Download Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан

Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан
Павлодарский государственный университет
им. С Торайгырова
Факультет филологии журналистики и искусства
Кафедра практического курса иностранных языков
СБОРНИК
УЧЕБНЫХ ТЕКСТОВ ПО
РАЗВИТИЮ АНГЛИЙСКОЙ
УСТНОЙ РЕЧИ ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ
НЕЯЗЫКОВЫХ
СПЕЦИАЛЬНОСТЕЙ
Павлодар
Кереку
2009
УДК 811. 111 (075.8)
ББК 81.2 Англ-923
С 23
Рекомендовано к изданию учебно-методическим
советом факультета филологии журналистики и искусства
Павлодарского государственного университета
им. С. Торайгырова
Рецензент: кандидат филологических наук, доцент
Каирбаева А.К.
Составители: Аипова А.К., Смагулова Г.Ж., Нурсапинова М.К.,
Макаренко М.В., Макарихина И.М., Аскарова Л.Б., Кажикенова Г.М.,
Омарова Х.С., Мухамбетова Р.А., Авазбакиева Ф.Р., Кабжанова Г.А.
С 23 Сборник учебных текстов по развитию английской устной речи
для студентов неязыковых специальностей / сост. Аипова А.К.,
Смагулова Г.Ж., Нурсапинова М.К., Макаренко М.В.,
Макарихина И.М., Аскарова Л.Б., Кажикенова Г.М., Омарова
Х.С., Мухамбетова Р.А., Авазбакиева Ф.Р., Кабжанова Г. А. –
Павлодар : Кереку, 2009. – 79 с.
Настоящий сборник учебных текстов по развитию английской
устной речи предназначается для студентов всех специальностей,
изучающих английский язык по программе неязыкового вуза.
Основная цель – достижение студентами практического
овладения социально-политической речью, развивая поликультурную
личность студента посредством этнокультурного, общечеловеческого
и гуманитарного характера текстов.
УДК 81.2 Англ-923
ББК 811. 111 (075. 8)
© Аипова А.К., и др., 2009
© ПГУ им. С. Торайгырова, 2009
За достоверность материалов, грамматические и орфографические ошибки
ответственность несут авторы и составители
Сontent
Introduction……………………………………………………3
1 About Myself.....................…………………………………… 4
2 My working day…..…………………………………………....9
3 Sport and Health……………………………………………….16
4 The system of education in Kazakhstan................ …………...23
5. Kazakhstan and English Speaking Countries ..........................33
6 My University. My future profession........................................51
7 Sphere of economics in Kazakhstan and in English Speaking
Countries..............................…………........................................59
Literature.......................................................................................71
Введение
В настоящем сборнике представлены тексты аутентичного
характера из различных источников (научной и художественной
литературы).
Тексты содержат информацию страноведческого характера,
направленные на развитие кругозора студентов. Изучение текстов
способствует развитию умений чтения и говорения.
Основной
целью
является
достижение
студентами
практического овладения социально-политической речью, развивая
поликультурную
личность
студента
посредством
текстов
этнокультурного, общечеловеческого и гуманитарного характера.
1 About Myself
1.1 People are different
It’s a well-known fact that in order to get to know another person we
should learn more about his character. Read the following ideas about
people’s features of character and say whom you would like to make
friends with most of all.
Irene: Well, actually it’s very difficult to speak about yourself, but
still, I’ll try. I think that I’m home-loving, kind and patient. I can get on
with people well, because I always try to help them and they trust me. But
sometimes I’m lazy – I don’t want to do anything. And I guess Steve
doesn’t like it very much.
Steve: I am practical I think, because I always try to do the work
that will help me in future. I’m also honest and I don’t like those people
who tell lies me, because I always notice it and tell them about it. That’s
why they say me that I’m tactless. I won’t argue, perhaps I am. What I
don’t like about myself is that I’m sometimes bossy and Irene knows it
very much. I am sorry.
Jane: Me? Ha! My mother says that I’m light-minded, because I do
everything without thinking. I like to take risks, because I’m really risky.
The feature of my character that I hate is that I’m undisciplined and my
mother is always angry with me about it. But I’m really hard-working. I try
to do everything when I’m asked, but sometimes I just forget about it.
Mark: I am very active, although my parents say that I am lazy,
because I don’t like to do the things they want me to do. I think that I’m
leading, because I want other people to follow me. They sometimes get
offended with me and say I’m rude. I’m just very honest and I tell people
what I think about them. It’s natural, I believe. And if they don’t agree with
me, it’s their problem.
Nataly: I have a lot of friends. But I can say that most of all I enjoy
my own company. My brother believes that I’m rather self-centered and
live only for myself. Do you think it’s bad? I think that selfishness is not so
bad, because all people are selfish.
The most important thing is being hard-working, thorough and
ambitious. That’s why my friends say that I’m very reasonable and
trustworthy.
Andrew: You might think that I boast, but I’d say that I’m really
clever. I study a lot because I like it and I try to work hard to get good
results. That’s why I think that I’m determined. I’m rather critical I’d say,
because I like when everything is perfect. Do you still think that I boast?
Kate: I am very conservative, they say, and I completely agree with
them. I never change anything in my life: ideas, principles, and friends.
And the proverb “Old friends and old wines are the best» is my motto. I
never go out, because I like to stay at home with my relatives. People say
that I’m shy. Is it really bad?
George: I am very timid. I am always afraid that people will laugh
at me. I am not very sociable, I prefer to spend time with animals in the
Zoo where I work more than with people. I am also very patient, because
animals need care and attention, I like them very much and they know it.
1.2 True Friend
Friendship is something that is very difficult to describe. It is like
love - if you have never had it, you will never explain how it feels. But still
it is very interesting to get to know what other people think about
friendship. So we asked some of them the question “Does a true friend
exist?” And here are the answers!
Andrew: I am sure that a true friend exists. And I am a lucky person
because I have one. I’ve always dreamt about a person who would
understand me, whom I could share my joys and sorrows with, whom I
could rely on. And now I’ve got a real friend. Her name is Kate. She is the
only person whom I trust. I often tell her my secrets and I’m sure she will
never let me down or betray me. Kate’s very kind and sympathetic. She is
also very considerate and devoted to me.
Frankly speaking, I’ve never thought that girls could be real friends. I
thought that they liked to gossip and were not able to keep secrets. I’m glad
now that I was wrong.
I also think that a person can have only one true friend, whom
he/she can confide to. I don’t understand those people who say that they
have a lot of friends. I believe they are not true friends - they are just good
acquaintances, aren’t they?
Nataly: A true friend? I can’t understand what you mean. Will you
tell me what a true friend is? Of course you can say that a true friend is a
person who is generous and trustworthy. But, to tell you the truth, I’ve
never met such people.
Our life is a very complicated thing. I’m grown-up enough to realize
that it’s based on principles different to “A Friend in need is a friend
indeed”. Today money rules the world. So if you are the wealthy person,
who is able to help, then you will have lots of friends. I also think that
friend is a person whom you can benefit from. If you need something - he
will help you, if you need some money – he will give it to you. That is a
real friendship.
Although my mum says that a true friend is a disinterested person, I
won’t agree with her. I personally think that if you have a friend who is
ready to help you any time and is able to do everything for your sake - use
it, there won’t be any better chance. That is the thing that I always do.
Don’t you think that I’m right?
Jane: I think that he does. I’d like to say even more: there should be
more friends than one. I agree with the statement: “The more friends - the
better» I’m a very sociable person and for me to find a friend is just a piece
of cake. Frankly speaking, I am really surprised that for somebody to find a
friend is very difficult. What can be easier that to be a friend for
somebody? Just do something good for this person, say something pleasant
to him, do him a favour and oops- he is your best friend because he owes
you.
Perhaps somebody will say that it is not right, that a true friend
should the only one, but I think that they are mistaken. We often quarrel
with our friends or sometimes we part. If you have one friend but you still
have some more - so, you are not alone. Don’t you think so?
Kate: A true friend exists, but I don’t mean anybody of peers. My
true friend is my mother. She’s the only person I can rely on. You might
think that I’m wrong but I’m not, I think. I have always thought that a true
friend is a person who understands me perfectly, who’s always ready to
help, whom I can trust and share my feelings with. And my mother is the
only person I can have complete confidence in. I truly believed that they
were my real friends but soon I realized that I was wrong. I had some
problems with my studies and wanted them to help me, but they didn’t.
My mother was the only person who helped me out.
Now she is the only friend I have. We are like sisters. I always tell
her about my grief and pain and she often gives me a good piece of advice.
She is very sincere and kind-hearted and I’m sure that she will never let me
down. I can always bare out the secrets of my soul to her and I’m sure that
she will never let them out. She is a model for me. She always supports me
and understands me because she is grown and experienced. I don’t think
that my peers possess such qualities. They are too young to understand the
reality of life. Don’t you agree with me?
1.3 How to keep friendship forever?
Friendship is something that is very difficult to keep. Only those
people who are truly devoted to each other, who are confident and faithful
can stay friends for a long time. But still sometimes it is very difficult to
answer this question and here are the results.
Steve: I can’t see what the problem is. If you’ve ever had a real
friend you can always find the answer to this question. I’m sure that a true
friendship is based on confidence, respect, kindness and understanding.
That’s why I think that in order to keep friendship forever people should be
always honest and attentive to each other. To be a good friend you should
devote all your life to your friend. I even think that sometimes you should
be able to do everything for your friend‘s sake, devote all your time to him
and be always near-by. Perhaps, you don’t agree with me, but this is my
idea about a true friendship, and what’s yours?
Irene: Sometimes I think that keeping friendship forever isn’t an
easy matter, because very often friends use your friendship for their own
needs. I personally think that having a best friend doesn’t mean devoting all
your time to him, for whatever good he is, we sometimes need other people
to communicate with. And if your friend gets offended in this case - I don’t
think that he is a real friend, because he doesn’t understand you.
For me, being friends means doing a lot of things together, having
much in common, enjoying each other’s company and having much fun
together. But if you sometimes want to be alone or to go different place
your friend should let you do it. If he doesn’t want you to do this then he is
selfish – a feature of character that isn’t appropriate for a true friend.
So, I think that to keep friendship forever you should never forget
about equality. Never forget that you don’t owe your best friend, so let him
do what he wants and you’ll never be bored with your true friend.
Mark: Should we really keep friendship forever? I don’t think that
we should, because I don’t know what we need it for. I believe that
friendship shouldn’t last forever. Sometimes we just get bored with our
friends. For me it’s very difficult to spend all my time with one person - my
friend. Although we have much in common, sometimes we just don’t know
what to do when we are together. I know everything about him and he
knows perfectly me. There is nothing new and it’s not very interesting.
