Сборник учебных текстов по развитию английской устной речи для студентов неязыковых специальностей

One of my friends, Dmitry Shevelyov, lives in Vladivostok now though he was born in Nakhodka. Some years ago he graduated from the one of our institutions and became an engineer. Now he lives near his office. He usually walks there. He works on weekdays. I can’t say that he work hard, but all his mates like him because he is a good mixer or, as you may say, he is a very sociable person. He doesn’t work on Saturday and Sunday. His working day usually lasts for eight hours. His duties are to answer all incoming letters and calls, to meet with different specialists, to help young engineers. He often tells me that he likes his job. I usually meet him after the work and we speak about life. He is very glad that he found such work where he can show all his talents. Though there is a difference between our ages, we have much in common. He is among my best friends. By the way, my friend knows English rather well. It helps him a lot as every year various foreign delegations come to their office. These delegations change different technologies with our specialists and discuss many problems. All foreigners consider Shevelyov to be the best translator in the company.

The first railway in Russia was opened in 1837 and since that time people have covered millions of kilometers traveling from one part of the country to another by train. Passenger trains carry people, goods trains carry goods, and mail trains carry passengers and mail. In Britain and in America there are also special coaches attached to some trains, called Traveling Post Offices. In these coaches people sort letters and parcels while the train runs from one station to another. Long-distance trains are fast trains. Local trains make all the stops, and you can get on or off a local train at a very small station, even if it is only a platform.

If you are going to a distant place, a sleeping compartment is very comfortable; a reserved seat for a day journey is good. Local trains have carriages with wooden seats as passengers make only short trips.

After a long-distance train starts, the passengers often begin to talk

to each other. They ask questions about how far they are going and whether they are traveling on business, or going to visit relatives, or going to a rest home. They talk about various things to pass the time.
2.9 British leisure

How do British people spend their time when they are not actually working? Leisure time of British people isn’t very much organized. They might watch TV for instance. Television is the most popular entertainment in many countries. Statistics says that we spend an average of 25 hours a week watching it or at least keeping it switched on. Theatre, opera and ballet, sorry to say, are almost exclusively the pleasures of the educated middle class. The author of the book «Understanding Britain» Caren Hewitt convinced that people who are deprived of the great works of art suffer a diminishment of spirit no matter whether they are intellectuals, blue-collar or white collar and so forth.

Private leisure is characterized by the national enthusiasm for

gardening. About 44% of the population claim to spend time gardening. In fact they don’t need to grow vegetables, but home grown fruit and vegetables taste much better than those in shops, which have been grown commercially. They also grow flowers and have a passion for lawns of grass which stay green throughout the year.

The other popular home-based activity is «D-I-Y» or «Do-It-

Yourself». It means improvement of one’s home by decorating, making

furniture, fitting in shelves, cupboards, etc. There are excellent stores (such as hardware stores), which supply the materials and tools, and books with detailed advice are everywhere on sale. Women more concentrate on needlework – sewing curtains and cushions as well as clothes. About half the women in the country spend time on needlework or knitting.

It is extremely difficult to decide how important books are for in the lives of the British citizens. There are well-stocked shops and a good public library service. Books are available, brightly colored, cheerfully designed – and expensive. However there is an unquestionable loss when the attractions of television and videos have reduced the enthusiasm for reading, which is for many people just glancing at a newspaper. And no wonder! TV dramas and documentaries, cultural and scientific programmes 119 and coverage of the world’s news are excellent in general, by world standards. And of course, there is a lighter entertainment – games, family comedies, celebrity shows, soap operas and so on.

Music is another way of spending time. People listen to pop and rock music on the radio, on records and tapes, at home and in public places.

Music magazines persuade teenagers to buy new and new records with the only purpose to make money. That is why cultivating an individual taste becomes very difficult, and cultivating a serious musical taste is extremely difficult. People often keep on spending money to catch up with what is popular. Some people are interested in music making and might play in amateur or professional orchestras or sing in choirs.

Some words should be said about holidays. Summer holidays are the time to spend as a couple or a family. It may just be like visiting friends, or hiring a caravan on the seashore, or camping. You can walk, explore mountains and streams, and take picnics on boating expeditions on lakes, and visit castles, caves and historic sites. This is the way the majority spends their time. Of course, there are minorities. They may join various clubs, or just relax each evening in pubs drinking, or do something else.

People are free in their choice as they should be. It may be good or bad, but the reality is like this and you know, there are people and people.

2.10 Marie's story

My name is Marie and I started with Northants Careforce in June 2007. I was very nervous to start with; I didn’t know anything about caring or looking after clients, as I had no previous experience. On initial induction there was a lot of information for me to learn, but my fellow colleagues and I worked together and helped each other. The training made more sense once I was in the community putting it into practice. I also had help and support from colleagues that had experience during my shadowing. I also learnt a lot when going out on double up calls. Originally I wasn’t sure whether I would like the job at first, but the more I went to see my clients the more I liked my job and the more confident I became. I found it nice getting to know my clients and wish now I had chosen to do this work a long time ago. I have now passed my NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care, which I’m very pleased about. I got a lot of support when required from my assessor and from Pam the Care force trainer. If anyone is at all nervous or feels without experience they wouldn’t be able to do this job, I am living proof that anything is possible and with support you can achieve anything you want to.

The first stamp in the world was an English one. It was made in 1840 to pay the postage on letters going to different parts of the country. Since that time people began to use stamps and in the course of time started collecting them. Stamps are always interesting to collect because they bear views of the countries they come from; pictures of animals and birds living in jungles or on far-away islands; pictures showing the people of different countries, dressed in their national costumes.

