Unit 2 Our Studies. Our English Lesson Active Vocabulary

to read for a seminar on / in linguistics

to take / make notes

to copy up the notes

to lack fluency / vocabulary

to complain about hardships

to assess one’s ability

to find out

to follow smb.

to do English

to get on well / badly at smth.

to get on well in the exam

to revise / to sit for exams

to revise from lecture notes / textbooks

to do revision

to get a distinction

to work hard at all the aspects of the language

to consult a dictionary, to look up words in a dictionary

to make rapid progress in smth.

to read aloud / to oneself; to keep silent

to be quite at home in the subject

to be good / bad / clever at smth.

to have a good ear (memory) for foreign words

to memorize long vocabulary lists

to be a quick learner / to be quick (slow) on the uptake

to be the top of the group

Introducing the new vocabulary

Exercise 1. Mind the underlined phrases. Act out the following dialogues.

CLASS. LECTURE. SEMINAR

- Are you leaving, Jane?

- Yes, I’ve got a ten o’clock class. I must be on time.

- I think you have a lot of pronunciation practice in your phonetic classes, don’t you?

- Yes, we are trained to imitate native speakers.

- There will be a lecture on Byron in room 300. Are you coming?

- I don’t know. We’ve had three classes already today. I feel rather tired.

- They are arranging a lecture on modern American drama. It will be held in room 404.

- Who’s lecturing?

- Mr. Barnett.

- Where’s Robert?

- He is reading for the seminar on / in linguistics.

- Please find out when the lecture begins.

- All right.

- Why don’t you answer my question, Jack?

- You are speaking so fast that I can’t follow you.

NOTES, TAKE NOTES, MAKE NOTES

‘Note’ means a record or reminder in writing.

‘Make a note / notes’ means to write down as a reminder or while / after reading smth. e.g. Make a note of how much money you spend.

‘Take notes’ means to write down while / after listening to smb: She takes good notes of everything that’s said in class.

• Can you lend me your lecture notes (literature / history / grammar notes)?

• Sorry, but I gave them to Jack.

• Did you take notes at the lecture?

• I missed the lecture, but I copied up the notes.

• Are you prepared for the seminar?

• Yes, I read the book and made some notes.

STUDY, LEARN, DO, TEACH

(Note that ‘study’ is formal and used with reference to advanced theoretical knowledge; ‘learn’ is less formal and implies elementary, practical knowledge and skills; ‘do’ is informal).

• Richard is at University now, isn’t he?

• Yes, he is studying psychology (English) / He is studying to be a lawyer.

• Is Susan learning to type / to cook / to keep house?

• Yes, and she is getting on quite well at it.

• You are doing English at the University, aren’t you?

• Yes, and in the next term we’re going to do French.

LEARN, TEACH

- Do you go in for cycling?

- I am not a good cyclist. I am just learning. John is teaching me. He is a first-class cyclist. John says I am learning quickly / I’m a quick learner.

• Is Alec doing well?

- Yes, he is a quick learner and manages to do all the work we are given / I am sorry to say he is an unsatisfactory student. He is behind the group and has a very poor knowledge of English.

TEST, EXAM, PASS, FAIL

- How often do you do / have translation / vocabulary / grammar / spelling tests?

• Well, practically every day.

• Where’s Jane?

• She is taking her history / English / literature test.

• When are you having your end-of-term / final test?

• On Monday.

• What did you think of the test-paper?

• It was rather difficult / It was terrible / It was quite simple.

- How did you get on in the exam?

- I passed / I failed hopelessly / Two people of our group failed / I just scraped through.

REVISE, REVISION, DO REVISION

- I say, Helen, are you revising from the textbook?

- No, our teacher says we’d better revise from our lecture notes.

- Are you very busy just now?

- Yes, awfully. I must revise the whole term’s work for the exam / test.

- Are you going out tonight?

- No, I’ve got to do some revision. We are having a test tomorrow.

