Тексты для дополнительного чтения

Text 1

A History Tour of the US

(a fifteen-minute presentation of a student of Moscow Linguistic University)

The history of the US is not long compared with the older nations of Europe and Asia. Let’s have a brief view of it by visiting its major cities.

All major European airlines fly to various destinations in the United States. Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to head for Philadelphia, the US most historic city, which could make a nice starting point for our tour. As the ten-hour flight is coming to its end, we are passing over the Caribbean Islands of Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas, the territories discovered by Columbus in October 1492. (But back then, his voyage took him and his crews 10 weeks instead of 10 hours.) A short time later, we are getting off the plane at Philadelphia Airport. The city whose name translates as City of Brotherly Love from Greek, was founded in 1682 on the banks of the Delaware river by William Penn, an English aristocrat and religious free-thinker. Offering refuge to Europeans seeking religious freedom and new opportunities in the New World, it grew very rapidly. When Benjamin Franklin, one of the best-known Founding Fathers of the United States, arrived here in 1723, Philadelphia was the colonies’ most prosperous city. Franklin did a lot to make City of Brotherly Love a city of firsts, with the first library, insurance company, university and fire brigade. In the 1760s Philadelphia became the second most important city in the English-speaking world.

However, in the opinion of many colonists, the British rule became too tyrannical, its taxes too arbitrary and punitive. And Philadelphia, founded on the ideas of freedom, took centre stage in the War of Independence (1775-1783). The city was chosen to host the First and Second Continental Congresses which brought together delegates from the 13 colonies and resulted in the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776 the Philadelphia bell, later known as the Liberty Bell, summoned people for a public reading of the Declaration. Ten years later the Independence Hall of Philadelphia witnessed the adoption of the United States Constitution (1786)about which Franklin said: “I consent to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure it is not the best”. For another 10 years (1790 to 1799) Philadelphia was home to the US government.

In 1800, however, the government moved to a new location 100 miles to the south. And we also move on there, to Washington D.C., the US capital. Here we’ll tour the White House,theofficial residence of the US President, and have a look at the Capitol, the place where Congress meets. Not far from Washington there is another historic place, a visit to which is a must for every history lover. It is Gettysburg Battlefield, the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War (1861-65)between the North (Unionists) and the South (Confederates). It is on that field that Abraham Lincoln addressed a large gathering of people with a speech to be later known as the Gettysburg Address.In fewer than 300 words delivered in just over two minutes, Lincoln redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as “a new birth of freedom” that would bring true equality to all of its citizens, create a unified nation and a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” that the world had not seen. Visiting Gettysburg is a magnificent opportunity to visualize and thereby relive these remarkable events.

But the spirit of adventure so typical of America already calls us to explore the opposite coast of the United States. Since we are on a history tour it would be great to follow the historic rout of the Corps of Discovery, the expedition sent to the west by President Thomas Jefferson. In 1803the US bought large territories from France, taking in nearly the entire mid-section of North America. Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery to find a water rout to the Northwest, to map the new territory and make contact with its inhabitants. The 2,000 mile journey on the Missouri River (upstream all the way) took the expedition a year and a half. A long time, indeed! So it might be wiser for us to consider another option. Why not travel in a wagon? It would remind us of the Gold Rush of 1849, when thousands of people set off to the gold fields of California, colonizing vast territories, and shifting the frontier father and father west. Can anything compare with a life of a freewheeling cowboy!? Battling against harsh weather, meeting “noble savages”, hacking a trail through the wilderness…But perhaps, the most sensible idea still would be to take a direct flight to San Francisco, the center of the California Gold Rush. In 1848 San Francisco was a small coastal settlement inhabited by only 1000 people. The Gold Rush brought there a flood of treasure seekers from all over the world, and by December 1849 its population grew to 25,000. The promise of riches was so strong that crews deserted their ships and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbour. Other major cities we’ll visit on the Pacific coast are LA with its Hollywood studios, San Jose, “the capital” of Silicon Valley, and San Diego, with its magnificent natural harbour. Here we’ll embark a northbound cruiser and sail along the coast to Seattle, the gate to Alaska and the headquarters for Boeing and Microsoft.

After the enjoyable and refreshing voyage we are ready to take a return flight to the Atlantic Coast. We’ll fly there via Chicago, America’s third largest metropolis, located on lake Michigan. This is the place where the world’s first skyscraperwas erected in 1885.DowntownChicago is also home to the world’s tallest skyscraper, the 110-floor Sears Tower. Building high-rises became possible due to the invention of William Genney, an architect from Chicago, who devised the steel-frame skeleton. Skyscrapers added a new vertical dimension to the otherwise largely flat American landscape.