What’s more, I think, if you can’t learn anything new about the person, you
should find someone else to deal with.
Moreover, some people say that real friends should be able to forgive
each other. Well, I don’t think that they are right. Why should I forgive a
person who has let me down or betrayed me? The best way here is to part,
otherwise I’ll always think about him as an unreliable man.
So, my idea about friendship is rather simple - we shouldn’t keep
friendship forever and sacrifice our life to it. Life without changes is very
boring, so change it as much as possible just to have fun and be happy.
1.4 Generation Gap
Many young people say that very often they have some problems
with their parents. They think that their parents don’t understand them, they
want to be more independent and to live alone, etc. Such a situation is
usually called a “generation gap”. This is the situation of misunderstanding:
children refuse to listen to their parents, while parents think that their
children are too young to make their own decisions. Is it possible to solve
the problem?
Kate: She is optimistic
Frankly speaking, I can hardly understand what people mean when
they say “generation gap”. What is a generation gap? I know that it means
misunderstanding between parents and children, adults and teenagers. But I
cannot see what could be the problem. Parents love their children: they
grow them up, care for them and support them. And children should pay
them the same coin.
I love my parents, because they take care of me, they are kind and
sympathetic; they are always ready to help me. I’m sure that they love me
too. And where there is love there should be understanding. My parents
never ignore me, they always support me and understand all my problems.
I can’t live without their help and respect, and I know that they also need
my attention. So, these are the only relations that are possible between
parents and children, I think.
Jane: She has some problems
There is such a thing as a generation gap. And I know it for sure. I
experience it every day. My parents never understand me. Whatever I say
or do they always think that I’m wrong. They keep saying that I’m not
grown-up enough to do what I want. That’s why they always tell me what
to do and what to say; where to go and what people to make friends with.
They don’t like my friends, my hobby and my style of life. They make me
do things I don’t want to. They are always after me and it is very annoying.
My friends laugh at me very often and say that I am “mother’s
darling”. They say that I depend on my parents and that I won’t be able to
live on my own. I really wish I had more freedom.
I know that my parents love me and care for me, but I want them to
treat me not as a child but as an adult person. I need more liberty, and I
don’t want to depend on them. I’m 18 and I’m grown-up enough to make
my own decisions. I just want them to respect my personality.
Andrew: He is in trouble
Many people say that only their relatives help and support them feel
comfortable and cosy. I understand them and I wish I felt the same about
my family. But unfortunately I can’t.
I love my parents very much, but I don’t think they feel the same.
My parents never pay attention to me and they don’t understand my soul. It
hurts very much when my parents ignore me. I never feel desirable at
home. That’s why very often I think about leaving them. I know that many
children leave their homes because of some terrible problems in their
families - a step-parent, a parent with alcohol problems or a violent parent.
In comparison with them I should be a lucky person, because we don’t
have such problems in my family.
My parents let me do whatever I want. I’m free and I should be
happy. But I don’t feel my parents’ love and care: the things that I long for.
So, can you say that I’m a happy person?
2 My working day
2.1 Domestic Chores
A comfortable home makes our everyday life and work easier and
more pleasant. And what should you do to make your home comfortable?
Perhaps the first thing is to keep it clean and tidy. If you haven’t done your
room, your mother may say to you, “Go and do your room!”
Domestic chores are numerous. You must air the rooms, wash or
sweep the floor, clear the table after meals. What else can you do about the
house? You can polish the floor or the furniture; clean the carpets with the
vacuum-cleaner.
Most of the cooking in your family is probably done by your mother
or grandmother, but you can help them by laying the table and clearing it
after meals, and washing the dishes up.
On washing-day you can also help your mother. If your washing is
sent to the laundry, you can take it there and fetch it when it’s ready.
If you have pets at home, you must take care of them.
Here are teenagers’ opinions on their attitude to domestic chores.
“I get some week pocket money, but most of my friends get much
more. When I ask my Mum and Dad for more, they say I can have more if I
help about the house, but I don’t see why I should. I think it’s not mine.
What do you think?”
“On Fridays I usually clean my room which is in terrible mess by the
end of a week. It is awfully boring, but it’s my duty.”
“If you have a dog, it’s usually great fun, but you have to take him
for a walk twice a day. Besides you have to wash him sometimes. I have
pets that are exotic, but easy to keep. They are insects. I feed my insects on
leaves which I get in my garden. They are always clean, and I don’t have to
take them for a walk!”
2.2 My attitude to homework
When I get from school what do I do? Instead of getting on with my
personal interests, like playing computer games or designing programmes
or models, I have to do a huge mountain of homework set by our teachers
to fill our outside school hours.
Teachers and parents could spend years arguing that doing
homework develops the pupils’ ability to work without assistance, or that
additional work could help us complete our education successfully.
But I believe, in many subjects, homework is totally unnecessary and
find that it doesn’t do me any good. I think, it’s really stupid to copy from
textbook because someone else has already taken the time and effort to
write this book, and it will remain with me until I leave the school year. So
what the point of duplicating it? It’s reinventing the wheel! While copying
things, it’s not easy to take in what you are taking down.
However, I believe, homework is essential in learning languages.
New things are learnt at school, and then they have to be practiced in
writing. I agree that some phrases have to be learnt by heart. From this, the
teacher can comment on what has been taken in by the pupils and can be
improved.
If we could get rid of unnecessary home work, we would have more
time to take up hobbies and interests which could make us more
enthusiastic and interesting.
2.3 Kinds of activities
There are plenty of other kinds of activities, such as travelling,
visiting historical places, babysitting, delivering newspapers, putting
together puzzles, reading, going to different museums, skateboarding,
going fishing, hitchhiking, shopping, helping people in need, joining a
computer club and others. We can say “So many teens; so many kinds of
activities.”
Now some words about me. I am fifteen and I am a computer addict.
I am fond of communication with other teens. That’s why I have a lot of
friends in my and other countries. We send messages from one computer to
another using e-mail; we have on-line conversations. I am a member of the
computing club and I spend much time there. Of course, it’s rather
expensive, but my parents understand me and give me enough money to
pay for my computer club.
And I think that my hobby will be useful in my future profession.
Besides, I spend my free time in the sport club. I go in for kung fu.
Recently films about kung fu have become very popular in Russia. This
fighting itself is a great art, the result of many years of hard work and self-
discipline. The man who made kung fu films famous was Bruce Lee. He
used fists, elbows, feet (never weapons) and moved as fast as lightning. I
am rather good at kung fu now, but I never use my skills to hurt
anybody, unless it is absolutely necessary. Now people know what Kung
Fu is, and I think it may become a sport of the future, because it develops
up your personality, will and nobility.
2.4 Different styles of music
Young people are fond of different styles of music. What kinds are
popular now? What kind of music do you like? Why? Can you think of a
day without music? We can hear music everywhere: in the streets and at
home, over the radio and on TV, in the shops and in the parks. People all
over the world are fond of music. They listen to music, they dance to
music, and they learn to play musical instruments. But what is music?
Specialists explain that music isn’t only a combination of pleasant sounds.
It is an art which reflects life. There are a lot of different kinds of music.
Some of them appeared long ago, and some are modern. For example, folk
music appeared long ago, but it is still alive. Folk songs are very tuneful
and pleasant to listen to. Classical music is often associated with the music
of the past. However, this style also includes music being written now, and
we may speak of modern classical music. Rap is a modern musical style
where the singer speaks or shouts the words in time to music with a steady
beat.
Great Britain has produced more popular music stars than any other
country. Over the last 30 years rock and pop music have been very
popular in Britain. The Beatles, with their style of singing, eloquent and
exciting, is still one of the most popular groups. British groups often set
new trends in music. New styles, groups and singers continue to appear.
2.5 My day off
Yesterday it was Sunday, that’s why my last day off was not long ago
and I remember it quite well. I always try to do my best to make my
holidays really exciting, because we have only few days in a week for
relaxation and rest. Yesterday my friends and I agreed to meet at my place.
First we watched a very interesting TV show “What? Where? When?”
Then we went took a videocassette and watched an outstanding movie “The
Independence Day”. This is a story about strangers from the other planets
that were trying to conquer the whole Earth and about the struggle against
them. The movie is full of visual effects and computer graphics that takes
your breath and makes you admire the modern technologies in the cinema.
I wish our studios and directors made such movies. “The Independence
Day” can be added to the genius pieces of modern art – that is my opinion.
Having watched the film, we decided that it was a time to go outside. The
first place we went to was the sports ground. Though it was rather cold, we
put on warm clothes and had fun. Almost all day long we played soccer and
basketball. As for me, I like weekends and holidays, as the majority of
other people. And I like telling about my holidays. It’s dull to listen about
the ordinary working day, how do you think? Every working day looks like
another, but every weekend is different from the other. During the weekend
we have an opportunity of enjoying the life and having rest.
2.6 The working day of an engineer
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.
2.7 Traveling by air
Many people devote their lives to traveling. They can travel by car, by sea,
by train, and by air. Traveling by air is usually preferred by people who
haven’t got much time and they must get to another city, country or
continent quickly. Nowadays there are a lot of businessmen who have to
communicate with people from other countries. Each of us has a lot of
relatives and friends. Some of them live in other countries. For example
you live in Russia, Moscow and you have some relatives in France or in
Britain. You certainly can get to GB by train, and by sea but it will take
you a lot of time. It would be easier if you choose a plane.
There
are
some rules in airport which every passenger must follow. It is necessary to
arrive at the airport 2 hours before departure time. They must register their
tickets, weigh and register the luggage. Most airports have at least 2 classes
of travel, first class and economy class, which is cheaper. Each passenger
of more than 2 years of age has free luggage allowance. Generally this limit
is 20 kg for economy class passengers and 30 kg for the first class
passengers and if you have some extra luggage must pay for it. At first you
go through the Customs, there you must fill in the customs declaration
before you talk to the customs officer. He may ask routine questions any
passenger: about declaring the things, spirits, tobacco, presents. Then you
go to the check - in counter where your ticket is looked at, you are given
luggage tags and boarding passes. The next formality is filling in the
immigration form and going through passport control. The form has to be
filled in block letters. You write your name, nationality, permanent address
and the purpose of your trip. After fulfilling all these formalities you go to
the departure lounge where you can have a snack, read a paper, buy
something in the duty-free shop and wait for the announcement to board
the plane.
2.8 Traveling by train
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-ItYourself». 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.
2.11 Curious Stamp Mistakes
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, icehockey, 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.
3.3 AIDS
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.
Facts about smoking
- 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.
3.5 Alcohol
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 antimeat-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.
The events
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.
A time-line of the Olympic Games
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.
3.9 My sister taught me to score
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.
