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1 College Life
American college
and university students who live away from
their
familiesare generally housed in
dormitories at least for their first
and women often live in the same building,though
they may l
ive on separate dorms have a
theme, like an inter
national
house,where students can learn about other
language hous
es, students try to avoid
speaking their native idea is
to learn
a different es and universities often have
ma
ny clubs that students can include
political, religious an
d service
clubs,as well as groups for activities like
singing, dancin
g, cooking, even
learning how to play s may also have
int
ernal sports are for students who
do not play for a schoo
l teambut want
organized sports with other schools will
often recognize a new club or activity
if enough students are interes
ted.
2 Names in America
Most
parents in the United States give their babies a
first, midd
le and last name when they
are born. The last name is generally
their
family name. First names are a
different story. Some children's name
s
are also the names of
cities
, plants or flowers.
Religious names fr
om the Bible are also
common. Americans even choose names from other
countries. Americans are interested in
the names that famous actors,
entertainers and athletes give their
children. Some famous people lik
e names
that have been around for many years. Last names
as first nam
es are also popular. Middle
names have become important because many
famous people use them. A middle name
is also a way for parents to ho
nor a
family member or hero. Some parents give a girl a
boy's middle
name. Some American women
use their former last name as a middle
name
after they marry.
3 The
Space Race
The space race between the
United States and the former Soviet
Un
ion began in October of 1957, when
the Soviets launched the first man
-made
satellite into orbit around Earth. Weeks later the
second satel
lite was launched. Their
success added to the tensions of what was
kn
own as the Cold War, which many
people worried could lead to nuclear
war. And it pushed Americans to work
harder to reach outer space. Thr
ee
months later, the United States launched its own
satellite. Then,
in 1961, the Soviet
Union sent the first person into space. An
Americ
an astronaut followed less than a
month later. The space race continu
ed.
The finish line was the moon. And it was reached
when the crew of
American spaceship
landed in 1969. Today, there is cooperation
betwe
en the Russian and American space
programs. Astronauts share duties o
n
the Inter
national
Space
Station. And other countries are expanding
their space programs.
4
Summer for College Students
College
students spend their summers in many different
ways. Many
students work hard at summer
jobs. They realize it can be difficult
to balance college classes and a job
during the school year. Summer i
s a
good time to save up some money. Restaurants,
swimming pools, sto
res and other
businesses are always looking for hardworking
students.
Some students get jobs in the
field they hope to enter after college.
The experience gives students a taste of the world
outside of colleg
e. Other college
students choose to take summer classes. Students
usu
ally do not take a full set of
classes. Instead, they take just one or
two. The extra classes ca
n help
students to get ahead in their studies. However,
summers are n
ot all work. Students
spend time with friends, go to a movie or take
a trip. A relaxing day under the summer
sun will help students forget
all about
tests and studying.
5 The English
Language
English is the most widespread
language in the world and is more
widely spoken and written than any
other language. More people are tr
ying
to learn English in the world. English is the
language of politi
cal negotiations and
inter
national
business. It
has become the intern
ational language
of
science
and medicine.
International treaties say
passenger
airplane pilots must speak English. English is the
major fo
reign language taught in most
schools in South America and Europe.
Sc
hool children in the Philippines and
Japan begin learning English at
an
early age. English is the official language of
more than 75 countr
ies including
Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, and
Sout
h Africa. In countries where many
different languages are spoken, Eng
lish
is often used as an official language to help
people communicate.
India is a good
example. English is the common language in this
coun
try where at least 24 languages are
spoken by more than one million p
eople.
6 Dating
Dating is the
traditional first step toward dating
a
nd establishing a relationship can be
hard a lot of people wa
nt to go where
they can meet people with similar
might
look for someonewho shares a
common interest in religion or books,
f
or example.A lot of bookstores now
have places that serve coffee and
offer special programs and social activities for
single peo
s may join
health
clubs, or sports
teamsor maybe even a gro
up for people
who like to take long walks in the nothing
els
e, at least they will have gotten
some people use datin
g services,which
help people choose a person they might
new
spapers and magazines publish
messagesfrom people who are seeking
som
eone to are also telephone dating
services, video dating s
ervices and
online dating services.
7 National
Spelling Bee
Every year, the best young
English language spellers from around
the world gather in Washington, D.C.
for the National Spelling Bee. T
hey
spell complex words that most English speakers
have never even he
ard of. The
national
spelling bee takes
place over two intense days o
f
competition in a large hotel meeting room. The
spellers sit togethe
r in front of
several judges. Each speller stands when it is his
or h
er turn. When the judge calls out
the word, spellers can ask for help.
They can ask for the definition of the word or for
it to be used in
a sentence. They can
also ask which language the word came from.
This
can often help them decide how it
is spelled. Students who spell the
word
correctly remain in the competition. But if the
speller makes a
mistake,a bell rings
and the child must leave the group.
8
Sales
When a store sells goods or
services at a cost lower than usual,
it
is called a
sale
.Sales last
for a limited time. Then the cost is
r
eturned to its usual are many kinds
of sales. For exampl
e, a
beginning of the school year. Parents
can save money on clothes a
nd school
supplies for their children. A
rts very
late at night. An
sale
starts very earl
y in the morning,
usually before the sun rises. This kind of sale is
popular the day after Thanksgiving in
November. A favorite sale among
many
people is the
nd get a second one
without cost. Another kind of sale is a
t of business
goods in the
store before closing the business permanently.
