Education in the United States comprises three basic levels: elementary, secondary, adult education. Vocational training, adult education, schools or classes for special types of children, and kindergartens also form part of the program in most states.
Parents may choose whether to send their children to their local free public schools, or to private schools and colleges.
The school year is usually nine months, from early September to mid June.
A childs introduction to formal education is usually in kindergarten classes operated in most public school systems. Many systems also provide nursery schools. The age group is commonly four and five years. The programs are flexible and are designed to help children grow in self-reliance, learn to get along with others, and form good work and play habits.
The main purpose of the elementary school is the general intellectual and social development of the child from 6 to 12 or 15 years of age. Promotion from one grade to the next is based on the pupils achievement of specified skills in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, history, geography, music and art.
At secondary school most pupils follow a course that includes English, science, social studies, mathematics and physical education. Elective subjects may be chosen in the fields of foreign languages, fine arts, and vocational training. In addition to the basic subjects larger school systems may offer a selection of courses aimed at three or more levels academic, vocational and general.
The academic program is designed to prepare students for college.
The vocational program may give training in four fields: agricultural education, which prepares the students for farm management and operation; business education, which trains students for the commercial field; home economics, which trains students for home management, child care and care of the sick; and trade and industrial education, which provides training for jobs in mechanical, manufacturing, building and other trades. This program prepares students either for employment or further training.
The third program, a general or comprehensive program, provides features of the academic and vocational types. Its introductory courses give an appreciation of the various trades and industrial arts rather than train students for specific jobs.
Most young Americans graduate from school with a high school diploma upon satisfactory completion of a specified number of courses. Students are usually graded from A (excellent) to F (failing) in each course they take. Students receive a report card at least twice a year which indicates the grades they have received in each of the subjects they are studying.
American higher education refers to study beyond the secondary school level and almost always presupposes that a student has undertaken 12 previous years of study.
The terms college and university are often used interchangeably. An American college typically offers a blend of natural and social sciences and humanistic studies. Students traditionally 18 to 22 years old, attend classes for approximately four years to receive, if they successfully complete all requirements, a bachelors degree in arts or science.
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II. Where can you work?
1.1) Key:
A like making things with their hands or with machines.
interested in working with plants or animals.
interested in caring for others and helping them with their problems.
D interested in knowing how and why things work.
E like to be out and about and physically active.
F like working with figures or solving mathematical problems.
G like offering a service to other people.
H like to use creative and artistic abilities.
1.3) . / , / () , () , (). , . :
| I agree | that you can work in a scientific or computational field | because | you are good at Maths and you can work on a computer. | |||
| I quite agree | ||||||
| I also think |
| I dont agree | that you can work in a scientific or computational field | because | you are not very good at Maths. Of course you like to work on a computer but its not enough. | |||
| I dont think you are right | ||||||
| I dont think |
I think you can work in a practical field. You are good at making things with your own hands.
2. , , . .
5.1) , , , , ().
6. . 1- 2- : What did you want to be in your childhood? 2- What do you want to be now? 1- . .
7. : According to the quiz I should choose a profession of a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, a social worker, a psychologist. But I dont want to choose any of these careers. Id better work with figures and I want to be an accountant.
: Its up to you to decide what you want to be. You cant rely upon the quiz.
, : You are lucky. I hope you will succeed in it.
8.1) , , , , , ambitious, materialistic, conservative, realistic. .
8.2) , , .
10.3) .
: . , 8, 9.
III. Having a job interview
1.1) to interview, interviewee, interviewer.
interviewee a person who is interviewed
interviewer a person who interviews
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to employ
employee a person working for another person or a business firm for pay
employer a person who employs especially for wages
2.1) Grammar in Focus . .
3.1) Useful phrases:
| It is a good bit of advice... It will not help... It could not work... It is a misleading piece of advice... It is silly... |
Advice , , . , bit of advice, a piece of advice, a word of advice.
4. 4 : , , , D.
I , .
II , , . D (). , .
III . D .
IV , .
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For Fun and Profit
II. 1. Key:
Ronald Reagan actor president
Sylvester Stallone cleaner of cages in the zoo actor
Tina Turner cotton picker pop star
Madonna waitress pop star
Neil Tennant journalist pop star
Margaret Thatcher chemist and barrister prime minister
Dustin Hoffman waiter actor
Christopher Lambert bank clerk actor
Jon Bon Jovi shop assistant pop star
III : . , 6.
Are you friends with your computer? .
