best-known universities are located in Oxford, Cambridge, London, Leeds,

Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol,

Birmingham.

Good А-level results in at least two subjects are necessary to get а

place at а university. However, good exam passes alone are not enough.

Universities choose their students after interviews. For all British

citizens а place at а university brings with it а grant from their local

education authority.

English universities greatly differ from each other. They differ in

date of foundation, size, history, tradition, general organization, methods

of instruction, way of student life.

After three years of study а university graduate will leave with the

Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc. Later he

may continue to take а Master’s Degree and then а Doctor’s Degree. Research

is an important feature of university work.

The two intellectual eyes of Britain — Oxford and Cam- bridge

Universities — date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

The Scottish universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow, Аberdeen and

Edinburgh date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

In the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries the

so-called Redbrick universities were founded. These include London,

Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Birmingham. During the late

sixties and early seventies some 20 'new' universities were set up.

Sometimes they are called 'concrete and glass' universities. Among them are

the universities of Sussex, York, East Anglia and some others.

During these years the Government set up thirty Polytechnics. The

Polytechnics, like the universities, offer first and higher degrees. Some

of them offer full-time and sandwich courses. Colleges of Education provide

two-year courses in teacher education or sometimes three years if the

graduate specializes in some particular subject.

Some of those who decide to leave school at the age of 16 may go tо а

further education college where they can follow а course in typing,

engineering, town planning, cooking, or hairdressing, full-time or part-

time. Further education colleges have strong ties with commerce and

industry.

There is an interesting form of studies which is called the Open

University. It is intended for people who study in their own free time and

who attend" lectures by watching television and listening to the radio.

They keep in touch by phone and letter with their tutors and attend summer

schools. The Open University students have nо formal qualifications and

would be unable to enter ordinary universities.

Some 80,000 overseas students study at British universities or further

education colleges or train in nursing, law, banking or in industry.

10.Higher education.

As has been mentioned above, there is a considerable enthusiasm for

post-school education in Britain. The aim of the government is to increase

the number of students who enter into higher education. The driving force

for this has been mainly economic. It is assumed that the more people who

study at degree level, the more likely the country is to succeed

economically. A large proportion of young people – about a third in England

and Wales and almost half in Scotland – continue in education at a more A-

level beyond the age of 18. The higher education sector provides a variety

of courses up to degree and postgraduate degree level, and careers out

research. It increasingly caters for older students; over 50% of students

in 1999 were aged 25 and over and many studied part-time. Nearly every

university offers access and foundation courses before enrolment on a

course of higher education of prospective students who do not have the

standard entry qualifications.

Higher education in Britain is traditionally associated with

universities, though education of University standard is also given in

other institutions such as colleges and institutes of higher education,

which have the power to award their own degrees.

The only exception to state universities is the small University of

Buckingham which concentrates on law, and which draws most of its students

of overseas.

All universities in England and Wales are state universities (this

includes Oxford and Cambridge).

English universities can be broadly classified into three types. First

come the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge that date from the

12th century and that until 1828 were virtually the only English

universities.

11.Oxbridge

Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest and most prestigious universities

in Great Britain. They are often called collectively Oxbridge. Both

universities are independent. Only the education elite go to Oxford or

Cambridge. Most of their students are former public schools leavers.

The normal length of the degree course is three years, after which the

students take the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (В.А.). Some courses, such as

languages or medicine, bay be one or two years longer. The students may

work for other degrees as well. The degrees are awarded at public degree

ceremonies'. Oxford and Cambridge cling to their traditions, such as the

use of Latin at degree ceremonies. Full academic dress is worn at

examinations.

Oxford and Cambridge universities consist of а number of colleges.

Each college is different, but in many ways they are alike. Each

college has its name, its coat of arms. Each college is governed by a

Master. The larger ones have more than 400 members, the smallest colleges

have less than 30. Each college offers teaching in а wide range of

subjects. Within, the college one will normally find а chapel, а dining

hall, а library, rooms for undergraduates, fellows and the Master, and also

rooms for teaching purposes.

