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EDUCATION IN RUSSIA

In Russia children begin going to school at the age of seven. First they study at the elementary school. It lasts three or four years. At the elementary school children get the elementary education, they learn to read, write and count. From the fifth form the secondary education begins. Children begin learning different subjects, such as Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Computing, Foreign Languages and soon. The nine-year secondary education is compulsory in our country, but after completing the nine-year schooling pupils face the first serious decision in their lives. They have to decide either to continue their studies in the tenth and eleventh forms at a general secondary school, or to transfer to specialised colleges, that is to say, choose a particular career. Colleges give young people a secondary education plus trade training. This means that after finishing a college they are both educated and financially independent, able to go straight to a job.

Except general secondary schools there are a lot of specialised schools, where more attention is paid to a particular subject, mostly to a foreign language. Besides, the-re are many private schools now, where the education is not free of charge.

After finishing school or college young people may enter institute or university to get the higher education. After finishing the fourth course they get the bachelor's degree and after graduating from the higher educational establishment — the master's degree.

To study is not an easy thing, of course, but nowadays it is quite necessary to be highly skilled and educated specialist.

ENGLISH SCHOOLS

English children must go to school when they are five. First they go to infant schools, where they learn the first steps in reading, writing and using numbers.

When children leave the infant school, at the age of seven, they go to junior schools until they are about eleven years of age. Their school subjects are English, arithmetic, history, geography, nature study, swimming, music, art, religious instruction and organised games.

Towards the end of their fourth year in the junior school English schoolchildren have to write their Eleven Plus Examinations, on the result of which they will go the following September to a secondary school of a certain type. About 40% of elementary school leavers in Britain go to secondary modem schools. Modem schools are the most popular secondary schools, but they do not provide complete secondary education, because study programmes are rather limited in comparison with other secondary schools.

The secondary technical school, in spite of its name, is not a specialised school. It teaches many general subjects. The grammar school is a secondary school which offers a full theoretical secondary education including foreign languages, and students can choose which subjects and languages they wish to study. They leave the school after taking a five-year course. Then they may take the General Certificate of Education at the ordinary level. The others continue their studies for another two or three years to obtain the General Certificate of Education at the advanced level, which allows them to enter university. The comprehensive school combines in one school the courses of all types of secondary schools. There are many schools in Britain which are not controlled financially by the state. They are private schools, separate for boys and girls, and the biggest and the most important of them are public schools. They charge high fees and train young people for political, diplomatic, military and religious service. Other non-state schools which charge fees are independent and preparatory schools. Many of the independent schools belong to the churches. Schools of this type prepare their pupils for public schools.

1. towards — РП ОБРТБЧМЕОЙА Л

AMERICAN SCHOOLS

The American system of school education differs from the system in some countries. There are state-supported public schools, private elementary schools, and private secondary schools. Public schools are free and private schools are fee-paying. Each individual state has its own sys-tem of public schools. Elementary education begins at the age of six with the first grade and continues up to the eighth grade. The elementary school is followed by four years of the secondary school or high as it is called. In some states the last two years of the elementary and the first years of the secondary school are combined into a junior high school. Besides giving general education, some high schools teach subjects useful to those who hope to find jobs in industry and agriculture. Some give preparatory education to those planning to enter colleges and universities.

YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN

There are numerous different youth organisations in Great Britain. Some are large and some are small, some nation-wide and some local. Probably the largest are the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides Associations, and the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) and the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association), or simply “Y” for short. The Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides are for school-age teen-agers and the YMCA and the YWCA are for school leavers, college students, and young people who had already started working. Boy Scouts and Girl Guides have to do one good deed every day, to develop themselves mentally and physically. In summer they go camping in tents with everything done by young people themselves. At the YMCA and the YWCA more attention is paid to sport and different social events, such as outing in the country, dances, debates, amateur activities, etc.

LEISURE

When we have time for leisure, we usually need something that can amuse and interest us. There are several ways to do this. People use radio or television. They switch on the radio set or TV set and choose the programme they like best. Some people like music. They listen to various concerts of modern and old music, new and old songs, and see dances. Those who are fond of sports listen to or watch football and hockey matches. These are the most popular kinds of sports. There are a lot of fans among people. They can also see championships in athletics and other kinds of sports. Radio and television extend our knowledge about the world. Television helps us to “visit” different lands, see new plants, animals, unusual birds, fish and insects, mountains and valleys, lakes, rivers and seas. We are shown different countries, cities and towns and people who live there. This is what we can do at home.

