Give a summary of the text (p. 6) dividing it into several logical parts.

17. Use the phrases and word combinations and act out the dialogues be­tween:

1. Benskin and Richard Gordon on the technical details of the coming examinations. 2. Richard and his friend discussing the written examinations they've been through. 3. Richard and Grimsdyke discussing the psychological types of students tak­ing examinations. 4. Gordon and his friend in anticipation of the coming examination results.

18. As you read the following paragraph a) try to observe its structure, point out the topic sentence, the details of various kinds, the transitional devices used to move from one example to the other and the paragraph terminator:

1. In the United States any person who completes elementary and secondary school (grades 1 to 12) has a variety of advanced educational opportunities from which to choose. 2. For those people interested in a four year general education in prepara­tion for work or further university study in such professional schools as law, medicine, or dentistry, there are hundreds of liberal arts colleges throughout the country, with widely vary-

ing curricula. 3. For those who want a four year technical edu­cation in one of the arts or sciences, there are specialized schools in, for example, music or engineering or architecture. 4. For the person who wants to enter the labour force in a par­ticular vocation and with modest preparation in general educa­tion, most cities provide two year community colleges. 5. In­creasingly important in recent years are technical institutes spon­sored by various businesses and industries solely for the train­ing of their own employees. 6. The brief summary of educational opportunities available to high school graduates in the United States suggests that organized learning can continue for several years beyond the basic twelve grades.

As you have observed, the plan of the paragraph is the following: the topic sentence (1) states the main idea of the whole paragraph; sentences (2, 3, 4, 5) — example sentences that give details to support the main idea of the topic sentence; the paragraph terminator, or a restatement sentence (6) reaffirms the central idea of the topic sentence.

b) Think about the educational opportunities in Russia. Write a paragraph about educational alternatives in Russia for people who have completed their basic education. The paragraph should contain six sentences: a topic sentence, four developers, and a restatement.

19. Write a ten paragraph essay on the Russian and American systems of higher education, specifying the following: admission requirements, students grants and financial aid, academic calendar, courses, political and cultural activities.