Stamp-collection gives many-sided information about history, geography and many other subjects. Sometimes stamps are issued with unexpected mistakes which are seen only if one knows geography, history, music and many other things as well. The St. Kitts and Nevis stamp, issued in 1903, shows Christopher Columbus looking through a telescope, an instrument which was unknown in his days.

The Newfoundland stamp, issued in 1886, shows a seal on ice-floe. It looks like any other seal till you look at its front legs and find that it has feet instead of flippers. For a long time collectors who had knowledge of zoology thought that this was another stamp mistake. However it was discovered that the great Grey Seal of Newfound really has forefeet instead of flippers. The artist had been right after all.

On a German stamp, issued in 1956 in commemoration of the composer Schumann, the music printed on the stamp was not written by Schumann. It was written by another German composer Schubert. Stamp-collectors knowing music well saw the mistake at once. The post-offices stopped selling the stamp and today one can be found only in a few collections.
3 Sport and Health
3.1 Sport and Health

Sport is very popular. However, the number of peo­ple who take part in sport is quite small. The most popular specta­tor sports are football, ice-hockey, volleyball, boxing and swimming. In recent years tennis and basket­ball have become rather popular.

A lot of people never exercise. They often eat unhealthy food as well. These are the people that wait until they get sick before they start to think about their health. In our family we believe that preventing sickness is better than trying to cure it after you get sick. My mo­ther once told me that there were three ways to prevent illness. They are: 1) eating well; 2) avoiding stress; and 3) exercising regularly.

Sports — individual sports and team sports are a big part of my life. I especially like to play team sports, because I enjoy working together with others toward a common goal. I play football eve­ry day after school. I would like to play sports in a foreign country some day. I would really like to represent my country internati­onally.

1 also enjoys staying fit with my family. At home we eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day. We don't smoke or drink alcohol. We all love to swim and play tennis. My brother and I ride our bicy­cles to and from school every day. Not only is bicycle-riding good exercise, but it also helps to clear my head and relieve stress after a long day. I usually go for a jog on Saturday mornings. Jogging and swimming are particularly good for the heart and lungs. On Sun­days I practice my favourite sport of all — sleeping!
3.2 Drugs

In facts, all medicines are drugs. You take drugs for your headache or your asthma. But you need to remember that not all drugs are medicines. Alcohol is a drug, and nicotine is a drug. There are many drugs that do you no good at all.

There's nothing wrong with medicinal drugs if they're used properly. The trouble is, some people use them wrongly and make themselves ill. Most of the drugs are illegal, but some are ordinary medical substances that people use in the wrong way.

People take drugs because they think they make them feel better. Young people are often introduced to drug-taking by their friends.

Many users take drugs to escape from a life that may seem too hard to bear. Drugs may seem the only answer, but they are no answer at all. They simply make the problem worse.

Depending on the type and strength of the drug, all drug-abusers are in danger of developing side effects. Drugs can bring on confusion and frightening hallucinations and cause unbalan­ced emotions or more serious mental disorders.

First-time heroin users are sometimes violently sick. Cocaine, even in small amounts, can cause sudden death in some young people, due to heartbeat irregula­rities. Children born to drug-addicted parents can be badly affected.

Regular users may become constipated and girls can miss their periods. Some drugs can slow, even stop the breathing' process, and if someone overdoses accidentally they may become unconscious or even die.

People who start taking drugs are unlikely to do so for long without being found out. Symptoms of even light drag use are drowsiness, moodiness, loss of appetite and, almost inevitably, a high level of deceit.

First there's the evidence to hide, but second, drugs are expensive and few young people are able to find the money they need from their allowance alone. Almost inevitably, needing money to pay for drugs leads to crime.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a sickness that attacks the body's natural system against disease. AIDS itself doesn't kill, but because the body's defense system is damaged, the patient has a reduced ability to fight off many other diseases, including flu or the common cold.

It has been reported that about 10 million people worldwide may have been infected by the virus that causes AIDS. It is estimated that about 350 thousand people have the disease and that another million (!) may get it within the next five years. Africa and South America are the continents where AIDS is most rampant, although in the States alone about 50,000 people have already died of AIDS.

So far there is no cure for AIDS. We know that AIDS is caused by a virus which invades healthy cells, including the white blood cells that are part of our defense system. The virus takes control of the healthy cells genetic material and forces the cell to make a copy of the virus. The cell then dies and the multiplied virus moves on to invade and kill other healthy cells. The AIDS virus can be passed on sexually or by sharing needles used to inject drugs. It also can be passed in blood products or from a pregnant woman with AIDS to her baby.

Many stories about the spread of AIDS are false. One cannot get AIDS by working with someone who's got it or by going to the same school, or by touching objects belonging to or touched by an infected person. Nobody caring for an AIDS patient has developed AIDS and, since there is no cure for it at present, be as helpful and understanding as possible to those suffering from this terrible disease.
3.4 Smoking

Smoking is very danger­ous. Most young people smoke, because their friends, pressure them to do so. They may be copying their parents who smoke, or other adults they respect. At one time this would have been accepted as normal. But in the past 30 years attitude about smoking have changes. Smoking is now banned in many places so that other people don't have to breathe in smokers' shocking tobacco smoke.

Passive smoking, when you are breathing someone else smoke, can damage your health just like smoking can. Smoking becomes addictive very quickly, and it's one of the hardest habits to break.

