Тема / Топик по английскому языку:
Me and My Plans for the Future

Let me introduce myself. My full name is Ekaterina Petrovna Ivanova, but friends normally call me by my first name, Katya. I was born on September, 8, 2001 into a family of lawyers. I’m the only child in the family.

I’m a pupil of the eleventh form of a secondary school. Our school is a gymnasium. It offers a general course of academic and non-academic subjects (like sports and home economics), providing general education. Besides, it offers a number of courses giving profound knowledge in a variety of fields: the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics.

I specialize in the humanities. The course I take includes Russian, Russian Literature, Social Sciences and two foreign languages - English and French. Social Sciences and English have always been my favourites, but my chief interest is law.

My dream has always been to become a lawyer. I’ve chosen this profession as my future occupation a long time ago. As a child, I listened to my parents discussing professional matters. Little by little, I got interested in the subject and began thinking of law as my prospective occupation. For me, choosing a career is not only a matter of future prestige and wealth. In my opinion, a job should be interesting and socially important. That is the reason why I have chosen the profession of a lawyer, which gives plenty of opportunities to help people in trouble. I am very well aware of the fact that my interest in the subject is insufficient, I need profound knowledge in the chosen field. That is why my ambition is to enter the law department of the University of Moscow. That’s a difficult task, and I have to study twice as hard as others. I also take a six-month preparatory course at the University of Moscow. We are given lectures on Literature, Social Sciences; we have seminars in these subjects, too, and also tutorials in English.

I hope I’ll manage to pass my school-leaving exams and entrance exams at the University with good and excellent marks. That’ll give me a chance of entering the University this year. If I fail at the exams, I’m going to have a try next year. I think to become a lawyer is my final choice.

Topical Vocabulary

Answer the questions:

1. What kind of family is Ekaterina born into?
   
2. What courses does Ekaterina’s school offer?
   
3. What does she specialize in?
   
4. What is her dream?
   
5. Why has she chosen the career of a lawyer?
   
6. Why has she decided to enter the Law Department of the University of Moscow?
   

Translate into English:

1. Разрешите представиться: мое полное имя - Екатерина Петровна Иванова, но обычно меня называют не полным именем, а кратким.
   
2. Я - ученица 11 класса гимназии; наша школа предлагает общий курс академических и неакадемических предметов и несколько курсов в различных областях.
   
3. Общий курс дает общее среднее образование, специальный (specialized) курс дает углубленные знания по гуманитарным, естественным и математическим наукам.
   
4. Я специализируюсь в области гуманитарных наук и прохожу курс русского языка, русской литературы, общественных наук и иностранных языков.
   
5. Больше всего меня всегда интересовала юриспруденция (law), поэтому я выбрала профессию юриста.
   
6. Я стала думать о юриспруденции как о своей будущей профессии еще в детстве, слушая профессиональные споры своих родителей.
   
7. Профессия юриста - не только профессия, связанная с будущим престижем и благосостоянием, она также социально значима.
   
8. Чтобы стать юристом, моего интереса недостаточно, и я решила поступить на подготовительные курсы юридического факультета Московского университета.
   
9. Моя мечта - сдать вступительные экзамены на 4 и 5.