Oxford is one of the oldest universities in Europe. It is the second

largest in Britain, after I.ondon. The town of Oxford is first mentioned in

the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 911 А.D. and it was popular with the early

English kings (Richard Coeur de Lion' was probably here). The university's

earliest charter" is dated tо 1213.

There are now twenty-four colleges for men, five for women and another

five which have both men and women members, many from overseas studying for

higher degrees. Among the oldest colleges are University College, All Souls

and Christ Church.

The local car industry in East Oxford gives an important addition to

the city' s outlook. There а great deal of bi- cycle traffic both in Oxford

and Cambridge.

12.Oxford.

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 12th century and by 1300 there were

already 1,500 students. At that time Oxford was a wealthy town, but by the

middle of the 14th century it was poorer, because of a decline in trade and

because of the terrible plague, which killed many people in England. The

relations between the students and the townspeople were very unfriendly and

there was often fighting in the streets.

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 and

music, 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.

Cambridge University started during the 13th century and grew until

today. Now there are more than thirty colleges.

On the banks of the Cam'4 willow trees drown their branches into the water.

The colleges line the right bank. There are beautiful college gardens with

green lawns and lines of tall trees. 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, the largest and the most beautiful building in

Cambridge and the most perfect example left of English fifteenth-century

architecture. Its choir of boys and undergraduates is also very well known.

The University was only for men until 1871, when the first women' s college

was opened. In the 1970s, most col- leges opened their doors to both men

and women. Almost all colleges are now mixed.

Мапу great men studied at Cambridge, among them Desiderius Erasmus", the

great Dutch scholar, Roger Bacon", the philosopher, Milton, the poet,

Oliver Cromwell", the soldier, Newton, the scientist, and Kapitza, the

famous Russian physicist.

The universities have over а hundred societies and clubs, enough for every

interest one could imagine. Sport is part of students' life at Oxbridge.

The most popular sports are rowing and punting.

13.Cambridge.

The Cambridge Folk Festival. Every year, in summer, one of the biggest

festivals of folk music in arrive in Cambridge for the Festival. Many of

the fans put up their tents to stay overnight. The Cambridge Folk Festival

is always very well organized and there is always good order. However, some

people who live nearby do not like Festival. They say that there is too

much noise, that too much rubbish is left on the ground, and that many of

the fans take drugs. On the other hand, local shopkeepers are glad, because

for them the Festival means a big increase in the number of customers.

The second group of universities comprises various institutions of

higher education, usually with technical study, that by 1900 had sprang up

in new industrial towns and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester,

Sheffield and Leeds. They got to be know as civic or ‘redbrick’

universities. Their buildings were made of local material, often brick, in

contrast to the stone of older universities, hence the name, ‘redbrick’.

These universities catered mostly for local people. At first they prepared

students for London University degree, but later they were given the right

to award their own degrees, and so became universities themselves. In the

mid-20th century they started to accept students from all over the country.

The third group consists of new universities founded after the Second

World War and later in the 1960s, which saw considerable expansion in new

universities. These are purpose-built institutions located in the

countryside but close to towns. Examples are East Anglia, Sussex and

Warwick. From their beginning they attracted students from all over the

country, and provided accommodation for most of their students in site

(hence their name, ‘campus’ universities). They tend to emphasise

relatively ‘new’ academic disciplines such as social science and make

greater use than other universities of teaching in small groups, often

known as ‘seminars’.

Among this group there are also universities often called ‘never

civic’ universities. These were originally technical colleges set up by

local authorities in the first half of this century. Their upgrading to

university status took place in two waves. The first wave occurred in the

mid-1960s, when ten of them were promoted in this way.

Another thirty became ‘polytechnics’, in the early 1970s, which meant

that along with their former courses they were allowed to teach degree

courses (the degrees being awarded by a national body). Polytechnics were

originally expected to offer a broader-based, more practical and vocational

education than the universities. In the early 1990s most of the

polytechnics became universities. So there are now 80 universities and a

further 19 colleges and institutions of higher education in the UK. The

country has moved rapidly from a rather elitist system to one which is much

more open, if not yet a mass system of higher education.