9 Test of English as a Foreign Language
It is the most widely respected
English-language test in the
worl
d,recognized by more than 8,000
colleges and universities in more tha
n
130 is called TOEFL, which stands for Test of
English
as a Foreign is an important
test for foreign students
who want to
study in than 4,000 American universities
a
nd other schools require students
seeking admission to take the test.
Each
year, nearly a million individuals of all ages
take the TOEFL te
stto demonstrate their
English-language measures your
ability
to use and understand English at the university
it
evaluates how well you combine your
four skills,listening, reading,
s
peaking and writing skills to perform
academic are two fo
rmats for the TOEFL
format you take depends on the location
of your test center.
Nowadays, most test takers take the
Internet-based cent
ers that do not
have Internet access offer the Paper-based Test.
10 Heat Stress
The most
common
health
problem linked
to hot weather is heat stre
causes of
heat stress include wearing heavy
clothing,physical
work or exercise, hot
weather and high several of these
c
onditions are present at the same
time,a person's body temperature ma
y
rise above safe people suffer only muscle pain
because
of heat pain is a warning that
the body is becoming too ho
s say those
suffering muscle pain should stop all activity
an
d rest in a cool s say not to return
to physical activity
for a few
hoursbecause serious conditions could people
face an increased danger from heat may
have a weak or dam
aged heart,high blood
pressure or other problems of the blood
system.
Severe heat is also dangerous
for people who weigh too much and have
too much body fat,and for people who
drink alcohol.
11 Foreign Language
Study in America
Foreign language study
starts at a very young age for many
studen
ts in students start language
training at age
do not require foreign
language training this early in
many
students choose to study languages in elementary
mos
t popular languages for young
students are Spanish, French and
German.
Almost 7 million students in
public secondary schools in the United
S
tatesare studying a foreign state
sets its own requirem
ents for foreign
language studyat the junior high and high school
lev
students graduate high school with
at least two years of fore
ign language
study a foreign language for four
are
different foreign language requirements at
colleges
and universities require
students to have had s
everal years of
language education in high addition, many
c
olleges and universities require
studentsto complete at least two yea
rs
of foreign language study before graduating.
12 Variations in British Accents
Language changes over time as people
try to express themselves in
different
ways to different English, although broadly
the
same language,is spoken in lots of
different ways by lots of differe
nt ly
this is because people live far r, eve
n
in Britain, a relatively small place,there are
huge variations in t
he way people speak
that is not to forget the large numbe
rs
of people who speak other languages as their first
n English is much more fixed,and
changes much less quickly than spoke
n
across Britain speak English using not only
differen
t accents, but different
example, people of different
ages and
from different parts of Britainmay greet you with
as many d
ifferent people migrate into
Britain, and as people move aro
und
Britain more freely,accents change more r, most
Bri
tish people can guess where another
British person is from because of
their
accent.
13 Teaching Assistants
Foreign students at American colleges
and universities may earn m
oney after
they successfully complete an entry-level study
program. T
hose wishing to continue
their education could work as a teaching
ass
istant, or T.A. A teaching assistant
usually works about twenty hours
each
week. Teaching assistants are paid to help
professors teach stu
dents in entry-
level study programs. Generally, the professor
gives a
talk, or lecture, to a large
group of students one or two times a
we
ek. The teaching assistant meets with
smaller groups of students duri
ng the
week. The T.A. gives tests and reads any homework
or reports t
he students may be required
to write. Teaching assistants also meet
w
ith students who seek help. They
attend teaching meetings. And some
w
orking with
science
professors help to
organize laboratory equipment.
Most
American colleges and universities must honor
legal requirement
s when employing
foreign students as teaching of these
is that the T.A. must speak English well.
14 Open-source Software
Open-source software is computer
softwarethat is available to the
general public in source code a person has enough
knowledge
about computers and computer
programming,he or she can change the
pro
gram's source source code is like a
set of directions that s
how the program
how to change the codes so that the
pr
ogram will operatein a way that will
meet their mes chang
ing the code will
make the program run it will take
problem
s out of the problems can cause
a computer program to s
hut who change
the source code of a computer
programshare
these programs with each
other on the mmers enjoy bei
ng able to
improve computer programs on their enjoy being
ab
le to ask other people on the
Internet for help with their
programs.W
orking together, people can
improve computer programs for the good
of
the group.
15 Party Time
Americans plan parties for many
reasons. As in other cultures, ma
ny
Americans attend
parties for weddings
and religious and
national
holidays. But som
e parties are
especially American. For example, a group of
neighbors
may gather on their street to
eat food, play music and visit with one
another. This is called a block party.
A woman might invite a group of women
to a party called a baby sh
ower for a
friend who is about to give birth. Guests bring
presents f
or the new baby. Birthday
parties are also very popular. Many
parents
organize a party for their
child around a theme. Rock star parties
a
re very popular for young girls and
boys. Birthday parties usually in
clude
gifts and a birthday cake with candles. Birthday
parties can be
low cost or very costly.
Some parents take their children's birthday