Exercises. 1. Give the Russian equivalents of the following words and word combinations:

1. Give the Russian equivalents of the following words and word combinations:

institution; to reflect; further development; to present new demands; urgent need; to highlight; fundamentals of security; nationwide; assessment test

2. Give the English equivalents of the following words and word combinations:

отражать состояние; в целом; воспитание; развитие; сталкиваться с проблемами; современная промышленность; расширять

3. Make up ten questions on the text.

4. Agree or disagree. Explain your point.

1. Much attention is paid to bringing up aharmoniously developed individual.

2. No newsubjects are included in the school curriculum.

3. The term of studies at schools will be less than in the past.

4. All school-leavers in Russia are healthy.

5. Rules of admission to the universities will be altered.

6. Teaching a foreign language at schools in Russia corresponds to the international standards nowadays.

5. Find the sentences with the Complex Object, and make them negative / interrogative.

6. Make up the outline of the text.

7. Retell the text using the outline.

EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

There is no federal educational standard in the USA. Schooling and educational programmes are the responsibility of each state; this is why one can find great differences in education from state to state. No uniform demands exist on education in schools or universities through out the nation. In most states attending school is obligatory for children between six and seventeen. Secondary education institutions include elementary schools and high schools.

Higher education in the USA is not nation-wide. Colleges differ a lot from each other in scale and level of education as well as in the " quality" of diplomas given. There are private and state universities. Private education is considered more prestigious. The most famous private university is Harvard. Higher education is rather expensive in the USA.

A typical American university has two levels of education: two years of undergraduate classes and two more years of graduate classes. The undergraduate years are called the freshman and the sophomore year. During the first and the second year the students take subjects of general education: Science, Humanities, Arts. The specialization begins at the third and the fourth years, named the junior and the senior year respectively. After the fourth year at college, students get a Bachelor's degree. Graduates may specialize further and do research. They get a Master's Degree.