E-mail friends (Pen Friends)

Speaking: Foreign Friends

Writing: Personal Letters

Reading: Text 11.

Listening: “A letter to a Friend”.

Vocabulary: Modals, Pen Cliches.

Grammar: Modal Verbs.

 

1. Answer the questions:

- Do you have a friend abroad? If no, would you like to find a foreign friend?

- Is it popular nowadays to have pen-friends?

- Is it easier to have a pen-friend now, than it was 10 years ago?

 

2. Listen to the text. What did the girl write to her friend? Are these sentences true or false? Circle the correct answer.

1. I don’t have a job, but I’m very busy. True/False

2. I study English part-time, twice a week.True/False

3. There are many discos and night clubs in Vancouver. True/False

4. There is a lot of rain in the spring. True/False

3. Complete the sentences.

1) I came here ______

2) There are about ______ people in Vancouver.

3) Downtown of Vancouver is ________

4) _________ is my favorite season.

 

4. Answer the questions:

1. What is the weather in Vancouver?

2. Is Vancouver’s night life great?

3. What problems does the girl have in Vancouver?

4. Does she like the city?

Grammar Focus:

Modal Verbs.

Модальный глагол и его эквивалент	Обозначает	Present	Past	Future
can	мочь, уметь, быть в состоянии	can	could	---
to be able (to)	am/is/are able (to)	was/were able (to)	shall/will be able (to)
may	мочь, иметь разрешение	may	might	---
to be allowed (to)	am/is/are allowed (to)	was/were allowed (to)	shall/will be allowed (to)
must	быть должным	must	---	---
ought (to)	следует, следовало бы	ought (to)	---	---
Эквиваленты глаголов долженствования(must, ought, shall, should)
to have (to)	вынужден, приходится	have/has (to)	had (to)	shall/will have (to)
to be (to)	должен (по плану)	am/is/are (to)	was/were (to)	---
Многофункциональные глаголы в роли модальных
shall	обязан, должен	---	---	shall
should	следует, следовало бы	should	---	---
will	желать, намереваться	---	---	will
would	желать; вероятно; бывало	---	would	---
need	нуждаться	need	---	---
dare	сметь	dare	dared	---

 

5. Analyze the use of modal verbs and translate the following sentences:

1) Who can answer my questions?

2) Nobody could translate this text.

3) You should be more attentive at the lesson.

4) Must I attend this meeting? – No, you needn’t.

5) You should have shown your notes to the teacher.

6) They must be having a lesson now.

7) You needn’t come so early.

8) He can speak English.

9) Can/Could I take your dictionary?

10) A fool may ask more questions than a wise man can answer.

11) May I open the window?

12) We were allowed to use dictionaries.

13) I have to get up the next morning at seven.

14) He is to come here at 6 o’clock.

15) I had to study last night.

 

6. Make up your sentences with the phrases below. Show your attitude to the action with help of modal verbs.

attend lectures

enter the university

do my homework

do my housework

pass exams

play football

speak English

spend all day at the university

work in a research laboratory

miss classes

 

7. Read the text and be ready to answer the following questions:

1. What is Julia?

2. What city did Julia visit in summer?

3. Who is Miranda?

4. Where does Miranda study?

5. What is Miranda’s future place of work?

6. Do the girls have similar interests?

7. Does Miranda want to come to Russia?

Text 11.

Julia is a student of Altai State University. In summer she visited London and made friends with her neighbor, Miranda. Miranda is a student too. She lives in London and studies at the New University of Ulster. There she takes a general course of higher education and majors in natural sciences. Her course includes Biology, Botany, Non-organic Chemistry, Geography and two foreign languages.

Miranda is a first-year student. She likes her future profession very much. As a rule she has lectures in the morning and laboratory classes in the afternoon. She often has to spend all the day at the university studying or reading books in the library. In four years Miranda hopes to get her Bachelor of Science degree. Then she will work in a research laboratory.

Miranda is happy that now she has a friend in Russia. The girls have similar interests and like to communicate via phone or e-mai l. Julia hopes that Miranda will come to Russia so that she will have an opportunity to show Miranda her native city, Barnaul.

 

8. Look through the text and find the English equivalents:

надеяться, получить степень бакалавра наук, научно-исследовательская лаборатория, общаться по телефону или по электронной почте, иметь возможность, родной город.

 

9. Look through the text and say if the following statements are true or false, if they are false, correct them:

1) In summer Julia visited France.

2) Miranda lives in London and studies at the New University of Ulster.

3) Miranda is a first-year student.

4) Julia will work in a research laboratory.

5) Miranda is happy that now she has a friend in Russia.

6) Julia doesn’t want to show Miranda her native city.

 

10. Imagine that you have a friend abroad or in another city of Russia, tell your group mates about him/ her, follow these questions:

1) What is her/his name?

2) How old is he/she?

3) Where is she/he from?

4) Where does he/she study/work?

5) What are his/her interests?

6) What is she/he going to become?