4 The system of education in Kazakhstan
4.1 Kazakhstan system of credits in higher education
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.
4.2 «Bolashak»
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 20th of September, 1960, and opened on the 1st
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 multiplediscipline higher educational institution, which realizes educational
programmes along 2 specialities of doctorate, 17 specialities of postgraduate 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.
4.5 The system of higher education in the USA
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 bestknown 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 fulltime education. It is common for students to leave home to study, and only
15% of all university students live at home while they study.
4.9 Oxbridge
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 universitylevel 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.
5 Kazakhstan and English Speaking Countries
5.1 Astana
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.
5.5 Education in Kazakhstan
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.
5.6 Postage stamps and postal history of Kazakhstan.
Under the Soviet Union, the Kazakh SSR postal service was an
integral part of the Soviet system. The republic was periodically recognized
in sets of stamps honoring the different parts of the USSR. Kazakhstan
became independent in December 1991, and wasted no time in organizing
its own post. Its first stamp, depicting a warrior's suit found at the Issyk
mound in 1969, was issued 23 March 1992. Overprinted stamps of the
USSR are also known from this early period, but the Philatelic Club of
Almaty has concluded that their official status is uncertain; although some
saw postal usage, they were not generally available in post offices, nor do
their values reflect actual postal rates in effect. (Although they may be
fabrications intended to deceive collectors, this has apparently not been
proven or disproven.)The first definitive stamps were a set of five issued in
24 January 1993, four of which were a stylized design consisting of a yurt
and spaceship (alluding to the country's Baikonur Cosmodrome), along
with a high value of 50 rubles depicting the flag of Kazakhstan.
The currency changed to tijn and tenge around the end of 1993. Existing
stamps, all denominated in rubles and kopecks, were then sold as if they
were in the new currencies. New stamps issued in the first half of 1994
were initially sold as denominated in tijn, then later in tenge. The yurt-andspaceship design was re-issued in the new currency beginning in July 1994.
Kazakhstan has since followed a moderate pattern of issues, averaging 30
to 40 types per year. The space theme is frequent.
5.7 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Many foreigners say “England” and “English” when they mean
“Britain”, or the “UK”, and “British”. This is very annoying for 5 million
people who live in Scotland, the 2.8 million in Wales and 1.5 million in
Northern Ireland who are certainly not English. (46 million people live in
England). However, the people from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and
England are all British.
The United Kingdom is an abbreviation of “the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. It is the political name of the country
which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
(sometimes known as Ulster). Several islands off the British coast are also
part of the United Kingdom (for example, the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys,
Hebrides and Shetlands, and the Isles of Scilly), although the Channel
Islands and the Isle of Man are not. However, all these islands do recognize
the Queen.
Great Britain is the name of the island which is made up of England,
Scotland, and Wales and so, strictly speaking, it does not include Northern
Ireland. In everyday speech “Britain” is used to mean the United Kingdom.
The British Isles is the geographical name that refers to all the
islands off the north-west coast of the European continent: Great Britain,
the whole of Ireland (Northern and Southern), the Channel Islands and the
Isle of man. But it is important to remember that Southern Ireland – that is
the Republic of Ireland (also called “Eire”)- is completely independent.
Britain is one of the world’s smaller countries with an area of some
244,100 square kilometers (94,250 sq.miles); with some 56 million people,
it ranks about 14th in terms of population. About half the people live in a
large belt stretching north-westwards from London across England. Other
large concentrations of population are in the central lowlands of Scotland,
south-east Wales and the Bristol area, parts of north-east England and
along much of the English Channel coast.
The climate is generally mild and temperate. The average of
temperature between winter and summer is greatest inland, in the eastern
part of the country. During a normal summer the temperature occasionally
rises above 30°C (86°F) in the south; winter temperatures below- 10°C
(14°F) are rare. January and February are usually the coldest months, July
and August- the warmest.
The landscape is rich and varied, sometimes showing marked
contrasts within short distances. Most of the land is agricultural, of which
over one third is arable, growing various crops and the rest pasture and
grazing. Woodlands cover about 8 per cent of the country.
5.8 Britain’s Government
Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a Constitutional monarch,
Queen Elizabeth II, as the head of State. The country is governed in the
Queen’s name by the Government although she performs certain important
acts of government on the advice of her ministers. The Queen is also the
head of the Commonwealth, and is the head of State in 14 of its 41 member
countries. She is a temporal head of the Church of England.
Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of
Commons, together with the Queen in her constitutional role. The Queen
formally summons and dissolves Parliament, and opens each new session
with a speech setting out the Government’s broad programme. She also
gives formal assent to laws passed by Parliament.
The House of Commons, which plays the major part in law making,
consists of 635 elected members of Parliament (MPs), each representing an
area in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Mps are elected
either at a general election (which must be held at least every five years) or
at a by-election held when a seat falls vacant because of the death or
resignation of the member. The minimum voting age is 18, and the voting
is by secret ballot. The Government is formed by the political party which
can command majority support in the House of Commons. Its leader is the
Prime Minister, who chooses a number of ministers, of whom 20 or so are
in the Cabinet, which is collectively responsible for all Government
decisions. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its
leader and “shadow cabinet”. The House of Commons is presided over by
the Speaker, an impartial member acceptable to the whole House.
The House of Lords is made up of hereditary and life peers and
peeresses, including the law lords appointed to undertake the judicial duties
of the House, and the Lords Spiritual (two archbishops and 24 bishops of
the Church of England). The house is presided over by the Lord Chancellor
who is head of the judiciary in England and Wales.
Legislative measures are introduced into Parliament as Bills, usually
by ministers but also by other MPs. Bills are considered both by the House
of Commons and by the House of Lords. The debating procedures of the
two Houses are broadly similar, and Bills approved at all stages receive the
Royal Assent and become Acts of Parliament. The House of Lords may
delay certain Bills but cannot finally Veto them.
The work of Government is carried out through the various
government departments, each directly or indirectly responsible to a
minister and staffed by members of a politically neutral Civil Service – a
change of Government does not involve a change in the civil servants
staffing a department.
5. 9 Science and Technology in Britain
Since the first artificial splitting of the atom at Cambridge, in 1932,
by Sir John Cockcroft and Dr. E.T.S. Walton, Britain’s nuclear scientists
have made continuous progress in harnessing atomic energy. Today eight
commercial nuclear power stations are supplying electricity for factories
and homes and others are being built. Some of Britain’s top scientists are
engaged in space research on projects such as upper atmosphere probes
with British- built rockets at Woomera, Australia, and in work on satellite
communications. Others are making vital discoveries in the laboratory into
the very nature of life itself.
Britain is pre-eminent in radio astronomy and in many fields of
electronics including miniaturisation, one of the most important factors in
the electronics revolution, and in radar for marine and aviation purposes.
Much basic work was done in Britain on electronic computers. British
advances in medicine include penicillin and other antibiotics, such as
cephalosporins, heart-lung machines, and a new anti- viral agent,
interferon, of great potential value and many other important developments
in the treatment of disease.
British contributions to science include many great discoveries
linked with famous names – Sir Isaac Newton (theory of gravitation),
Robert Boyle (“the farther of modern chemistry”), Michael Faraday (whose
discoveries gave rise to the electrical industry), and Henry Cavendish
(properties of hydrogen). In the present century- J.J. Thomson, Lord
Rutherford and Sir James Chadwick (basic work on nuclear science),
Gowland Hopkins (the existence of vitamins), Sir William Bragg (X-ray
analysis), and many others. Medicine owes much to such pioneers as
William Harvey (circulation of blood), Edward Jenner (vaccination),
Joseph Lister (antiseptics), Sir Ronald Ross (who proved the relation
between malaria and mosquitoes).
Since 1945 there have been 27 British scientists who have received
international recognition for their work by gaining Nobel awards. There are
over 200 learned scientific societies in Britain. In ten years Britain has
doubled her total number of qualified scientists.
5.10 English Characteristics
In a nation of many million of people, there are many different kinds:
good and bad, honest and dishonest, happy and unhappy.
The best- known quality of the English, for example, is reserve. A reserved
person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show
much emotion. He never tells you anything about himself. If English
people are making a journey by train, they will try to find an empty
compartment. If they have to share the compartment with a stranger, they
may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation
does not start, personal questions like “How old are you?” or even “What’s
your name?” are not easily asked. Questions like “Where did you buy your
watch?” or “What’s your salary?” are impossible.
But the people of the North and West of Britain, especially the
Welsh, are much less reserved than those of the South and East.
Closely related to English reserve is English modesty. If a person is, let us
say, very good in golf, and someone asks him if he is a good player, he will
probably give an answer like “I’m not bad”, or “I think I’m quite good”, or
“Well, I’m very keen on golf”.
The famous English sense of humour is similar. Its ideal is the
ability to laugh at oneself- at one’s own faults. “He is a man of humour” or
“He has no sense of humour” is often heard in Britain, where humour is so
highly prized.
5. 11 Merry England and London May Queen Festival
Visitors from many parts of the world are among the thousands of
people who gather on the Common at Hayes, near Bromley, Kent, to
witness the crowning of London’s May Queen. It is the largest May Queen
Festival in Britain and over a thousand children take part. The date is the
second Saturday in May. The procession forms up in the village church.
The actual crowning takes place about 1.30 p.m. and makes its way to the
Common by way of the village church. The actual crowning takes place
about 3 p.m. As many as forty May Queens from different parts of the
country are present and with their attendants present a colourful spectacle.
Their dresses are beautifully made, with a distinctive colour scheme for
almost all the different “Realms”. The Festival has been held since 1880.
5.12 Egg-Rolling
Egg-rolling is a traditional Easter pastime which still flourishes in
northern England, Scotland, Ulster, the Isle of Man, and Switzerland. It
takes place on Easter Sunday or Monday, and consists of rolling coloured,
hard-boiled eggs down a slope until they are cracked and broken after
which they are eaten by their owners. In some districts, this is a competitive
game, the winner being the player whose egg remains longest undamaged,
but more usually, the fun consists simply of the rolling and eating. This is
evidently the older form of the custom, since egg-rolling does not appear to
have been originally a game to be lost or won. In the Hebrides, formerly, it
provided an opportunity for divination. Each player marked his or her egg
with an identifying sign, and then watched to see how it fared as it sped
down the slope. If it reached the bottom unscathed, the owner could expect
good lick in the future, but if it was broken, misfortune would follow
before the year was out. Similarly, at Connel Ferry in Argyllshire, where it
was customary for young men to roll their eggs in one place, and for young
women to roll theirs in another, the man or girl whose egg went farthest
and most smoothly would be the first person to marry in that particular
group.
