新标准大学英语视听说2听力材料文本及答案(4)

isn’t – it’s just not enough for me to live on, so I’ve taken a part-time job as a waitress – a lot of people I know, like a lot, have had to do the same. I don’t want to have huge debts at the end. Speaker 6

I love my subject, History, and I’m, I’m getting fantastic teaching here. I want to be a university lecturer and that means I have to get a first. I have a good social life but work definitely comes first for me.

Passage2

Oxford and Cambridge – two universities so similar that they are often spoken of together as “Oxbridge”. They’re both in the UK, fairly near London, and both regularly come top in any ranking of the world’s best universities. The two universities began within a century of each other. Oxford University, now 900 years old, was founded towards the end of the 11th century. In 1209 there was a dispute between the university and the townspeople of Oxford. As a result, some of the Oxford teachers left and founded a university in the town of Cambridge, some 84 miles away. Ever since then, the two institutions have been very competitive. Unlike most modern universities, both Oxford and Cambridge consist of a large number of colleges. Oxford has 39 and Cambridge 31. Many of these colleges have old and very beautiful architecture, and large numbers of tourists visit them. In all UK universities, you need good grades in the national exams taken at 18. But to get into Oxford and Cambridge, it’s not enough to get A grades in your exams. You also have to go for a long interview. In these interviews, students need to show that they are creative and capable of original thinking. Through the centuries, both universities have made huge contributions to British cultural life. They have produced great writers, world leaders and politicians. Cambridge, in particular, has

produced scientists whose discoveries and inventions have changed our lives. Among the great university institutions is the world’s most famous debating society, the Oxford Union, where undergraduates get a chance to practise speaking in public. Cambridge’s comedy club Footlights has produced many first-class comedians, while some of the UK’s most famous actors and actresses began their careers at The Oxford University Dramatic Society, known as OUDS. Then there’s the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, which takes place every year in March or April, and is watched on television all over the UK. So with all this excellence in so many fields, it’s not surprising that the ambition of clever students all over the world is to attend either one of these great universities.

Unit 2 Mixed feelings

Inside view

Conversation1 Kate

Come in. Hey, Janet. Janet

Hi Kate, are you busy?

Kate

Yes, I’m just doing an essay. But it’s great to see you. So what’s new? Janet

Well, nothing much. Kate

You look a bit fed up. What’s bugging you? Janet

Well, I had a phone call from my parents and

it made me feel homesick. It happens every