The last stop in our itinerary is New York,the largest and busiest metropolis in the USA. New York is a city of immense proportions dwelling on 50 islands, so the best and quickest way to see it is by tour boat. The tour covers 35 miles of coastline and travels past major sights and attractions: the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the United Nations Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, to name a few. As we pass the sights, the tour guide will disclose to us the secrets of the city. We may even be shown a Nike missile site. In the 1950’s and early 60’s, the time known as the Cold War, Nike missile sites were constructed around major US cities to protect them against Russian nuclear-armed bombers. The threat of a nuclear disaster became especially acute during the Cuban missile crisis (1962), when confrontation brought the two superpowers to the brink of war. Nowadays, however, the United States is facing different threats. From our boat tour we’ll be able to see a gap in the skyline of Manhattan. This is the place where the twin towers of the World Trade Center used to be, dominating the view from the time they were completed in 1973, until that fateful day of September 11, 2001 when two passenger aircraft under the control of terrorists crashed into them, killing nearly 3,000 people. The 3 hour excursion was so exciting that we didn’t notice our boat make a complete circle. And our journey around the United States has also come to an end.

Getting on the bus that will take us to JFK airport, we cast the last glance at New York. Good-buy, America. Hope to see you again.

Text 2 and 3

Read the texts 2 and 3 on American and British school systems and complete the table

Text 2

American School System

The American educational system differs considerably from that of England and Russia. Even terms that at first glance may seem identical represent quite different concepts and institutions.

Let's start at the beginning. A small child may go to a nursery school or day care center, a kindergarten (детский сад). The day care center can provide care throughout the workday, while the other institutions generally provide care for only a few hours a day. At the age of six the child starts attending elementary school, which runs from first to sixth grade. The required elementary and high school/ secondary school curriculum/a varies a good deal from state to state; the curriculum lists all subjects to be taught and the number of hours devoted to each. Despite the variations, all elementary schools teach basic reading, writing and elementary mathematics skills.

A highly talented student may enroll in a school for gifted children. If, on the other hand, he needs special assistance, he may study at a school providing special assistance programs for children with various kinds of learning deficiencies.

An educational institution such as a high school or college may be restricted to only boys or girls, or it may be coed (coeducational), accepting both. A school in which the student lives is a boarding school. And high school students are called exactly that – students. The word pupils which was formerly used for elementary school students is now rather outdated in the US.

The school may be public or private. Public schools are run by city and state Boards of Education, not by the Federal government. Public schools are free while private schools charge fees for tuition. In the United States, the ages for compulsory education vary by state, by usually start between the ages of five and eight and end at the ages of seventeen to eighteen.

After finishing elementary school a child will start junior high school (also known as middle school - the names and systems vary from state to state) in the seventh grade and continue through the eighth or ninth. From the ninth or tenth through the twelfth grade he attends high school. (And a tenth-grader will say, "I'm in the tenth grade," never"I'm in the tenth class.") Upon successful completion of twelfth grade he is awarded a high school diploma.

Both elementary and high schools are headed by a principal, and instruction is given by teachers. The students move from classroom to classroom for each class period. The English teacher has her own classroom, the history teacher another room, and the chemistry teacher usually gives instruction in the laboratory. Students are given homework, assignments to be done at home and handed in to the teacher the next day. If the student starts cutting classes, he is said to be playing hooky (прогуливает уроки). In that case even if he crams (зубрит) for his final exams he is likely not to pass but rather to fail/flunk the exam, test or quiz (контрольная работа). The verb can be used both to mean that the student has not passed the exam or that the teacher did not pass the student.

Anne failed/flunked the test. She needed 65 to pass (passing grades 65–100) but since she only got 62 the teacher failed/flunked her.

If the student answers all the questions correctly – "got everything right" – we can say that "he aced the exam" (сдал блестяще). In both high school and college, exams are written, not oral. Grades usually go from "A" to "F," corresponding to the Russian system of 5 to 0. Many exams are graded from 1 to 100 (a perfect score), and the student gets a certain number of points for each correct answer. A very good student gets excellent grades or high marks (these terms are synonymous). A four-point scale GPA (grade point average) is used to describe a student’s overall academic performance. The teacher may require a mid-term or a final exam and/or term paper, a fairly long composition usually involving library research. Report cards with the student's grades and teachers' comments are usually sent home every semester for signature by parents.

During the fall semester of twelfth grade, the student who wants to continue his education applies to several colleges and universities. The application process for admission to college can be long and hard, particularly if the student wants to attend one of the top private colleges such as Harvard or Yale. The college's admissions committee first considers the student's grades (the list of courses and grades, for both high school and college, is known as a transcript) Also very important for admission are extracurricular activities including participation in various clubs, sports activities and school athletic teams and community service. The latter might include volunteering at a soup kitchen or helping to tutor children in overcrowded schools. The applicant is asked to write essays on various subjects to show his intellectual abilities and interests and must have letters of recommendation from his teachers and other people who know him well. He must also have high scores on the SAT (Scholastic aptitude test) examinations. This is not a competitive exam for admission to a university; it consists of a series of questions in English and mathematics designed to test the student's aptitude rather than his knowledge and achievement. A personal interview may also be required. A student who has been accepted by a college is accepted by or admitted to that institution, e.g. Fred was accepted by/admitted to Harvard, but was rejected by/didn't get into Columbia.