Higher education in England and Wales is highly selective; i.e.

entrance to British universities is via a strict selection process is based

on an interview. Applications for first degree courses are usually made

through the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS), in

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. After the interview a potential student is

offered a place on the basis of GCE A-level exam results. If the student

does not get the grades specified in the offer, a place can not be taken

up. Some universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, have an entrance exam

before the interview stage.

This kind of selection procedure means that not everyone in Britain

with A-level qualifications will be offered the chance of a university

education. Critics argue that this creates an elitist system with the

academic minority in society whilst supporters of the system argue that

this enables Britain to get high-quality graduates who have specialized

skills. The current system will be modified by the late 90s and into the

21st century, since secondary system is moving towards a broader-based

education to replace the specialized ‘A’ level approach. The reasons for

this lie in Britain’s need to have a highly skilled and educated workforce,

not just an elite few, to meet the needs of the technological era.

The independence of Britain’s educational institutions is most

noticeable in universities. They make their own choices of who to accept on

their courses and normally do this on the basis of a student’s A-level

results and an interview. Those with better exam grades are more likely to

be accepted. Virtually all degree courses last three years, however there

are some four-year courses and medical and veterinary courses last five or

six years. The British University year is divided into three terms, roughly

eight to ten weeks each. The terms are 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.

The courses are also ‘full-time’ which really means full-time: the

students are not supposed to take a lob during term time. Unless their

parents are rich, they receive a state grant of money, which covers most of

their expenses including the cost of accommodation. Grants and loans are

intended to create opportunities for equality in education. A grants system

was set up to support students through university. Grants are paid by the

LEA on the basis of parental income. In the late 80s (the Conservative)

government decided to stop to increase these grants, which were previously

linked to inflation. Instead, students were able to borrow money in the

form of a low-interest loan, which then had to be paid back after their

course had finished. Critics argue that students from less affluent

families had to think twice before entering the course, and that this

worsened the trend which saw a 33% drop in working-class student numbers in

the 1980s.

Students studying for the first degree are called undergraduates. At the

end of the third year of study undergraduates sit for their examinations

and take the bachelor’s degree. Those engaged in the study of arts such

subjects as history, languages, economics or law take Bachelor of Arts

(BA). Students studying pure or applied sciences such as medicine,

dentistry, technology or agriculture get Bachelor of Science (BSc). When

they have been awarded the degree, they are known as graduates. Most people

get honours degrees, awarded in different classes. These are: Class I

(known as ‘a first’), Class II, I (or ‘an upper second’), Class II, II (or

‘a lower second’), Class III (‘a third’). A student who is below one of

these gets a pass degree (i.e. not an honours degree).

Students who obtain their Bachelor degree can apply to take a further

degree course, usually involving a mixture of exam courses and research.

There are two different types of post-graduate courses – the Master’s

Degree (MA or MSc), which takes one or two years, and the higher degree of

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), which takes two or three years. Funding for

post-graduate courses is very limited, and even students with first class

degrees may be unable to get a grant. Consequently many post-graduates have

heavy bank loans or are working to pay their way to a higher degree.

The university system also provides a national network of extra-mural or

‘Continuing Education’ Departments which offer academic courses for adults

who wish to study – often for the sheer pleasure of study – after they have

left schools of higher education.

One development in education in which Britain can claim to lead the

world is the Open University. It was founded in 1969 in Milton Keynes,

Buckinghamshire and is so called because it is open to all – this

university does not require any formal academic qualifications to study for

a degree, and many people who do not have an opportunity to be ‘ordinary’

students enroll. The university is non-residential and courses are mainly

taught by special written course books and by programmes on state radio and

television. There are, however, short summer courses of about a week that

the students have to attend and special part-time study centers where they

can meet their tutors when they have problems.