5.13 Do you know English words?
“Hooligan”
Do you know the word “hooligan”? Yes, you know the word and you
don’t like hooligans, of course.
But do you know that Hooligan was an English surname and not a
word? In 1890 there lived in London a man whose surname was Hooligan.
He was a very bad man and he behaved so badly, that soon everybody in
London knew him and talked about him. When somebody began to behave
badly, people said, “Oh, he behaves like Hooligan”, and a new word was
born. You can find this word not only in English but in some other
languages too.
“Mackintosh”
Do you know what a mackintosh is? Of course, you do. But do you
know that the word “Mackintosh” is a surname?
In 1823, in Scotland lived a man whose name was Charles
Mackintosh. It often rained in Great Britain, and Charles Mackintosh got
wet quite often. One day he rubberized his coat ant it became waterproof.
Many of his friends liked his coat and asked him to rubberize their coats
too. Soon many people began to rubberize their coats and they called those
coats “mackintoshes”.
“Primula”
Primula is the name of one of the genius of the Primulaceae family,
sometimes known as the primrose family. There are three wild species
which are quite common in Great Britain and these are the primrose, the
cowslip and the oxlip.
The primrose is supposed to have been the favourite flower of
Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconfield, who was Britain’s Prime minister in
the 19th century, and it is said that Queen Victoria often gave him bunches
of these pretty yellow flowers. When he died, in April 1881, the Queen sent
a wreath of primroses to his funeral. Later, Primrose Day was inaugurated.
This was celebrated on April 19th, the day of his death, and Disraei’s
supporters wore primrose buttonholes in his memory. Primroses were also
laid on his statue in Parliament Square.
The generic word “primula” is a corruption of the French
“primeverole” and the Italian “ primeverolla”. Both these words came from
the Latin “prima vera” and mean “first flower of spring”.
5.14 The USA
The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the
world (after Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the southern part of
North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also
includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The total
area of the country is about nine and a half million square kilometers. The
USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It also has
a sea-boarder with Russia.
The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a
special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is
situated. The population of the country is about 250 million.
If we look at the map of the USA, we can see lowlands and mountains. The
highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera and the Sierra
Nevada. The highest peak is Mount McKinley which is located in Alaska.
America's largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande
and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the
largest and deepest in the USA.
The climate of the country varies greatly. The coldest regions are in
the north. The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central part is
continental. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from
the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific
coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast.
The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It is the world's
leading producer of copper and oil and the world's second producer of iron
ore and coal. Among the most important manufacturing industries are
aircraft, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, armaments, furniture and
paper.
Though mainly European and African in origin, Americans are made up
from nearly all races and-nations, including Chinese and native Americans.
The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Detroit, San-Francisco, Washington and others.
The United States is a federal union of 50 states, each of which has
its own government. The seat of the central (federal) government is
Washington, DC. According to the US Constitution the powers of the
government are divided into 3 branches: the executive, headed by the
President, the legislative, exercised by the Congress, and the judicial. The
Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and
the Democratic.
5.15 Washington DC
Washington is the capital of the United States of America. It is situated in the
District of Columbia and is like no other city of the USA. It's the world's
largest one-industry city. And that industry is government. The White House,
where the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US
Congress and the Supreme Court are all in Washington.
Washington was named after the first US President George Washington.
He selected the place for the capital and Pierre L'Enfant, a French engineer,
designed the city.
Washington was first settled in 1790 and since 1800 it has been the
Federal capital.
Washington is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in the United
States. In the very centre of it rises the huge dome of the Capitol — a big white
dome standing on a circle of pillars. The 535 members of the Congress meet
here to discuss the nation's affairs. It's easy to get lost in this huge building, full
of paintings and statues.
Not far from the Capitol is the Library of Congress, the largest library in
the States. It contains more than 13 million books, more than 19 million
manuscripts, including the personal papers of the US presidents.
The White House is the official residence of the US President. He works
in the Oval Office.
One can hardly find a park, a square or an open area in Washington
without a monument or a memorial. The most impressive and the best-known
ones are the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
There are some important museums in Washington where you can see ail
kinds of things: famous paintings and sculptures, the dresses of President's wives,
the original of the Declaration of Independence, the largest blue diamond in the
world, etc.
There are 5 universities in Washington.
There are no skyscrapers in Washington, because they would hide the
city's many monuments from view. No building in the city may be more than 40
meters tall.
Thousands of tourists visit Washington every day. People from all parts of
the United States come to see their capital.
5.16 Basic themes about America
A few general cultural patterns cut across regional and political
boundaries and, in many cases, ignore major differences in the physical
environment. These themes characterize the ways Americans have
organized their country.
Urbanization: Millions of Americans, most of them urbanites,
prefer to consider their country as a basically rural place, and they seem to
believe that this rurality provides the country with a basic national vigor.
There is no longer much justification for this view of rural dominance. About 70 percent of Americans live in urban areas, and more than
40 percent are in areas of 1 million people or more. In 1990, the U.S. farm
population numbered about 5 million (2 percent of the population), a
figure that has declined steadily since the first national census in
1790, when over 90 percent of all Americans were farmers.
Several elements of urbanization are emphasized in our
discussion. Cities have a particular form, a particular layout. Most
American cities have a rectangular-grid pattern, partly a result of
cultural attitudes, partly a result of a desire for efficient transport
before the automobile, and partly because that pattern i s i n easy way
to survey the land. Within cities, there is a collection of industrial
and commercial centers, residential areas, warehouses, and so on.
Cities exist for many different reasons. They mane have an
important transportation role. Or they may provide an important
administrative function. Perhaps they are a centre of recreation or
manufacturing.
Most cities, certainly all large ones, contain many different urban
functions. Nevertheless, many are characterized by certain dominant
functions that were the reason for their development and much of
their early growth, and that today continue to give them their special
character.
The pattern of continuing and often rapid urban growth in the
United States during the last 100 years, coupled with the increasing
mobility of the urban population, has stimulated a great sprawling
pattern of urbanization. In some areas, the result of urban spread is
urbancoalescence, with the edges of different urban areas meeting
and blending.
5.17 Industrialization
A substantial part of U.S. employment is related to
manufacturing, either directly or indirectly. Most cities were founded
and experienced their major periods of growth when manufacturing
was I he primary factor in urban growth.
Today, there is substantial regional specialization in
manufacturing, partly as the result of variations in the availability of
industrial raw materials and partly as the result of industrial linkages;
manufacturing concerns that produce component parts of some final
product are located near each other as well as near the final assembly
site to minimize total movement costs.
Other important sources of variation include differences in
labor availability or labor skills, in the quality of transportation
facilities, and in local political attitudes. Regions tend to specialize
in the production of whatever it is that they can best produce. And
with this regional specialization has come regional interdependence;
few sections of America are truly self-sufficient in manufacturing, in
spite of what local pride might lead us to believe.
High Mobility: America's extensive transportation network is an
important element in its high level of economic interaction. Goods
and people move freely within and between regions of the country.
Regional interdependence is great; it is made possible by these inter regional flows. Relative isolation is uncommon, but it does exist.
Nearly 20 percent of all Americans change their residence in
any one year. Although much of this residential migration is local in
nature, it does result in substantial interregional population
movement. Until the last decade of the 19 th century, there was a
strong westward population shift toward frontier agricultural lands.
The focus of opportunity then changed and migration shifted to urban
areas.
More recently, the U.S. economy has entered what some call a
postindustrial phase; employment growth is primarily in professions
and services rather than primary (extractive) or secondary
(manufacturing) sectors. Such employment is much more flexible in
its location, and there has been a more rapid growth in such
employment in areas that appear to contain greater amenities.
5.18 Resources
About 25 percent of the land in row crops in the United States
produces exports. Also, the country is able to satisfy much of its
gigantic demand for industrial raw materials domestically. The
United States has the potential to be a major supplier for a few
nonagricultural raw materials internationally and is the world's
leading exporter of coal.
Although the U.S. population is predominantly urban, the
extraction of natural resources from its abundant base requires a
large nonurban labor force. Furthermore, particularly for agriculture,
the development of these resources often involves a substantial land
area. As a result, the relationship between the physical environment
and human adaptations to that environment are clearly vi sible.
Government plays an important role in this relationship by establish ing controls on land use and agricultural production and by
regulating the development of many resources. It is partly because
processes inherent in urbanization and industrialization lead to high
demand for raw materials that the
United States has become dependent on imported raw
materials in spite of great natural resource abundance.
High Income and High Consumption. The high U.S. national income is
achieved through high worker productivity, which requires a
significant use of machines. And modern machines are fueled by
inanimate energy sources. Mobility also implies heavy use of energy
resources. High income spread somewhat evenly among a large
share of the population will generate high product demand. All this
increases energy consumption.
Americans consume about 25 percent of the world's total
energy production. The United States imports half the petroleum it
consumes, an increasing share of the iron ore and natural gas used,
nearly all of its tin and aluminum, and large quantities of many
other mineral ores.
High income also affects diet. Americans eat far more meat
products and have a substantially more varied diet than most of the
world's population. Beef and dairy production are, therefore,
especially important in the agricultural economy.
5.19 Environmental Impact
One consequence of high consumption combined with
resource abundance and dependence is a strong disruption of the
physical environment. Resources seldom can be removed from the
natural landscape without some impact, and the manufacture and
use of these resources often harm the air and water. The increased
severity of such environmental impacts has enlivened the argument
between development and conservation—an argument that has
stimulated greater governmental intervention in both processes in
an attempt to establish a middle ground. As domestic resources
become increasingly scarce and their costs of extraction and
production increase, the importance of this conflict will grow.
Political Complexity: The United States has a complex political
structure, with jurisdiction over an activity or state divided among
many different decision-making bodies, some elected and some
appointed.
Below the state level, the complexity of the political structure
can present a major problem in the effective and efficient
distribution of governmental services. Counties, townships, cities,
and towns are all governed by their own elected officials. Many
special administrative units oversee the provision of specific services, such as education, public transportation, and water supply.
The resulting administrative pattern is often nearly impossible to
comprehend, because many overlapping jurisdictions may provide
one service or another in a given area.
Cultural Origins: The United States has grown from a diverse
cultural background. African Americans have made important
contributions to the national culture. A distinctive cultural region
has developed in the Southwest, with an admixture of Hispanic
Americans, American Indians, and European Americans. The
Chinese contributed to the life of such cities as San Francisco and
New York. This cultural diversity is an important element in the
distinctive character of the country.
5.20 American weddings.
There are many different kinds of weddings in the United States,
reflecting the different religious and ethnic backgrounds of the American
people. Weddings may be large or small, religious or civil, formal or
informal; it all depends on the wishes and personal situations of the man
and woman who are getting married. An overwhelming majority of today's
couples, however, choose to marry in a traditional religious ceremony.
