English has become an international language. Talk about the importance of learning a foreign language. Use the questions to help you

· What do you consider to be the most important aspects of learning English?

· What are the best ways to practise it?

· Say if you'd like to learn a few foreign languages and why.

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Examination Card #14

► I. Reading

Read the text. Write a short summary of it (5-6 sentences). Use your own words to express the main idea of the text.

Undergraduate Education in the USA: Types of Schools

Two main categories of institutions of higher learning are public and private. All schools get money from tuition and from private contributors. However, public schools are also supported by the state in which they're located. Private schools do not receive state funding. A third category is the proprietary (for-profit) school. These usually teach a particular workplace skill. Some of these schools are quite expensive.

Schools can also be grouped by the types of programmes and degrees they offer. The three major groups are community colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities. Community colleges (sometimes called junior colleges) offer only the first 2 years of undergraduate studies (the freshman and sophomore years). They enroll about 5 million students a year. Most community colleges are public schools, supported by local and/or state funds. They serve two general types of students: those taking the first 2 years of college before they transfer to a 4-year school for their third and fourth (junior and senior) years and those enrolled in 1- or 2-year job-training programmes. Community colleges offer training in many areas, such as health occupations, office skills, computer science, police work, and automotive repair.

What is the difference between a college and a university? Size is only part of the answer. Some colleges have a student body of just a few hundred, while some state universities serve more than 100,000 students on several campuses. A university is usually bigger than a college because the scope of its programmes is much greater. A university offers a wider range of undergraduate programmes plus graduate studies. Part of the responsibility of a university is to encourage its faculty and graduate students to do research to advance human knowledge. Colleges, on the other hand, are primarily undergraduate schools. They have no obligation to conduct research.

Many excellent colleges offer studies in the humanities, languages, mathematics, social sciences, and sciences. Liberal arts colleges generally do not offer degrees in engineering, business, journalism, education (teacher training), and many other specific vocations that a student can prepare for at a university.

Some colleges specialize in training students for one occupation (as agricultural colleges and teachers' colleges do). Many undergraduate institutions that are not called colleges also provide higher education in one specific occupation - for example, conservatories for music students, seminaries for students of religion, and fine arts schools for artists.

Taken from The U.S.A. Customs and Traditions by Ethel Tiersky and Martin Tiersky

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► II. Writing

Write an email to your English-speaking friend about the meeting you are going to organize. Include the following information:

· the approximate time of the meeting;

· the place and the circumstances;

· the information your friend is to prepare.

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► III. Speaking

Holidays are a time to spend with friends and family.

· What is your favourite holiday?

· How do your family and friends celebrate this holiday with you?

· Do you have any special traditions you share with your family?

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Examination Card #15

► I. Reading

Read the text. Write a short summary of it (5-6 sentences). Use your own words to express the main idea of the text.

Reality TV

Reality television is a genre of television programming which, it is claimed, presents unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people rather than professional actors. It could be described as a form of artificial or "heightened" documentary. Although the genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the current explosion of popularity dates from around 2000.

Reality television covers a wide range of television programming formats. Critics say that the term "reality television" is somewhat of a misnomer and that such shows frequently portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality, with participants put in exotic locations or abnormal situations, sometimes coached to act in certain ways by off-screen handlers, and with events on screen manipulated through editing and other post-production techniques.

Part of reality television's appeal is due to its ability to place ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Reality television also has the potential to turn its participants into national celebrities, outwardly in talent and performance programmes such as Pop Idol, though frequently Survivor and Big Brother participants also reach some degree of celebrity.

Some commentators have said that the name "reality television" is an inaccurate description for several styles of programme included in the genre. In competition-based programmes such as Big Brother and Survivor, and other special-living-environment shows like The Real World, the producers design the format of the show and control the day-today activities and the environment, creating a completely fabricated world in which the competition plays out. Producers specifically select the participants, and use carefully designed scenarios, challenges, events, and settings to encourage particular behaviours and conflicts. Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor and other reality shows, has agreed with this assessment, and avoids the word "reality" to describe his shows; he has said, "I tell good stories. It really is not reality TV. It really is unscripted drama."

www.ieltsstudy.com

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► II. Writing

Write a letter to your foreign friend who is planning to visit Ukraine in July. Tell him/her about:

· the possibility to stay in your flat;

· the places you recommend to visit;

· the best places to do the shopping.

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► III. Speaking

· What is the best present you were ever given?

· Who gave you this present and what made it so special?