Topic 11. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN UKRAINE.
Ukraine has got rather developed system of education.
General secondary education is free and compulsory. There are many gymnasiums, lycees and private schools in Ukraine. The secondary school must secure a uniform level of knowledge necessary for each student. Post-secondary education is provided by technical schools, colleges and institution of higher learning: universities, academies and institutes. At each institute or university there is a postgraduate course with post-graduates working for their scientific degrees.
There are many scientific, educational and academic centres in Ukraine. Kyiv with its famous National University named after T. Shevchenko, Polytechnic University, Kyivo-Mohylyanska Academy which resumed its work in 1991. There are three faculties in the Academy: the humanities, social and national sciences. Lviv is the leading scientific and cultural centre of Western Ukraine. It has a number of research institutes of high level.
Kharkiv University has 10 faculties: mechanics, mathematics, physics. physics-technology, radio-physics, chemistry, biology, economics, history, philology and foreign languages. Ukraine numbers a total of 1.5 million college and university students. Graduates from the Ukrainian institution of higher learning become famous writers, prominent diplomats, economists, chemists, mathematicians and others.
Vocabulary:
free -
compulsory '
uniform level
humanities
to resume
post-secondary education
Exercise 1. Answer the questions:
1. The general educational school Ukraine has three stages, hasn't it?
2. The education is free, isn't it?
3. What is Kyiv famous for?
4. What is the leading scientific centre of Western Ukraine?
5. How many faculties are there in Kharkiv University?
II .
Topic 12. APPLICATION OF COMPUTERS.
Computers are getting deeper and deeper into our life. They are indispensable in space research, communication, medicine, metallurgy, light industry, information technology and many other branches of industry.
Many countries have introduced computers into agriculture, education, transport and many other spheres.
Computers provide security and safety of various processes, diagnose numerous eases and do a lot in monitoring different developments. In short they help to carry out increasingly complex tasks and their application sometimes helps lo preventdisasters, tragedies and accidents.
Many people have a high degree of computer literacy. Computer games are also now very popular with children, young men and grown-ups.
Here is a short curious newspaper item about rather unexpected application of computers:
Telltale computers
The managements of some American schools have found an original application for computers. Now teachers simply feed into the memory of the machine names of the absentees and it begins to phone their parents and warn that their children have missed lessons.
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The teachers and parents like the new system and only pupils fll out of favors with it.
Vocabulary:
Indispensable -, '
space -
to provide -
monitoring -
to carry out -
task -
to prevent -
literacy -
accident
disasters -
curious -
unexpected -
telltale ,
to feed into the memory - '
to warn -
absentees -
to fll out of favors with ,
Exercise1. Answer the following questions:
1. Did you find the information of the newspaper rather curious?
2. Whose idea was it to use computers in this way?
3. Who liked and disliked this idea?
4. And what is your attitude to this idea?
5. Could you offer a better idea?
Exercise 2 Questions for group discussion:
1. Why so many people are still computer illiterate?
2. What are the most important applications of computer? (Are computer games just a waste of time or it is a nice hobby and a lot of fun?)
3. Who has a computer in your group? Ask them what do they use it for?
Exercise 3 Work in groups of four. Two groups are for the correctness of the following statement Invention of the electronic computers is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. And other two groups are against it. When arguing give some examples and at least 10 arguments., write them down. Exchange your lists of arguments and disagree with them. Be polite at all times
Topic 13. INTERNET.
The Internet is a network of networks. A computer network is a group of computers that have been connected so they can communicate with each other. They can send messages to each other and can share information in the form of computer file s. The Internet connects more than 18,000 of these networks, and more are being added all the time. On those networks are millions of computers, computer termina ls and users about two million computers and as many as 30 million users, according to some estimates. And it's growing by around 1,000 computers a day. It's no wonder that the president of ISOC (the Internet Society) recently suggested that the Internet could reach 1 billion people in the not-too-distant future.
There's nothing astounding about computer networks. Many small companies have networks that connect anywhere from two or three computers to thousands of them.
But the Internet isn't just a network. It's a network of networks. Lots of different networks have been joined to produce the world's largest group of connected computers. Some of the networks are run by government bodies, some by universities, some by businesses, some by local community library systems, and some are even run by schools. Most are in the United States, but many are overseas, in countries ranging from Australia to Zimbabwe. The Internet might make it possible for you to communicate with all these people on all these computer networks through electronic "mail".
When you connect to the Internet, you have, the opportunity to connect to thousands of different systems. Those computers contain government archives, university databases, local-community computing resources, library catalogs, messages about any subject you can imagine, and millions of computer files (over two million at last count) containing photographs, documents, sound clips, video, and whatever else you can put into digital form.
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Vocabulary:
network | ||
to| share|
file | , ||
terminal | || ||
according| to| some| estimates|
estimates | ,
its| no| wonder| that| -
to suggest -||
astounding
archives -
digital -
databases
Exercise1. Listen to the tape and decide who:
1. thinks that the Internet will become less important;
2. thinks computers will change the way we shop;
3. thinks we will be able to speak to computer;
4. hasnt got a computer at home;
5. thinks that Internet is very slow;
6. thinks we do not really need computers;
7. believes computers will improve womens lives;
8. shops on the Internet;
9. thinks the Internet will improve their life.
Answer the following questions:
1. According to Jack, what role will computer play in our homes?
2. How does Jack think shopping will change in the future?
3. What arguments does Liam give against computers?
4. What does Caroline hope to do with her computer?
5. What does Caroline think we will use TVs for in the future?
Topic 14. UKRAINE AND ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES.
Now Ukraine is a sovereign state. Ukraine is one of the members of the United Nations Organization and partici pates in the work of many international organizations. We have wide relations with Canada, the USA and Great Britain. Foreign Embassies of these countries work in Kyiv. Scientific cooperation is also very important. Cooperations in culture, education and sport are very important too. We exchange students and teachers with Canada and the USA. The Ukrainian orchestras, pop and opera singers, ballet dancers are warmly received. A lot of tourists from English-speaking countries visit Ukraine every year.
We have some joint political projects with the United States of America and Canada. Such big plants of ours as Cherkasy joint-stock company "Azot", Gorlovka chemical plant "Stirol" sell their products at international market. I'd like to say that many people who are Ukrainian by origin live in Canada. Many of the Ukrainians living now in Canada and other Englishspeaking countries don't lose connections with Ukraine. A lot of public organizations, educational establishments, religious organizations make considerable contribution to the development of our culture, literature and art. By the by, Canada was the first among the western states that recognized the state independence of Ukraine.
Exercise 1. Ask the questions:
1.With what countries does Ukraine have relations?
2. We exchange students and teachers with Canada and the USA, don't we?
3. Which big plants sell their products at international market?
4. What can you say about scientific cooperation?
5. What was the first western state that recognized the independence of Ukraine?
