A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms is a 1957 American DeLuxe Color CinemaScope drama film directed by Charles Vidor. The screenplay by Ben Hecht, based in part on a 1930 play by Laurence Stallings, was the second feature film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's 1929 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. It was the last film produced by David O. Selznick. An earlier film version, A Farewell to Arms starred Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.

 Rock Hudson plays an American serving in the Italian Army during the "War to End All Wars". Jennifer Jones is his lover, a Red cross nurse. They have a torrid affair, which results in Jones' pregnancy. As the months pass, Hudson and Jones lose contact with one another, and Jones believes that Hudson has forgotten her. But a battle-weary Hudson finally makes it to Switzerland, where Jones is hospitalized. The baby is stillborn, and Jones dies shortly afterward, murmuring that her death is "a dirty trick."

The main thing, I‘d like to mention is the play of the actors who managed to feel their characters, their souls, mood and the way of thinking even. I am amazed by the way they took the message of the writer. However, sometimes the development of the love affair did not seem natural, they overacted.

I would like to mention the screenplay because I think it conveyed the atmosphere worse than the book. The relationship between Henry and Catherine developed quickly enough in the book but the screen writer made them lovers even faster. It seems strange for that period of time. The episodes from the book were cut and I do not see the reasonable reason. All in all, I did not enjoy the film because of the subdued events.

To conclude, the film helped me to imagine the main heroes, the events described in the book. I really enjoyed watching the film because I watch such “old” films rarely but always admire the work and skillfulness of the actors.

IN LOVE AND WAR

   This film is directed by Richard Attenborough, written by Allan Scott, Clancy Sigal and Anna Hamilton Phelan, based on the book "Hemingway in Love and War". Cast: Sandra Bullock (Agnes von Kurowsky), Chris O'Donnell (Ernest Hemingway), Mackenzie Astin (Harry Villard), Emilio Bonucci (Domenico Caracciolo) Ingrid Lacey ( Elsie ``Mac'' MacDonald).

   This romantic historical drama is based on the diaries of Agnes Von Kurowsky, who while serving as a nurse during World War I had a love affair with a young man who would later become one of the great literary figures of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway. In 1918, 18-year-old Hemingway has volunteered to fight in the great war; while he goes into battle imagining it to be a lark, he soon discovers that the realities of warfare are far more grim, and during a shelling attack in Italy, his leg is severely wounded. Hemingway has taken a great deal of shrapnel, and the doctors at the field hospital decide that amputation would be the quickest and most effective way to deal with the injury. However, the idea of losing a leg horrifies Hemingway, and he pleads with Agnes (Sandra Bullock), the Austrian nurse looking after him, not to let the doctors cut off his limb. Moved by Hemingway's concern, Agnes convinces the doctors to pursue other treatments, and she looks after him during his long and difficult convalescence. Love and passion bloom between the young and naive soldier and the 26-year-old nurse, but while he's eager for her to return home with him as he follows his muse as a writer, she regards him not as the love of her life but as a passing fling and thinks that he's too young to marry. Agnes eventually sends Hemingway a "Dear John" letter; later Hemingway would use her as the basis for several characters in his novels and short stories, not always flatteringly.

   I would like to single out the theme. Examining the problem of the impact of war on human nature  in the film , the viewers draw a conclusion that war damages people not only physically but  also spiritually. The main character, Ernest Hemingway is depicted as a very enthusiastic, ambitious and optimistic young man at the very beginning of the film. This American ambulance driver, who serves in Italy,  is in search of adventures  and heroic deeds. His moral values are bravery, love and devotion. However, as soon as his faces his hardship of war his attitude to it starts to change as he himself. Death, pain and loss make it impossible for him to see the world as happily as he used to do. To crown it all, the betrayal of his beloved suppresses his romantic love and he starts to conceal his sufferings under the mask of hatred and fury. Therefore, we can say that war leaves a scar on the person’s soul and  causes  bitter disappointment in his values and ideals.

   I would like to note the acting. I think that Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock were really good in their roles. I believed in their not love but passion. Their feelings, desires were clearly seen in their faces, voices. The last scene is a nice example of conveying of real feelings.

   In conclusion I would like to say that the film impressed me and opened Hemingway from a new side which I had not signed out earlier. Costumes and decorations created the atmosphere of the war and the born of love during the time of death was inspiring.

Higher Education in Britain and the USA

1. What are the admission requirements to the colleges and universities in the USA/Britain?

the USA: American high school students who want to study at a college or university have to take a standardized test, e.g. SAT or the ACT. Non-native speakers of the English language must take the TOEFL. Students also have to write an essay, to send a transcript and letters of reference.

Britain: entrance to British universities is via a strict selection process based on an interview. After the interview a potential student is offered a place on the basis of exam results. If the student does not get the grades specified in the offer, a place cannot be taken up. Some universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, have an entrance exam before the interview stage.

