Like Tsinghua University and Beijing University are the ideals2 of the Chinese students, Cambridge and Oxford are the adorable3 universities of all the British youth. So during our short stay in Britain, we decided to spare4 one day to pay a visit to the town of Cambridge.
Cambridge lies north of London. It's a very quiet, natural and beautiful place. Cambridge differs from the rest of the universities in Britain in many important respects, but it resembles5 Oxford quite closely.
Cambridge was founded in the 13th century. It is not only one college but a group of colleges together. At present there are about thirty colleges, of which the best known are: King's College, founded in 1441,famous for its fine buildings in particular style; Trininty College, founded in 1546, with its large court and excellent library; and St John's College, founded in 1511, with its well-known Bridge of Sighs6. Every year, there are over 10,000 students from Britain and other parts of the world to study here, which makes Cambridge an internationally famous tourist center.
It was very windy and cold when we reached Cambridge. The temperature was about 10℃ or even lower. Imagine it was just in August!
While we were waiting for the tour bus, a middle-aged black man came towards us and kindly asked us to stand in the bus stop to keep ourselves warm. He told us that he was a Cambridge student twenty years ago. Now he was on a back visit to his dear St. John's College with his wife from Africa! He said, “Twenty years is a long time. It has changed many things. But it has never changed my hope to be back again someday. Now I'm here seeing my old friend!”
We all felt his sincere love and pride for Cambridge!
When Cambridge is being talked about, Oxford is often referred to7. It is very interesting that every British Prime Minister from 1945 to 1974 was an Oxford graduate except Winston Churchill. These Prime Ministers have made Oxford rather famous and outstanding8. However, Cambridge is more developed than Oxford in scientific studies. So in some sense, Oxford is much closer to China's Beijing University, while Cambridge resembles Tsinghua University quite a lot.
The competition9 between Cambridge and Oxford at sports is a part of the national life, particularly the Boat Race, which is held in the River Thames in London at the end of March each year, is one of the greatest British sporting events of the year.
It is August, not March. So we couldn't have the good luck to see one of the most exciting competitions in the world. However, when we walked to King's College, we saw several handsome strong young men in T-shirt rowing10 boats on the river. They smiled at us and invited us to the boat. Thinking that we could go boating on the River Cam with those Cambridge oarsmen11, we six boarded on it with joy.
Once on board, we paid six pounds each for about forty minutes rowing. The smart boys told us that they are the students of Cambridge making use of the summer holidays to earn their next term tuition fee12.
On the River Cam, we enjoyed the marvelous scenery13 along the river sides, then it reminded me of the greatest Chinese young gifted poet Xu Zhimo. More than seventy years ago, the enthusiastic poet came here twice for study. The River Cam and everything about it gave him so much impression that he wrote many poems to sing her beauty, among which is the extraordinary and unforgettable master-piece: Farewell Again , Cambridge.
We wondered if the Cambridge in our eyes is the same as that in his eyes?
The boat moved on, quietly and swiftly. Still we could see the float14 grass sway15 gently on the bottom of the river...
Farewell, Cambridge!
正如中国学生向往清华、北大一样，剑桥大学和牛津大学是所有英国年轻人追寻的梦。因此在英国短暂的逗留期间，我们还是决定抽出一天，去拜访闻名遐尔的剑桥城。
剑桥——一个风光旖旎的城市，自然、恬静地坐落在老城伦敦的北面。在很多重要的方面，剑桥都异于英国其它的大学，与牛津却极为相似。
剑桥大学始建于13世纪，它最初就不是一所孤零零的院校，而是由众多学院组成的庞大体系。今日之剑桥已有学院30余所。其中最著名的有以风格独特、美仑美奂的建筑群而著称的国王学院（建于1441）；有凭宽阔的庭院及一流的图书馆而闻名的三一学院（建于1546）；有因“叹息桥”而饮誉的圣约翰学院（建于1511）……每年都有逾万的英国本土学生和外国留学生来此求学，从而渐渐地使剑桥成为一个享誉世界的旅游圣地。
我们抵达剑桥的那天，天气很冷，温度在10℃左右徘徊——想想看，这可是夏季八月呀！
正当我们焦急地在路边等待观光巴士的时候，一位黑人中年男子朝我们走来并十分友善地告诉我们，在车站里等车会暖和些。他饶有兴趣地谈起了他的经历：二十年前他毕业于剑桥大学，此次是专门和妻子从非洲回来探望母校——圣约翰学院的。他满怀深情地说："二十年是一段漫长的时间，它改变了许多事情，但从不曾改变我故地重游的愿望。这不，我又看见了老朋友！”
听了他的话，谁都能感受到他对剑桥的那份挚爱和那份自豪。
每当人们谈起剑桥时，总会不自觉地提及牛津。有趣的是，自1945年到1974年上任的英首相，除邱吉尔之外，全都是牛津大学的毕业生。这些首相使牛津声名远播，出类拔萃。然而，剑桥的理工科却比牛津胜出许多。因此，从某种意义上说，牛津恰似中国的北大，而剑桥则像中国的清华。
剑桥大学和牛津大学之间的体育竞赛是英国国民生活的一部分，尤其是每年三月底在伦敦泰晤士河上举行的划船比赛，则是一年之中英国最盛大的体育赛事之一。 只可惜时值八月，机不逢时，我们没能赶上观看这个世界上最激动人心的竞赛。不过，在我们前往国王学院的路上，碰见了几个穿着T恤在河上泛舟的英俊小伙子，他们冲我们笑笑并邀我们共享泛舟之乐。想到能够在康河上同剑桥学子一同泛舟，我们一行六人高兴地坐了上去。
当然，上船后，我们每人为这四十分钟的泛舟各付了六英镑，折合人民币约八十多元。这些精明的小伙们告诉我们，他们是剑桥学生，正利用暑假赚取下学期的学费。
舟行河上，沉醉于
两岸的奇异美景，我想起了中国年轻的天才诗人徐志摩。七十多年前，这位热情的诗人曾两度在此学习。康河以及它的一切，给了诗人如此深刻的印象，以致他写出了大量诗歌赞颂它的美丽，其中最非凡、最令人难忘的杰作是《再别康桥》。
我们猜想着，自己眼中的剑桥是否和他眼中的一样呢？
船继续轻快地前行，我们仍然能看见水草在油油的河底软泥上轻轻荡漾……
别了，康桥！
1. glimpse n．一瞥
2． ideal n．理想
3． adorable adj．崇拜的
4． spare v．节约（时间等）
5． resembles v．像……，与……相似
6． sigh n．叹息
7． refer to:提到，谈到
8． outstanding adj．突出的
9． competition n．竞赛
10．row v．划（船）
11．oarsman n．划桨手
12．tuition fee 学费
13．marvelous adj．令人惊讶的scenery n．风景
14．float n．漂浮
15．sway v．摇摆