Файл: A. education in the united states of america exercise Connect with the topic.docx

A. EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Exercise 1. Connect with the topic.

a) Analyze the table and describe the system of education in the USA.


b) In what ways does the state education system in your country differ from that in the USA? Pay attention to the following:

– Do you have to wear a uniform?

– Are there many rules and regulations?

– What exams do you have to take?

– Can you choose the subjects you study?
Exercise 2. Match the words (1-10) with their definitions (a-j).

responsibility	a. the money you pay for service from schools, universities, doctors
compulsory	b. money that something /somebody lends you
available	c. the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something
to attend	d. to go to or be present at a place
to complete	e. that must be done by rules, law
fee	f. owned, done or organized by a person or company, and not by the government
private	g. to start an organization or institution
to measure	h. to finish something
to be founded	i. that you can get, buy, use
loan	j. to find the size, weight, etc. of somebody/something often using an instrument

Exercise 3. Fill in the gaps with the words from Exercise 2.

1. The prices for education are _______ in our country.

2. You should take ______ for this accident.

3. Samara State Technical University _____ in 1914.

4. He _____ his PhD next year.

5. The length of the wire _____ during the previous experiment.

6. He didn’t _____ classes and failed his exams.

7. Our daughter goes to a _____ kindergarten.

8. They decided to take a huge_____ from the bank for their new business.

9. Some subjects are _____ in the curriculum.

10. Tuition ______ increase due to inflation.
Exercise 4. Read the text about the system of education in the USA and point out the key ideas of American education.
Education plays a very important role in American society. It often determines a person's social role and standard of living. Education is a state responsibility. No wonder then that the laws and standards of education provided in individual states differ.

In most states, education is compulsory from the age of 6 to 16. The atmosphere at elementary schools is usually friendly. Teachers keep to the idea that children's happiness and interest are the two most important things.

Full secondary education up to the age of 18 is available to everyone and the number of young people, who stay at school until they are 17 or 18 is relatively high. Schools are comprehensive and are called high schools. Pupils can choose all kinds of subjects, from Development Reading to Problems of Democracy or Public Speaking. State schools prevail; not many pupils attend private schools.

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While secondary education is based on the idea of mass education with equal opportunity for all, higher education is extremely competitive and selective. It is not enough to have a high school diploma and an interview to be admitted to a college or a university. (Colleges provide undergraduate education leading to the bachelor's degree, while universities provide both undergraduate and graduate education leading to the master's and doctor's degrees.) There are two tests, which are used by universities as standards for comparison: the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test, which measures aptitudes in verbal and mathematical fields) and the ACT (American College Testing program, which measures skills in English, mathematics, and the social and natural sciences).

Because there are many colleges and universities in the United States, quite a large number of high school graduates do have an opportunity to get a higher education. But completing university studies is very difficult. On the average, only about half of the bachelor degree students complete full four-year courses.

Tuition fees are rather high at American universities, especially at private ones, and federal loans are not very big. That is why a majority of the students take on part-time jobs.

Harvard, Yale and Princeton are the most prestigious private universities in the Eastern United States. On the West Coast, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) are held along with Stanford University in Palo Alto near San Francisco.

The oldest American school is Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston. It was founded in 1636 by John Harvard, who was born in London and whose parents came from Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
Exercise 5. Find in the text English equivalents to the following words and word combinations.

Образование, уровень жизни, доступный, общеобразовательная школа, среднее образование, возможность, способность, общественные науки, закончить, престижный, отличаться, естественные науки, плата за обучение, навык, работа неполный рабочий день, закон, преобладать, в среднем.
Exercise 6. a) Match the words to get word combinations.

part-time	a. studies
elementary	b. degree
equal	c. loans
master’s	d. school
measure	e. fee
natural	f. opportunity
tuition	g. job
federal	h. aptitudes
complete	i. sciences

b) Fill in the gaps using the words from a) in the correct form and answer the questions.

1. What was the atmosphere like when you studied at the _____ school?

2. Do you pay _____ fees for your education at the university?

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3. How can _____ be measured?

4. Does our state provide any _____ loans for education?

5. Do any of your groupmates take on _____ jobs?

6. Do young people in our country have _____ opportunity to choose the university they like?

7. Does your department provide master’s _____?

8. What year will you complete your _____ at the university?

9. What natural _____ do you study at the university?
Exercise 7. Are the sentences True or False?

1. 
   Standard of living doesn’t depend on education.
   
2. 
   There is no difference between laws and standards of education in different states of America.
   
3. 
   The number of young people who get full secondary education is high.
   
4. 
   Pupils are not allowed to choose subjects.
   
5. 
   There are no private schools in the USA.
   
6. 
   Higher education is competitive and selective.
   
7. 
   It is enough to have a high school diploma to be admitted to a college or a university.
   
8. 
   Not all students complete full four-year courses.
   
9. 
   Education at American universities is free of charge.
   
10. 
    Harvard University is the oldest in the USA.
    

Exercise 8. Answer the questions using the information from the text.

