Lesson 8.1.3. Education in the USA and Great Britain

Ex 1. a) Read the text and define its main ideas, using the words given after the text.

Oxford was an important town even before the University came into existence; it is mentioned in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" of 912 as "Oxenforde", the ford' where oxen, and so presumably men, could cross the river.

The University of Oxford may be said to date from 1214, when thefirst charter was granted by the Pope, but long before this date there had existed in the town a number of religious communities and these were the real beginning of the University.

The college corporate institutions with special rules and privileges came into being during the Middle Ages, but at first only graduates were full members of them and it was not until the 16th century that all undergraduates were admitted to them.

The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries saw many quarrels between the students and the townsfolk culminating in the riotson St. Scholastica's Day. Subsequently the King gave his support to the University which gained considerable influence over the town and its trade. In 1672 the Test Act required all students to subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, a requirement which was not abolished for another two hundred years.

The ground on which Oxford is built is actually a peninsula, bounded on the west and south by the Thames — or Isis, as it is called here — and on the east by e. tributary, the Cherwell. Punting on the Cherwell is favoured by those whose tastes in boating are for relaxation rather than for strenuous⁸ exercise, but on the Isis it is rowing which holds pride of place. This sport is taken very seriously by many undergraduates and there is great rivalry between college crews. The height of a rowing man's ambition is to gain his "blue", that is to row against Cambridge in the annual contest on the Thames from Putney to Mortlake.

Academic life in Oxford is full and varied. Some of the occasions are solemn, some exciting, and a few unashamedly frivolous. The three principal annual events are Commemoration, Congregation and Convocation. The first is mainly concerned with the conferring of Honorary Degrees, the ceremony commemorating the opening of the Sheldonian Theatre in 1669. Associated with it are the celebrations of the Encaenia. Meetings of Congregation and Convocation are conducted with all the splendour and ceremony which tradition demands.

Every college of the University has' its own Library, and many of them are very large and comprehensive. The principal museums of Oxford are the Ashmolean and the University Museum.

Oxford is not only one of the two oldest university cities of Great Britain, but a thriving industrial town as well I1js history can be traced as far back as the eighth century, when the earliest monastic foundation was already in existence. Oxford is also famous for its architecture.

4. riot — разгул, нарушение общественной тишины и порядка

7. punt — плыть (на плoскодонке), отталкиваясь шестом

Ex 2. a) Read the text and define its main ideas, using the words given after the text.

Cambridge is situated at e distance of 70 miles from London; the greater part of the town lies on the left bank of the river Cam crossed by several bridges.

Cambridge is one of the loveliest towns of England; it is not a modern industrial city and looks much more like a country town.

It is very green presenting to a visitor a series of beautiful groupings of architecture, trees, gardens, lawns' and bridges. The main building material is stone having a pinkish colour which adds life and warmth to the picture at all seasons of the year. The dominating factor in Cambridge is its well-known University, a centre of education and learning, closely connected with the life and thought of Great Britain. Newton, Byron, Darwin, Rutherford and many other scientists and writers were educated at Cambridge. In Cambridge everything centers on the University and its colleges.

The oldest college is Peterhouse, which was founded in 1284. The most recent is Robinson Collage, which was opened in 1977. The most famous is probably King's, because of its magnificent chapel2. Its choir3 of boys and undergraduates is also very well known.

The University was exclusively for men until 1871 when 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. Almost all colleges now are mixed, but it will be many years before there are equal numbers of both sexes. Until today there are more than twenty colleges in Cambridge.

There is a close connection between the University and colleges, though they are quite separate in theory and practice.

Each college has its own building, its own internal organization, its awn staff and students. In order to enter the university, one must first apply to a college and become a member of the university through the college. The colleges are not connected with any particular study. Stud3n"-s studying literature, for example, and those trained for physics may belong to one and the same college.

However the fact is that one is to be a member of a college in order to be a member of the University. The colleges are governed by twenty or thirty "fellows". Fellows of a college are "tutors"5 (teachers, often called "dons'). Each tutor has 10-12 students reading under his guidance. Tutors teach their own subject to those students in the college who are studying it, and they are responsible for their progress.