 

11. Imagine that your friend from another country is coming to visit Barnaul.

 

a) Say what places in Barnaul you would like to show him/her;

b) Say if you want to show him/her your university;

c) Say what information you would tell him/her about Altai State University.

 

12. Read and translate the letters. What modal verbs are used in these letters? Explain their use. Find the English equivalents for the following word combinations:

Ты, вероятно, удивишься; прежде всего; я специализируюсь в английском языке; Искренне твой; переписываться; кроме учёбы; с нетерпением жду ответа; напиши скорее; я была рада получить письмо; мне хочется узнать.

 

Peter Ivanov

21 Nevsky prospect

St. Petersburg 102 000

Russia

25 November 2009

Martin Smith

35 5^th Avenue

New York 218032

USA

 

My dear friend,

You might be surprised to receive a letter from a person whom you have never met, so I will first of all introduce myself to you.

I am a second year student at St. Petersburg University, I am majoring in the English language and literature and I am to attend many lectures on different subjects like mathematics, history, philosophy, linguistics, etc. After my lectures I like to play volleyball and tennis, I’m a member of our University volleyball team. In the evenings I read books or go out for a walk, or sometimes I can go to a movie with my friends. I don’t have to much spare time, though I must study really hard to get my degree. Sometimes I have to read text books and write essays the whole night! But nevertheless I love my University. I know I’ll be able to get all A’s for my finals.
I would like very much to hear about your studies and about your interests.

Yours sincerely,

Peter.

 

Dear Lynn,

You might like to correspond with a girl of your age in Russia.
I am seventeen years old and studying at a high school. I want to enter the University and study English. My father is a teacher of mathematics, and my mother is a doctor. Apart from my schoolwork, my chief interests are volleyball and photography.
When you write back, don't forget to tell me what your hobbies are. I expect they will be different from mine, but I shall be interested to hear about them just the same.
I understand that you are studying Russian, and I think it would be a good Idea if you wrote to me in Russian while I wrote to you in English. This would be practice for us, and if I make any mistakes, I hope you will correct them for me.
Looking forward to your early reply. Please write me soon.
Sincerely yours,

Ann.

 

Dear Ann,

I was delighted to receive your nice letter, and I am so glad to have a pen-pal in Russia.

Let me tell you something about myself. I am just fifteen and I attend our local school. I am taking eight subjects in all, but my favorite ones are chemistry and Russian. I wish I knew more about Russian culture and history.
My family is not very large. There are only three of us: my mother, my elder brother John, who is nineteen, and myself. My father died three years ago.
In my spare time I do a lot of swimming, and my other hobbies are pen-pals and nature.
Keep in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Lynn.

 

13. Look through the letters again and single out the main features of the informal letter.

14. Write your own letter with invitation to correspond. Tell in the letter about yourself, follow the questions:

Who are you?

What are you?

How old are you?

Where do you live?

Some words about your family.

What is your speciality?

What are you interested in?

Some word about your study.

15. Supplementary – Reading for Fun

ART OF GRADING

Here is a list of the ways professors grade their final exams:

DEPT OF STATISTICS:
All grades are plotted along the normal bell curve.

DEPT OF PSYCHOLOGY:
Students are asked to blot ink in their exam books, close them and turn them in. The professor opens the books and assigns the first grade that comes to mind.

DEPT OF HISTORY:
All students get the same grade they got last year.

DEPT OF PHILOSOPHY:
What is a grade?

LAW SCHOOL:
Students are asked to defend their position of why they should receive an A.

DEPT OF MATHEMATICS:
Grades are variable.

DEPT OF LOGIC:
If and only if the student is present for the final and the student has accumulated a passing grade then the student will receive an A else the student will not receive an A.

DEPT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE:
Random number generator determines grade.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT:
Each student must figure out his grade by listening to the instructor play the corresponding note (+ and - would be sharp and flat respectively).

 

 

Unit 10.

Final Touches.

Speaking: System of Higher Education in Comparison.

Reading: Text 12

Grammar: Tense Review.

Grammar Focus.

1. Use the correct tense.

1) Be quiet, please. We (work) at the translation and you (make) a lot of noise.

2) I (just/start) English courses. I (study) English grammar.

3) I (write) letters home once a week, but I (not write) on this week, so my next letter must be rather long.

4) Yesterday we (pass) our first credit.

5) There (be) 5 faculties of natural sciences in Altai State University.

6) It (take) me an hour to get to the university.

 

2. Read the letter and open the brackets.

Dear Patrick,
I (just / receive) your letter, and I hasten to answer. I (think) your idea of an exchange visit (be) excellent. We should be delighted to welcome your friends here this summer and to arrange an exchange with them for the next summer. We (be) very glad that they agree to the proposal. I (be) sure we can make a success of it.
As to the details of the arrangements I (write) to your friends directly.
Thank you very much for having taken the time to help us.
Kindest regards.
Yours,

 

3. Make up sentences of the following words:

1) I | school| finish| last year| and | Altai State University | enter;

2) specialities | the faculty | provide | different;

3) offer | academic and | our faculty | a general course | non-academic subjects;

 

4. Translate this dialogue, read it in pairs.

A: Тебе нравятся лекции по математике?