The Wedding Ceremony. There are several customs Americans
follow when a man and a woman have a traditional wedding. One of the
oldest customs is for the bride to wear "something old, something new,
something borrowed and something blue." When the bride enters the
church or synagogue, everyone stands up. The processional music starts
and the bride walks down the aisle, accompanied by her father. At the end
of the aisle, she meets the groom and the officiate (priest, minister, or
rabbi) who makes some introductory remarks on marriage. He asks if the
couple marries freely, and they answer affirmatively. The bride and groom
join hands and declare their vows. After they say their "I do's," the groom
puts the wedding ring on his bride's finger and he kisses her. Then the
officiate gives the couple his blessings-they are now officially married. The
bride and groom come back down the aisle, followed by their attendance
and families. This completes the ceremony. Outside the church or
synagogue, the guests rush up to congratulate the couple and wish them
well.
The Wedding Reception. After the wedding ceremony, there is
usually a reception at a hotel, restaurant, or private club. The wedding
reception is a festive celebration that gives family and friends an
opportunity to share the joy of the bride and groom. As with any other
special occasion, there is food, drink, and music to make everyone relaxed
and happy.
Dancing. If there is dancing at the wedding party, the first dance is
reserved for the bride and groom. After the bride dances with her new
husband, the rest of the bridal party joins in and the guests may follow.
Music During the formal dancing is soft and romantic. Once the main meal
is completed and the cake is cut, the musicians can pick up the tempo.
Cutting the Cake. One of the wedding's most precious and
memorable moments is the cutting of the wedding cake. The bride and
groom together make the first cup, his hand over hers. She takes the first
bite of cake and offers him the second. This act of sharing symbolizes
their lifetime of sharing ahead.
Tossing the Bouquet. At the end of the celebration, all the
unmarried women gather for the tossing of the bouquet. Traditionally,
the bride turns her back to the women and tosses the bouquet over her
shoulder. Today she may face them. Supposedly, the one who catches it
will be the next married.
Taking Leave. After the bouquet is thrown, the bride and groom
leave the reception to begin their honeymoon. The guests throw rice at the
couple as they leave the party. They drive off in the groom's car, which is
often decorated with streamers and flowers.
Modern couples may or may not choose to follow the traditional
customs mentioned above, but (here is one thing they all have in common:
they want their marriage to be successful and their wedding to be as lovely
and memorable as they can make it.
5.21 American Press.
Because of the great size of the USA, local newspapers are more
important than local ones. Only the New York Times, the Chicago, the
Tribune, the Wall Street Journal are read all over the country. But there are
other newspapers that have a wide interest and influence; they include the
Washington Post, the popular Daily News, the Baltimore Sun, the
Philadelphia Inquirer and others.
The USA press plays an important part in the business of
government; the press conference is an American invention.
In the 20th century newspapers have ranged from tabloids featuring
pictures and sensational news to, “responsible journals”. There pages are
varied and include columns devoted to news, editorials, letters to the editor,
business and finance, sport entertainment, art, music, books, fashion, food,
society and others.
As the great newspaper chains and news agencies grew, American’s
press lost its individualistic character; many features are common to
newspapers all over the country, which therefore have a uniform
appearance.
Although there are no separate Sunday papers as there are in G.B.,
US daily papers do have special Sunday additions. Many of these are
remarkable in size; the New York Times Sunday edition regularly has over
200 pages, and has had 946.
Almost all American newspapers carries comic strips, usually at least
a page of them.
In contrast to daily newspaper, many magazines in the USA are
national and even international. Those which the widest circulations are
Time, Reader’s Digest, TV Guide, Woman’s day, Better homes and
Gardens, Family circle, the National Geographic magazine.
5.22 Women’s Issues in American Politics.
The role of women's issues on the political agenda of contemporary
America is a product both of the changing politics of the women's
movement and the general character of the American policy environment in
the 1990s.
The climate for the promotion of women's issues in American politics
at the opening of the 1990s could thus be said to be mixed. Although the
overall picture remained bleak for reasons which had as much to do with
the economic state of the country as with the political strengths of the
women's movement, there were reasons for guarded optimism.
Two factors in particular gave the advocates of women’s interests
and the feminist movement reason for believing that the tide of opinion had
turned. First, there was increasing evidence of greater equality of access for
women to education. Over the period 1960—1980 the percentage of
women with a college degree in the United States more than doubled from
6 to 13 percent and this trend seemed set to continue. Of particular interest
in 1990 was the increased access which women were getting to graduate
education, especially to the law schools and medical schools which
constituted the key channels to America's professional elite Secondly, while
the women's organizations, like other participants in the liberal civil rights
coalition, had found little sympathy in the federal government during the
Reagan Presidency, they had participated in the spectacular and symbolic
defeat of the 1987 Bork nomination to the Supreme Court. And although
President Bush's veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1990 effectively killed
legislation which would have made it easier for women to sue their
employers for discrimination (and would have allowed extensive damages
to be awarded where discrimination was proved) as with child-care
legislation, the 1990 midterm elections produced a better political context
for the successful reintroduction the legislation. While it would be
impossible in an essay of this length to do justice to all of these themes, the
outlines of the story can be told here.
6 My University. My future profession.
6.1 My University
I am very happy that I study at this University. It is one of the finest
country’s higher educational institutions. Many famous people have
graduated from my University. Studying at our University gives a solid
background in all spheres of knowledge and prepares for practical work.
Our University is quite large but not very old. It was founded in the
beginning of the 20th century. In 1915, during the World War I the
University of Warsaw was evacuated here. First it had only three faculties,
but later in became the largest University in the region and it gave birth to
other Institutions in the region. Nowadays it is a large school where more
than 18000 students are currently enrolled.
The course of study at my University lasts five years. There are
many faculties at my University. Here are some of them: the faculty of
banking and finance and, the faculty of management, the faculty of
business law and the faculty of accounting.
Our University is large and we have several buildings. One of the
buildings is for lectures and seminars only. There are many large halls there
so that students of 3-4 groups together can fit in there. We have two other
buildings for library, computer centre, gym, and other facilities. Many
students from my group want to do their own research work in the future
and these facilities will certainly help them.
There are several cafes at the University. The food there is tasty and
very affordable.
There are also several dormitories or hostel buildings where students
from other cities countries live. I don’t live in a dormitory – I rent an
apartment.
6.2 Pavlodar State University
The Toraigyrov Pavlodar state university was founded in 1996, on
the basis of Pavlodar industrial institute, which in its turn, was founded in
1960. There were only 400 students who studied at 3 faculties. The lessons
were conducted by 16 teachers, and only one of them had an academic
status of docent.
Today the Toraigyrov Pavlodar state university is a multiplediscipline higher educational institution, which realizes educational
programs along 2 specialties of doctorate, 17 specialties of post-graduate
course, 34 specialties of graduate school and 114 specialties of higher
professional training, including 54 specialties of baccalaureate and 21
secondary professional education specialties. More than 15 thousand
students study at the university. There are many faculties at our university:
the faculty of Finance and Economics, Faculty of Philology, Journalism
and Art, History and law faculty, faculty of Physics, Mathematics and
Information Technologies, the faculty of metallurgy, machine building and
transport, the faculty of foreign languages, Biology and Chemistry faculty,
Power Engineering faculty, Architecture and Construction Engineering
faculty, Distance Learning Faculty.
Many famous people of our country have graduated from PSU, the
former Prime-Minister of the Republic D. Akhmetov, the Senate deputy S.
Esimhanov, V. Bobrov, S. Aliguzhinov, N. Chmyh and others.
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 book resources, a
museum complex consisting of 6 museums: museum of Science History of
Pavlodar oblast; museum of Kazakh ethnography; museum of Technics
History; geological museum; archeological Museum named after
A.Margulan; PSU History Museum, plenty of laboratories, including
modern computer classes, professional graphics workstation for
architecture and design, media library and Internet-café.
The educational process is realized by the teaching staff of the
university: 46 professors, 156 candidates, 52 doctors of science and 94
dotsents work at 40 departments and 12 scientific practical centers.
6.3 World of jobs
We spend great part of our lives at our jobs, so choosing a right
career is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life.
Many students finish high school and begin college without a clear idea of
what they want to do in future. Part of the problem is the size of the job
market itself. With so many kinds of jobs (2000) how can you tell which
will interest you? Some of occupations are already overcrowded. In old
industries there may be little need for new workers, while new and growing
industries will offer jobs now and in the future. Therefore, it is extremely
important to explore your choice of occupations from every angle, collect
as much information as you can. But above all you must evaluate yourself.
Find out where your interests and talents lie. Postponing a decision is an
error people make. "I'll get started tomorrow or next week, or next year," many people think. These people refuse to face the problem, hoping it will
go away. But if you don't take the first step now, how can you plan for the
future, how can you take the right way? Such people miss many
opportunities.
First start with yourself, make a list of your interests,
talents and abilities. Most people have a lot of these, but at the beginning
they are undeveloped and may not seem outstanding. By concentrating on a
few, or on one you may surprise yourself at how good you can get. The
interest inventory that follows covers the major fields in which most people
find careers: science, art, social service, business, sales and so on.
Sometimes we say that someone we know is 'a square peg in a round hole'.
This means that person we are talking about is not suited for the job he is
doing. Unfortunately, many people in the world are 'square pegs'. But to be
a 'square peg' is not a real problem, a real problem for millions of people is
to be unemployed.
6.4 Problems of unemployment of young people
I think that the problem of youth employment is very actual and must
be solved as quick as possible. Most of young people in Russia nowadays
get higher education chiefly because it is in basion now. They all go to
institutes or universities and even academies. But the quality of education
nowadays leaves much to be desired. As a result the country will have a lot
of specialists especially doctors, managers and lowers. But their quality
will be very low. It is one problem. The other problem is that of finding
working places for such a great number of specialists. The Federal
Government should do something about this problem. Creating those
places for young people is the burning question now. There must be a lot of
new plants, factories, hospitals and other enterprises to give jobs to all the
graduates. But there is one more problem when people who leave one or
institutions are not satisfied with the working conditions and work as other
specialists. As a result they have only their diplomas but they do not work
according to their professions. And it is also very bad. The government
should provide good working conditions for some spheres, which are not
popular (for example give more money and so on). In Russia young people
are still a little suppressed, they have complexes but abroad the life is quite
different. Young people begin to work very early from the point of view of
age, get more and more experience out of their work and have more
possibilities to realize themselves.
6.5 I have a dream
There are a lot of noble and important professions. One can hardly
make
up
his
mind
which
to
choose.