If we want to go out, there are a lot of cinemas, theatres, museums and clubs where we can spend our free time. It is often difficult to decide where to go in the evening. Newspapers tell us what is on at cinemas and theatres. If you are a theatre-goer, you will choose a play you want to see. If you are a film fan, you will go to a cinema. Those who are interested in music may go to a concert. Some people like to go to discos, some people prefer to go to see their friends or to go to a restaurant. Old traditions are coming to life. In some places they build “Huts, on hen's legs”, taverns in the old Russian style, where people can -meet their friends, have pleasant talks, eat Russian food and listen to Russian music. So you can see how interesting are the ways in which leisure time can be spent.

5. fan — ВПМЕМШЭЙЛ

THEATRE

We go to the theatre to see a play, that is to say, a performance given by actors and actresses. A play of a serious character, dealing with important human problems is called a tragedy. A play of a humorous, lighter character is a comedy (or a farce). Dramatists are called playwrights nowadays and there are no longer such great dramatists as Shakespeare or G.B.Show.

If we want to go to the theatre we buy tickets at the box-office and show them to the attendant at the entrance. In the building there is a hall, a large foyer and a cloak-room where we leave our overcoats, hats, etc. The audience can walk in the foyer in the intervals. Many doors lead to the auditorium consisting of stalls, boxes and balconies. In front of the auditorium there is a curtain separating it from the stage. The curtain rises when the play begins and falls at the end of each act.

Many people must work together to produce a play. The author writes it; the producer conducts the acting; carpenters, mechanics, designers prepare the scenery; electricians and light operators see to the light effects and operate the floodlights. We, the playgoers (or fans) demand an interesting plot, good acting, impressive scenery — that is two hours of good entertainment.

14. to conduct — ЧЕУФЙ, ТХЛПЧПДЙФШ, РТПЧПДЙФШ

THEATRE IN GREAT BRITAIN

The centre of theatrical activity in Britain is London. There are some 48 principal theatres in or near the West End and some 8 in the suburbs. Most of the theatres are let to producing managements on a commercial basis but some are occupied by important subsided companies, including the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Companies.

The former stages classical and modem plays from all countries; the latter presents Shakespearean plays in Stratford-upon-Avon and a mixed repertoire in London. Many non-repertoire theatres outside London present all kinds of drama and many also put on variety shows and other entertainment. Music in all its forms — pop music, folk music, jazz, light music and brass bands — plays an important role in British cultural life.

The widespread interest in classical music is reflected in the large audiences at orchestral concerts and at performances of opera, ballet and chamber music. Regular seasons of opera and ballet are given at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. Seasons of opera and operetta in English are given by the English National Opera.

There are several thousands of amateur dramatic societies in Britain (some 200 amateur youth theatres among them). Most Universities have active amateur drama clubs and societies.

CINEMA

In England the cinema is usually called “the pictures”. In America the word “the movies” is often used. Cinema-going is a favourite pastime in Britain. People go to the cinema once or twice a week. Cinema-going is more popular in industrial towns in the North of England and Scotland than in the South. However, especially if it is cold and wet outside, many people like to stay at home to watch TV.

Cinemas in England are usually large and more comfortable than the theatres. Often there is a restaurant, so that it is possible to spend an afternoon and evening there (if you have enough money, of course). Behind the cine-ma screen there is a stage, so that the building can be used for concerts and other performances.

British cinema-goers see mainly English and American films, though many of the foreign films are often shown in London and in the South of the country.

In our country cinema-going is not so popular now as it was earlier. People prefer to stay at home and to watch TV or video.

I like to watch films very much. I prefer thrillers, comedies and horror movies, but I do not like tragedies and melodramas very much, and I hate soap operas, although they are becoming very popular in our country. My favourite film is ... with ... starring. It is really wonderful from the beginning to the end. There are a lot of films which are worth seeing, but this one is the best one to my mind.

10. to be worth seeing — УФПЙФ РПУНПФТЕФШ

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

Newspapers and magazines play a very important part in our life. Practically there is no family that does not read them. We can learn many things from newspapers. Perhaps that is why many years ago an American humorous writer said: “All I know is what I see in the papers”; and another American author more than half a century ago wrote that “the careful reader of a few good newspapers can learn more in a year than most scientists do in their great libraries”.

We can agree or disagree with these statements (better to disagree, because scientific books and magazines have more information than newspapers), but we'll have to say that newspapers help us in many ways. There are a lot of different kinds of newspapers in our country. One can buy them practically everywhere. It is impossible to read all the newspapers and magazines. Everyone has favourite ones.

My favourite newspaper is “Komsomolskaya Pravda”. We can read almost about everything in this newspaper. There are articles dealing with home and abroad news, sport events, life of favourite actors and singers and even the weather. We can find many interesting things there. We can read some useful pieces of advice, some stories about our life, and so on. There are puzzles, songs and even anecdotes there. “Komsomolskaya Pravda” is one of the most interesting newspapers, to my mind.

6. home and abroad news - ОПЧПУФЙ Ч УФТБОЕ Й ЪБ ТХВЕЦПН