大学二人英语对话3分钟关于城市生活
Z：What are you reading?
A:Oh,a book about the history of Cambridge.I'm reading the part named“Town and Gown”.
Z：What does this phrase mean?
A:“Town”and“gown”are referring to the two distinct communities of a university town:“town”being the non-academic population and“gown“metonymlcally being the university community.
Z:I see.Just like some ancient seats of learning such as Oxford,Cambridge and St.Andrews.
A:You’re right.Sometimes,the term is also used to describe modem university towns.
Z:Perhaps this term came into being when the oldest universities in the world began to form.I guess it was in the Middle Ages?
A：Yes.During that time,students admitted to the European universities often held minor clerical status and donned garb similar to that worn by the clergy.These vestments evolved into the academic long black gown,worn along with hood and cap.
Z:We can see that the hood nowadays is often adorned with different colors;maybe that is the way to designate from which college the young scholars come from.
A：Besides,by their distinctive clothing,the students were set apart and distinguished from the citizens of the town;hence the phrase“town and gown”.
Z:Now that kind of gown has become a tradition in the universities.University students all over the world wear gowns like that at special occasions,for example,the degree ceremony and so on.
A：That’s true.Now you understand this phrase,and do you want to know more about it?
Z:I’d like to.Tell me more about it!
scholarsA:OK.The town and gown rivalry is mentioned in the book,too.
Z：Rivalry?You mean they do not get along well with each other?
A：Yes.Conflict was inevitable in the medieval university towns where two separately governed bodies with different priorities and loyalties shared the same restricted space.
Z：Sounds reasonable.Moreover,violence was commonplace in medieval life,not only between scholars and townsmen but among ordinary citizens.
A：It also happened between scholars from different regions of Europe who attended the universities.Violent confrontations between town and gown erupted on a recurring basis.
Z:I heard that The University of Cambridge was originally set-up after a fight between the townspeople of Oxford and scholars from the University of Oxford forced many scholars to flee to a new location.
A:That is mentioned in the book.That was in 1209，and several decades later,the tension between the scholars at Cambridge and the towns people forced the King to grant special privileges and protection to Cambridge University.
Z:As urban universities increase in size and complexity,the conflict between them may become more and more severe.
A:That's for sure.To a large extent,“town versus gown”disputes have moved from the streets into the courts and city hall.
Z:Did they ever pay regard to the town-gown connection?
A:No idea.Universities boast that their existence is the backbone of the town economy,while the towns counter with claims that the institution is“robbing”them of tax revenue.
Z：The same thing may happen today,however the situation is much better than before since violence seldom happened.

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