I want to be a doctor. I began to think of my future profession when I was
12. You see, my father is a doctor. He is a qualified and experienced
surgeon in emergency surgical department of a military clinic. I like my
daddy's profession and I am eager to get a medical education and work at a
hospital. Day by day my father takes care of his clinic patients and I know,
he treats them well. He is very attentive. Every morning he comes to the
wards asking about complaints. He wants all people to be able-bodied and
he tries to make his in-patients well again. Now there are a lot of wounded
soldiers and officers from Chechnya and Bosnia. To operate on them and
sometimes simply save their lives is his main task. After each operation he
takes care of them. Day by day he helps them to recover and he is very
happy and proud when he says, "My in-patient is quite recovered today and
he is off. Sometimes he advises them to go to sanatoriums or mineral
resorts after leaving the hospital. He instructs them in detail what they can
and can't do and eat after their operations.
6.6 What makes a good journalist?
What makes a good journalist? Many things. But first of all, a deep
and genuine interest in people. A person who has no interest in other
people will never make a good journalist. So if you are not very interested
in other people and think that most people are a bit of nuisance and you
prefer not to have anything more to do with them than is necessary,
journalism
is
not
for
you.
Hand in hand with this interest in people, should go qualities of
sympathy, open-mindedness and an inquiring mind. Sympathy: so that you
can see the other side of an issue even you disagree with the person who
holds it. Open-mindedness: so that you do not make hasty ill-informed
judgements. Inquiring-mind: so that you can really get to the bottom of the
thing you are asking about.
So these are the basic qualities for a journalist, but the officially
required qualifications are very different. Obviously a journalist must be
well enough educated to be able to write fairly clearly in whatever
language it is he hopes to work in.
What about the rest of the educational qualifications for a journalist?
Often it is the pupil who was fairly good at five or six subjects, and not
brilliant at just one, who makes the best journalist. These sorts of people
are rather balanced for the sort of life a journalist leads.
But of course, nobody can say exactly what the best qualifications
for a career in journalism are. They will vary enormously according to the
individual.
6.7 Computer engineer
I am very proud to study at the faculty of information systems and
want to tell a few words about my speciality. I was always good at
mathematics and physics. My parents bought me a computer and since then
I knew that I would become a specialist in computer technologies – a
computer engineer.
Computer industry is developing so fast, that it comprises all spheres
of professional life. No business now is possible without computers.
Computer control of automated production opens new horizons for the
cheap and quality production of goods.
Computer engineering is a general field. It deals with both electric
and electronic industries. Engineers in the field of electric and electronic
engineering are concerned with all aspects of electrical communications,
from fundamental questions such as “What is information?” to the highly
practical, such as the design of telephone systems. In designing
communication systems, engineers rely on various branches of advanced
mathematics, such as linear systems theory, linear algebra, differential
equations, and probability theory.
Engineers work on control systems which are used extensively in
automated manufacturing and in robotics. The field of computer science is
closely related to computer engineering; however, the task of making
computers more “intelligent” (artificial intelligence), through creation of
sophisticated programs or development of higher level machine languages
or other means.
One current trend in computer engineering is miniaturization, to fit
greater and greater numbers of circuit elements onto smaller and smaller
chips.
Another trend is increasing the speed of computer operations
through the use of parallel processors and superconducting materials.
So, as you see, there are a lot of employment opportunities in my
field. I don’t worry about finding a job. The most important thing for me is
now to study well and to graduate from the University successfully.
6.8 Lawyer
I am a fourth year student of Pavlodar State University. I study at the
Law Faculty. In a year I’ll graduate from the University and become a
professional lawyer. To become a good lawyer one must know much. So at
the University we are taught various general and special subject: Roman
Law, Labour Law, Family Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law,
Civil Law, Criminal Law, Law of Procedure, etc.
The profession of a lawyer is quite diversified. The graduates of our
faculty can work as investigators, judges, defence counsels, legal
consultants. I’d like to be a judge and to work at a People’s Court. My
friends will work at the Procurator’s Office, Militia, Legal Aid Offices.
I think that now the profession is one of the most important in the
law-governed state which we are creating now. Lawyers have to solve
many problems that still exist in our society. The duty of lawyers is not
only to punish people for various crimes: hooliganism, stealing, murder,
traffic violation and so on but they must do their best to prevent crimes, to
fight against evil in our society. They should help those people who
committed an error to find the right road in their life. The lawyers protect
the rights and legal interests of citizens, institutions and organizations. All
the citizens are equal before the law. Judges are elected for a term of 5
years. Not only professional lawyers but the representatives of the
population hear all criminal and civil cases having equal authority. The
defendants are guaranteed the right to defense.
In our country justice is exercised on the principles of equality of
citizens before the law and the court, regardless of social position, property
or official standing, nationality or race. The court’s mission is not just to
meter out punishment, but rather to educate people in the spirit of strict
observance of all laws, of labour discipline, appreciation of their duty to the
state and society, respect for the rights and integrity of fellow citizens and
of the norms of behaviour.
Proceedings of all courts are open. All people before the court are
presumed innocent, until the court, having observed all procedural
guarantees, finds them guilty. Only then is the sentence pronounced. An
appeal can be made against the ruling to a higher court, right up to the
Supreme Court.
6.9 Economist
I’m a student at the Faculty of Economics. In the near future I’ll
graduate from the University and become a professional economist. I’m
sure that the profession of an economist is one the most important
nowadays in view of the situation in our Republic.
What makes a good economist? Whatever he does, an economist
should have a thorough training in economic theory, mathematics and
statistics and our University offers such training. At the University we are
taught various general and special subjects, such as Macroeconomics,
Microeconomics, Management, Accounting, Marketing, Advertising,
Money and Banking, Economic Theory, Econometrics, Statistics,
Computer Science, Philosophy, Business Ethics, Foreign Languages, etc.
An economist needs some knowledge of the world outside his own
country because both business and government are deeply involved in the
world economy. Some knowledge of political and economic history will
help him to expect changes and always look for basic long-run forces under
the surface of things.
The profession of an economist is quite diversified. The graduates of
our Faculty work at educational institutions, various research centers and
laboratories, in industry, business, banks, etc. You may continue your
studies at the Post-graduate Courses or Doctorate if you have a desire and
abilities to become a scientist or a professor. Scientist in the field of
economics creates new theories and models, test their hypotheses and carry
out economic researches.
Being employed in industry and business, our graduates work as
managers, as an executive manager, a sales manager, a financial manager.
Some of us work as accountants. An accountant is one of the most
prestigious and widely required professions of an economist in any society.
You shouldn’t mix an accountant and with a book-keeper. While a bookkeeper is mostly involved in calculations, like balance sheets, income
statements, invoices, an accountant is responsible for designing the
financial policy of a company.
Some of us work at the banks, at the Stock Exchange as brokers,
others work for the government or are employed by various agencies and
by military services.
Knowing the economic laws of the development of the society,
economists can solve many problems facing our Republic and I hope I’ll
manage to make my contribution to this process.
6.10 Chemist
When I was little I dreamed to be a pilot. But life is changing and we
are changing too. Now I understand clearly that I can be useful in an
absolutely different sphere. My favourite subject at school was chemistry
and I liked to conduct chemical experiments.
Civilization is the sum of numerous items, and one of the most
important of them is chemistry. Chemistry is widely used in machinebuilding and power engineering, agriculture, health service, medicine and
consumer goods production. Chemistry enables man to melt metals from
ores and minerals. Without chemistry modern metallurgy is impossible.
Chemistry makes more and more wonderful substances from animal and
vegetable and mineral materials. Thousands and thousands of man-made
substances possess very important and useful properties of great utility for
the life and work of man.
Chemistry is a faithful helper of the farmer. The output of mineral
fertilizers, chemical pest killers and herbicides has been increased. It can be
said that no branch of the modern economy can exist without chemical
processes, methods and materials. The chemical industry produces new
types of building materials, fabrics and clothes, medicines and dyestuffs – in
short, everything necessary for industry, agriculture, and for man’s cultural
and home needs.
Chemists are always on the look-out for new laws of nature, trying to
penetrate deeper into the mysteries of matter, to clear the way to
technological progress.
We study the chemical technology of organic and inorganic
substances, but there are different independent branches of this science:
electrochemistry, radiochemistry, biochemistry, cosmo chemistry and many
others. Every year hundreds of young chemists graduate from the chemical
departments and go to work to all parts of our country.
6.11 Historian
I’m in my third year of the History Faculty. I must say that I’m very
interested in the subjects which I have chosen of all humanities as my
future speciality. History was my favourite subject at school. I was fond of
reading historical novels describing life, culture and political events in
different countries of the world.
History is a process of developing nature and society. History as a
science studies the past of mankind in all its variety and concreteness.
There are many historical subjects in our program: Ancient History,
The Middle Ages, the History of Kazakhstan, Modern and Contemporary
History, etc.
History helps people understand and explain the processes going on
in various aspects of human life. It also helps foresee the course of events
in future. Historians study and describe the historic events taking place in
different epochs and in different countries. Their descriptions and analyses
should be strictly objective and scientific.
As for me I’m deeply interested in the history of my native land.
The profession of a historian is quite diversified. The graduates of
our Faculty can work as teachers and research workers at secondary and
higher schools, different museums and archives. Many of them have
become well-known scientists or chosen public activity as their career.
Whether I shall make a good teacher or become successful in some
other field of social life remains to be seen. But I’m sure that my
knowledge received at the University will help me succeed in my future
work.
7 Sphere of economics in Kazakhstan and in English Speaking
Countries
7.1 Economy of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in territory,
excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as
plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also is a large agricultural
- livestock and grain - producer. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the
extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a growing
machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors,
agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR
in December 1991 and the collapse in demand for Kazakhstan's traditional
heavy industry products resulted in a short-term contraction of the
economy, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97,
the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization
quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private
sector. Kazakhstan enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 - and a solid
9.5% in 2002 - thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to
economic reform, good harvests, and foreign investment. The opening of
the Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's
Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raised export capacity. The
country has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the
economy away from overdependence on the oil sector, by developing light
industry. Additionally, the policy aims to reduce the influence of foreign
investment and foreign personnel; the government has engaged in several
disputes with foreign oil companies over the terms of production
agreements, and tensions continue.
Kazakhstan, a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, is
an economic development leader in Central Asia. It maintains a special
relationship with Russia, and China has invested billions to access its
hydrocarbon resources. In August 2007, President Nursultan Nazarbayev's
Nur Otan party won all of the seats in the lower house of parliament. The
parliament approved constitutional reforms that increase its role in
governance and abolish presidential term limits. Energy and commodities
have driven economic growth, and oil output is projected to grow from
1.45 million barrels a day in 2007 to 3.5 million barrels a day in 2020.
