Teaching system

Each Oxbridge college has its own staff, known as ‘Fellows’. The Fellows teach the college students either one-to-one or in very small groups (known as ‘tutorials’ in Oxford and ‘supervisions’ in Cambridge). This system of teaching is one of the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ from other universities.

Students also go to lectures that are arranged by the University and are open to all students.

The normal length of the degree course is three years, after which the students take the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Some courses, such as medicine or languages, may be one or two years longer. The students may work for other degrees as well.

Societies

There are lots and lots of societies at Oxbridge: debating clubs, drama societies, philosophy societies, language clubs, political clubs of all colours, cinema clubs, in fact, for almost every activity under the sun!

Sport

Sport is a very important part of Oxbridge life. Colleges within each university often compete with each other in various tournaments (for example, rowing, punting, chess), but will happily pool their talent to form university teams for competitions against the greater ‘enemy’ (Oxford or Cambridge as the case may be).

The most famous competition between the two universities is the Boat Race, a rowing race which takes place every year on the River Thames. It’s a popular national event and is shown on television.

Did you know?

Oxbridge has 35, 000 students from the UK and all over the world.

Oxbridge graduates often become powerful and successful members in British society, and many leading people in professions such as the law and politics have traditionally been ‘Oxbridge-educated’. Of 54 British Prime Ministers, 40 studied at Oxbridge.

Are you Oxbridge material?

· Why don’t we just have one ear in the middle of our face?

· What percentage of the world’s water is contained in a cow?

· Why can’t you light a candle in a spaceship?

· Of all 19^th – a century politician, who was most like Tony Blair?

If you can answer any of these questions then you are Oxbridge material. Interviews are the key to getting into top universities, and potential students are often asked challenging questions. With such questions, the interviewers hope to determine the student’s originality, logical thinking and quick-wittedness. Each year, about 26, 000 students go for interviews at Oxbridge but only 26% are successful.

The beautiful views of Oxford’s ‘dreaming spires’ have become iconic indeed. It was Matthew Arnold? The 19^th –century poet, who called Oxford ‘that sweet city with her dreaming spires’.

Most of the dining halls at Oxbridge are wonderful. In the picture, you can see the dining hall of the famous Christ Church College, Oxford, which was used as the inspiration for the Hogwarts dining room in the Harry Potter films.

1. Remember the words and word-combinations:

prestigious [pre´ stidзə s] – престижный

city of dreaming spires [´ spaiə z] – город дремлющих шпилей

to found [faund] – основывать, создавать

constant [´ konstə nt] – постоянный

fighting [´ faitiŋ ] – столкновение, драка

townspeople [´ taunzֽ pi: pl] – горожане

accidentally [ֽ æ ksi´ dentə li] – случайно, непредумышленно

mayor [meə ] – мэр

innocent [´ inə sə nt] – невиновный

to hang (hanged) – вешать, казнить через повешение

to settle [´ setl] – поселяться

rivalry [´ raivə lri] – соперничество

Oxonian [ok´ sə uniə n] – студент, выпускник Оксфордского университета

pale – бедный

Cantabrigian [ֽ kæ ntə ´ brdзiə n] – студент, выпускник Кембриджского университета

administrative body [ə dֽ ministrə tiv´ bodi] – административный орган

to arrange [ə ´ reindз] – организовывать

coat of arms [ֽ kə ut ə v´ a: mz] – герб

chapel [´ t∫ æ pl] – часовня

medieval [ ֽ medi´ i: v] – средневековый

staff [sta: f] – штат, персонал

tutorial [tju: ´ to: riə l], supervision [ ֽ s(j)u: pə ´ viзn] – консультация, практические занятия с руководителем

rowing [´ rə uiŋ ] – гребля

punting [´ pΛ ntiŋ ] – пантинг (гребля на плоскодонных яликах с шестом)

to pool – объединять в общий фонд

enemy [´ enə mi] – враг

interview [´ intə vju: ] – беседа, собеседование

challenging [´ t∫ æ lə ndзiŋ ] – трудный, нестандартный

quick-wittedness [ֽ kwik´ witidnə s] – находчивость, сообразительность

inspiration [inspə ´ rei∫ n] - вдохновение

2. Skim through the text and say which of its paragraphs gives information about:

a) the accident in Oxford;

b) student’s clothes;

c) the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ from other universities.

3. Find sentences with the following words and phrases in the text and translate them into Russian:

city of dreaming spires; to settle; rivalry; administrative body; tutorial; supervision; quick-wittedness.