Take 1000 young people who smoke 20 cigarettes a day. A quarter of them will die from a disease caused by smoking. That’s 250 lives wasted! Only six of those 1000 teenagers will die in road accidents. So what is it in cigarette smoke that is harmful? A chemical called nicotine is a substance that causes addiction. It is a stimulant that increases the pulse rate and a rise in the bloods, pressure. Cigarette smoke also contains tar - a major factor for causing cancer.

Chronic bronchitis occurs when tar and mucus damage the air sacks in the lungs. The sufferer has a bad cough which is worse in the mornings, and may get breathless easily. Gases in cigarette smoke increase your blood pressure and pulse rate. This can contribute to heart disease. Smokers as twice as non-smokers are likely to have heart trouble.

Smokeless tobacco that is chewed rather than smoked is also harmful causing mouth sores, damage to teeth and cancer. If you've ever watched an adult try to give up smoking, you know how hard it can be. It's easier, healthier and cheaper never to start.

- The smell of smoke on your breath and clothes will put people off.

- Someone who smokes 15 cigarettes a day can forget six to nine years of their life.

- You're burning a great deal of money. In many countries cigarettes are heavily taxed.

- Your skin will wrinkle faster and deeper than that of a non-smoker.

- Females who smoke heavily may wrinkle like a woman 20 years older in age.

Another poison of many young people is alcohol. Remem­ber, alcohol is a drug. It can make you sick, and you can become addicted to it. It's a very common form of drug abuse among teenagers. Don't let anyone at a party pressure you into drinking if you don't want to, especially if you're legally under age.

For years we have been told not to drive after we have drunk alcohol, which weakens our sense and clouds our judgment. And yet people still do. Young people, who are drunk are less likely to wear their seat belts, and are less experienced when a problem occurs. The alcohol makes them think they are brilliant drivers and can take risks without getting hurt. But, more importantly, they become a risk to other drivers and pedestrians - potential killers. If they do have an accident, the alcohol in their body will make treatment of an injury more difficult.

Alcohol drinks are made up chiefly of water and ethanol, which is an alcohol produced by fermenting fruits, vegetables or grain. Beer is about one part ethanol to 20 parts water. Wine is stronger, and spirits are about half ethanol and half water.

Alcohol is a drug. In fact, it is a mild poison. It is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream, within four or 10 minutes of being drunk. Absorption is slower if there's food in the stomach. Once inside the body it passes through the bloodstream to the liver, where poisons are digested but the liver can only process 28 grams of pure alcohol each hour.

This is a small amount - just over half a glass of beer. Anything else you drink is pumped round the body while it waits its turn to enter the liver.

When alcohol reaches your brain, you may immediately feel more relaxed and light-hearted. You may feel you can do crazy things. But after two or three drinks, your actions are clumsy and your speech is slurred. If you over-drink, you might suffer from double vision and loss of balance, even fall unconscious, hangover.
3.6 Meat: to eat or not to eat?

However, there is no easy answer to the question. Some people say meat is bad for us; others claim meat is essential for our health. So where does the truth lie?

Experts say red meat, such as veal, can be harmful: if you eat a lot of it, you may develop heart problems. White meat, such as pork or chicken, is not as bad, according to the experts. Furthermore, it is argued by anti-meat-eating groups that if more people switched to a vegetarian diet, there would be less starvation in the world.

In the case of children, doctors agree that they need a balanced diet to help them grow. Meat provides a range of proteins and vitamins that are essential for a healthy body. Finally, although I personally don't eat meat very often, many people think it is the most enjoyable and satisfying type of food there is.

Perhaps a reasonable compromise would be to say, 'Yes, eat meat - but don't overdo it!'
3.7 The origins of soccer

There are lots of stories about how soccer-like games have been played all over the world and at different times in history.

About 10,000 years ago Romans played ball games, they played for exer­cise. Britain was invaded by Rome, and the game — playing Roman soldiers probably brought soccerlike games with them and may have introduced them to people living in Britain. In any case, football was played in Britain for over 1,000 years. Many kings and queens tried to ban it because football took time away from soldierly activities, such as archery.

Despite being illegal in Britain until the 18th century, the English created rules for the game in 1863.

The Pilgrims could have been met on the beach at Plymouth by soccer — playing American Indians! By the time the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, Indians in New England had been playing a game called, "gather to play football", for a while. This game looked a lot like modern soccer: it was played entirely with the legs and the feet, and the object was to cross the opponent's goal line with the ball. The ball, however was small, about 2 to 4 inches in diameter, and was made of wood, or deerskin stuffed with leaves. In 1634 English set­tlers wrote about the game, which reminded them of English football, and noted that play could involve anywhere from 30 to 1,000 players on a mile-long field!

3.8 A Brief History of the Olympic Games

When it began

According to historic records, the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece. By 676 B.C. the Games included Greeks from every corner of the Greek world. The Games were held every four years in honor of the king of the gods, Zeus. It is reported that there was only one event in the very earliest Olympiad: the 200-yard sprint.

Soon, other events were added, including boxing, wrestling, the pankrathion (a match that com­bined boxing and wrestling), the discus throw, the javelin throw, and the long jump. By the 25th Olym­piad, the four-horse chariot race was added. The chariot races were very popular. Teams of two or four horses would race 12 laps around a track. Twelve chariots could participate. Sometimes there were collisions! Horse races were added later.

