Learning at Samara State University of Transport

 

Entrance to the University is on the basis of the Unified State Examinations for the secondary school.

Most courses at Samara State University of Transport are five years in length. The academic year is divided into 2 terms: from September to January and from February to July.

Teaching is carried out in various forms: lectures, seminars, group work, independent work, etc. Lectures are the most traditional form of teaching in higher education. They allow lecturers to provide information and to focus on difficult areas in some detail. The number of lectures varies from course to course. The engineering students have usually more lectures and laboratory lessons. There are many ways to make notes from lectures. Some people use digital voice recorders to record the lecture and make their notes later. Others scribble down brief notes as the lecture goes along. You will soon learn what is most useful to you. At a seminar, a group of a dozen students meets with a teacher to discuss the material of the lecture.

A wide variety of general engineering subjects as well as majors are studied, for example Mathematics, Physics, Mechanics, Chemistry, History, Transport Economics and Logistics, Railway Operation, Railway Construction, Computer Science and many others.

Railway engineer is a profession that can take you around the world. If this is your aim then you might wish to broaden your communication skills by learning a foreign language. You have the choice of learning English, German, or French together with your engineering degree. The University offers a program in foreign language professional communication. The language course gives SSUT students a chance to get a good job and to travel around the world.

Tests and exams are taken at the end of each term. The final year is devoted to working on the graduation project, which is submitted to the State Examination Commission. The subjects of diploma papers are oriented towards the needs of railway transport. For those students who want to continue their education, SSUT has a post-graduate course.

SSUT has strong links with major railways of the Russian Federation that provide work placements for our senior students and regularly recruit our graduates.

Studying at University is very different from going to school or attending college. One of the biggest changes between university and school or college is that you are in control of your own learning. Developing your study skills is an integral part of your life as a University student.

 

Ex. 10. Answer the following questions.

1. How many terms are there in the academic year?

2. When does the first term begin?

3. When does the second term begin?

4. What is the most traditional form of teaching in higher schools?

5. What do students do in a seminar?

6. Is Mathematics a general engineering subject or a major?

7. Is Railway Construction (or Computer Science) a general engineering subject or a major?

8. Is Foreign Language an important subject in the University course?

9. What foreign language do you learn? What about your classmate(s)?

10. When do students take tests and exams?

11. What do you like better: to take exams or pass exams?

12. What needs are the subjects of the graduation projects oriented towards?

13. In what way does Samara State University of Transport cooperate with major railways of the Russian Federation?

14. Is there any difference between going to school and attending university?

 

Ex. 11. Some odd words in the sentences below make the statements nonsensical. Correct the mistakes and translate the sentences into Russian.

1. Door to the University is on the basis of the USE for the secondary school.

2. Teaching is transported in various forms: lectures, seminars, group work, independent work.

3. Lectures allow students to provide information and to focus on difficult areas in some detail.

4. Some people use digital voice recorders to operate the lecture and make their notes later.

5. Transport Economics and Logisticsis a general engineering subject.

6. You can broaden your communication vehicles by learning a foreign language.

7. The computer course gives SSUT students a chance to get a good job and to travel around the world.

8. Tests and exams are taken part at the end of each term.

9. The graduation project is submitted to the City Examination Commission.

10. The students who want to continue their research can enter the advanced course.

11. Major railways of the Russian Federation provide work placements for SSUT junior students.

12. One of the biggest changes between university and school is that you are in support of your own learning.

 

Ex. 17. Using the questions below, make up a story on the following topic:

You are a freshman now

1. Do you like being a student?

2. Was it difficult for you to get accustomed (привыкать) to the system of lectures and seminars after the school system of classes?

3. What do you find more useful: lectures of seminars?

4. Do yon always take notes of lectures?

5. Is it difficult or easy for you to follow the lectures?

6. Some lectures are certainly more interesting than others. What does interest depend on? (It depends on the subject of the lecture or the personality of the lecturer)

7. Why are some lectures boring (скучный)? (the subject is boring; the subject is of no importance to you; the subject is too difficult for you to master; you find it hard to concentrate; you are not interested in the subject; you are not yet accustomed to listening to lectures every day; you get tired easily; the lecturer’s manner of speech is monotonous; the lecturer speaks too fast for you to make notes; the lecturer gives no original information; the lecturer’s arguments are too complicated for you)

8. What subjects are included in the first-year program at your faculty?

9. What subject is the most interesting; the least interesting; the one you think the most important; the one you find the most difficult?