Despite Eurasia's highest levels of foreign direct investment in 2007,
resource nationalism and corruption exacerbate investor uncertainty.
7.2 Business Freedom
The overall freedom to conduct a business is restricted by
Kazakhstan's regulatory environment. Starting a business takes an average
of 21 days, compared to the world average of 38 days. Obtaining a business
license requires more than the world average of 18 procedures, and fees are
high. Bankruptcy proceedings can be burdensome and lengthy.
Trade Freedom
Kazakhstan's average tariff rate was 1.9 percent in 2004.
Liberalization has progressed, but services market access barriers, import
licensing requirements, non-transparent regulations and standards, opaque
government procurement, weak enforcement of intellectual property rights,
and customs inefficiency and complexity still add to the cost of trade. Ten
points were deducted from Kazakhstan's trade freedom score to account for
non-tariff barriers.
Fiscal Freedom
Kazakhstan has a low income tax rate and a moderate corporate tax
rate. The flat income tax rate is 10 percent, and the standard corporate tax
rate is 30 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a
vehicle tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of
GDP was 26.8 percent. Partly to compensate for increased social spending,
an export tax on oil was imposed in May 2008.
Government Size
Total government expenditures, including consumption and transfer
payments, are low. In the most recent year, government spending equaled
20.4 percent of GDP. As a result of gradual privatization, much of the
economy is now in private hands. Budgetary targets were revised in May
2008 to allow for increases in social spending.
Monetary Freedom
Inflation is relatively high, averaging 9.9 percent between 2005 and
2007. The market sets most prices, but the government retains the right to
control prices, influences them through state-owned enterprises and
manufacturing subsidies, and has made little progress in promoting
competition in agriculture. Ten points were deducted from Kazakhstan's
monetary freedom score to account for policies that distort domestic prices.
Investment Freedom
The government plays a large role in overseeing foreign investment.
Screening of foreign investment proposals is often non-transparent,
arbitrary, and slow. With the exception of investments in oil production or
mining, rules on local content and local sources of financing vary from
contract to contract. An investor may be obligated to train local specialists
and contribute to the social development of the region. An unclear legal
code, legislative favoritism toward Kazakh companies, and government
interference in commercial operations further deter investment. Subject to
restrictions, foreign exchange accounts may be held by residents and nonresidents. Most capital transactions, payments, and transfers are subject to
government approval, quantitative limits, and strict documentary
requirements. The Investment Law of 2003 weakened protections related to
expropriation and compensation and provides no clear guidance for either
process. Land ownership is restricted.
Financial Freedom
Kazakhstan's banking system is Central Asia's most developed. All
banks must meet international standards. There are about 30 banks, down
from 130 at the end of 1995. Kazkommertsbank, Turan-Alem Bank, and
the state-owned Halyk Bank dominate the market. Foreign banks may not
have branches but may establish subsidiaries, joint ventures, and
representative offices. There are three state-owned banks (a development
bank, an export'import bank, and a housing finance bank), two
development funds, and a number of microfinance institutions. Capital
markets are underdeveloped, though the bond market has been growing.
The insurance sector is small, and foreign companies are limited to joint
ventures with local companies.
Labor Freedom
Kazakhstan's flexible labor regulations generally enhance
employment and productivity growth. The non-salary cost of employing a
worker is moderate, and dismissing a redundant employee is not costly.
Regulations on the number of work hours can be rigid.
7.3 Tourism in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is located right in the heart of Eurasia, where ancient
meets modern and oriental traditions coexist with Western culture. We are
sure that the centuries-old Kazakh culture and the unique nature of the
region will enchant you. A trip to Kazakhstan will be a truly wonderful
experience, a time that you will treasure forever.
Recently, Kazakhstan has become increasingly popular among
tourists from all around the world. Local travel companies have been quick
to respond to this phenomenon by increasing the range of services they
offer, attracting even more travelers. Many of these tourists come from
Germany, the UK, Japan, South Korea and China. These travelers have
already experienced the touring routes of Kazakhstan, and we believe that
it's high time to follow their example.
Today, Kazakhstan offers virtually all types of travel services educational and entertainment tours, ethnic and eco-tourism, just to name a
few. Numerous touring routes cover the country's entire territory. For
example, you can't afford to miss the Golden Ring of Southern Kazakhstan.
Some of the World's earliest cities flourished in this fertile oasis, located on
the southern steppe, at the frontier between nomads and ancient
settlements. A system of caravan routes connecting China with the Near
East and Europe used to cross through this land. The Great Silk Road, or
Zhibek Zholy in the Kazakh language, emerged as a major trade route as
early as the 3rd century BC. A significant part of this road now belongs to
the territory of Kazakhstan. Cities such as Turkestan (Yasi), Taraz (Talas)
and Otrar are located along this ancient route, and in the past they used to
be major settlements along the path of the caravans.
Southern Kazakhstan also hosts the world famous space port,
Baykonur. It is quite possible that in the near future, not only the local
people, but also tourists from abroad will be able to get one step closer to
space and feel its fascinating aura, if not by joining a rocket launch, then by
witnessing it from a nearby location. There is a proposal to create at
Baikonur an entertainment complex with modern hotels and service
facilities, similar to that existing at Cape Canaveral. Facilities would
include a mini-mission control center which would simulate spacecraft
launch, a planetarium, a museum of space development, a shopping
network, restaurants, as well as 'cosmic cafes' for young people.
In addition, the region provides unique climatic conditions for
recreation, rehabilitation, hunting, mountain climbing, skiing and iceskating. Western Kazakhstan is situated in a quite unique fashion on the
border line between the European and Asian continents, in the basins of the
Caspian Sea and Volga and Ural rivers. Here one can find the second
lowest land area on our planet, the Karaghiye Depression (some 132 meters
below sea level), as well as impressive chalk cliffs.
There are rich hunting grounds and a number of good fishing spots,
as well as areas suitable for water sports. The ancient ruins of Mangyshlak
and Ustyurt, as well as memorials related to Kazakh history, are of
significant scientific importance. One of the major resting spots in this
region used to be Aktau. From here, one may observe not only the
Karaghiye Depression, but also rocky cliffs and picturesque canyons, rich
in mineral springs. You will be able to visit necropolises and underground
mosques built by the indigenous stonemasons of old. The shores of the
Caspian Sea offer numerous beaches. The sea dashing itself upon the cliffs,
sandy beaches, and stony seabed. Extreme tourists will appreciate the rock
climbing and sailing opportunities.
Whether you like touring by car or on a bicycle, or prefer waterbased activities, you will love a vacation spent in Northern Kazakhstan,
with its landscapes and climate. One of the most popular resorts for both
the locals and guests of the country is the so-called "Kazakh Switzerland",
a place called "Borovoye". A true gem of Kazakhstan, located between the
cities of Astana and Kokshetau, this resort town has a population of some
5,000 people. It offers a rich variety of restaurants, bars, shops and discos.
Central Kazakhstan is the location of one of the world's largest lakes,
Balkhash, the unique Karkarala mountain forest oasis, as well as numerous
places of interest representing archaeological and ethnographic sites.
Eastern Kazakhstan bears the Altai Mountain range and its foothill
forest regions, as well as the Irtysh River, and lakes Zaysan, Markakol,
Alakol and Sauskan.
Kazakhstan is becoming increasingly recognized and respected on
the international political scene, and it is no surprise that Almaty and
Astana have become host to a growing number of various regional and
international meetings and symposia. More and more business tourists have
become interested in visiting the country, and you may find yourself
becoming one of them.
Speaking of extreme and ecological tourism, there's more than
enough space for these activities. Admirers of exoticism and adventure,
bored by comfort and hotel accommodations, may stay in Kazakh
traditional tent homes, yurts, and study the local customs, lifestyle and
traditions. The list of services in this sector is continuously being enriched
with new offers. Recently, traditional mountain trekking tours and wildlife
reserve visits were diversified with another type of extreme touring hunting with birds of prey. An ancient hunting tradition which originated in
Central Asia is becoming popular again.
The charm of Kazakhstan - this is what you are going to feel from
the moment you arrive. Have a nice holiday and an exciting trip.
7.4 Economy of the UK
The United Kingdom is a major developed capitalist economy. The
United Kingdom is also a member of the G8, the Commonwealth of
Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,
the World Trade Organization, and the European Union.
The UK was the first country in the world to industrialize in the 18th
and 19th centuries, and for much of the 19th century possessed a
predominant role in the global economy. However, by the late 19th
century, the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States meant the
US had begun to challenge Britain's role as the leader of the global
economy. The extensive war efforts of both World Wars in the 20th
century and the dismantlement of the British Empire also weakened the UK
economy in global terms, and by that time Britain had been superseded by
the United States as the chief player in the global economy. At the start of
the 21st century however, the UK still possesses a significant role in the
global economy, due to its large Gross Domestic Product and the financial
importance that its capital, London, possesses in the world.
The United Kingdom is one of the world's most globalize countries.
The capital, London (see Economy of London), is a major financial centre
for international business and commerce and is one of three "command
centers" for the global economy (along with New York City and Tokyo).
The British economy is made up (in descending order of size) of the
economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 1973, the
UK acceded to the European Economic Community which is now known
as the European Union after the ratification of the Treaty of Maastricht in
1993.
Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by
European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2%
of the labour force (477,000[24] out of a total workforce of 31,598,000, 3rd
quarter of 2007) . It contributes around 2% of GDP. Around two-thirds of
the production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops.[citation
needed] The main crops that are grown are wheat, barley, oats, oilseed
rape, maize for animal feeds, potatoes and sugar beet. New crops are also
emerging, such as linseed for oil and hemp for fibre production. The main
livestock which are raised are cattle, chickens (the UK is the second largest
poultry producer in Europe after France) and sheep.[citation needed]
Agriculture is subsidised by the European Union's Common Agricultural
Policy.
The UK retains a significant, although vastly reduced, fishing
industry. Its fleets, based in towns such as Kingston upon Hull, Grimsby,
Fleetwood, Great Yarmouth, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and Lowestoft, bring
home fish ranging from sole to herring.
The Blue Book 2006 (page 110) reports that the "Agriculture
hunting, forestry and fishing" added gross value of £10,323 million (at
2006 prices) to the UK economy in 2004.
7.5 Banking Industry
The Banking Industry was once a simple and reliable business that
took deposits from investors at a lower interest rate and loaned it out to
borrowers at a higher rate.
However deregulation and technology led to a revolution in the
Banking Industry that saw it transformed. Banks have become global
industrial powerhouses that have created ever more complex products that
use risk and securitisation in models that only PhD students can
understand. Through technology development, banking services have
become available 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, through ATMs, at
online banking, and in electronically enabled exchanges where everything
from stocks to currency futures contracts can be traded .