For 1000 years the Games were at regular intervals of four years. Special messengers were sent out in every direction to announce the beginning of the Games and to signal an end of all disputes and wars until after the Games. The modern Olympic Games are still held every fourth year, but were interrupted in 1916, 1940 and 1944 by World Wars.

In 1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin wrote a letter to the athletic organizations of every country. In his letter he described the educational value of sports to modern man based on Greek ideals. Two years later the first modern Olympic Games took place.

In the modern Olympic Games the athletes march in a parade for the opening of the Games. Before the parade, a torch is lighted. The flame for the torch comes from the site of Olympia. There it is lighted from the sun's rays and carried by relays of runners to the city where the Games are being held.

Soccer is my favorite sport, and I have been playing for nine years. I love to play all sports, but I play only soccer and basketball in a league. I have a sister Elizabeth. She is 15. She plays soccer too. She has been playing for 10 years. I wasn't very good at first. I was about 6 at the time. My sister was naturally good and she scored a lot for her team. My sister started to teach me the fun­damentals. Elizabeth taught me how to pass.

Soon I could do it with my eyes shut. She started to teach me moves to get around another guy. I practiced a lot by myself, with Elizabeth, and at team practices.

Elizabeth then taught me how to shoot. One day there was a game. I was not good enough that day and we lost the game. I was so mad, I went home and practiced and practiced without a break. I almost fainted.

Elizabeth and I were both disappointed. We began to practice again, especially how to trap, pass and shoot. I didn't want the same thing to happen to me again. Gradually, I became a very good soccer player. I almost always make the right decisions now. Soccer is a mental game as well.
3.10 Sport in my life

I am Peter. Sport plays a great role in my life. In fact it is all I care for. I love every kind of sports — football, hockey, volleyball and basketball. I also play chess and once played in our school team against Kasparov. We all lost of course, but it was an unforgettable experience. I also love to play football. I go to our local football club every spare minute and my dream is to become a football player. I also watch football on TV a lot. I never miss a single match. I am a fan of "Spartak" and I get very upset when they lose. However I'll never betray my favorite team.

My name is Alex. I do not understand people who spend all their lives going crazy over sports and their body or watching others doing the same on TV. I think aiming for physical perfection people miss out a lot in their lives. It is much more fun to train brains. In the modern world people do not need muscles; difficult things can be done by machines. I knew one guy, who was very anxious about getting big muscles. He was exercising every day and was still not happy with his looks. So he started taking special hormones to make his muscles grow. He got huge muscles, but he ended up in a hospital, because his excessive workout and hormones did a lot of harm to his health. I would never do anything like that. I am much happier sitting on my sofa with a book or in front of the computer.

I am Ted. I am a professional sportsman. My attitude towards sports is problematic. On one hand sport is my life. I play volleyball, that is the only thing I like to do and can do very well. I like this sport, because you have to be strong, fast and clever to play it. On the other hand a professional sportsman gets old too quickly. You can not play when you are old. You have to retire in your mid thirties and then you need to do something else in your life. By this time a lot of sportsmen have bad injures which influence their health. In general sport costs professional sportsman too much.

Kazakhstan system of credits in higher education was established in 2002 with the aim to support further integration of the country to the global educational environment. While implementing it, developers of the local credit system tried to avoid introducing radical changes to the whole system of higher learning. New educational standards introduced in 2004 by the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan allow universities to realize educational process according to both the traditional linear or new credit system.

Credit system is seen as an educational technology which helps to make educational process more innovative and student-centered.. During the years of independent statehood considerable work has been done in Kazakhstan for adapting of the local educational system to the needs and realities of civil society with market economy.

Higher education system underwent fundamental changes. A new procedure of entering higher educational institutions by independent testing of university entrants was introduced. Multilevel system of preparing specialists consistent with international standard specialties classifiers was developed. Educational services market based on the multi-channel mechanism of financing of universities has emerged.

According to the priorities set by the government the next step is the internationalization of the higher education system through developing students and faculty exchange programs and modernization of educational process in accordance to the international practice. In order to assure quality of education universities have to deal with a number of tasks: international accreditation, international recognition of diplomas awarded, improvement of university management and democratization of educational process. Therefore the needs for an efficient and transparent tool enabling local educators to make study programs and curricula comprehensible to their foreign colleagues are obvious. It is especially critical for development of students exchange programs, as well as for development of joint educational programs, which would combine both the best western teaching practice and the local specificity.

Being a system compatible with all existing credit systems, ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) meets requirements put for the reference system on the base of which qualitative assessment of educational programs could be done. Implementing of ECTS at Kazakhstani institutions of higher education is not aiming only to replace of the existing credit system by another one. Local educational institutions would get a useful tool which helps to assure quality and compatibility of educational programs, provide students and faculty mobility and validate academic records.

Kazakhstan was the first Central Asian country to launch in 1993 a presidential scholarship program "Bolashak" for study abroad. "Bolashak", which means "The Future" in Kazakh, best describes Kazakhstan's recognition of importance of educating its most talented youth at the best universities of the world thus enabling them to acquire necessary skills to lead the country into its prosperous future. The Decree of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev of November 9, 1993 says that "In Kazakhstan's transition toward a market economy and the expansion of international contacts, there is an acute need for cadres with advanced western education, and so, it is now necessary to send the most qualified youth to study in leading educational institutions in foreign countries".

The program is designed to train future leaders in business, international relations, law, science, engineering, and other key fields. Upon completion of their programs, scholarship recipients return to Kazakhstan to perform government service for a period of five years.

