Ex. 1.Mark the following statements as True or False.
1. Public education from kindergarten through grade 12 is tax-supported in the USA
2. U.S. compulsory school attendance laws differ from state to state
3. UK private schools don’t generally charge tuition
4. Private schools in the USA can be parochial or secular ones
5. More than 90 per cent of American children receive their elementary and high school education in the national public schools
6. US public schools are not required to follow some state guidelines regarding, for example, curriculum and teacher qualifications
7. At the age of 16 almost all school children in Great Britain take their GCSE exam
8. Scotland does not have its own system of education. In Scotland pupils do not generally take some exams instead of A levels
9. Most US secondary schools do not require students to take English, mathematics, science, social studies and physical education as their “core curriculum”
10. The cost of higher education is the same in all colleges and universities in the USA
11. In the United States and Canada, an associate degree is equivalent to the first two years of a four-year college or university degree
12. Each schooling year in the U.S. universities includes two or three semesters (also called terms)
13. Applications for undergraduate places in UK universities are dealt by UCAS
14. In the United States, community colleges are four-year public institutions of higher education
15. Formal academic qualifications are not required to register for most courses at the Open University
Ex. 2.Decode the following abbreviations.
BA
MSc
GCE
AS
PhD
CE
FEC
OU
LEA
GCSE
UCAS
MBA
Ex. 3.Fill in the gaps with the most appropriate prepositions if necessary.
1) to entitle smb
smth
2) to assess
smb
3) to be financed
LEA
4) to cover
expenses
5) to provide
education
6) to suit
one’s individual needs and preferences
7) to be available
everyone
8) to gain
grades
9) to opt
LEA control
10) to be accessible
everyone
Ex. 4.Explain the difference.
1) “public school” in the U.S. and UK education systems;
2) “grammar school” in the U.S. and UK education systems;
3) “grade” in the U.S. and UK education systems;
4) “to graduate from” in the U.S. and UK education systems;
5) “a graduate” in the U.S. and UK education systems.
Ex. 5.Give antonyms to the following words and word combinations.
1. How would you define you study habits? What might you or your teacher do to make
them better?
2. Do you think home-schooling might be a solution to many educational problems? Do you think you will be ready to home-school your own child (children)?
3. Is private education better than public (state)? Would you like to educate your
children in a private school?
4. Do you have to pay for your higher education? Do you think higher education should
only be fee–paying?
5. Would you like to study in the USA or UK? What would you major in? Why?
