Harvard University1

 

Broadcast: Feb 13, 2003
By Nancy Steinbach

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

We continue our series of reports about how foreign students can study at an American college or university. Today, we tell about the oldest institution of higher learning¹ in the United States, Harvard University.

Harvard University began in sixteen-thirty-six in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston. The area was an English colony² settled mainly by Puritans who did not agree with the Anglican Church in England. The university was named after a Puritan religious leader, John Harvard. He gave the college four-hundred books when he died.

Today, Harvard has more than ninety libraries containing more than twelve-million books. The university includes Harvard College, Radcliffe College, and ten graduate schools. Its medical college, law school and business school are among the best in the country. It also offers graduate programs in government, education, religion and science.

Many years ago, Harvard students were all white men. Most of them were from rich families from northeastern states. That has changed. This year, about thirty-three percent of the first-year students at Harvard are from minority groups. These include African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans. Almost fifty percent of first-year students are women.

Today, most Harvard students are not rich, although it is very costly³ to study there. It costs more than thirty-five-thousand dollars for one year for tuition⁴, room, food and personal expenses. Most of the students at Harvard have loans⁵, financial aid or jobs that help pay for their education.

Many experts consider Harvard to be the best university in the United States. It is very difficult to be accepted to study there. More than nineteen-thousand high school students applied⁶ to attend Harvard as undergraduates⁸ last year. About one-thousand-six-hundred of them began studying there in September.

More than nineteen-thousand undergraduate⁷ and graduate students are studying at Harvard this year. More than three-thousand are from outside the United States. Most of the foreign students are from Asia or Europe. Most are studying for graduate degrees. The Harvard International Office helps meet the needs of foreign students.

To find out more about Harvard, you can go to the university's Internet Web site. The address is w-w-w dot h-a-r-v-a-r-d dot e-d-u. (www.harvard.edu)

This V-O-A Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.
1. Harvard University [5hB:v[d] n. 美国哈佛大学
2. financial aid 财政援助

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 colony   

n.殖民地；(同类人的)聚居地

参考例句：

• There lived a colony of bees on the tree.树上生活着一群蜜蜂。
• They live in an artists'colony.他们住在艺术家聚居区。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 tuition   

n.（某一学科的）教学，讲授，指导，学费

参考例句：

• Students can apply for individual tuition.学生可以申请个别指导。
• Is this money enough for the tuition fee?这些钱交学费够吗？

5 loans   

n.借出物，借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的第三人称单数 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
• Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 undergraduate   

n.大学生，大学肆业生

参考例句：

• Mr. Stone spent his undergraduate days in Columbia University,majoring in economics.斯通先生在哥伦比亚大学度过了他四年的大学生活，主修经济学。
• During this time,they are called undergraduate students.在此期间，他们被称为大学本科生。

8 undergraduates   

（未获学士学位的）大学生，大学肄业生( undergraduate的名词复数 )； 本科生

参考例句：

• All undergraduates reading English attend a turtorial group each week. 所有攻读英语的本科生每周上一次导师辅导课。
• This is a course for undergraduates. 这是为本科生开的一门课。