The rigorous criteria for selection of Bolashak scholars and the highly competitive nature of the selection process assure that only the best students, who represent Kazakhstan's most promising young leaders, are named Bolashak Scholars. There are over 100 nationalities living in Kazakhstan and exceptionally talented and able young people of different ethnicity and from different regions of Kazakhstan become recipients of the scholarship. The Bolashak program is fully funded by the Government of Kazakhstan and overseen by the Ministry of Education and Science.

This program being a top priority of President Nazarbayev's plan to develop and modernize the society is one of many Kazakhstan bold educational reforms oriented to foster sprouts of democracy.
4.3 KIMEP

KIMEP is the oldest and largest US-style university in Central Asia. It was founded by a resolution of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, on January 14, 1992. Classes began in August of that year, and KIMEP’s first MBA students graduated in June 1994.

KIMEP is an independent, not-for-profit coeducational institute serving a multi-cultural, multi-national student body. It is situated on a modern campus spread in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan and Central Asia’s financial capital. Its facilities are among the best of any university in the region.

KIMEP has a license to offer academic programs from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The last visit of an attestation commission from the Ministry, on April 14-16 2008, resulted in KIMEP being awarded five-year attestation for all its degree programs.

KIMEP continues to work towards accreditation with the Commission of Institutions of Higher Education and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), USA.

KIMEP currently offers fifteen degree programs, including undergraduate programs in Business Administration, Economics, Political Science, Public Administration and Journalism, and masters programs in Business Administration, Economics, Law, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. KIMEP also offers a doctoral program in Business Administration. An Executive MBA program and a wide range of certificate programs and short courses are also offered.

All KIMEP’s degree programs are taught in English.

KIMEP’s faculty is made up of both Kazakhstani and expatriate scholars, the vast majority of whom earned their Masters and Doctoral Degrees from European and North American Universities. KIMEP is home to the largest concentration of Western Ph.D. holders of any institution of higher education in the CIS.

Except Kazakhstan, students at KIMEP come from 25 different countries, including, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the USA, the UK, Germany, China and Korea.

4.4 PSU The history of Pavlodar state university is the history oh higher education formation in Pavlodar Priirtyshye. The Toraigyrov Pavlodar state university was founded in 1996, on basis of Pavlodar industrial institute, which, in its turn, was founded in 1960 on the strength of the USSR Council of Ministers Decree dared the 20^th of September, 1960, and opened on the 1^st of December of the same year. There were 400 students who studied at 3 faculties. There were machine-building, construction engineering and power engineering faculties. The lessons were conducted by 16 teachers, and only one of them had an academic status of dotsent.

Today, the Toraigyrov Pavlodar state university is a multiple-discipline higher educational institution, which realizes educational programmes along 2 specialities of doctorate, 17 specialities of post-graduate course, 34 specialities of graduate school and 114 specialities of higher professional training, including 54 specialities of baccalaureate and 21 secondary professional education specialities.

The university consists of 12 departments:

1. Power engineering faculty

2. Faculty of metallurgy, machine-building and transport

3. Architecture and construction-engineering faculty

4. Faculty of finance and economics

5. Biology and chemistry faculty

6. Faculty of physics, mathematics and informational technologies

7. History and low faculty

8. Faculty of foreign languages

9. Faculty of philology, journalism and art

And also:

10. Distance-learning faculty

11. College

12. Multi-discipline school-lyceum for gifted children of Pavlodar oblast.

The university has a well developed material and technical basis: 6 educational buildings, a scientific library with 6 reading-halls, 4 subscription departments and 1 million specimen resources, a museum complex, plenty of laboratories, including modern computer classes, professional graphics workstation for architecture and design, media library with Pentium 4 class computers and laser printers, TV sets with videotape recorders, video cassettes, compact disks and internet-café.

The educational process is realized by the teaching staff of the university: 46 professors, 156 candidates, 52 doctors and 94 dotsents work at the 40 departments and 12 scientific practical centres.

There are 2 dissertational councils in 3 specialities at the university. The scholars of PSU are the members of 9 doctoral and 3 candidates’ dissertational councils.

The scientific magazines: “Vestnik PGU”, “Nauka i technika Kazahstana” and “Olketanu Krayevedenie”, the newspapers “Bylyk”, “Akparat aidyny” are quarterly published at the university.

Out of the more than three million students who graduate from high school each year, about one million go on for “higher education”. Simply by being admitted into one of the most respected universities in the United States, a high school graduate achieves a degree of success. A college at a leading university might receive applications from two percent of these high school graduates, and then accept only one out of every ten who apply. Successful applicants at such colleges are usually chosen on the basis of:

- High school records;

- Recommendations from high school teachers;

- The impression they make during interviews at the university;

- Their scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT);

The system of higher education in the United States is complex. It comprises four categories of institution:

- the university, which may contain several colleges for undergraduate students seeking a bachelor’s four-year degree; one or more graduate schools for those continuing in specialized studies beyond the bachelor’s degree to obtain a master’s or a doctoral degree;

- the four-year undergraduate institution – the college – most of which are not part of a university;

- the technical training institution, at which high school graduates may take courses ranging from six months to four years in duration, and learn a wide variety of technical skills, from hair styling through business accounting to computer programming;

- the two-year, or community college, from which students may enter many professions or may go to four-year colleges or universities.

Any of these institutions, in any category, might be either public or private, depending on the source of its funding. There is no clear or inevitable distinction in terms of quality of education offered between the institutions, which are publicly or privately funded.

