The Belarusian Institute of Law

I have a Net-friend Alex. He is from Minsk, Belarus. We met in the Net last year. Truly speaking I have a very vague idea about this country in Central Europe. From my History course at school I remember something about the former Soviet Union, ‘iron curtain’, cold war, glasnost and perestroika. Belarus was, perhaps, one of those Union members.

Alex is a law student at the Belarusian Institute of Law which is one of the oldest private law institutions for higher education in the country. It was founded in 1990 with the purpose to give general knowledge to the students, to train professional generation of lawyers and to prepare them for careers in public service. Since 1990 the institute has developed its own traditions and formed experienced teaching staff.

The Institute has more than 6,000 students, six schools and two branches in Grodno and Mogilev. It provides higher education in Law, International Law, Economics, Political Science and Psychology, both full-time and part-time.

The Institute does not guarantee employment to its graduates. They have to find a job and their place in society and they do it successfully. There are not any names of its graduates on the lists of unemployed. The former students work not only in law-enforcement and judicial offices, but also in government bodies, public organizations, business, national economy and the system of higher education.

7. PRESENTATION. Use the information from the texts and the vocabulary of this Unit to present the topic ‘University Studies’. The following plan will be helpful:

1. Why did you decide to become a lawyer?

2. Why did you choose International Law?

3. What are your ideas about higher education nowadays?

4. What can you say about the institute you are studying in?

5. What are you going to do after graduation?

UNIT 4

MY FUTURE PROFESSION

1. WARMING UP. What do you think is most important to you in a job and what is least important? Put the following in order from 1 to 6, then discuss it in class.

______ flexible working hours

______ contact with interesting people

______ chance to travel

______ long holidays

______ nice, quiet, attractive work space

______ good payment

WORD STUDY.

2. 1 Match each word or phrase on the left to the correct description on the right.

1 wages	a) certificates and exams passed
2 skills	b) a talk with a company about a possible job
3 experience	c) the terms when you work
4 qualifications	d) points in your character (politeness, honesty, etc.)
5 interview	e) abilities, things you can do (type, drive, etc.)
6 hours	f) work of the same type you have done before
7 personal qualities	g) money you get, usually hourly or weekly

Now put each of the words on the left above in the correct space in the following conversation.

Valerie: Hello, I’m Valerie Woods. I’ve come for an … for a job as a secretary.

Mr. Watts: Oh yes, Miss Woods. Please take a seat. Well, have you done office work before? Have you any …?

Valerie: Well, I’m afraid I haven’t. I’ve just left college. But I have some …. Here are my typing and shorthand certificates.

Mr. Watts: Good. Do you have any other …. Can you use a computer?

Valerie: No, but I speak French and Spanish.

Mr. Watts: Good. Your teachers tell us you’re very careful and you get on well with other people, so there’s no problem about your …. In fact you seem very suitable.

Valerie: Thank you. Can I just make sure of one or two points? I believe the … are $150 a week? Is that right?

Mr. Watts: Yes, that’s right. And the … are nine to five, Monday to Friday. Well, we’d like to have you, Miss Woods.

Valerie: Thank you very much. I think the job will suit me very well.

2.2 Read the following passages.

Jobs

a) My name is Martha Glass. I’m thirty-nine years old and I’m a doctor. I chose the medical profession, because I wanted to help people and at the same time make good money. When I was younger I wanted to become a teacher or a nurse, but I soon realized there wasn’t enough money in either of those professions. My parents didn’t help me much, because they didn’t want me to have a career at all. They wanted me to do what so many other girls did. They wanted me to become a secretary, marry the boss, have kids and stay at home. Well, I got married, and I had kids, but I have my career as well.

b) My name is John Ruston. I’m a businessman. I’m fifty years old and I’ve been working for the same company for twenty-five years. I think I’ve had a very successful career. I started work with the company as a poorly-paid clerk. I was one of those nine-to-five white-collar office workers who spend all day with a pencil in one hand and a telephone in the other. I hated it. So I got transferred to sales and became one of the company’s sales representatives. I traveled all over the country selling the company’s products and became the most successful salesperson on the staff. In ten years I have been promoted to manager of the sales department. In another ten years I hope to retire with a good pension.

c) Hi. I’m Billy. I left school when I was sixteen. I didn’t have any qualifications. I just wanted to earn some money. I got a job in a factory. I didn’t mind being a blue-collar worker. All I wanted was enough money to take my girlfriends out on a Saturday night. But then they got robots in to do my jobs and I was out of work. I was out of work for sixteen months. It’s terrible to be unemployed. The days seem so long. I finally got a job as an unskilled laborer, working for a builder. I’m twenty-five now. I suppose I should go to night classes and get some extra training so that I can earn more money as a skilled worker.

Answer the following questions according to the information in the passages. Put a cross (+) in the correct box.

	Martha	George	Billy	No one
Who had a white-collar job for a while?
Who works in a profession?
Who wanted to become a secretary?
Who is unemployed at the moment?
Who is an unskilled worker?
Who was a successful salesman?		+
Who wanted a different career as a child?
Who married the boss?
Who has no career?
Who was out of work for a while?