III. Read, translate and reproduce the dialogues:

Dialogue 1.

OLAF: I say, John. What is a tutor?

JOHN: The Tutorial System is one of the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ from all the other English universities. Every student has a tutor and as soon as you come to Oxford one of the first things you do is to go and see your tutor. He, more or less, plans your work, suggests the books you should read and sets work for you to do, for example an essay to write. Each week you go to him in his rooms, perhaps with two or three other students, and he discusses with you the work that you have done, criticizes in detail your essay and sets you the next week’s work.

OLAF: Does the tutor also give lectures?

JOHN: Yes, he does.

OLAF: But aren’t lectures given by professors?

JOHN: Yes, they are, though professors don’t give many lectures. They are often appointed not so much to do teaching work as to carry on research in their particular subjects.

OLAF: Can you go to any lecture you like, no matter whether it is by a tutor or a professor of your college or not?

JOHN: Of course, you can. Lectures are organized not by colleges but by the university too, and so any member of the university may attend them, and all students are members of a college and of the university.

OLAF: You said that lectures were «organized by the university». Where is the university?

JOHN: It must seem rather strange to you but there isn’t really any university at Oxford as there is, for example, at Manchester or Bristol or Edinburgh. Oxford (like Cambridge) is a collection of colleges, each self-governing and independent. «The University» is merely an administrative body that organizes lectures, arranges examinations, gives degrees, etc. The colleges are the real living Oxford and each has its own character and individuality.

Dialogue 2.

Masha: I’d like to clear up some things about higher education in England.

Alice: I’ll do my best to help you.

Masha: What kind of institutes have you got in England?

Alice: I suppose, by «institutes» you mean educational institutions? We don’t usually call them like that. In Great Britain we have universities and colleges.

Masha: By the way, what is meant by a «residential» college?

Alice: It’s a college with a hostel, which is usually situated on the same grounds as the principal building. All the students live in the hostel and so does the majority of the teaching staff. There are also many non-residential colleges, which haven’t got any hostels.

Masha: I see. Now, what is the difference between a university and a college?

Alice: Well, first of all, the curriculum is different: colleges give a specialized training, and at a university the curriculum is wider. University teaching combines lectures, practical classes in scientific subjects and small group teaching in either seminars or tutorials. The last is a traditional feature of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The course of studies is longer – three or four years.

Masha: And at a college ?

Alice: It depends on the type of the college. Colleges of education, for example, have a two-year course, sometimes three, if the student is specializing in some particular subject.

Masha: Two years only – and you get your diploma! It’s quick, isn’t it?

Alice: Colleges of education, by the way, don’t confer diplomas on their graduates. They award certificates to them. Diplomas are conferred on graduates of technical colleges.

Masha: What about universities?

Alice: A university graduate will leave with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc.

Masha: Oh, I see. Thank you for the information.