The factors determining whether an institution is one of the best, or one of lower prestige, are: quality of teaching faculty, quality of research facilities, amount of funding available for libraries, special programs, etc., and the competence and number of applicants for admission, i.e. how selective the institution can be in choosing its students. All of these factors reinforce one another. In the United States it is generally recognized that there are more and less desirable institutions in which to study and from which to graduate. The more desirable institutions are generally – but not always – more costly to attend, and having graduated from one of them may bring distinct advantages as an individual seeks employment opportunities and social mobility within the society. Competition to get into such a college prompts a million secondary school students to take the SATs every year.

4.6 Graduate programs

Graduate study, conducted after obtaining an initial degree and sometimes after several years of professional work, leads to a more advanced degree such as a master's degree, which could be a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA), or other less common master's degrees such as Master of Education (MEd), and Master of Fine Arts (MFA). After additional years of study and sometimes in conjunction with the completion of a master's degree, students may earn a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or other doctoral degree, such as Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, or Doctor of Jurisprudence. Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship procedures post-graduation like residency and internship which must be completed after graduation and before one is considered to be fully trained. Other professional programs like law and business have no formal apprenticeship requirements after graduation (although law school graduates must take the bar exam in order to legally practice law in nearly all states).

Entrance into graduate programs usually depends upon a student's undergraduate academic performance or professional experience as well as their score on a standardized entrance exam like the Graduate Record Examination (GRE-graduate schools in general), the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), or the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). Many graduate and law schools do not require experience after earning a bachelor's degree to enter their programs; however, business school candidates are usually required to gain a few years of professional work experience before applying. Only 8.9 percent of students ever receive postgraduate degrees, and most, after obtaining their bachelor's degree, proceed directly into the workforce.

4.7 Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is also the first and oldest corporation in North America. It was named after a young clergyman named John Harvard, who bequeathed the College his library of four hundred books and £779 (which was half of his estate).

Harvard is considered one of the top four leaders-preparing institutions representing three different political systems in the world: Harvard JFK School of Government and Yale Law School in the US, Sciences Po in France, and MGIMO in Russia.

Today Harvard has nine faculties:

- The Faculty of Arts and Sciences and its sub-faculty, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which together serve:

- Harvard College, the university's undergraduate portion (1636)

- The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (organized 1872)

- The Harvard Division of Continuing Education, including Harvard Extension School (1909) and Harvard Summer School (1871)

- The Faculty of Medicine, including the Medical School (1782) and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (1867).

- Harvard Divinity School (1816)

- Harvard Law School (1817)

- Harvard Business School (1908)

- The Graduate School of Design (1914)

- The Graduate School of Education (1920)

- The School of Public Health (1922)

- The John F. Kennedy School of Government (1936)

Harvard has several athletic facilities, such as the Lavietes Pavilion, a multi-purpose arena and home to the Harvard basketball teams.

Harvard's athletic rivalry with Yale is intense in every sport in which they meet, coming to a climax each fall in their annual football meeting, which dates back to 1875 and is usually called simply The Game.

The Harvard University Library System is centered in Widener Library in Harvard Yard and comprises over 80 individual libraries and over 15 million volumes. This makes it the largest academic library in the United States, and the fourth among the five "mega-libraries" of the world (after the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the French Bibliothèque nationale, but ahead of the New York Public Library).

Harvard operates several arts, cultural, and scientific museums:The Harvard Art Museums, The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, The Semitic Museum, The Harvard Museum of Natural History, and The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts.

Harvard has produced many famous people. Among them the best-known are John Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Seventy-five Nobel Prize winners are affiliated with the university. Since 1974, 19 Nobel Prize winners and 15 winners of the American literary award, the Pulitzer Prize, have served on the Harvard faculty.

In 1893, Baedeker's guidebook called Harvard "the oldest, richest, and most famous of American seats of learning.” The first two facts remain true today; the third is also arguably true.. The 2007 U.S. News & World Report rankings place Harvard in first place among "National Universities", although the 2008 rankings had Harvard at second place behind Princeton University.
4.8 The system of higher education in Great Britain

There are now 44 universities in the United Kingdom: 35 in England, 8 in Scotland, 2 in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.

All British universities are private institutions. Students have to pay fees and living costs, but every student may obtain a personal grant from local authorities. If the parents do not earn much money, their children will receive a full grant which will cover all the expenses. Students studying for first degrees are known as “undergraduates”.

The typical academic program for university students in Great Britain is composed of a varying number of courses or subjects. The academic obligations for each subject fall into three broad types: 1) lectures, at which attendance is not always compulsory, often outline the general scope of the subject matter and stress the particular specialization of the lecturer; 2) tutorials, through individual or group discussion, reading extensively, and writing essays under the tutor's direction, ensure focused and in-depth understanding of the subject; 3) examinations on each subject require the student to consolidate his knowledge of the subject, which he has gained through lectures, discussions and a great deal of independent study. These three categories of academic activity - lectures, tutorials and examinations - provide the means by which students prepare themselves in specialized fields of knowledge in British universities.

The course of study at a university lasts three or four years, then the students will take their finals. Those who pass examinations successfully are given the Bachelor’s degree: Bachelor of Arts for History or Bachelor of Science. The first postgraduate degree is Master of Arts, Master of Science. Doctor of Philosophy is the highest degree. It is given for some original research work which is an important contribution to knowledge. Open Days are a chance for applicants to see the university, meet students and ask questions. All this will help you decide whether you have made the right choice.

