Give comparative and superlative forms of the following adjectives and adverbs.

Traditional, many, rapidly, little, complicated, different, important, much, old, exciting, interesting, typical, good, bad, healthy, small, essential, expensive, energetic, comparative, generous, self-confident, desperate, active, ambitious, faithful, reliable.

Use the words in brackets to form a word that fits in the space.

Mum's hobby

My mother is keen 0photographer (photograph)who takes every opportunity she can to practice. She has a great deal of 1 ... (equip), some of which is very 2 ... (expense), so she has to be very 3 ... (care), especially if she goes somewhere 4 ... (danger). Some of her photos have caused a great deal of 5 ... (amuse), although the rest of us are sometimes 6 ... (patient) with her, because she often takes photos at 7 ... (convenient) times. However, we all 8 ... (admiration) her skill and her 9 ... (determine) to improve her techniques. After all, having our photos taken is not usually 10 ... (bother).

 

V. WRITING

This is a part of a letter from Sean, your English pen friend.

…I’m thinking of starting music lessons. Do you play any instruments? Have you ever had lessons? I’m not really sure what instrument to choose. What do you suggest? I want to be able to play pop music, I think.

Write back to Sean answering his questions. Write 100-140 words. Remember the rules of writing (see Appendix).

Write a report about the most popular hobbies and free time activities among young people. Remember to give your report a suitable title and divide it into sections with headings.

Example:

The most popular hobbies and free time activities among young people

Introduction

As requested I interviewed/asked/made a survey …. . As a result, I have some general points to make and a few recommendations.

Variety of hobbies and interests

On the whole… tend to…

Not only (but also)…

The people I interviewed felt that…

Some/Many/Most people/Boys/Girls said…

30% said that…

Positive side

One good feature is…

In addition to this…

Most people think…

Problems

One problem is that…

Although…

Unfortunately…

Conclusion

In spite of these criticism, …

To sum up…

UNIT 3. MY STUDIES

I. WORD STUDY

Read and learn new words and word combinations

education / compulsory education/ higher education/ further education	образование/ обязательное/ высшее/ дополнительное
primary school	начальная школа
secondary school	средняя школа
get a place at university	поступить в университет
revise for exams	готовиться к экзаменам
graduate from university	заканчивать университет
get a degree	получать степень
pass an exam/ fail an exam	сдать экзамен/ провалить экзамен
establish	организовывать, устанавливать
regulation	указание, регламент
department	отделение, факультет
alumnus	выпускник
equipment	оборудование
hostel	общежитие
manual	учебник
competition	соревнование, конкурс
drop out	бросать (обучение)
complete	завершать
full-time study	очное обучение
part-time study	заочное обучение
attend	посещать
Bachelor’s degree	степень бакалавра
Master’s degree	степень магистра
day release classes	освобождение от работы на один или несколько дней для повышения квалификации
timetable	расписание
compulsory subjects	обязательные предметы
optional subjects	факультативные предметы
skip classes	прогуливать занятия

2. Match the words with their definitions.

	higher education	a	an establishment which provides accommodations for students
	degree	b	a chart showing how the weekly time of a school or college is allotted to classes
	hostel	c	education at universities or similar educational establishments, especially to degree level
	drop out	d	fail to attend
	timetable	e	abandon a course of study
	skip	f	a book of instructions, esp. for operating a machine or learning a subject; a handbook
	manual	g	an academic rank conferred by a college or university after examination or after completion of a course, or conferred as an honour on a distinguished person
	revise	h	to prepare for an examination

 

Fill in the gaps using the words in the table.

Compulsory, establish, graduate, competition, optional, attend, day release

1) Our university offers a wide range of … subjects.

2) … is a system in which workers spend one day each week at a college in order to study a subject connected with their work.

3) … education in Sweden takes the form of a nine year comprehensive school for children aged 7-16.

4) All children are required to … classes every day.

5) The … for university places is greater than ever this year.

6) The school was … in 1989 by an Italian professor.

7) He … from Glasgow University in 1990.

II. READING

4. Before you read answer the following questions:

1) What is education? What part does education play in your future career?

2) What age do children usually start primary school?

3) What age do children leave secondary school?

4) What age does compulsory education start? At what age does it finish?

5) Do most people go on to higher education? Why? Why not? Do they have to pay?

6) What did you like about your school most of all?

7) Why did you enter Mari State Technical University?

5. Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph.

a) The structure of the University

b) Some facts from the history of MarSTU

c) Studying and accommodation

d) In close collaboration with enterprises

e) Up-to-date technology

f) Variety of opportunities

 

Read the text

Mari State Technical University

 

1. In 1918 a forestry department was established at Kazan State University. According to the regulation of Narkompros dated 5 June 1932 Kazan Forestry Technical Institute was moved to Yoshkar-Ola and was renamed into Povolzhskiy Forestry Engineering Institute. On March 31^st, 1995 Mari Polytechnic Institute named after M. Gorky was renamed into Mari State Technical University.

2. Nowadays there are 10 departments at MarSTU and more than 11 thousand students from all parts of Russia. Among over 50 thousand alumni of the University there are famous people, including governors and heads of large enterprises. Mari State Technical University today comprises ten departments and two centers: Woodworking Technology Department, Machine-Building Department, Radio Engineering Department, Civil Engineering Department, Information Science and Computer Engineering Department, Forestry and Ecology Department, Nature protection, Management and Water Conservation Department, Social Studies Department, Administration and Management Department, Economics Department, Centre for Fundamental Education, Centre for Humanitarian Education.

3. There are a lot of advantages of studying here. The university is very well equipped – there are modern classrooms and laboratories in 5 study buildings of the university. We are very proud of our hostels with light and clean rooms, where students from other regions can be accommodated. Moreover, there are scientific library with a stock of over 1 million textbooks and training manuals, modern sports complex, theatre-studio, club of merry and witty, chamber choir, studio of classical and pop music, - the prize winner of many Russian competitions.

4. Radio Engineering Department is one of the oldest and most interesting departments. There are different majors here such as Biomedical Engineering, Computing Systems Design and Technology, Radio Engineering, Radio Communication and Broadcasting, Quality Management. There are several Bachelor and Master Degree Studies: Design and Technology of Electronic Devices, Radio Engineering, Telecommunications. There are four Chairs: Chair of Radio Equipment Engineering and Production, Chair of Design and Production of Computing Systems, Chair of Radio Engineering and Communication, Chair of Medical-Biological System Engineering.

5. The department maintains well-equipped computer classrooms, schematic and engineering design classrooms, microelectronics and nanotechnology, radar equipment, audiovisual and testing equipment laboratories, etc. For the last three years five new laboratories of fiber-optics communication, combined antenna and feeder facilities, Wi-Fi technology were introduced into the academic process.

6. In research and production sphere the department is developing cooperation with leading enterprises in this field. The department opened its offices with specialized laboratories at the following enterprises: JSC Volgatelecom, JSC Mari Engineering Plant. As a part of cooperation agreements the students of the department undergo practical training at the Federal Service Office for Surveillance in the sphere of communications in the Mari El republic, at JSC Svyaztransneft, at Rostselmash Concern and at other well-known Russian enterprises.