UNIVERSITY LIFE: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1292.

Task 1.Read the following information note. Think of the Russian equivalents for the highlighted words.Then do the exercises that follow.

If you want to go touniversity, you must first pass examinationsthat most students take at the age of 18 (called 'A' levels). Students usually take three or four 'A' levels (examinations in three or four subjects), and they must do well to get a placeat university. Ifyou get a place, most students have to pay part of their tuition fees. Some students also get a government grant(= money to pay for living expenses, e.g. food and somewhere to live), but most students need a loanto cover the cost ofuniversity life. Students at university are called undergraduateswhile they are studying for their first degree.

Most university courses lastthree years, some courses last four years, and one or two courses, e.g. medicine, are five years. During this period students can say they are doing a degree,and when they finish and pass their exams, they can say they have a degree.This can be a BA(= bachelor of arts) or a BSc(= bachelor of science).

When you complete your first degree, you are a graduate. Some students then go on to do a second course or degree, called a postgraduate course/degree (or postgrad course). These students are then postgraduates and they often study for: an MA (Master of Arts), (e.g. I'm doing a Masters in English) or an MSc (Master of Science), and then a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) [minimum three years].

When people study one subject in great detail (often to find new information), we say they are doing research (e.g. My sister is doing research into/on the effects of stress at work).

School has teachers and lessons; at university you have lecturers and lectures. The head of department(also called a 'faculty', but less common in spoken English) at a university is usually called a professor.(An ordinary teacher or lecturer is not a professor.)

Task 2.Read these sentences spoken by university students. What is each person studying?

1. I'm concentrating on Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. __architecture__.

2. We have to know every bone in a person's body. _______________

3. The way we use fertilisers is much more precise than 20 years ago. _______________

4. We're going to concentrate on Freud and Jung this term. _______________

5. I've been reading some books on time management. _______________

6. Expressionism was really a reaction to the work of the Impressionists. _______________

7. We've spent a lot of time on American foreign policy. _______________

8. You must know this case; it's one of the most famous in legal history. _______________

Task 3.What do you call:

1. the money some students receive if they get a place at university?

2. the qualification you get at the end of university?

3. the name we give students during this period at university?

4. teachers at university?

5. students when they have completed their first degree?

6. students studying for a second, higher degree?

7. the study of one subject in great depth and detail, often to get new information?

8. the talks/lessons that students go to while they are at university?

Task 4.Replace the underlined verbs with less formal verbs that have the same meaning in the context.

1. Isit very difficult to obtain a place at university?

2. You have to pass exams before you can enter university.

3. He's studying physics, I think.

4. Did she receive a grant for her course?

5. The course continues for three years.

Task 5.Fill in the gaps with a suitable word.

1. My brother is 20. He's still _______________ university in York.

2. She's got a degree _______________ economics.

3. He's _______________ research _______________ various types of nervous disorder.

4. She's already got a BA. She's doing a _______________ degree now.

5. Who is the professor in your _______________?

Task 6.Answer these questions about your country.

1. Do you need to pass examinations before you can go to university?

2. Do some students get a grant to study at university?

3. Is the tuition free if you go to university?

4. Do most degree courses last three years?

5. What is your equivalent of the British ВA or BSc?

6. Do you have similar postgraduate degrees in your country?

Task 7. Read the text below and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each space. There is an example at the beginning (0).