Besides universities there are 30 polytechnics, numerous colleges for more specialized needs, such as agriculture, accountancy, art, design and law, a few hundred technical colleges providing part-time and full-time education. It is common for students to leave home to study, and only 15% of all university students live at home while they study.

Oxbridge is a composite of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior intellectual or social status. Oxbridge can be used as a noun refering to either or both universities or as an adjective describing them or their students.

In addition to being a collective term, Oxbridge is often used as shorthand for characteristics that the two institutions share:

1) they are the two oldest universities in continuous operation in England. Both were founded more than 800 years ago, and continued as England's only universities until the 19th century. Between them they have educated a large number of Britain's most prominent scientists, writers and politicians, as well as noted figures in many other fields.

2) because of their age, they have established similar institutions and facilities such as printing houses (Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press), botanical gardens (University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Cambridge University Botanic Garden), museums (the Ashmolean and the Fitzwilliam), legal deposit libraries (the Bodleian and the Cambridge University Library), and debating societies (the Oxford Union and the Cambridge Union).

3) rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge also has a long history, dating back to around 1209 when Cambridge was founded by scholars taking refuge from hostile Oxford townsmen, and celebrated to this day in varsity matches such as the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

4) each has a similar collegiate structure, whereby the University is a co-operative of its constituent colleges, which are responsible for supervisions/tutorials (the principal teaching method) and pastoral care.

5) they are the top-scoring institutions in cross-subject UK university rankings, so they are targetted by ambitious pupils, parents and schools. Entrance is competitive and some schools promote themselves based on their achievement of Oxbridge offers.

6) both universities comprise many buildings of great beauty and antiquity, sited on level terrain ideal for cycling, near slow-moving rivers suitable for rowing and punting.

7) Oxford and Cambridge have common approaches to undergraduate admissions. Until the mid-1980s, entry was typically by sitting special entrance exams. Applications must be made at least three months early, and, with only minor exceptions (e.g. Organ Scholars), are mutually exclusive for first undergraduate degrees so, in any one year, candidates may only apply to Oxford or Cambridge, not both. Because most candidates are predicted to achieve top grades at A level, interviews are usually used to check whether the course is well suited to the applicant's interests and aptitudes, and to look for evidence of self-motivation, independent thinking, academic potential and ability to learn through the tutorial system.

The word “Oxbridge” may also be used pejoratively: as a descriptor of social class (referring to the professional classes who dominated the intake of both universities at the beginning of the twentieth century), as shorthand for an elite that "continues to dominate Britain's political and cultural establishment".


4.10 The Open University

The purpose of the Open University is to offer alternative university-level opportunities to people, who have a previous business education or those without it, to continue their life-long education in a desired content and volume. The studies correspond to traditional university studies because to a large extent they are carried out at the lectures meant for the students studying according to the general university programmes. In case of free spots it is possible to participate in full-time, evening, Internet-based and also master's degree level lectures.  

Every person has a right to collect credit points. Credit points are given to the students who actively participate in the study process (pass the exams, homework etc.), and entering the university later it is possible to transfer the credit points according to the rules of the university.

The Open University (OU) was the world's first successful distance teaching university.

Nearly all students are studying part-time. About 70 per cent of undergraduate students are in full-time employment. More than 50,000 students are sponsored by their employers for their studies.

11,000 people are currently studying for OU Higher Degrees.

Most OU courses are available throughout Europe. Some of them are available in many other parts of the world. More than 25,000 OU students live outside the UK.

The OU is ranked among the top five UK universities for the quality of its teaching.

Through academic research, pedagogic innovation and collaborative partnership it seeks to be a world leader in the design, content and delivery of supported open and distance learning.

Born in the 1960s, the 'White Heat of Technology' era, the Open University was founded on the belief that communications technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend campus universities.

The OU has been faithful to its mission of openness to methods. Over three decades various new media for teaching and learning have been adopted. Audiocassettes and later videocassettes gave students more autonomy.

Then, in the 1980s, personal computers opened up exciting new possibilities for many courses. Many students are enthusiastic about exploring CD-ROM and web-based materials.

By the mid-nineties the massive exploitation of the internet was begun that has made the OU the world's leading e-university. Today more than 180,000 students are interacting with the OU online from home. Each week 25,000 students view their academic records online. When exam results are available 85,000 students viewed them online. The student guidance website receives 70,000 page hits per week. The Open Library receives more than 2.5 million page views each year. 110,000 students use the conferencing system. There are 16,000 conferences, of which 2,000 are organized and moderated by students themselves.

This intensity of usage allows colleagues to do pioneering research on the most effective approaches to online teaching and learning that gives the OU world leadership in this field.

Astana was founded in 1830 in the steppes of Sary-Arka — the sacred place known as a centre of ancient civilization of nomads.

Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan and the centre of Akmolinsk region — the Motherland of Saken Seifullin and Magjan Joumabayev.

In 1832-1961 the city was called Akmolinsk, and when the develop­ment of virgin lands started in the Soviet Union it was renamed into Tselinograd.

After Kazakhstan had gained the independence, a decision was made to replace the capital. Now Kazakhstan has a new capital and the city has a new name — Astana.

Textile, light and printing industries are highly developed in Astana. There are many universities, institutes and colleges here.

Astana is the centre of political life of Kazakhstan. Residence of Presi­dent the Parliament and the Government are located here.

Astana is the city of great construction projects. For a short time the Governmental buildings and the “Continental” hotel have been built and the central residential section has been reconstructed.