Since the annual tuition of many private colleges is well over $15000, most senior year students also apply for scholarships, a process that can be just as intricate as the college application process. Besides, he or she can apply to a two-year community college or junior college. These institutions are much less demanding of students both in terms of admission requirements and the program of study. A student who wants to receive technical training for a field such as electronic technology or carpentry can apply to a vocational school.

Text 3

British School System

The educational system of Great Britain has developed for over many hundred years. It’s a complicated system with wide variations between one part of the country and another. Three partners are responsible for the education service: the central government – the Department of Education and Science (DES), Local Education Authorities (LEAs), and schools themselves.

The majority of schools in Britain are supported by public funds and education provided is free. They are state schools, no tuition fees are paid in any of them. 93 per cent of children go to state schools. But there are a considerable number of schools where you have to pay, and these are called public schools. Public schools (Eton, Harrow, Rugby and others) for centuries have prepared students for higher education, typically at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and for public service (hence, the name “public”*). These primary and secondary schools are financially self-supporting. That’s why they are also known as independent schools. Until very recently they were either all-boys or all-girls. Public schools can be normal (pupils go there every day), full boarding (pupils live there all academic year except for holidays) and mixed (some pupils go home every weekend and some stay).

In most primary and secondary state schools boys and girls are taught together. Almost all state schools are day schools holding classes between Monday and Friday. The school year normally begins in early September and continues into the following July. The year is divided into three terms. Nearly all state schools are comprehensive, which means that they take children in a given area, without selection. But pupils are grouped according to ability so that there are separate classes for the less able and the more able – A, B, or C “streams”.

Education for the under-fives, mainly from 3 to 5, is not compulsory. Children can receive education in nursery schools, childcare centres, playgroups and nursery classes within primary schools. Nursery schools are staffed with teachers and students in training. Here the babies play, lunch and sleep. The primary school usually takes children from 5 to 11. The secondary school, which is organized in a variety of ways, embraces children aged 11 to 18.

In some areas (especially where the school population is growing) children moving from the primary to the secondary stage are still selected for certain types of schools. They are grammar and secondary modern schools to which children are allowed on the basis of their Eleven Plus (11+) exams. If they pass they go to grammar school, if they fail they go to secondary modern school. Grammar schools (amounting to 164 all over England) provide a mainly academic education for the 11 to 18 age group. Secondary modern schools offer more general education with the emphasis on more practical aspects. These two types of school account for 3% and 5% of all secondary schools respectively. Academic selection remains a very controversial issue in Britain and is widely discussed both in press and in the British Parliament. Conservatives seem to champion selection and specialization, while Labour in general opposes it. It argues that selection separates children into successors and failures. Another argument is that Britain already does well by its academic high-fliers and it’s the underachievers who are the problem.

The principal examinations that all secondary school pupils sit at the age of 16 are those leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The GCSE examinations (previously called Ordinary (O)-level exams) generally mark the end of compulsory education. GCSE does not permit school-leavers to enter university, but it allows them to start work or do some vocational training. They may continue their training in the Colleges of Further Education, Colleges of Technology, Technical Colleges, Colleges of Arts and Technology, Tertiary Colleges, and, for immediate post 16 education, Sixth Form Colleges.

Students aiming for university entry stay at school for two more years. If pupils stay on, they usually take A (advanced)levels, AS (advanced supplementary) level or GNVQs (General National Vocational Qualifications). Typically they study 3 or 4 subjects to A-level. It is quite common to combine, for example, two A-levels with one AS level, or one A-level with two GNVOs. Pupils taking A levels study traditional subjects, such as French, Physics and History. AS levels are the same standards as A levels, but only half the content: AS level German pupils take the A-level German Language exam, but do not take the A-level German Literature. GNVOs are vocational qualifications in subjects such as Business, Leisure and Tourism, Art and Design. One GNVO (at advanced level) is equal to two A-levels.

While A-levels are a qualification in their own right they are in fact university entrance examinations. The greater the number of A-level passes that a student acquires, the better his chances are of entering the university of his choice. Many UK universities, however, demand not only a certain number of A-level passes, but a minimum set of grades in A-level examinations before an applicant is accepted. However, good marks alone are not enough. Universities choose their students after interviews. For all British citizens a place at a university brings with it a grant from their LEAs. The grants cover tuition fees and some of the living expenses. The amount depends on the parents' income. If the parents do not earn much money, their children will receive a full grant which will cover all their expenses.

__________________________

* Another explanation is that early in their history public schools were established by local communities for the poor people and were funded by charities (public money). Gradually many of them became very successful and turned into expensive private schools but conservative British continued to call them public.

▪ 1. Question for discussion:

1. What does the term “public schools” mean in Britain and in the US? What are the most famous public schools in Great Britain? Why are they called independent?

2. What does the word “comprehensive” imply with regard to school? What is your attitude to academic selection? Why is it a controversial issue? What schools are pupils selected for in Great Britain?

3. When do students usually cram? Is it possible to avoid cramming?

4. What do university application processes in Britain and America have in common? In what way are they different from the application procedure in Russia?