- How are you getting on with your revision?

- Jolly good. I’ve nearly finished.

- Is Helen a good student?

- She is rather capable, but she seems never to do any revision.

TO FINISH, TO LEAVE, TO GRADUATE

- He is an educated man, I understand.

- Yes, he graduated from Oxford (He is an Oxford graduate).

- What are you going to do when you leave school?

- Well, I’ll try to take exams to a college / a university.

- What college / university?

- Technological, perhaps in Minsk. I haven’t made up my mind yet. Substitute: the Medical University, the Belarusian State University, the Polytechnical University, the Academy of Veterinary Medicine.

(Note: to ‘leave school’ may also be used in the meaning of ‘give up school’)

Exercise 2. When do you say:

Example: He works by fits and starts.

We say, “He works by fits and starts” if he doesn’t work regularly.

1. She has a good command of English. 2. She lacks fluency. 3. She has done well in her exams. 4. She never misses lessons. 5. He gets behind the group in Phonetics. 6. He is quite at home in the subject. 7. She feels homesick. 8. You can’t learn a language just by picking it up. 9. It serves him right. 10. She failed in her exam. 11. His memory failed him.

Exercise 3. Study the models and use them in dialogues of your own. Discuss your studies with your partner.

1. - Have you written your composition, Ben? It’s due today.

- Of course. And what about you?

- Not yet. I didn’t think it would be so difficult and started it only yesterday.

- Well, it will teach you a lesson. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today, you know.

2. - Would you like to go and see Nell today?

- Well, I was thinking of learning some English.

- Oh, but you can do that tomorrow.

- Yes, and I can see Nell tomorrow, too.

3. - Why doesn’t Jim work harder?

- You know that very well – because he’s lazy.

- Do you think the teacher will put up with that very long?

- I’m afraid she won’t, and Jim will have to repeat the year.

4. - As sure as eggs is eggs, Bob won’t do well in the exam.

- Why do you think so?

- He has missed much and doesn’t attend the extra lessons now.

- No fear. He’s quite at home in the subject.

5. - Paul wouldn’t like to fail in his exam, would he?

- Of course, he wouldn’t. Who would!

- But he hasn’t been working very hard. He thinks he is clever enough to pass his exams without much work, doesn’t he?

- Yes, he relies too much on his memory. But I doubt it can carry him out when doing Latin.

6. - Margaret is looking very happy this evening.

- She did well in English, you know.

- What mark?

- Excellent. Worked hard at the language. And what about Jane? Did she get through?

- On the contrary. She failed miserably.

- Oh, really!

- No wonder! She cut lectures, did not attend seminars and was late for tutorials, as a rule.

- Then it serves her right.

7. - When will your exams begin?

- Oh, they are not far off. I’m to take an exam in Linguistics next week. Here is the time-table of my exams.

- You are nervous, aren’t you?

- Of course I am. Everybody is.

- Are you revising for your exams now?

- No, not yet. Before the exams we are going to have a test in English. I’m revising for the test. We’ll have this test tomorrow.

8. - Hello, Dick! Are you taking your exams?

- I’ve already passed my last exam.

- What did you get for mathematics?

- I got a distinction. You passed your exams too, didn’t you?

- No, I didn’t. I failed in physics.

- What a pity! I’m sorry for you! How did it happen?

- It’s difficult to explain. My memory failed me and I forgot the simplest things. I think it was the result of a sleepless night.

9. - Are you still studying English?

- Yes, but I don’t get enough time for it. I have so many other things to do.

- It’s the same with me. I can read English now without much difficulty, but I still find it rather difficult to speak English. And I don’t always understand people when they speak English to me.

- We don’t hear enough spoken English, I suppose. Do you listen to the BBC programmes?

- Yes. That helps me to understand spoken English but not to speak English.

- We must speak English all the time.

- Yes, you are right. It’s the best way to master a language.

Read the following passage and say whether your studies are different from those described below.