2. What are the three types of schools in higher education?

college, university, public institution

3. What degrees are offered by schools of higher learning in the USA/Britain? What are the requirements for these degrees?

the Associates’ degree (Am.E) is usually awarded at a community or junior college upon completion of 2 years of study

the Bachelor’s degree (the first degree that you get when you study at a university, it normally requires 3-4 years of academic study beyond the high school diploma): the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Science, the Bachelor of Education, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, the Bachelor of Divinity.

The Master’s degree (a higher degree in British and US universities, usually requiring 1 or 2 years of advanced study. It is between a bachelor’s degree and doctorate. Frequently a thesis is required or a final oral or written examination. Master’s degrees include: the Master of Arts, the Master of Science, the Master of Business and Administration). 

Doctorate (the Doctor’s degree) usually the Doctor of Philosophy the highest academic degree, it requires a minimum of 2 years of course work beyond the Master’s degree level, success in qualifying examination, proficiency in one or two foreign languages and completion of doctorate dissertation.

4. What is a credit in the US system of higher education? How many credits must an undergraduate student earn to receive a bachelor’s degree? How can they be earned?

American degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, are earned on the basis of the number of courses successfully taken. Each course earns “credits” or “units”, which are known as credit hours, semester hours (for schools on the semester system), quarter hours (for schools on the quarter system) or merely hours or credits. The number of credits earned by each course relates to the number of hours of classroom work involved, but does not necessarily correspond exactly. For instance, a course meeting three times a week for an hour (actually 50 minutes) each time may be expected to give a student three hours credit for the semester or term. On the other hand, an intensive seminar may meet once a week for two hours and also be a three-credit course. Two or three laboratory periods are usually considered to be equivalent to one class “hour”. The undergraduate student program, known as an “academic load”, is normally 15-17 units a semester, or 12 to 15 units a quarter. The graduate student’s normal load is 9-12 units.

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree is awarded on successful completion of a specified number of courses or units and the full degree requirement is usually stated as being 120 credits (about 4O courses) for institutions operating on a semester system, and 180 credits for a quarterly calendar.

5. What steps do students have to take to enroll in a college/university for admission? Speak about the exams they take – PSAT, SAT, ACT.

PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test) – an examination that high school students take, mostly to practice for SAT examination.

SAT – can be taken two or three times (in the 11th and 12th grades), generally proceeded by PSAT (preliminary), a test to give students a warm-up exercise for the SAT and indicate their probable SAT scoring range.

ACT (the American College Testing program) – similar to SAT but scores social studies and natural studies. The ACT is taken when required by certain colleges or universities.

Both tests are widely used in the admission process of US colleges and universities. Their results are sent to the colleges or universities to which the students have applied. ACT is meant to be taken only once.

6. What financial assistance are applicants eligible for? What is college scholarship, grants, loan? Explain and bring out the essence of student financial aid.

Students whose families cannot afford to pay the full amount apply for financial aid. Many students receive a financial aid package which may be a combination of grants from the government, a scholarship, a student loan, and work-study.

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further his or her education. Scholarships are awarded based upon various criteria, which usually reflect the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award. Scholarship money is not required to be repaid.

Grants are often called “gift aid” because they are free money—financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. Grants are often need-based. Grants can come from the federal government, state government, college or career school, or a private or nonprofit organization.

A student loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in education. It also differs in many countries in the strict laws regulating renegotiating and bankruptcy. 

7. What is a GPA (Grade Point Average)?

A grade point average is a numerical calculation, weighted by student contact hours for TAFE programs and credit points for higher education programs, of the mean of the grades received over a defined study period (e.g. semester/term), program or career.

The GPA has a number of uses, including:

• being a measure used to select students for prizes and scholarships

• providing the basis for eligibility for awarding degrees with honours and pass with distinction

• setting minimum entry levels for students articulating from TAFE to higher education programs

• providing a basis for eligibility for selection into research programs

• as a selection criterion or ranking tool for selection into undergraduate and postgraduate programs at other Australian universities.

8. What is the role of a student’s counselor? Specify the function of career development and job placement within a university.

Student counselors, also called guidance counselors, are professionals who help students at the high school or college level. Depending on your career goals and the setting you want to work in, an advanced degree might be needed to hold one of these positions.

9. What are the sources of funding for universities and colleges (both public and private)?

A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. This is in contrast to public universities and national universities. Some universities are non-profit and some are for-profit means as business organization.

10. What is an undergraduate student? A graduate student?

An undergraduate student is one who is pursing either an associate's or bachelor's degree. A graduate student (also, grad student or grad in American English, or postgraduate student in British English) is an individual who has completed a bachelor's degree (B.A., B.S./B.Sc., or another flavor) and is pursuing further higher education, with the goal of achieving a master's degree (M.A., M.S./M.Sc., M.Ed., etc.) or doctorate (Ph.D., Ed.D., D.A., D.Sc., D.M.A., Th.D., etc.).

11. Are you for written or oral examinations? Which ones are more objective?

I prefer written exam and I think that it is very objective while oral one depends on many factors which may vary from the sdudent’s nervous tension to the teacher’s mood.

12. What examinations (oral or written) are more popular with Russian students? Describe the psychological types of students of your group. 