In XXI century Astana will be one of the most beautiful and flourishing capitals of the world.

5.2 Nature of Kazakhstan

You can find almost all mineral resources known in the world (more than 90 types) in Kazakhstan and in a large amount.

The biggest rivers of Kazakhstan are the Irtysh, the Syrdaria, the Ili, the Ishim and the Tobol.

The climate of Kazakhstan is very various because of the great size of its territory. The most general characteristics typical for the whole territory of the Republic are aridity and variety.

The highest mountain of Kazakhstan is Khan Tengri peak (6995 meters) of the Tian-Shan mountains in the South-East of the Republic.

There are 158 species of mammals, 485 species of birds about 156 species of fish and many endemic animals in Kazakhstan.

The flora of Kazakhstan is rich and various. For example only about 150 species of officinals grow here.

There are six state nature reserves in Kazakstan.

Nowadays many rare animals and plants are under state protection. Among them there is a snow leopard that is the Almaty city emblem and an eagle, which is on the Republican Flag simbolizing proud trend of Kazakhstan to the bright future.

Spring in Kazakhstan is usually warm. Snow begins to melt in March out sometimes it freezes especially in northern part of Kazakhstan.

In April everything is in blossom.

Summer begins in June and lasts till September. It is a favourite season for many people because there is no school, most people are on holiday and it is the time of leisure. Summer in Kazakhstan is usually nice and full of fruit but sometimes it is too hot, especially in the south. July is the hottest month. August is sometimes rainy, but it is still hot and trees are green.

In September it is still warm but leaves start getting yellow. Autumn is the most beautifull season in Kazakhstan. October and November are usually rainy and cool. It can freeze and snow in November.

The coldest winter month is January. Winter months are good for skiing in the mountains and skating on the "Medeo" skating rink.

In December the days are the shortest and the nights are the longest. It is usually a little warmer in February than in January.

5.3 Art of Kazakstan

The most ancient works of art on the territory of Kazakhstan are the petroglyphs of animals in the Karatau mountains (the Paleolithic age).

In 1970 the grave of the young sak warrior ("The Golden Man") was found near Issyk town. It dates back to the fifth century В. C.

More than 4000 gold articles of art were found in Issyk burial mound. This find is a unique contribution to the world culture.

The Golden Usun crown from the Kargaly treasure (the second century В. C.) is in "animal style" with dynamic figures of deer, birds, winged horses and dragons.

Otrar earthenware with elegant ornament is referred to the samples of decorative applied art.

This tradition has been kept up to now - yurtas, household articles are decorated with original ornaments.

Elegant remarkable carpets with artistic patterns and ornaments were the main decorations of the interior of yurta.

The history of Kazakhstani painting began in the XIX century when Russian painters, such as V. Shternberg (1818-1845), A. Goronovich (1818-1889) and others visited Kazakhstan. They made drawings reflecting the life of Kazakh people.

Nikolai Khludov (1850-1935) a Russian painter graduated from Odessa art school lived in Kazakhstan for 50 years. He dedicated all his works to Kazakh land and people. The most famous pictures of his are "In the Yurta» and "The Nomad's Camp".

The first professional Kazakh painter was Abylkhan Kasteev (1904-1973). His art is diverse and includes historical paintings, portraits and landscapes.

The 1920s and 30"s is the peak of the creative activity of brothers Kulahmet and Hojahmet Hojikovs. They created some famous graphic works.

M. Kisametdinov, B. Pak, I.Isabayev, A. Guriev, A. Rakhmanov and others should be named among the well-known Kazakhstani painters.
5.4 Holidays

Nowadays we live in the independent state of Kazakhstan that is why history dlfferent from those that we had in the soviet period of our history.

We do not have any longer most of Soviet holidays dealing with communist ideology like the First of May and the Seventh of November.

On the contrary now we have many new holidays that returned fivm the past.

The Constitution of Kazakhstan guarantees people freedom of religion and many religious people can celebrate religious holidays.

The majority of Kazakh people celebrate Muslim holidays - Oraza-Ait, Curban-Ait and others.

There are many orthodox Christians in Kazakhstan. They celebrate Christmas Easter, Ascension and so on.

All the other nations with other religions can freely celebrate their own holidays.

The most popular holiday in Kazakstan is Nauryz, the ancient holiday oj spring, the oriental New Year.

For very shot period of time Nauryz has become the all-Kazakhstan holiday, the most grand and merry day of the year.

Before going to school, children attend kindergartens until they are six or seven.

Compulsory education begins in our country at the age of seven, when children go to primary school.

The secondary stage begins from the 5th form when children start studying a lot of new subjects, such as Literature, History, Natural Sciences and others.

Examinations are taken at the end of the 9-th and the 11-th forms.

Some children may leave school after the 9-th form and con­tinue their education at vocational or technical schools or colleges.

Besides secondary schools there are other types of schools in Kazakhstan. There are specialized secondary schools with intensive study of a certain subject, for example Foreign Languages, Litera­ture, Physics and others.

There are also specialized art, music, ballet and sport schools for gifted children ana special schools for handicapped children.

Secondary education in our country is free of charge. Among secondary schools there are gymnasiums, colleges and lyceums most of them are private.

There are institutes, schools of higher education, universities and academies among higher educational institutions.

In 1992 Kazakhstan system of higher education adopted the western model - a 4 years course of studies with getting the Bachelor degree after graduation and a 2 years course of study with getting the Master's degree after graduation.

U. In order to enter a higher educational institution young people have to take an entrance examination.