Иностранный язык (стр. 7 )

The saying "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life!" (Dr Johnson) is a clichй, but you can’t be bored in London.

TRAVELLING

People have traveled since the earliest days of the human history. In primitive times they didn’t travel for pleasure. They traveled on foot and their journeys were long, tiring* and often dangerous. Later they traveled not from necessity, but for the joy and excitement of seeing and experiencing new things. Traveling has now become a highly organized business. There are cars and splendid roads, express trains, huge ships and jet airliners, all of which provide us with comfort and security.

The choice of the means of traveling depends on its purpose. If you go on a business trip you’d better go by airplane. Some people are scared of flying. Planes make them nervous. I think there’s nothing to be frightened of. Air transport is really safer than road transport. Traveling by air has many advantages; it’s convenient and much faster than traveling by car, train or sea.

Before you get on board the plane you have your luggage registered. It’s weighed* and labeled. You’re not allowed to take bulky luggage with you. Before the flight you have to spend some time at the airport. I like watching the planes taking off and landing.

Then you hear your flight announced and the passengers are invited to board the plane and take their seats. The airplane armchairs are very cosy, and they’re equipped with safety belts which must be fastened during both take-off and landing. Sometimes the order to fasten the belts may be given during the flight.

When the plane takes off, the stewardess gives the passengers all the information about the flight. She asks the passengers to fasten seat-belts and not to smoke during the flight. The stewardesses are usually amiable* and cater to* the passengers’ wants and needs. If you want something during the flight you are to press a button with a pictogram of a stewardess, and she will immediately come to your help.

During the flight the passengers do whatever they like – some of them read, others sleep or look through the porthole at the beautiful scenery. Sometimes you can see the land below which looks like a map.

When you reach your place of destination in a few hours you realize all the advantages of traveling by air. As for me the only unpleasant thing about that kind of traveling is that during take-off and landing my ears hurt a little. I usually chew a gum to relieve this little discomfort. Sometimes yawning* and swallowing* helps.

Railway transport is still one of the cheapest ways of traveling. But such journeys are usually long and tiresome. Trains stop at many stations and are often delayed. It’s usually stuffy in the cars. If I were to travel by train I would like to travel in a compartment* car. There are two or four berths in a compartment*. If I were to choose any I would to prefer to travel on a lower berth with my face to the engine.

Many people prefer traveling by sea for pleasure because it’s very comfortable. One may travel either by sea or by river on board a sea liner or a river cruise ship. Those who live in St. Petersburg have a great opportunity to make a trip to Valaam. If the weather is fine you can enjoy the fresh air and the picturesque banks. A sea voyage is very pleasant. However, if the sea is rough*, some passengers are sick. Fortunately, I’m not a poor sailor. Those who are nor afraid of the rough sea, can walk up and down the deck in any weather but storm. Ships usually reach the port of destination on time according to their schedule.

Many people like to travel by car. The advantages of this way of spending a holiday are that you can plan your trip. You don’t have to buy a ticket and you are not afraid of missing your train or airplane. But at the same time you are to think about many other things. For example, how to repair you car if it breaks down or if a tyre* goes flat.

At present, taking into account traveling expenditures* which are inevitable*, no matter how you choose to travel, many our compatriots* think that the best way of travelling is hiking. Our family is fond of hiking which is becoming very popular nowadays. We usually spend our days-off and holidays in the country. There are picturesque places with forests, lakes and rivers near our city. We travel not only to enjoy these places but also to see ancient monuments and other places of cultural and historical interest. 

APPLYING FOR A JOB

Time flies and one day you will seek for a job. Job centers don’t offer us a wide choice of different positions. So, one has to do his/her best to find a suitable job. Nowadays interviews have become quite a usual thing. During the interview the employer may ask you a lot of questions about your previous experience, qualification, marital status, salary you want. Along with your general education, language and computer skills are necessary very often, especially in cities. They ask questions to find out what kind of person you are – how hard-working, ambitious, reliable, well-organized, responsible, sociable you are.

