Travelling by air and railway

Last summer Nick spent his holidays in the Crimea. He went there by plane. He booked his ticket in advance. He rang up the air-travel booking office and reserved a seat for the fifteenth of July. “Will you come for your ticket yourself or do you want it delivered?” asked the booking-office clerk. “I’d like my ticket delivered, please,” said Nick, because he did not want to waste his time going to the booking office and standing in a queue.

The plane to Yalta took off at 9 a.m., but he had to be at the airport an hour before to register his ticket. His plane was TU-134. It is a comfortable modern plane. Nick’s seat was near the porthole and he could see how they took off in St. Petersburg and landed in Yalta. They were flying at a height of six thousand meters, so Nick could see only clouds through the porthole. The hostess offered the passengers some snacks and soft drinks. The flight was very pleasant. It took Nick only three hours to get to Yalta.

The way back wasn’t so pleasant. Nick could not get a ticket for a plane. He had to stand in a long queue to get a ticket for a train. When at last his turn came, he said to the booking-office clerk: “Please, I want a ticket to St. Petersburg for the fourth of August.” “I am sorry,” said the booking-office clerk, “there are no tickets for a through train to St. Petersburg. I could give you an upper berth on a train to Moscow, and in Moscow you will have a changing.” Nick thought a little. “Oh well, that’s all right,” he said, “give me a ticket for the Moscow train. After all, there are a lot of trains going from Moscow to St. Petersburg every day, so I hope I will have no problems punching the ticket.”

He was right. When he arrived in Moscow, he consulted the time-table and saw that there were ten trains to St. Petersburg. It did not take him long to punch his ticket. He just had time to drop into a bar and have a snack before his train started. The train was comfortable. Nick had a lower berth in a separate compartment. In the morning he was in St. Petersburg.

23. Education in Kazakhstan

Before going to school, children attend kindergartens. Compulsory education begins in our country at the age of six, when children go to primary school. The second stage begins from the 5^th form when children start studying a lot of new subjects, such as Literature, History, Natural Sciences and others. Examinations are taken at the end of the 9^th and the 11^th forms. Some children may leave school after the 9^th form and continue their education at vocational or technical schools or colleges. Besides secondary schools there are other types of schools in Kazakhstan. There are specialized secondary schools with intensive study of a certain subject, for example Foreign Languages, Literature, Physics and others. There are also specialized art, music, ballet, and sport schools for handicapped children. Secondary education in our country is free of charge. Among secondary schools there are gymnasiums, colleges and lyceums, most of them areprivate.

In 1992 Kazakhstan system of higher education adopted the western model, a 4-year course of studies with getting the Bachelor degree after graduation and a 2-year course of study with getting the Master’s degree after graduation. In order to enter a higher educational institution young people have to take an entrance examination. Only those who successfully pass entrance testing are admitted free of charge. In other cases education is on the commercial basis.

Nightmare jobs

Sally: a vet

What’s the worst thing that has ever happened in your job? – Probably the dog that bit me. It wasn’t a big one – I don’t mind the big ones. The small ones are the worst. It gave me a very nasty bite.

Have you ever done any other jobs? –Yes, I did various jobs when I was a student. One summer I did fruit-picking in France, Spain and Greece.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? – I worked as an au pair for a rich family in New York. I never had a day off and I had to do everything – cooking, cleaning, shopping – and look after their horrible children. I left after two weeks and got a job as a waitress in an Italian restaurant.

William: a hairdresser

What’s the worst thing that has ever happened in your job? – The first time I cut somebody’s hair, I cut one side too short, so I had to cut the other side to match. When the woman saw how short her hair was, she started crying. I felt terrible.

 Have you ever done any other jobs? – Yes, I’ve done lots of stupid ones! For instance I’ve sold ice-cream on the beach and handed out publicity flyers in the street.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? – Telesales! You have to telephone people and try to sell them doors and windows. Work conditions are terrible – you can’t have a break, and if you want to go to the toilet, you have to ask for permission, and then they time you! Nightmare.

Rob: an actor

What’s the worst thing that has ever happened in your job? – So many bad things have happened – but I think my worst moment was when I read my first bad review in the newspaper. They wrote terrible things about me, and I was so upset. Now I don’t read my reviews any more.

