SOME ASPECTS OF BRITISH UNIVERSITY LIFE

Of the full-time students now attending English Universities three quarters are men, and one quarter women. Nearly half of them are engaged in the study of arts subjects such as history, languages, economics or law, the others are studying pure or applied sciences such as medicine, dentistry, technology, or agriculture.

The University of London, for instance, includes internal and external students, the latter coming to London only to sit for their examinations. Actually most external students at London University are living in London. The colleges in the University of London are essentially teaching institutions, providing instruction chiefly by means of lectures, which are attended mainly by day students. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, however, are essentially residential institutions and they mainly use a tutorial method which brings the tutor into close and personal contact with the student. These colleges, being residential, are necessarily far smaller than most of the colleges of the University of London.

Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges of technology and agricultural colleges, which prepare their students for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

The three terms into which the British University year is divided are roughly eight to ten weeks. Each term is crowded with activity and the vacations between the terms - a month at Christmas, a month at Easter, and three or four months in summer - are mainly periods of intellectual digestion and private study.

A person studying for a degree at a British University is called a graduate. B.A. or B.Sc. stands for Bachelor of Arts, or of Science, the firs degree. M.A. or M.Sc. denotes Master of Arts, or of Science. One can become a B.A. after three years of hard study, and an M.A. at the end of five years.

11. Ответьте на вопросы к тексту.

1. What is the percentage of men and women students in British
universities? Of students studying arts subjects and sciences?

2. What is a graduate?

3. What is the duration of terms and vacations in a British university?

4. What do the abbreviations B.A., B.Sc., M.A. and M.Sc.
stand for? When can these degrees be received by a student?

Составьте диалог по следующим темам.

1. Explain why, in your opinion, women constitute only one-quarter of full-time students in Great Britain.

2. Discuss differences in systems of education provided by London University and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

 

Прочитайте текст, обращая внимание на перевод следующих слов.

 

the May Balls - Майский бал

relaxation – отдых, расслабление

undergraduate – cтудент (обычно старших курсов)

spirit of release – дух свободы 

race – гонки, соревнования      

skill – мастерство, умение, сноровка

festivity – празднества, торжества

climax – кульминация

to glide – скользить

punt – лодка

MAY WEEK AT CAMBRIDGE

The most interesting time of year in which to visit Cambridge is during May Week. This is neither in May nor a week. For some reasons which nobody remembers, May Week is the name given to the first two weeks in June, the very end of the University year.

May Week denotes not so much a particular period of time as the general atmosphere of relaxation at the end of the year's work. It starts for each undergraduate when he finishes his examinations.

Everything as far as possible has to happen in the open air-parties, picnics, concerts and plays. May Week seems like a celebration of the coming of spring, till then ignored in favour of examinations, and this spirit of release seems to take over the entire (the whole) town. People go to the river behind the colleges which stand next to the river to watch May boat races, in which young energetic men are ready to show off their skill.

Music and drama also have a part to play in the festivities. Nearly every college of the University (and there are over 20 of them) holds a May Week concert or presents a play in the open air.

But the most important events are the May Balls for which some girls do their best for month in advance to get invitations. College May Balls are the climax of May Week and for many undergraduates are the final event of their university life, when the river is lit with coloured lights, ballroom orchestra plays for dancers and punts glide romantically down the river.

 

14. Ответьте на вопросы к тексту.

1. What is May Week?

2. When does it take place?

3. How long does it last?

4. What are the most important events during May week?

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