While seeking for a job one must into consideration a lot of factors such as salary, job place (indoors or outdoors), time of work (full-time or part-time position), one’s personal qualities. It’s very important for an employee to have a paid sick leave, paid vacation and holidays. All these criteria influence our decision to choose this or that job.

WE STUDY COMPUTER SCIENCE

(Software and System Administration)

Dear friends,

You are first-year students of BashkirStateUniversity. You study at the Faculty of Mathematics and Science. It means that you can receive one of the following qualifications: teachers of Mathematics, Computer Science (or CS)*, Physics and Chemistry; specialists in Fundamental Physics, Applied* Mathematics, Computer Science, Software and System Administration* and Biology.

Half of the graduates of the faculty will be qualified as teachers, others will be qualified as programmers, IT specialists or system administrators. If you’ve determined to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Software and System Administration it means that you will be qualified as IT specialists and will able to work in information departments of industrial enterprises, business corporations, banks and the bodies of internal affairs, in the sphere of information technologies (dealing with HPC, i. e. High-Performance Computing*, parallel programming, intelligence system, laboratory automation*, data library* and program package, network administration, etc)

The academic year is divided into two terms. During the term you are to attend lectures and seminars, complete all the tasks. At the end of the term students are to get credits* for the taken courses and pass exams. If you fail your exams you may be sent down* from the Academy. The majority of students gets scholarship*. The course of studies lasts four years. At the end a Bachelor’s degree is awarded. Those who want to take a Master’s degree must study for two more years.

You’re lucky to study at this very faculty as there work and deliver lectures a lot of professors whose teaching and scientific experience is of no doubt. There are many well-equipped laboratories at the faculty where you can carry out experiments and try your hand at writing computer programs or just surf the Internet. The faculty possesses a library where you can find all necessary books, textbooks and periodicals and a reading-hall where you can gather information for seminars, practical classes and get ready with your reports.

You’re sure to like the atmosphere of the faculty: a lot of extra-class activities are organized for students to develop all sides of their nature. Don’t waste your time and become a member of one of the following societies such as dancing, sport, music and drama societies. Those who arrive from other parts of the republic are provided with hostels. There are some difficulties in living there but it gives you an opportunity to learn to discipline yourself, maybe for the first time in your life.

So, good luck in your studies.

Best wishes.

COMPUTER LITERACY

Informed citizens of our information-dependent society shoud be computer-literate, which means that they should be able to use computers as everyday problem-solving devices. They should be aware of the potential of computers to influence the quality of life.

There was a time when only priviliged people had an opportunity to learn the basics, called the three R's: reading, writing, and arithmetics. Now, as we are quickly becoming an information-becoming society, it is time to restate this right as the right to learn reading, writing and computing. There is little doubt that computers and their many applications are among the most significant technical achievements of the century. They bring with them both economic and social changes. "Computing" is a concept that embraces not only the old third R, arithmetics, but also a new idea – computer literacy.

In an information society a person who is computer-literate need not be an expert on the design of computers. He needn't even know much about how to prepare programs which are the instructions that direct the operations of computers. All of us are already on the way to becoming computer-literate. Just think of your everyday life. If you receive a subscription magazine in the post-office, it is probably addressed to you by a computer. If you buy something with a bank credit card or pay a bill by check, computers help you process the information. When you check out at the counter of your store, a computer assists the checkout clerk and the store manager. When you visit your doctor, your schedules and bills and special services, such as laboratory tests, are prepared by computer. Many actions that you have taken or observed have much in common. Each relates to some aspect of a data processing system.

WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

A computer is a machine with an intricate network of electronic circuits that operate switches or magnetize tiny metal cores. The switches, like the cores, are capable of being in one or two possible states, that is, on or off; magnetized or demagnetized. The machine is capable of storing and manipulating numbers, letters, and characters (symbols).