Text №1 Oxford (перевод)

Text №1 Oxford

The city of Oxford is like London. It is very old, it is international and it is situated on the river Thames.

Oxford is a beautiful and a very green city. Green fields and parks surround the city. The river Thames is situated quite near the city.

We say that Oxford is old and historical because it has existed since 912. The University was founded in 1249. Oxford is international because people from many parts of the world come to study at the University. They come to study at men's colleges or at one of the women's colleges that are the University: they join the University "family" which has more than 9000 members (among them only three hundred women who study at the women's colleges). The red buildings of the women's colleges are new. The men's colleges are beautiful grey old buildings. Each year more than one thousand students enter Oxford University. The entrance exams are difficult. It is necessary to work hard to become a student of Oxford University.

When a new woman student comes to Oxford she is shown the room where she will live. Then a third-year student of the University invites her to her room for tea together with some other nine new first-year students. She tells them everything about college life and answers their questions.

The academic year in England has three terms which usually last from the beginning of October to the middle of December, from the middle of January to the end of March and from the middle of April to the end of June.

Examinations take place at the end of each term. If a student fails in an examination, he may be allowed to take the exam again. Only two re-examinations are usually allowed.

The University of Oxford has a tutorial system of education: every student has a tutor (a teacher) who plans his work. Each week some students come to see him; they tell their tutor about the work they have done. Only the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have this system of education. There are no tutorial systems of education in other English Universities which are usually situated in large industrial centres.

The students of Oxford must spend morning hours working. They have classes, lectures and seminars or they study in their rooms. At two they have a dinner break which lasts till four. After tea they resume their studies. Almost all students go in for some kind of sport. The life of the students at Oxford is interesting.