Text 5. Famous Universities of the uk Read the text with a dictionary and answer the questions that follow it.

1. Oxford

Oxford is a beautiful city on the river Thames about 50 miles from London. The first written record of the town of Oxford dates back to the year 912. Oxford University, the oldest and most famous university in Britain, was founded in the middle of the 12^th century. It began when some teachers, each with a few students, decided to live and work together in the same house. Later they built colleges and by 1300 there were already 1,500 students. Little by little the great university we know today grew up. Most of the Oxford colleges are fine buildings of grey or yellow stone and many of them have stood there for more than 500 years. The oldest college is Merton which began in 1264. The newest one has only been opened for a few years, so the university is still growing.

Nowadays there are about 12,000 students in Oxford and over 1000 teachers. Outstanding scientists work in the numerous colleges of the University, teaching and doing research work in physics, chemistry, mathematics, cybernetics, literature, modern and ancient languages, art, music, philosophy, psychology.

Oxford University has a reputation of a privileged school. Many prominent political figures of the past and present times got their education at Oxford.

The Oxford English Dictionary is well-known to students of English everywhere. It contains approximately 5,000,000 entries, and there are thirteen volumes, including a supplement.

Oxford University Press, the publishing house which produces the Oxford English Dictionary has a special department called the Oxford Word and Language Service (OWLS for short). If you have a question about the meaning of a word or its origin, you can write or telephone and the people there will help you.

2. Cambridge

Cambridge is situated at a distance of 70 miles from London, the great part lies on the left bank of the river Cam crossed by several bridges. The dominating factor in Cambridge is its world famous University, a centre of education and learning. Newton, Byron, Darwin, Rutherford and many other scientists and writers were educated at Cambridge.

Today there are more than twenty colleges in Cambridge University. The oldest college is Peterhouse, which was founded in 1284, and the most recent is Robinson College, which was opened in 1977. The most famous is probably King’s College, because of its magnificent chapel. Its choir of boys and undergraduates is also well known.

The University was only for men until 1871. In 1871 the first women’s college was opened. Another was opened two years later and a third in 1954. In  the 1970s, most colleges opened their doors to both men and women. Nowadays almost all colleges are mixed.

3. Oxbridge specific system of education

Oxford and Cambridge Universities are the ones known for their specific system of education. Great emphasis is laid at Oxford and Cambridge on what are called “tutorials” in which a Don (a university tutor) gives personal instruction in his subject at least once a week to the students numbering not more than 4.

The central University, in general, arranges lectures for all students in a particular subject and holds examinations and grants degrees; an individual college provides for residence and tutoring. This system of teaching differs greatly from that of other universities.

In the faculty of Modern Languages in Oxford the average student attends 1–2 literature tutorials per week. In addition for language work he will be obliged to attend 2 prose classes per week – to read out the proses he has prepared during the week. For literature tutorials the student is given an essay to prepare which he will read out in the next tutorial and must be prepared to discuss and criticize. Most of the material for this may be obtained from criticism and texts. In Oxford more emphasis is placed on original texts than on criticisms which are considered of secondary importance to the student’s own views. The other source of material is, of course, lectures, which, unlike other universities, are optional.

The effect of this system on the student is profound. As almost nothing is compulsory except the weekly tutorials the student must learn to discipline himself perhaps for the first time in his life.

Answer the questions on text 3:

1. Why is the town of Oxford famous all over the word?

2. How does Oxford University justify its reputation of a privileged school?

3. What is Oxford University Press?

4. What is Cambridge famous for?

5. How many colleges are there in Cambridge University?

6. Which is the oldest college?

7. When was the most recent college opened?

8. What is it famous for?

9. Why is a system of education in Oxford and Cambridge specific?

10. Would you like to study at one of these universities? Why?