As mentioned above, the British higher education system was added to

in the 1970s, which saw the creation of colleges and institutions of higher

education, often by merging existing colleges or by establishing new

institutions. They now offer a wide range of degree, certificate and

diploma courses in both science and art, and in some cases have

specifically taken over the role of training teachers for the schools.

There are also a variety of other British higher institutions, which

offer higher education. Some, like the Royal College of Arts, the Cornfield

Institute of Technology and various Business Schools, have university

status, while others, such as agricultural, drama and arts colleges like

the Royal Academy of Dramatics Arts (RADA) and the Royal college of Music

provide comparable courses. All these institutions usually have a strong

vocational aspect in their programmes, which fills a specialized role in

higher education.

14.Science

The word “science” comes from the Latin word “scientia”, which means

“knowledge”. Scientists make observations and collect facts in field they

work in. Then they arrange facts orderly and try to express the connection

between the facts and try to work out theories. Then they have to prove the

facts or theory correct and make sufficient and sound evidence. So

scientific knowledge is always growing and improving.

Science has great influence on our life. It provides with base of

modern technology, materials, sources of power and so on. Modern science

and technology have changed our life in many different ways. During the

present century our life changed greatly. Thanks to radio and television we

can do a great number of jobs; it was radio and TV that made it possible to

photograph the dark side of the moon and to talk with the first cosmonaut

while he was orbiting the Earth. On of the wonders of our age is the

“electronic brain”, or giant calculating machine, which can to some extent

duplicate human senses. The desk computer is expected to function as your

personal librarian, to carry out simple optimization computations, to

control your budget or diet, play several hundred games, etc. further

development of the computer is believed to lead to a situation in which

most of the knowledge accepted by mankind will be stored in the computers

and made accessible to anyone with the home computers. It is natural that

the advent of minicomputers with extensive memories and possibilities will

lead to a new higher level in information culture. Among other things, we

shall be able to organize educational process in the country’s colleges and

universities and also in the system of school education on a new basic.

Knowledge is the most valuable wealth, and minicomputers will help us to

make it accessible for everyone. Agricultural scientists develop better

varieties of plants. The development of antibiotics and other drugs has

helped to control many diseases. Studies in anatomy and physiology have let

to amazing surgical operations and the inventions of lifesaving machines,

that can do the work of such organs as heart, lungs and so on. Nuclear

fission when a tremendous amount if energy is setting free is very

important discovery.

Science improved the living standards, communications, promoted

contact between people and government, knowledge and culture, made it

possible to discover and develop new sources of energy, made it possible to

prolong man’s life.

But science also has some disadvantages. It produces mass culture:

painting, music, literature. Some scientific inventions increase the

ecological problems, provide with new diseases like AIDS, increased the

danger of violent death.

The greatest scientists were very persistent and were sure in their

success. Even without any serious education they made great inventions.

Even during times of disappointing experiments and unacknowledgement by

other scientists, they didn’t give up and went on working out theories.

Also they were always ready to begin everything from the very beginning.

They worked a lot, and this work wasn’t for money.

The aim, the main object of the greatest scientists of all times was

always to find out the troth and no personal prejudices can be allowed. So

the science grows and prospers and is the engine of progress.

The problem of learning languages very important today. Foreign

languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the

progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and

has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of

mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed

as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange of the

people of our planet.

Today English is the language of the world. Over 300 million people

speak it as mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great

Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English

is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, the South

African Republic. As the second language it is used in the former British

and US colonies.

It is not only the national or the official language of some thirty

states which represents different cultures, but it is also the major

international language for communication in such areas as science,

technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official

languages of the United Nations Organization and other political

organizations. It is the language of literature, education, modern music,

international tourism.

Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of

learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent

today.

So far there is no universal or ideal method of learning languages.

Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it is boring to study grammar or to

learn new words. But it is well known that reading books in the original,

listening to BBC news and English speaking singers, visiting an English

speaking country, communicating with the English speaking people will help

a lot.

When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history

of the native speakers.

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