My Home University

Lesson 4. My University.

The subjects I studied at school. My favourite subject.

We did quite a lot of subjects at school. They were: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Russian, English, Literature and many others.

Every teacher asked for equal and adequate attention to his subject and it was not an easy work to do. I knew that all the subjects were important, but still I was always indifferent to exact sciences.

Since my childhood I have been fond of reading. My favourite subjects were Literature and languages. When I started studying English, the first thing I got interested in, was the different way to express one and the same idea in English and Russian. I wondered why if an Englishman is upset or gloomy he does not say: "I have a bad mood" like Russians do but says: "I feel blue".

There is an infinite number of such things in any language.

I read English books, tried to translate some articles from "Moscow News". Very often I borrowed English books from our school library. I spend a lot of time studying Grammar and doing Tasks.

At our English lessons we read quite a lot, but didn't talk much. So my friends and I decided to speak English among us. Very often I spoke English with my friends on the way home after classes.

Pre-reading

Task 1. Choose the best variant:

1. Tambov State University is about:

A. 70 years old;

B. 15 years old;

C. 5 years old.

2. The official address of Tambov State University is:

A. 93 Sovetskaya St., Tambov, 392000, Russia;

B. 6 Sovetskaya St., Tambov, 392002, Russia;

C. 33 Internatsionalnaya St., Tambov, 392622, Russia.

Task 2. A. Study the following definitions and decide which ones have to do with the name of this unit:

candidate – 1. one that aspires to or is nominated or qualified for an office, membership, or award; 2) a student in the process of meeting final requirements for a degree.

doctor – 1. someone who is trained to treat people who are ill; 2. someone who holds the highest degree given by a university.

B. Name the lecturers of your Institute/Academy and their academicdegrees, e.g. Mizis U.A. is a Doctor of History.

Task 3. Study the following text:

I study at Tambov State University. TSU named after G.R. Derzhavin was founded in 1994 on the basis of Tambov State Pedagogical Institute and Tambov State Institute of Culture. The University combines both training highly skilled specialists in humanities and natural sciences and the realization of serious research work. My University is a university of a classical type. It is the second largest university in the Central Chernozyom Region of Russia. Over 10, 000 undergraduates and postgraduates study at TSU.

In various Institutes and Academies students study humanities, sciences, arts, business and medicine. They offer an extensive choice of over 50 majors. In TSU there are following subdivisions: the Institute of Foreign Languages, the Institute of Philology, the Institute of Law, the Academy of Management and World Economics, the Institute of Natural Science (Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Ecology, Medicine), the Institute of Physical Training and Sport, the Institute of Physics, Mathematics and Information Science, the Academy of Humanities etc.

Postgraduate teaching and learning form a significant part of the University's activities. The University offers many opportunities for graduates to study at a higher level, both full-time and part-time.

The University is a participant of international programs supported and financed by the following foundations: IREX, INTAS, DAAD, Fulbright Program, Freedom Support Act Program, Soros Foundation, Volkswagen foundation, British Council, Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Russian Foundation for Humanities.

All the Institutes and Academies of TSU have necessary facilities and modern equipment for study and research. At the students' disposal there is a university library with a stock of 850,000 volumes, a university sports complex with numerous gyms. A wide variety of sports, recreation and entertainment clubs and societies are available to satisfy your interests and hobbies.

More than two thousands students live in university hostels.

As for me, I am a fresher, i.e. a first-year student of the Academy of Humanities. My major is Home History. I passed all the State Exams successfully and was admitted to the University. Many applicants failed and many entered evening departments.

My first day at the University was unforgettable. We all gathered in the Assembly Hall where the Rector and the Dean congratulated us. The Dean, the Doctor of History, spoke about the subjects we were to study, the lectures and seminars we were to attend. Now we have three or four periods a day, we study five days a week. Academic year lasts for ten months. Each term is followed by a session period, during which we have to present course-papers and take various exams. Meals are available in various university canteens and buffets. In our building there is a good and roomy cafeteria.

Almost all of our lecturers are doctors and candidates of sciences. We are proud of the fact that among the academic staff of our University there are Members of New York Academy of Sciences, International Slavonic Academy of Sciences, Education, Arts and Culture, International Association of Social Workers, holders of the State scientific grant “To Outstanding Scientists of Russia”, Honoured Scientists of Russian Federation.

I live in one of the university hostels, which is rather convenient for doing my homework and reading for exams. I do my best to get only good and excellent marks.

Vocabulary

Task 4. A. Find out the corresponding equivalents for the following Russian words from the text and make up your own sentences with them:

- быть названным в честь кого-либо

- готовиться к экзаменам

- поступить (в университет)

- Тамбовский государственный университет

- научная работа

- студент

- специальность,

- доктор наук

- кандидат наук

- посещать (занятия)

- доступный

- общежитие

- делать домашнее задание

- представить курсовую работу

- длиться

- ректор

- декан

- история отечества

- актовый зал,

- делать все от тебя зависящее

B. Give the Russian equivalents to the following words and expressions. Use the text or a dictionary:

- an academic year

- an academic staff

- a session period

- studies

- the Dean's office

- a lecture (on)

- to lecture (in)

- a lecturer

- a semester

- a credit test

- a theme

- a canteen

- a gym

- a cafeteria

- a buffet

- to take (pass) an examination (in)

- to fail

- to miss classes

- to make a report (on)

- a satisfactory (unsatisfactory, bad, good) mark

- an excellent mark

- after (before) classes

- in class

- to make notes

- natural sciences

- an undergraduate

- a postgraduate

- a subdivision

- a volume

- a fresher

- a sophomore

- Honoured Scientists of Russian Federation

- in writing

- orally

- by heart

Task 5. Give A. synonyms B. antonyms to the following words/expressions:

A. to establish

a course project

an undergraduate

essential

to present

a fresher

to continue

B. to miss classes

local

unimportant

small

to be ashamed (of)

unsuitable

Task 6. A. Match the words with their definitions:

1. Postgraduate	a. A long talk given to a group of people on a particular subject, especially as a method of teaching in universities.
2. Hostel	b. To please someone by providing enough of what they want.
3. Grant	c. Serious study of a subject, that is intended to discover new facts or ideas.
4. Stipend	d. Someone who has formally asked, usually in writing, for a job, university place etc.
5. Applicant	e. A class in which a small group of students meet to study or talk about a particular subject.
6. Seminar	f. An amount of money given to someone, especially by the government for a particular purpose.
7. Lecture	g. To complete your education at high school.
8. To graduate	h. An amount of money paid regularly to someone such as a priest or student as wages or money to live on.
9. Research	i. Somewhere where people, especially people living away from home, can stay and eat fairly cheaply.
10. To satisfy	j. Someone who is studying at a university to get a master's degree or a PHD

B. Try to make up your own definitions of the following words:

student –

university –

participant –

facilities –

library –

exam –

rector –

mark –

homework –

Grammar

Task 7. Look at the words and fill in the table:

Word	Preffix	Base word	Suffix
unforgettable	un-	forget	-able
		believe
		read
		eat
		listen
		love

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