10. What must you do to pass your winter exams successfully?

11. What marks do you expect to get?

12. How much time do you spend to prepare your homework?

13. Do you have a lot of spare time?

14. What do you usually do during your spare time?

 

Grammar Review

 

Ex. 1. Translate the sentences, paying attention to the verbs to be and to have. Put general and special questions to the underlined words.

To be

1. Public transport is a system for transporting passengers from one place to another by road or rail.

2. The top speed of the first steam locomotive was 13 miles per hour.

3. Our train tickets are on the table. Don’t forget to take them.

4. The trains will be late because of an accident near Reading.

5. A lot of passengers waiting for the local train arrival were on the platform.

6. All the underground stations are of the same size: 6 m high, 100 m long, and 18 m wide.

7. In Britain, the penalty (штраф) for traveling without a ticket is £ 200.

8. The next stop of the train will be Doncaster.

9. A total weight of the locomotive is 85.5 tons.

10. The Orient Express was the passenger train running from Paris to Istanbul. The train was famous for its five-course French meals and for its passengers, who were often diplomats, royalty, or government couriers.

To have

1. Before 1973, our University had only one faculty.

2. Each Sapsan train has 10 carriages, of which 2 are first-class and 8 are second-class.

3. Tomorrow I will have a meeting with my supervisor about my research topic.

4. Railway cars have a very long service life – from 30 to 40 years.

5. We had unlimited access to all the facilities.

6. The London Underground has 273 stations with more than 470 trains running during peak periods.

7. All the railwaymen had the right of free travel by train once a year.

8. Each railway has two kinds of trains: regular trains and extra trains.

9. In 1840, the US had 2, 800 miles of railroad tracks consisting mainly of short lines.

10. The experimental locomotive will have a test run on a specially built track.

 

Ex. 2. Read the sentences and translate them, paying attention to the construction there + to be.

1. There is an escalator of only five steps at one of the Tokyo Metro stations.

2. There were no signaling devices at the first railways as there was no need for them.

3. There are four pairs of sliding doors on each side of a Metro car.

4. In April 1998, there was a 300 km traffic jam on the No 4 motorway (the main road from London to Wales) at the end of the Easter holidays.

5. There is one minute left before the train leaves.

6. Several people were injured (травмированы) in a train accident, but there were no fatalities.

7. In Britain, there are three types of passenger trains: fast intercity trains, stopping trains and commuter trains.

8. There will be a scheduled (предусмотренный графиком) train stop for 20 minutes at the next railway station.

9. There is usually a considerable increase in passenger traffic in summer.

10. In Metro, there are special pumps and fans that suck in the air from the street, purify it, and make it warm or cool on its way to the station.

11. Therewere locomotives at both ends of a heavy freight train.

12. Tickets cost £ 3; thereis a £ 1 discount for students.

 

Ex. 3. Complete the sentences with the verb to be in the required tense form and translate them.

1. There tobe a train at 6.15 and one at 10.30 but nothing in between. (Present)

2. In 1830, there tobe only 64 km of railroad track laid in America. (Past)

3. In the London Metro, there tobe 11 underground lines; each of them has its own color. (Present)

4. On each car of the first Metro trains, there tobe an attendant to operate the doors. (Past)

5. There tobe no trains today because the railroad workers are on strike. (Future)

6. Among the tunnels of the BAM, there tobe two of particular note: a 15-km Muisky tunnel and a 7-km Baikal tunnel. (Present)

7. There tobe one case of derailment of a freight train on a section of line at Bexley, Britain. (Past)

8. Nowadays, there tobe underground railways in 80 cities all over the world. (Present)

9. By 2030, there tobe a total of 1, 528 km of high-speed railway lines capable of handling passenger trains traveling at 350 km/h. (Future)

10. There tobe considerable public disquiet (беспокойство) about the safety of the new high speed trains. (Past)

11. In the US, there tobe a special discount for those passengers who buy return tickets. (Present)

12. On the first railways, there to be no conductors and an engine-driver collected the passengers’ fare (оплата за проезд) himself. (Past)

 

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