Have you ever done any other jobs? – Oh yes. I’ve done hundred of jobs over the years. Before I got my first big part, I was working as a waiter.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? – The worst job I’ve ever done was at an egg-packing factory. I stood for hours and hours at the end of a conveyor belt, putting eggs into boxes. It was noisy, boring, and worst of all, the smell was disgusting – I’ve never eaten an egg since.

Our Future Profession

In the Republic of Kazakhstan hundreds of thousands of young people study at different medical institutes. They study numerous theoretical and special subjects. They have practical training during which they do the work of nurses and assistant doctors. Such a course of studies helps them to gain much knowledge of medicine, which will give them the possibility to diagnose different diseases and treat people.

But medical students must remember that it is not easy to be a good doctor. A good doctor must have not only deep knowledge of a particular field of medicine such as surgery or therapy. He must love people and have a kind heart. He must give all his knowledge, all his abilities, all his talent, and all his time to people, to the protection of their health.

One of the prominent Soviet therapists – Prof. M.P. Konchalovsky considers that a person may be a poor writer, he may be a bad painter or an actor but a man cannot and must not be a bad doctor.

Medical students must understand well all the difficulties of their future profession. They must remember that often it will be difficult to diagnose a disease; sometimes it will be even more difficult to cure it. But a good doctor will always do his best to gain his patient’s confidence. And the confidence of a patient in his doctor is a “valuable remedy”.

Did you hear about Hippocratic Oath before you entered the University? What does it read? It reads, “I shall enter any house for the good of the patient. I shall not do my patient any harm” – these are the words from Hippocratic Oath. And they must be not only words for medical students. They must become the motto of their life.

Medial students must remember that to treat patients is a great art but not an ordinary trade. It is one of the professions which requires a real calling for it.

Having fun in the sun?

       Choosing a summer job is not easy. Bruce Inglis talks to five teenagers about their job plans for this summer.

       A) Miguel Machado, 15, Granada

       Miguel Machado, who will be taking his FCE this June, intends to work in his uncle’s garage for a few weeks so that he can earn enough money to go on holiday with his friends. His main reason for choosing to work is to become less reliant on his parents for money. This summer, I’m planning to work as hard as I can, so I can get some money to go to the Canary Islands with some friends. I don’t suppose the job will be that exciting, but I’d rather work in the garage than deliver pizzas, which is what my big brother’s going to do. My intention is to work hard for four weeks, by which time I’ll have enough money to get away and relax afterwards.

       B) Marcelle Dupont, 17, Lyon

       Lots of students also get jobs working in bars or cafes. Working conditions are usually poor and pay is even worse. So why do students queue up to get these jobs when they could be relaxing and enjoying their holidays? Marcelle Dupont says she does it for several reasons. Apart from the money, which I could get from my parents anyway, I think it is important to be able to manage your own finances and to stand on your own two feet. Another reason teenagers choose to work in bars and cafes is because such places have certain glamour for young people. There is usually cool music playing, and there are lots of young people sitting around chatting and having a good time.

       C) Rafael Garcia, 18, Mexico City

           Working at a summer camp is fantastic, says Rafael, who will be working as a group leader in charge of a dozen 12-year-olds this summer. I do it so that I can work outdoors instead of being stuck in a restaurant somewhere in a polluted city. You also get paid to do stuff you enjoy – like sailing, hiking and archery. Last year, I got to practice my English too, because all the group leaders came from different countries, and English was the only language we had in common. Rafael doesn’t only work in order to make money, but also because of the opportunities the summer camp gives him to socialize and develop as a person. I suppose one of the most important boosts you get is that you become a hero to young kids and earn money at the same time.

       D) Jenny Logan, 16, Birmingham

       Working in the summer will be a new experience for Jenny Logan; she is going to be a sales assistant in a local supermarket. It’ll give me valuable experience in dealing with people because when I finish school I’d like to go into marketing or management. I’m also doing it because of the chance it gives me to get out of the house a bit. The money will come in handy, but I’m not saving up for anything in particular. I arranged this job so as not to get bored, I suppose: I didn’t want to be sitting around all day.

       E) Sylvia Bonatti, 17, Naples

       Most young people would like to spend their summer near the seaside and a good way of combining work with leisure is to find a job at a seaside resort. Sylvia will be working as a hotel receptionist in a tourist hotel on the island of Capri near Naples. I chose the job in order to be with my boyfriend who is a lifeguard and will be working on Capri in the summer. Of course, it also means the sea is just a stone’s throw away so I can go for a dip after work and get a good tan too.