Written examinations are more popular.

14 Would you like to study in the USA or Great Britain? Why? Why not? What are the requirements for foreign students to study in the USA or Great Britain?

I would like to study in the USA. First thing you should do is decide what are you going to study, where, and in which university/school?When choosing the school you must make sure that it is on the SEVP (student and exchange visitor program) approved list of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

15. What aspects of American or British higher education system would you like to introduce into our system?

I think it is convenient to choose a list of subjects, the student is interested in, to specialize in them.

Higher Education. Laboratory Works.

MP3 AUDIO 5.1

1. You’ll hear five speakers talking about problems they or their relatives face while studying. Fill in the chart with the information given in the recording. Be especially precise with the column “Your solution to the problem”; here, you’re supposed to give your personal advice to avoid or ease the problems mentioned by the speakers.

Speaker	Problem	Signs of the Problem	Your Solution to the Problem
1	examination	the ability to learn	to develop process of studying and examination
2	preparing for medical school	tired face, sleepless nights etc.	to try to calm down and be sure in your knowledge
3	entering university	He lost his weight, he has big black rings under his eyes. He sleeps for 3 or 4 hours a day. He didn’t sleep at all during the last 3 or 4 days.	There are a lot of important things in the world, that’s why it’s necessary to agonize over exams and it isn’t necessary to get caught in an endless loop.
4	lack of confidence in knowledge	He never thought of himself like a highflyer, he never excepted such high results.	to stay cool, collect yourself and be ready for any kinds of results.
5	using technology during exams.	The results would be able to get much faster, 40% of all exams will be conducting electronically in a couple of years, online tests and registration will follow.	Computer technology may make the process of examination faster, that’s why it becomes more and more popular among universities.

2. Have you ever experienced problems while studying?  What were these problems like? How did you cope with them?

Of course, I experienced problems while studying, for example, sleepless night before exams, nervousness. It was the worst days in my life. Finally, I understood that my health is more important that good mark, I collected myself and didn’t think about bad results.

MP3 AUDIO 5.2

Listen to a talk given by a university advisor to a group of students and answer the following questions:

1.    What is the standard grading system in the USA?

Academic grading in the United States most commonly takes on the form of five letter grades. Historically, the grades were A, B, C, D, and F—A being the highest and F, denoting failure, the lowest.

2.    What are the ‘special grades’ that the speaker mentions in the recording?

They are satisfactory (S) and unsatisfactory (U) grades. It is not taken for all the courses at the university, as the majority prefer the standard letter grades.

3.      Comment on the standard grading system in your country?

In Russia we have a 5-grade system. The pupils get marks – 5 is exc, 4-good, 3-satisfactory, 2 – unsatisfactory. In fact there is such a mark as 1 – but it is not used very often.

4.      Do schools and colleges practice non-standard grading systems? What are they?

Yes, they do. Just as in the British and American colleges we have credit – non credit for some types of courses, but it is not the case with a secondary school.

5.      Give examples of other grading systems throughout the world? Which of them do you think are efficient for the students’ academic assessment?

Australia

In the land down under, many schools and universities use a “band” grading system which looks like this:

90–99.95% BAND 6

80–89% BAND 5

70–79% BAND 4

60–69% BAND 3

50–59% BAND 20–49% BAND 1

MP3 AUDIO 5.3

Listen to a talk by a student advisor on campus. Answer the following questions.

1.      What are the rules for dropping a course in the talk provided?

You can drop the course within the first three week of the semester. First, you need to get the signature of the professor whose course you want to drop on the official drop card/ Then you need to go to a student advisor on campus to get the signature of your adviser

2.      What warnings does the student advisor give?

First, You can not officially drop the course after the first three weeks of the semester. If you are having problems in a course and you decide to let it run if you want to drop the course – it is impossible to do so. Second, if you stop attending a course without going through the official drop procedures, the course will remain on your schedule and you will receive a failing grade.

3.      How can you avoid getting a failing grade, according to the recording?

It is important to understand these procedures and follow them. If you do so, you will not have any problems.

4.      What are the official drop procedures for the elective courses in your country?

Classes can be officially dropped during the first 20 percent of their scheduled meeting time.

MP3 AUDIO 5.4

Listen to a talk given on a college campus.

1.      What are the places of a college campus that the speaker mentions in the recording?

-The Library

-The Students’ Center: bookstore, post office, a bank, a theatre, a coffee shop, a travel agency, bowling alley

-The Administration complex: offices of the university administrators, the students’ records office

2.      Can you find the similar campus places in your college/university? What are other places that are worth mentioning? Characterize them briefly.

We can find the similar campus places in our institute. However, there is no theatre, travel agency and bowling alley. There are some other places which are worth mentioning.

 3. Pick out the places from the previous task and make a similar tour around your college/university to inform the freshmen about the campus.

We have a library with a reading room where students can take books or read them there. There are also 2 dormitories where students can live if their homes are far from out Institute. There is also a stadium for PE or individual activity. We have a canteen where every student can have a tasty dinner.