The role of education for modern youth

Education is very important for youth today. It helps young people realize their possibilities¹ in future. It helps find job, do the job well.

People in Russia can get education at different institutions². They are³ schools, professional schools, technical schools and higher schools. There are a few types of higher schools in our country. They are universities, institutes and academies. They train specialists in the natural and exact sciences and the humanities⁴. There are specialized higher schools training engineers, doctors, teachers, etc.

Today a student must assimilate⁵ large amounts of new information. It is growing all the time. So the main task of higher education is to teach students to gain the new information by self-training⁶.

Study rooms are now equipped with TV sets, computers, video tape-recorders, etc. Lectures and seminars alternate with laboratory work, discussions, research work and self-training.

A large part of study time is devoted to⁷ basic subjects. This enables⁸ future specialists to attain⁹ greater professional knowledge and assimilate more modern methods of scientific research, advanced production technology, its organisation and management. This provides a basis for¹⁰ the study of special subjects and the organisation of practise.

Great is the role of books in the education. It is practically impossible today to imagine our life without books. You can find them in every house. But very seldom people think about a long way the book has come. At first man learned to draw pictures, then letters and alphabetic writing appeared. For a long time people used papyrus¹¹ and skins of different animals to write on. Then the Chinese invented paper.

At that time there were not so many books as there are now. All the books were written by hand with pen and ink. Monks¹² did the most of this writing. Some of the books were very beautiful. But it took much time to write a book. Often many years were spent to make one copy of a book. This made books very expensive. Most people had no books at all and those who had twenty books were considered to be very rich.

At last¹³ men learned how to print¹⁴. It happened in Germany in the middle of the fifteenth century. The man who invented the art of printing¹⁵ in Russia was Ivan Fedorov. He started his work in Moscow, and then moved to other cities. In 1574 he printed the first Azbuka (ABC). This book helped people to learn the alphabet and taught them to read.

Now we find it hard to imagine¹⁷ the bookless world of the past. Books are printed in great number¹⁶ all over the world and every person can enjoy their wisdom¹⁸.

Vocabulary

1) realize one^’s possibilities – реализовать чьи-то возможности

2) an institution – учебное заведение

3) They are … - зд. Это …

4) the natural and exact sciences and the humanities – естественные, точные и гуманитарные науки

5) assimilate – усваивать

6) to gain the new information by self-training – приобретать новую информацию самоподготовкой

7) to devote to – посвящать

8) to enable – давать возможность, позволять

9) to attain – достигать

10) to provide a basis for – обеспечить основу для

11) papyrus [pə’paiərəs] - папирус

12) monk – монах

13) at last – наконец

14) to print - печатать

15) the art of printing - искусство книгопечатания

16) in great number - в большом количестве

17) to imagine – представить, вообразить

18) wisdom - мудрость

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