1. 
   At what age is education compulsory?
   

2. What level of education can students choose subjects at?

3. What do high school graduates need to enter: a college or a university?

4. What percentage of bachelor degree students complete full four-year course? Why?

5. Why do the university students take on part-time jobs?

6. What is the most important principle of education at elementary school? at high school? at a university?
Exercise 9. Match the phrases to the prepositions.

1. to be good	a. in
2. to be afraid	b. on
3. to be worried	c. at
4. to be terrible	d. about
5. to be interested	e. of
6. to be fond	f. at
7. to be keen	g. of

b)  Complete the sentences with an adjective andprepositionso that they mean the same as the sentence above. 

1. At school, Tom Cruise did well at sports.

At school, Tom Cruise was good at sports. 

2. Other kids laughed at Bill Gates because his only interest was computers. 

Other kids laughed at Bill Gates because he was only_____ computers. 

3. Kurt Cobain didn't like school, but he really liked his art teacher. 

Kurt Cobain didn’t like school but he was_____ his art teacher.

4. At his school, Tiger Woods was frightened by the other boys. 

At his school, Tiger Woods was _____ the other boys. 

5. Winston Churchill hated school, but he loved reading.

Winston Churchill hated school, but he was very_____ reading. 
Exercise 10. Complete the text with the right form of the verbs (active or passive).

Degree-granting institutions in the United States _____ (call) colleges, institutes or universities. As a general rule, colleges _____ (be) smaller and usually _____ (offer) only undergraduate degrees, while a university also _____ (offer) graduate degrees and may include several colleges. Most of them are 4-year institutions. The words "school," "college," and "university" often _____ (use) interchangeably. An institute usually _____ (

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specialize) in degree programs in a group of closely related subject areas, for example, institutes of technology, institutes of fashion, institutes of art and design, and so on. Institutes may also be part of universities. Within each college or university schools _____ (find), such as the school of arts and sciences or the school of business. Each school is responsible for the degree programs offered by the college or university in that area of study.
Exercise 11. Complete the text with the right form of the verbs (active or passive).

Community colleges in the USA _____ (provide) two-year associate degree programs, as well as excellent technical and vocational programs. They ______ (call) the associate of arts (A.A.) or associate of science (A.S.) degrees. As the name _____ (suggest), community colleges _____ (be) community-based institutions with close links to secondary schools, community groups, and employers, and many U.S. students _____ (live) close to campus with their families. Community colleges can be public or private institutions and sometimes _____ (call) junior colleges or two-year colleges. A growing number of international students _____ (choose) to study at community colleges. Tuition costs _____ (be) often lower at two-year than at four-year institutions and many _____ (have) agreements to allow students to move easily into the third year of a bachelor's degree at the local state university.
Exercise 12. a) Read the following comments made by students and decide whether each is for or against taking exams. Complete the sentences with the right form of the verbs.

1. Exams _____ (make) everyone try to get the best marks they can.

2. I _____ (feel) well during the exam, so I _____ (not do) well.

3. The boy sitting next to me _____ (study) at all, but he _____ (copy) my answers and _____ (pass) the exam.

4. I _____ (not think) I’d bother studying if we didn’t have exams.

5. I _____ (write) very slowly, so I hardly ever have enough time to finish an exam.

6. I use my exam grades to find out whether or not I _____ (improve) in a subject.

7. I think exams _____ (be) the quickest way of testing students.

8. I _____(study) for weeks before my last exam, but on the day itself I was so nervous that I couldn’t remember a thing.
b) Write the reasons for and against in the boxes, as in the example.

FOR	AGAINST
Exams encourage students to work harder	Exam results may depend on how you feel on a particular day

Exercise 13. Read the text and draw a chart about higher education structure in the Russian Federation.

In Russia higher education is provided by state and non-state higher education institutions (HEIs). The Federal Agency for Education finances half of state HEIs. The rest ones are financed by other Ministries or local authorities.

Approximately half of the State HEIs students pay for their studies. In non-state HEIs all students have to pay tuition fees. Higher education is within the Ministry of Education and Science’s jurisdiction. The Federal Service of Supervision in Education and Science is responsible for quality in education.

There are two levels of higher education: 1) 4-year programs leading to the Bachelor’s degree, the first final university degree; 2) postgraduate studies with duration of 1-2 years leading to the Specialist Diploma or the Master’s degree. HEIs are authorized to award the Master’s degree after the completion of 2 years of study or the Specialist Diploma after 1 year of study following upon the Bachelor’s degree.

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Scientific degrees in Russia traditionally include two levels of doctoral degrees: the Candidate of Sciences (the first level, equivalent to PhD) and the Doctor of Sciences (the second, highest level).
Exercise 14. Compare what you believe to be the strengths and weaknesses of American education system with your own. Start the sentences with the phrases below.

Firstly

Secondly

A comparison between

In comparison with/to

As compared to

Differences and similarities between

Similarly

Unlike

Whereas

On the one hand ………… , on the other hand …………….. .

In conclusion

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