Every college is governed by a dean6. Discipline is looked after by proctors7 and numerous minor officials called "bulldogs".

The University is like a federation of colleges. It arranges the courses, "he lectures and the examinations, and grants the degrees8.

A college is a group of buildings forming a square with a green lawn in the centre. An old tradition does not allow the students to walk on the grass: this is the privilege of professors and headstudents only. Most of "he colleges, however, allow visitors to enter the grounds and courtyards. The most popular place from which to view them is from th3 Backs9, where the college grounds go down to the river Cam.

Students study at the University for four years, three terms a year. Long vacation lasts about three months. There are many libraries Cambridge; same of them have rare collections of books. In one of them among the earliest books by Shakespeare and other great writers one may see an early description of Russia by an Englishman on diplomatic service there (in 1591) and a Russian reading book of the seventeenth century.

8. grant degrees — присуждать звание, ученую степень

9. Backs — лужайки (Кембриджских колледжей вдоль р. Кем)

Ex 3. a) Read the text and define its main ideas, using the words given after the text.

There is no national system of higher education in the United States. Instead, there are about 3,300 separate institutions ranging from two-year "junior" colleges1 and technical institutes to universities. They may be small or large, rural or urban, private or public, religious' or secular; highly selective or open to all.

Basically, American higher education developed its own pattern by the adaptation of two traditions: the collegiate tradition of England and the university tradition of the Continent.

The first universities were developed by private charitable organizations, many of which were religious bodies. The private universities are still very important. Of the nation's nearly 1,900 four-year institutions of higher learning, 1,200 are privately controlled.

All higher educational establishments charge fees. It costs a lot of money to study there. Today three out of every four- American families expect to send their children to college. How many actually do so? One out of four. Most of the rest simply can't afford it. The unhappy truth is that, like almost everything else, a college education is getting more expensive every year. In 1985-1986 school year, the average public-university student spent about 5 thosand dollars for tuition fees, room, board and books. At private colleges the total came to around 12-17, 000 Grants are rare, that is why two out of three college students take part-time jots during the school year, during summer vacations, or both to pay for their studies.

The American college is an institution which has no counterpart in Europe. It offers courses of instruction over a four-year period, grants a Bachelor's degree and prepares the student for a job. As part of a university a college leads to a master's or doctor's degree. There are also many Junior Colleges to which students may be admitted £.t the end of their high school career, providing only the first two years of university work. They usually offer courses related to local industry, agriculture or crafts.

Obviously, with a total of 156 universities and more than two thousand colleges, there must be great differences in quality and reputation among them. The main universities are: California University, С at ho lb University of America, Cornell University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Chicago University, Wisconsin University, Yale University. The best-known of all is Harvard, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1636. There is much in commom between Harvard and Yale, Connecticut, and together they occupy a position in American university life rather like Oxbridge in England.

The methods of instruction in the universities are lectures, discussions and work in laboratory. The academic year is usually of nine months duration, or two semesters of four and a half months each.

Students are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. A peculiar feature of American college and university life is numerous students' unions, fraternities and sororities. The Greek alphabet is generally used in their names. These organizations, Greek letter societies, are descendants of the eighteenth century literary and social clubs which flourished in the early American colleges. It has become quite the practice for students of a particular fraternity to reside together during "heir college course in one house.

A great deal of cultural and recreational life at a university is created by different kinds of students' clubs.

1. "junior" colleges — младшие, или местные, двухгодичные колледжи, обучение в которых рассчитано на удовлетворение местных нужд в специалистах

2. technical institutes — технические институты, которые не нрисваивают степеней бакалавров, после двух- или трехгодичного курса дают квалификацию техников

9. fraternity (от греч. frater — ь brother) — братство, община; (змер.) студенческая организация

10.sorority (от греч. soror — a sister) — (амер.) университетский женский клуб

Ex 5. Work in pairs and compare universities in Russia, Great Britain and the USA, describe some peculiarities, draw a table or a diagram.

Ex 6. Write a composition using 120-180 words about any University in Russia or abroad.

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