The Banking Industry at its core provides access to credit. In the
lenders case, this includes access to their own savings and investments, and
interest payments on those amounts. In the case of borrowers, it includes
access to loans for the creditworthy, at a competitive interest rate.
Banking services include transactional services, such as verification
of account details, account balance details and the transfer of funds, as well
as advisory services, that help individuals and institutions to properly plan
and manage their finances. Online banking channels have become key in
the last 10 years.
The collapse of the Banking Industry in the Financial Crisis,
however, means that some of the more extreme risk-taking and complex
security activities that banks increasingly engaged in since 2000 will be
limited and carefully watched, to ensure that there is not another banking
system meltdown in the future.
Mortgage Banking
Mortgage banking has been encompassing for the publicity or
promotion of the various mortgage loans to investors as well as individuals
in the mortgage business.
Online Banking
Online banking services have developed the banking practices easier
worldwide.
Small Business Banking
Banking in the small business sector plays an important role. Find
various banking services available for small businesses.
Stock Trading
Stock trading is the process of buying or selling of shares on a stock
exchange, where investors are represented by stock brokers. A company
that floats its stocks is called a public company and is listed on a stock
exchange. Stock trading can be done either physically or virtually (online).
Stock Trading: Approaches
There are two main approaches to stock trading:
Active approach: This is the more common of the two approaches. The
decision to buy stocks involves analyzing the company, reviewing the
historical share price trends and understanding the current forecasts. Active
investors are guided by the growth and intrinsic value of the stocks. This
approach is mostly applied by the investment managers who manage
mutual funds, pension funds and separately managed individual accounts.
Passive approach: This approach is opted for by investors who prefer lowrisk, high-yielding stocks and invest money in them mainly for their
retirement accounts. This approach assumes the efficiency of markets in the
longer term. It is, however, not synonymous with the strategy of ‘buy-andhold.’ Rather, it implies buying at low prices and selling when the stocks
have reached a high price level.
Benefits of Stock Trading
Here are some benefits of stock trading:
-Buying and selling stocks offers better returns than other financial
instruments.
-Stock trading can be done on a full time or part time basis.
-Online stock trading can be used as a form of home-based income
generation for housewives, the elderly and the physically challenged.
-Stock trading offers scope for diversification across companies,
geographies and sectors.
Disadvantages of Stock Trading
Some disadvantages of stock trading are:
-Leverage in stock trading is much lower than that in forex trading or
futures trading.
-Traders may have to wait a long time for the price of a stock to rise.
Inability to short curtails their profits.
Stock trading takes place via brokers, who are registered with stock
exchanges. Stock traders can choose between full service brokers and
discount brokers.
7.6 Finance, Financing
Finance is a branch of economics that deals with the management of
funds, financial resources and other assets. In broader terms, finance is
raising or investing money either as equity or debt. Finance is a wideranging term which includes funding, investments, trading and risk
management (through various types of insurance policies).
Finance: Financial Assets
Finance involves investment of funds in financial assets, such as
stocks, bonds, mutual funds and private equities for income generation.
Financial institutions like banks play a major role in funding these financial
assets. Investment in financial assets is generally extensive so it must be
protected by risk management and risk transference organizations like
insurance companies.
Finance: Types
Personal finance focuses on the extent of funds that are required by a
person or a family. This further includes protection from mishap, transfer
of assets through inheritance and the impact of tax policy on personal
finance. Personal finance also includes financial planning and access to
credit.
Corporate finance:
This type of finance uses the principles of finance to help corporate
raise funding and to help investors earn good returns from meeting those
funding needs, usually with the help of corporate bankers or financiers. The
objective of corporate finance is to maximize the valuation of financial
assets, while striking a balance between the risks and profitability potential
of the assets. Corporate finance takes into account the valuation of financial
assets primarily for tax assessments and business analysis. Corporate
houses focus on making either long-term capital investments or managing
working capital for the short term. It also involves finding short- and longterm funding for corporations. While short-term funding can be obtained
from banks’ line of credit, funds for the long term can be acquired by
issuing equity or bonds.
For investors who want updates and advice on any financial matters
such as savings, investment, retirement planning, portfolio management
and asset management, it is best to seek financial advice from a trustworthy
financial advisor.
7.7 Economy of the USA
The United States has the world’s largest economy, produced
roughly $15 trillion worth of goods and services in 2008, making it easily
the largest in the world. A central feature of the U.S. economy is the
economic freedom afforded to the private sector by allowing the private
sector to make the majority of economic decisions in determining the
direction and scale of what the U.S. economy produces. This is enhanced
by relatively low levels of regulation and government involvement, as well
as a court system that generally protects property rights and enforces
contracts.
The United States is rich in mineral resources and fertile farm soil,
and it is fortunate to have a moderate climate. It also has extensive
coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as on the Gulf of
Mexico. Rivers flow from far within the continent, and the Great Lakes—
five large, inland lakes along the U.S. border with Canada—provide
additional shipping access. These extensive waterways have helped shape
the country's economic growth over the years and helped bind America's 50
individual states together in a single economic unit.
The main industries of the USA are petroleum, steel, motor vehicles,
aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, culture, electronics, food
processing, consumer goods, lumber and mining.
Labor mobility has also been important to the capacity of the
American economy to adapt to changing conditions. When immigrants
flooded labor markets on the East Coast, many workers moved inland,
often to farmland waiting to be tilled. Similarly, economic opportunities in
industrial, northern cities attracted black Americans from southern farms in
the first half of the 20th century.
In the United States, the corporation has emerged as an association of
owners, known as stockholders, who form a business enterprise governed
by a complex set of rules and customs. Brought on by the process of mass
production, corporations, such as General Electric, have been instrumental
in shaping the United States. Through the stock market, American banks
and investors have grown their economy by investing and withdrawing
capital from profitable corporations. Today in the era of globalization
American investors and corporations have influence all over the world. The
American government has also been instrumental in investing in the
economy, in areas such as providing cheap electricity (such as from the
Hoover Dam), and military contracts in times of war.
While consumers and producers make most decisions that mold the
economy, government has a powerful effect on the U.S. economy in at least
four areas, as the government uses a Capitalist system. Strong government
regulation in the U.S. economy started in the early 1900s with the rise of
the Progressive Movement; prior to this the government promoted
economic growth through protective tariffs and subsidies to industry, built
infrastructure, and established banking policies, including the gold
standard, to encourage savings and investment in productive enterprises.
On June 26 2009, Jeff Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, called for the
United States to increase its manufacturing base employment to 20% of the
workforce, commenting that the U.S. has outsourced too much in some
areas and can no longer rely on the financial sector and consumer spending
to drive demand.
7.8 California Economy
California is the most populated state in the United States. It is
located in the far west bordered by Oregon, Nevada, and across the
Colorado River, Arizona, Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.
The state owns a more productive economy. Agriculture in the state is
gradually yielding to the industry as the core of the economy. The state is
considered as a major centre for the United States for its motion picture?
Television film, and related entertainment industries, especially in
Hollywood and Burbank.
Social indicators of California Economy
The state constitutes a total geographical area of 163,969 sq. mil:
total acres forested 40.2 mil. The total population of the state in July 2004
was calculated at 35,893,799 in comparison to 35,484,453 in July 2003.
The net change of the population for 2002-2003 was 1.4%. The population
density of the state was 227.5 per Sq Mi. With regards to the racial
distribution (2000) there were 59.5% white, 6.7 % black.
Business and Economy of California
The economy of California plays a very significant role in the United
States. The state’s economy has a dominant force in the economy of the
US. According to data given by the California’s gross state product is $
1.543 trillion (“accelerated estimates for 2004 were completed and released
in June 2005”)
Among the various sectors of the economy, the Chief industries include
agriculture, tourism, apparel, electronics, telecommunication and
entertainment.
The chief manufacturing goods of the state are electronic and
electrical equipment, computers, industrial machinery, transportation
equipment, and instruments, foods. The chief farm products include milk
and cream, grapes, cotton, flowers, oranges, rice, nursery products, hay,
tomatoes, lettuce, almonds and asparagus. The major livestock as of Jan
2004.
7.9 Tourism in the USA
Tourism in the United States is a large industry that serves millions
of international and domestic tourists yearly. Tourists visit the US to see
natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks and entertainment venues.
Americans seek similar attractions, as well as recreation and vacation areas.
Tourism in the United States grew rapidly in the form of urban tourism
during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By the 1850s,
tourism in the United States was well-established both as a cultural activity
and as an industry. New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and San
Francisco, all major US cities, attracted a large number of tourists by the
1890s. By 1915, city touring had marked significant shifts in the way
Americans perceived, organized and moved around in urban environments.
Democratization of travel occurred during the early twentieth century when
the automobile revolutionized travel. Similarly air travel revolutionized
travel during 1945–1969, contributing greatly to tourism in the United
States. By 2007 the number of international tourists had climbed to over 56
million people who spent $122.7 billion dollars, setting an all time record.
The travel and tourism industry in the United States was among the
first commercial casualties of the September 11, 2001 attacks, a series of
terrorist attacks on the US. Terrorists used four commercial airliners as
weapons of destruction, all of which were destroyed in the attacks with
3,000 casualties. In the US, tourism is either the first, second or third
largest employer in 29 states, employing 7.3 million in 2004, to take care of
1.19 billion trips tourists took in the US in 2005. As of 2007, there are
2,462 registered National Historic Landmarks (NHL) recognized by the
United States government. As of 2008, the most visited tourist attraction in
the US is Times Square in Manhattan, New York City which attracts
approximately 35 million visitors yearly.
Today, a wide range of tourist attractions exist in the United States
such as amusement parks, festivals, gambling, golf courses, historical
buildings and landmarks, hotels, museums, galleries, outdoor recreation,
spas, restaurants and sports. In 2008, the most visited tourist sites in the US
were:
Times Square, Magic Kingdom , Disneyland Park, Salt Lake Temple Salt
Lake City, Fisherman's Wharf/Golden Gate Area San Francisco, Niagara
Falls, Universal Studios Hollywood, Grand Canyon and so on.
Landmarks
As of 2007, there are 2,462 registered National Historic Landmarks
(NHL) recognized by the United States government. The majority of these
are located in New York, California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Each major US city has thousands of landmarks. For example, New York
City has 23,000 landmarks designated by the Landmarks Preservation
Commission. These landmarks include various individual buildings,
interiors, historic districts, and scenic sites which define the culture and
character of New York City.
Natural wonders
The Grand Canyon is one of the most well known landmarks in the
US. Other landmarks include Mount Rushmore, the Appalachians, the
Rocky Mountains, and Stone Mountain.
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