britishpublicschool-英國公學(xué).doc

1、British Public School| 英國公學(xué)The private secondary schools, or public schools, are generally controlled by governing bodies2, who are appointed3 as trustees4 to keep alive foundations originally5 begun by charitable institutions6 or by rich people. They do not make any financial profits, but only to b

2、alance theirIt is difficult to make a precise7 definition of the term“ public school ” . But it is safe to sathere are altogether about a hundred schools which would universally8 be regarded as “ publci schools ” W.ithin the group there are about thirty which can be regarded as “ leading public scho

3、ols ” . Most public schools, particularly the most eminent9 ones, are called by the name of the town or village in which they are situated. The four most famous of all are Eton10 College, Harrow11 School, Winchester12 College and Rugby13 School.To send a boy to public school costs about £ 900 t

4、o £ 4,000 a term, though some of the less famous schools may cost as little as £ 600. When a boy has been provisionally14 accepted, he must, when the time comes, present himself as candidate15 for the Common Examination for Entrance to Public Schools. Some public schools accept only boys w

5、ho have done very well in this examination, but some others deliberately16 prefer to have a mixture of clever and not-so-clever boys.Every public school has many rules and customs peculiar17 to itself uniform, special clothes, ties, hats, rituals18 and traditions. But the essential characteristics a

6、re more or less the same in them. A typical public school has about 500 boys. There may be some buildings which are three or four hundred years old. There are probably modern and well-equipped scientific laboratories.Though teaching is arranged centrally for the school as a whole, the boys live in s

7、eparate “ houses ” . Usually a boy enters a house, and remains in the same house for the whole of his time as a pupil. A typical house has about fifty boys, and they are all under the special care of the housemaster and his wife. The house itself is a world in miniature19. “ Fagging20 i”s a well-kno

8、wn public school institution. Not long ago the youngest boy had to perform personal services for the oldest ones, doing such jobs as cleaning their shoes and running errands21 for them. Now it is much diminished22.Much attention is paid to sport. And boys are often obliged to play football or cricke

9、t23, or to row on a nearby river or to go out running or to play some other games, on most days of every week. But now there is also much encouragement for other forms of non-academic activity. Boys form their own societies for the pursuit of many and varied interests, and they learn a great deal fr

10、om each other.Religion plays an important part in the life of most public schools. In nearly every one there is a chapel24 which dominates25 the school buildings and is big enough to hold all the boys and masters. Until fifty years ago most headmasters were clergymen26; this is now no longer so. But

11、 headmasters are still generally expected to be especially interested in religion in the school, and occasionally to preach sermons in the chapel on Sundays.There may be one master for every ten boys, and the classes are small and flexible27. As the boy grows older and reaches the Sixth Form28 he wi

12、ll be given great scope and encouragement to develop intellectually in his own way. Public schools do not claim to be more efficient at giving instruction than the grammar schools but they do say that they try to create conditions in which themind can develop in breadth as well as depth, and not onl

13、y the mind but the whole personality as well.Lessons can be planned so as to leave much time for sport and other outside activities. More important, the atmosphere29 of the house and school breeds a combination30 of loyalty and competitiveness. To the individual boy his progress through his house is

14、 like his future progress through life in the world outside. First he learns to take a humble31 part, respectful towards his superiors32; and at the end, as a prefect33, he learns responsibility and the art of leadership.Through leaving home at an early age, boys learn to suppress their emotions and

15、 sometimes may seem that they learn to have no emotions at all. Certainly one quality they learn is an ability not to take themselves too seriously. Boys from public schools seem on the whole more sophisticated34, mature and self-assured35 than others.Why are the public school so successful, both in

16、 having so many applicants for their limited places, and in seeing so many of their former pupils becoming leading figures in the nation The answer is: to be successful in life, you must fit readily with those who are already at the top. Public 提起英國的教育，世人就會想到它的公學(xué)，尤其像伊頓這樣的公學(xué)。最負盛名的公學(xué) 并非公立學(xué)校，而是接收13 至 1

17、8 周歲男孩的私立中學(xué)（也稱獨立中學(xué)） 。在中學(xué)教育體系中， 公學(xué)其實只占很小一部分比例， 每 40 個英國男孩之中只有一個上公學(xué)， 1,500 人中只有 一個上伊頓。 然而事實是如果家長經(jīng)濟實力雄厚， 足以支付私立學(xué)校費用的話， 他們很可能 會將自己的子女送到那里就讀。這些私立中學(xué)（或曰公學(xué)） 通常由執(zhí)行機構(gòu)管理，作為托管人，管理最初由慈善機構(gòu)或 富賈籌建的基金會。他們不求利潤，只求平衡預(yù)算。 要對 “公學(xué) ”這個術(shù)語下準確的定義可太難了。 但可以肯定地說， 英國約有 100 家公認的 “公學(xué) ” ，其中將近30 所屬于 “重點公學(xué) ”。 大多數(shù)公學(xué)，尤其是那些赫赫有名的公學(xué)以其坐落的小鎮(zhèn)或

18、村莊命名。其中最有名的四所為： 伊頓公學(xué)、 哈羅公學(xué)、溫徹斯特公學(xué)和拉格比 公學(xué)。公學(xué)的費用每學(xué)期 900 至 4,000 英鎊左右，名氣稍小的學(xué)校600 英鎊就可搞定。臨時錄取后， 男生作為候選人必須準時參加公學(xué)公共入學(xué)考試。 有些學(xué)校只招收考試中成績超群的 學(xué)生；有些學(xué)校則有意優(yōu)劣兼收。每所公學(xué)都有其獨特的校規(guī)和校俗，如制服、別具一格的衣服、領(lǐng)帶、帽子、禮節(jié)和傳統(tǒng)， 可本質(zhì)上沒有太大的區(qū)別。 典型的公學(xué)有500 名男生， 校園有一些三四百年之久的建筑物，還有配置現(xiàn)代、設(shè)備精良的科學(xué)實驗室。 盡管教學(xué)由學(xué)校統(tǒng)一安排， 但男生們住在不同的 “房子 ”里。 通常一名男生住進一所房子 后，便會一直住在那里，直至畢業(yè)。一般一所房子約有50 個學(xué)生，由舍監(jiān)和他的太太悉心照顧。 這所房子本身就是英國社會的縮影。 低年級學(xué)生聽高年級學(xué)長的使喚是一項人盡皆知 的公學(xué)傳統(tǒng)。不久前，最小的學(xué)生還得給學(xué)長提供私人服務(wù)，如擦皮鞋、跑腿什么的，不過 現(xiàn)在這種現(xiàn)象少多了。英國公學(xué)非常注重體育活動。男生們幾乎每天都要參加某項運動，如踢足球、打板球、在附近的湖上劃劃船、 外出跑跑步， 或參與其他活動。 現(xiàn)在公學(xué)還鼓勵學(xué)生從事其他一些非 學(xué)業(yè)活動。男孩們根據(jù)各自的興趣愛好，組建五花八門的興趣小組，互相切磋，