B: Да. Профессор читает их очень хорошо.

A: Ты пропускаешь лекции?

B: Нет. Я ещё не пропустил ни одной его лекции. А какой у тебя любимый предмет?

A: Английский язык. Скоро я буду сдавать экзамены по английскому и по физике. Математику я уже сдал. Как у тебя (what about) с твоим английским?

B: Вчера мне поставили зачёт. Но английский не основной предмет у нас (with us). Основные предметы – математика и физика. Надеюсь, что я их сдам хорошо.

5. Translate these sentences into English:

1) Я окончил колледж 2 года назад.

2) Она хочет поступить в университет в этом году.

3) Мы никогда не пропускаем лекции по этому предмету.

4) Катя студентка первого курса.

5) Сколько у вас экзаменов в это семестре?

6) Я должен сдавать экзамен по биологии.

7) Не забудьте принести свою зачётную книжку.

8) Мы уже получили зачёт по английскому.

9) Мой друг бакалавр гуманитарных наук.

10) Я получил место в общежитии 2 дня назад.

11) Мы студенты очного отделения.

12) Мой друг не сдал экзамен по физике.

Read the text below and do the activities that follow:

 

Text 12.

Universities

(by Richard Sidaway)

Admission
Most universities don’t let just anyone in. Grades in the subjects you take in the final years of secondary education are what usually count and in many countries people also have to do an entry test. While most participants in higher education are in the 18-25 age-group, some people choose to take a break from work later on in life and opt for the role of mature student, bringing experience of work and the real world to their studies.

Which one to go to
In many countries there is a pecking order to the universities, with a few high status institutions at the top turning out an intellectual elite and attracting the best minds in teaching and research. Take a quick name check of the leading writers, politicians or scientists in the UK or the USA and you should find the majority chose to spend their student years sitting in the dining halls and libraries of Oxford and Cambridge or Harvard, Princeton and Yale. The training grounds for medicine, law or engineering in Britain tend to be the metropolitan ‘redbrick’ universities slightly lower down the list.

Money
When entrance was restricted to a lucky few in Britain, the state actually paid the sons and daughters of the middle classes not only their tuition fees but also a yearly grant towards living expenses as well. These days most European and North American students are given a loan which they have to pay back to the government once they are in full-time employment, or they finance themselves by working their way through college with part- time jobs in the evenings or at weekends.

Where to live
For the majority of students, attending a university in a town or city near to where they live is the only financially viable option, but in Britain for many years going to university meant leaving home, with all the freedom and independence that implied. Universities traditionally offer cheap and clean accommodation in halls of residence or student houses. After a year or so, many students opt to share private rented accommodation outside the university, which often pushes their culinary and hygiene skills to the limit.

Year out
These days if you haven’t taken time off between finishing school and embarking on higher education, you haven’t really lived. The gap year can be devoted to working for charities in different parts of the world, or simply to travelling, but it can at least concentrate the mind and perhaps give you a few more ideas about what you should do with the rest of your life. If you want to study abroad, you can often get a year out as part of a language course, or enter a scholarship programme such as Erasmus to support you while studying at a foreign university. Business or management students often devote time away from university in the form of a work placement, to help them gain practical experience in a professional environment.

Teaching & learning
A common feature of any university is attending lectures, which involves taking notes while a lecturer, a university teacher, is speaking to large group of students. In Britain, you are also expected to present a subject perhaps once a term and comment on it in tutorials. These are small group discussions led by a lecturer at which closer analysis of a particular area is undertaken. Science-oriented courses also involve practical lessons and field trips which enable students to get to grips with their chosen course of study in the laboratory or beyond the university walls.

How you are doing
As at school, progress is measured by examinations, either divided into Parts I & II, or taken at the end of the course, and known as Finals. Alternatively, it can be based on continuous assessment and coursework. An important component of most systems is the extended dissertation, a piece of writing measured by the number of words a student has to produce, say 10,000. This must be based on some original research from primary as well as secondary sources and on some sort of gathering and interpretation of data.

Social life
There is an old saying that ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’, and prospective students expect a rich and varied social life. Friendships forged in the student union bar or in the many and varied clubs & societies that exist at most universities may last a lifetime. In the USA fraternities & sororities encourage a similar bond.

Life after university
Well before the graduation ceremony, when students queue up to receive their degrees from the Chancellor of the university at a special ceremony, the careers office has been busy assessing future graduates for the kind of employment paths they should take by giving them an aptitude test, arranging interviews, company presentations and recruitment fairs. For those attracted by the academic life, there are further opportunities for study on Masters and Doctorate (PhD) programmes and on into further research and teaching.

And what does university education all add up to?
This was the opinion of Theodore Roosevelt, a former US American President - A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad.

Or is it as an American journalist, Sydney Harris, said? - The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one's mind a pleasant place in which to spend one's time.