America - the welfare state

Industry

The United State is the world's greatest economic power in terms of both Gross National Product and per capita GNP, with its exports accounting for more than 10 % of all world trade.

Although the importance of industrial production is falling and that of services growing (as in most of Western Europe), the United States remains the world's greatest maker of industrial goods and around 20 million Americans are still employed in manufacturing.

The industrial heart of the nation is the Midwest around the Great Lakes, especially in the region stretching from southern Michigan through Northern Ohio and into the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania.

Another important industrial region is the Northeast, which is the home of the major computer manufacturers. Service industries are also very important in this region and New York is the country’s banking and insurance capital.

The nation’s fastest growing region, however, is the Southeast, where the chemical industry and high-technology industries are now catching up with the traditional textile industry as many firms exploit the warm climate and low labor costs.

V. РАЗГОВОРНАЯ ТЕМА

1. Прежде чем работать над темой, изучите слова из активного словаря, постарайтесь запомнить их.

to enter – входить/ поступать

entrance – вход

to pass an exam – сдать экзамен

to take an exam| test - сдавать экзамен | зачет

daytime department – отделение дневного обучения

extra-mural department – отделение заочного обучения

post-graduate course – аспирантура

correspondence course – заочный курс обучения

assignment – задание

higher educational establishment – высшее учебное заведение

secondary education – среднее образование

attend lecture – посещать лекцию

to fulfill the task – выполнять задание

curriculum – учебный план

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OUR UNIVERSITY

This yeаr I passed my entrance exams successfully and ente­red Ivanovo State University. Our University is quite young. It was organised in 1974 on the basis of Ivanovo Teachers' Training Institute.

Now it has 9 faculties: the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. They are natural sciences faculties. The Faculty of Economics, History, Philology, the Law faculty, and the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology and Socio-Psychological Faculty (the humanities facul­ties).

The University has daytime, evening and extra-mural depart­ments, a preparatory department and post-graduate courses. The student body is about 5000 students now.

Our University trains research workers, school teachers and instructors for higher educational establishments and secondary technical school.

At their disposal the students have all kinds of laboratories lecture-rooms, study-rooms, a good library, some reading rooms and gyms. The laboratories are provided with the most up-to-date equip­ment. The students make different experiments there. From the lib­rary the students borrow any book, journal, periodical which they need for their studies.

I am a first-year student at the Faculty of Economics. As I work I take a correspondence course at the University. The programme requirements of an extra-mural education are similar to those for day-time education. But the differences are only in teaching procedure. Extra-mural students do not have regular stu­dies but are provided with all kinds of assistance, such as in­structions, oral and written consultations, not to speak of speci­al lectures.

According to the curriculum of the Faculty an extra-mural stu­dent fulfils a certain number of written assignments in different subjects and does practical work. He must write test works at various times.

Twice a year we have examination sessions. During the session we have practical classes, attend lectures and take tests and exams. To help the students the Dean's office provides consultations for them. We come to the consultation centre where experienced in­structors give us all kinds of consultations.

It is not easy to combine work and studies but much is done by the state to help part-time students. They are granted from 10 to 40 day's leave every year to take examinations and tests and for labora­tory work. Another 30 days are given for state exams. Besides this they get a four months’ paid leave to prepare their diploma work.

Questions

1. Are you a student? 2. Are you a first-year student? 3. Where do you study? 4. When did you enter the University? 5. When was the University organized? 6. How many faculties has the University? 7. What are they? 8. How many students study at the University now? 9. What departments has the University now? 10. Has the University preparatory and post-graduate courses? 11. What specialists does the University train? 12. What have students at their disposal? 13. What faculty do you study at? 14. Are you an extra-mural student? 15. Have you regular studies? 16. What kinds of assistance are extra-mural stu­dents provided with? 17. An extra-mural student fulfils a certain number of written assignments in different subjects and does practical work according to the curriculum, doesn't he? 18. When have extra­mural students examination session? 19. What do extra-mural stu­dents do during examination sessions? 20. Is it easy to combine work and studies? 21. What is done to help part-time students in their stud­ies?