Cambridge is the second oldest university city in Britain. (Oxford is the first.) It is on the river Cam and takes its name from the river. Cambridge was founded in 1284 when the first college, Peterhouse, was built. Now there are twenty-two colleges in Cambridge, but only three are women’s colleges. The first women’s college opened in 1869.
The old buildings, chapels, libraries, and colleges are in the city center. There are many museums in Cambridge. Most people in the city are teachers or students. All students have to live in the college during their course.
In the past, students’ life was very strict. They were not allowed to play games, sing, hunt, fish, or dance. They wore special dark clothes, which they still wear today. In the streets of Cambridge, you can see young men wearing dark blue or black clothes and the “squares” — the academic caps.
Many great people studied at Cambridge, including Cromwell, Newton, Byron, Tennyson, and Darwin. The Russian scientist I. P. Pavlov came to Cambridge to receive an honorary degree. The students gave him a toy dog at that time. Today Cambridge is known all over the world as a great center of science, where many famous scientists, such as Rutherford and Kapitza, have worked.
