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assert the presence of modern life, in contrast to the ancient chimes of the church bells in the evening.

Vocabulary

to date from – датировать

to come into being – начать действовать a graduate – выпускник

to be admitted to … – быть принятым в … to give one’s support – оказать поддержку to gain influence – добиться влияния

to be abolished (for) – отменяться, не действовать

to be favoured – выделяться, быть предпочтительным to vary – отличаться (быть многообразным)

to dominate – доминировать, преобладать

to be educated at – получать образование в … an undergraduate – студент младших курсов

to be an equal member of – быть полноправным членом internal organization – внутренняя организация

to be governed by – быть под управлением to be responsible for – отвечать за

a rare collection of – редкое (ценное) собрание чего-либо the earliest books by – первые книги какого-то писателя to wear a black gown – носить черную мантию

to be obliged to – быть обязанным что-то сделать to disappear – исчезать

punting – плавание на плоскодонке

boating – плавание на лодке, небольшом судне rowing – гребля (вид спорта)

to sail in the river – плавать по реке (на чем-либо)

to be christened into the University – быть посвященным в студенты университета

Ex.1 Make the correct form of the verb in brackets using Passive Voice:

1.Oxford (to be built) on the ground founded by Thames and the Cherwell.

2.The sport (to be taken) very seriously by many undergraduates.

3.Academic life (to be varied).

4.Meetings of Congregation and Convocation (to be conducted) with all the splendour and ceremony which tradition demands.

5.Cambridge (to be situated) at a distance from London.

6.Cambridge (to be described) as the only true University Town in England.

7.Many well-known scientists and writers (to be educated) at Cambridge.

8.Almost all colleges (to be mixed).

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9.The colleges (to be governed) by twenty or thirty fellows.

10.Black gowns (to be obliged) to wear for dinner and some lectures.

Ex.2 Insert prepositions if necessary:

1.The University of Oxford may be said to date … 1214.

2.All undergraduates were admitted … the universities.

3.The King gave his support … the University.

4.The University of Oxford gained considerable influence … the down and its trade.

5.The Test Act required all students to subscribe … the thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England.

6.This requirements were not abolished … another two hundred years.

7.A peninsula is founded … the west and south … the Thames or Iris.

8.The student’s tastes … boating are relaxation exercise.

9.There is great rivalry … college crews.

10.The University was exclusively … men … 1871.

Ex.3 Say whether these statements are true or false:

1.The University was exclusively both for men and women untill 1871.

2.In the 1970s most colleges opened their doors to both men and women.

3.Untill today there are more than twenty colleges in Cambridge.

4.The oldest college in Cambridge was founded in 1977.

5.Each college doesn’t have its own building.

6.Tutors don’t teach their own subjects to those students in the college who are studying it.

7.The tutors are not responsible for students progress.

8.The University arranges the courses, the lectures, the examinations and grants the degrees.

9.An old tradition does not allow the students to walk on the grass.

10.Most of the colleges allow visitors to enter the grounds and country-yards.

Ex.4 Complete the sentences:

1.Every college is governed by … .

2.The University is like a … .

3.The students study at the University for … .

4.Long vacation lasts … .

5.At Cambridge there are many … .

6.Untill 1964 undergraduates had to wear … .

7.Many students feel that they were not christened into the University untill …

.

8.Oxford and Cambridge are … .

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9.The height of a rowing man’s is to gain … .

10.Academic life in Oxford is … .

Ex.5 Answer the questions:

1.Are Oxford and Cambridge famous university centres?

2.When was the University of Oxford founded?

3.What do the principal annual events take place in Oxford?

4.What kinds of sport are popular at Oxford?

5.In the University Museum one of the principal ones in Oxford?

6.The University of Cambridge is a centre of education, isn’t it? Say what you know about it.

7.In the University of Cambridge closely connected with the life and thought of Great Britain?

8.Does everything center on the University and its colleges in Cambridge?

9.When was the first women’s college opened? And how many these colleges are there in Cambridge?

10.What must one do to enter the University of Cambridge?

Ex.6 Make up a short topic about the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Ex.7 Make up and act out a short dialogue about your place of education. What is the most important information you can give?

OXFORD

Read the proper names:

Oxford

Great Britain

Thames

Cherwell

Magdalen Bridge

Isis

New College Gardens

Brasenose College

Queen’s and Magdalen College

The Botanical Garden

Europe

The Bodleian Library

Sir Thomas Bodey

The Radcliffe Camera

The Sheldonian theatre

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Pronounce the words paying attention on the [ ] and [ ] sounds:

Oxford. A Famous University City of Great Britain.

Oxford is a celebrated city of science. It is situated 54 miles northwest of London on a low-lying bank at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Cherwell. The rivers are spanned by several bridges, the principal of which are Magdalen Bridge, over the Cherwell, and Folly Bridge, over the Isis. In early times the city was surrounded by a wall, a portion of which still exists, intact, in

New College Gardens. The principal street, colloquially “the High”, has a length of about 1,000 yards, and its greatest width is 85 feet. It is made beautiful by several of the noblest structures of the city, including Brasenose College, all

Souls College, University, Queen’s and Magdalen Colleges, the New

Examination Schools, together with old houses. The Botanical Gardens, dating from the 17th century, add to the beauty of the street.

Many visitors to Oxford want to be shown the university. In their home countries, universities are easily identifiable because they are compact, and probably isolated from the domestic and commercial buildings.

Oxford is different. It has a “golden heart” – an area of less than half a square mile in which various historic buildings may be found. But they do not stand in isolation. They are mixed together with houses, shops and offices.

It is assumed that between 1164 and 1169, when Henry II forbade English clerks to go to the University of Paris, which at that time was the foremost in Europe, the scholars had to find somewhere else to continue their studies. Their choice fell on Oxford. The first group of scholars at Oxford may have been joined by others from Paris as well as from other parts of Britain.

There is no “university” as such. The component parts of the University of

Oxford are the colleges. Each college is practically autonomous, with its own set of rules of government. There is a central administration, providing services such as libraries and laboratories.

The buildings of the university proper are situated mainly between Broad and High streets. The most remarkable is the Bodleian Library, founded in 1598.

The Bodleian Library with its beautiful painted ceiling was built to house the collection of books. The Library as a whole takes its name from Sir Thomas Bodley, scholar and Elizabethan diplomat.