were supposed to ... . 3. When you are through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. 4. What's there to write about school? 5.

The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. 6. ... the mechanical teacher cal culated the

mark in no time. 7. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. 8. Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite

satisfactory. 9.... a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy or girl it teaches ... . 10. They weren't even half-finished ....

10. Answer the following questions and do the given tasks:

1. The story by I.Asimov is science fiction. What facts in the preseiit-day life made him write it? Is it written to amuse the reader

or to warn him against possible problems of the future? 2. What do you think of the role of different technical aids that modern

technology puts at the disposal of the teacher? 3. What is the composition of the story? In what parts does it fall? Are the details well

chosen? 4. Comment on the closing lines of the story. How are they connected with the preceding passages? Sum up the central idea

of the story. 5. Account for the word "regular" and others being set off graphically. What effect is achieved by it? 6. Mark the features

of colloquial speech in the story. 7. Make up a list of words and word combinations describing school procedures.

11. Retell Text Four a) close to the text; b) as if you were Tommy; c) as if you were Margie.

12. Write a summary of Text Four.

13. Act out dialogues between:

1. Margie and her grandfather talking about books.

2. Two children discussing the school of the future after reading Asimov's story.

3. Two foreign language teachers discussing the advantages and disadvantages of "a mechanical teacher" if compared to "a man

teacher".

14. Choose a topic that interests you most and discuss it:

1. Teaching machines have come to stay.

2. Conceptions of the school of a non-distant and distant future which you know.

3. Science fiction as genre and its place in modern literature.

4. What other books, stories on the future of school and upbringing of children do you know? Sum up their main points.

VOCABULARY EXERCISES

1. Study the Vocabulary Notes and translate the illustrative examples into Russian.

2. Translate the following sentences into Russian. Pay attention to the words and word combinations in bold type:

A. 1. For a moment they stood face to face quite close to each other. 2. The soldiers stood at attention when the commander spoke to

them. 3. Please help instead of merely standing by. 4.1 can't stand people who laugh at other people. 5. It stands to reason that such

things ought not to be done. 6. The police began throwing tear-gas bombs but the workers stood their ground. 7. Every time a car

passed me, my hair stood on end. 8. The gray front of the house stood out well from the background of a rookery. 9. He usually hates

town in August, but when there's some special reason he can stand it. 10. She flung the hateful