dialogue 2.

20. Fill in the missing remarks of the dialogue.

Oleg: Hello, Yuri.

Yuri: Hello, Oleg. How are you?

Oleg: Not very well, I’m afraid.

Yuri: …

Oleg: I’m giving up. I certainly can’t speak English.

Yuri: …

Oleg: I try and try but still can’t speak it well.

Yuri: …

Oleg: Thank you, Yuri. I’m sure your help will improve things.

Yuri: …

Oleg: Thanks again, Yuri. Good-bye.

DIALOGUE 3

DISCUSSING THE TIMETABLE

(Alex, a first-year student, is talking to his tutor – Mr. Ivanov).

Alex: Mr. Ivanov, I would like to clear up a few questions. Will you, please, explain some abbreviations in the timetable?

Mr. I.: With pleasure.

Alex: What does LAB mean?

Mr. I.: It means LABORATORY CLASS. The students may work with machines, or they may carry out experiments and write reports about them there.

Alex: What about LEC?

Mr. I.: That stands for LECTURE CLASS. A professor gives lectures and the students take notes.

Alex: The last abbreviation is SEM.

Mr. I.: It stands for SEMINAR. The professor and the class discuss problems connected with a specific subject. The students frequently prepare reports and read them to the class.

Alex: Do all University courses have examinations?

Mr. I.: Yes, all of them do and students take them twice a year. They are called end-of-term exams.

Alex: Are there any other exams besides these?

Mr. I.: Well, some teachers also give short exams, but these are called end-of-term TESTS.

Alex: What does a student’s final mark depend on?

Mr. I.: It depends on everything: on the examinations, tests, written assignments and often on attendance.

21. Memorize and reproduce Dialogue 3.

22. Make up and act dialogues considering the following assignments.

1. Your groupmate asks you about your timetable of the first term.

2. You explain the meaning of the following forms of teaching to your groupmate: a class, a lesson, a lecture, a seminar.

LISTENING

23. Listen to the Text “Student Life” about Oleg Petrov’s study at the Belgorod State Technological University.

a) Answer the questions that follow.

1. Oleg Petrov is in his second year, isn’t he?

2. What faculty does he study at?

3. Does he live with his parents?

4. Is he a part-time student or a correspondence student?

5. Why is Oleg a diligent student?

6. What subjects does he take?

7. Is he a book-lover?

8. Where does Petrov prefer doing his homework?

9. What has Oleg recently become interested in?

10. Why will he surely make a good researcher?

b) Retell the story about Oleg Petrov.

c) Read Tapescript 1A of the Text. Look up the words you do not know in your dictionary.

d) Tell your groupmates about one of your friends studying at another higher educational institution.

24. Listen to the Text “The Student Rob Fellows” about Rob who is a student in England.

Study the following commentary:

Dundee [‘dΛndi] – Данди, город в Шотландии

Durham University [‘dΛrэm] – Даремский университет, расположенный в городе Дареме, в Англии, основан в 1832 г.

Castle [ka:sl] – замок, дворец.

a) Fill in the chart.

The place Rob comes from	University he goes to	The course he takes	The time he started his course	The languages he studies/ knows	The number of students living in Durham Castle	The year of study he is in	His plans for the future

b) Check your answers with your groupmates.

c) Read Tapescript 1B of the Text. Look up the words you do not know in your dictionary.

d) Retell the story.

UNIT 2

The Belgorod SHUKHOV State

TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

READING AND DISCUSSION

TEXT 2A

THE UNIVERSITY I GO TO

1. The Belgorod Shukhov State Technological University was founded in 1970 and since that time, it has grown into a big higher educational institution.

2. There are seven faculties at the University. They are the Faculty of Silicate and Composite Materials, the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Faculty of Architecture and Technology of Building Materials, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Economics and Management, the Faculty of Industrial Automation and Information Technologies and the Faculty of the Correspondence Course. The University has about 50 departments.

3. About 5,000 students go to the University. About 60 professors, 250 assistant professors and a lot of lecturers work at it. The Belgorod State Technological University trains highly-skilled specialists for the industry of building materials: mechanical engineers, chemists, economists, civil engineers, architects, computer engineers and others. There are a lot of laboratories at the University. They are fitted with modern equipment and instruments to provide a high level of training. They are of great help to students. Here students carry out their experiments and do research work.

4. There is also a good library at the students' disposal where they can borrow text-books, manuals and literature on the subjects they are interested in, and a few reading rooms at the University.

5. Almost all the students go in for different kinds of sports. They do them in a few large well-equipped gyms.

6. A period of study at the University lasts five years. The academic year begins in September. It lasts ten months and ends in June. According to the University curriculum the 5-year period is divided into: 1) two years of general study when students are taught different subjects of general nature, for example, Strength of Materials, Theoretical Mechanics, History of Russia, Foreign Languages, Descriptive Geometry and some others; and 2) three years of professional training when students learn special subjects, quite necessary for their future profession. There are two terms in the course of the academic year. Therefore, students take oral tests and examinations twice a year. If they pass them successfully, they are granted monthly scholarships. During the terms, students have to attend lectures and seminars, carry out laboratory tests and do practical work. At the end of the period of study, a student writes and gets ready a graduation paper and then defends it in the presence of the examiners' body. Soon the defence is over and the former student becomes an engineer with a University diploma.

7. A post-graduate course was organised at the University in 1973. At present about 150 post-graduate students take it.

8. Every year a lot of young engineers graduate from the University. They work at plants, factories, research institutes, design offices, carry out research work, create new types of materials, and work out new methods of production processes. The industry of building materials needs such experts and always gladly receives them.

9. The Belgorod Shukhov State Technological University is young but it has great prospects.