8 REASONS TO STUDY IN THE UK’S COUNTRYSIDE

⊙ By Ziyi Zhou

翻譯：Wendy

8 REASONS TO STUDY IN THE UK’S COUNTRYSIDE

到英國鄉下上學去

⊙ By Ziyi Zhou

翻譯：Wendy

如果有機會到英國留學，你會選倫敦，還是利物浦，或者是愛丁堡呢？有想過到英國鄉村去深造嗎？這可不是開玩笑，位于英國鄉村的大學并不比在大城市的大學遜色，而且還有著其他你意想不到的好處。看看過來人是怎么說的吧。

Choosing a university is never an easy thing to do. Many international students regard large cities like London or Edinburgh as their dream places to go. And they are great—the diverse culture, smart transport systems, and reputations of exciting nightlife. But from what I’ve experienced over the past two years at Lancaster University (on acampus[校園]in the countryside of Lancashire, north England), studying in the countryside has its own uniquewonders[奇妙]that large cities cannotmatch[比得上].

Here are eight reasons why I love living and studying in the UK’s countryside…

1. Low Cost of Living

Living in the countryside will save you a lot of money, especially on the cost of accommodation. For example, some of my friends in London pay ￡150 per week foren suite[套間]student accommodation, but in Lancaster it’s only ￡90. And you will save the money on transport as well. If you live on campus, transport will be free—it’s only a 10-minute walk from your room to your classes!

2. Safety

The UK has a relatively high safetyindex[指數]anyway, but the countryside is particularly safe. My personal experiences can prove this perfectly—once, I forgot my phone in a public ladies’ room for a whole Saturday afternoon. All my friends and I thought it must have been stolen. But when I went back to look for it, without hope, it was lying right there on the sink where I left it. It hadn’t moved at all!

3. Peace and Quiet

The UK’s countryside is not only safe,but also quiet. Here you will be away from traffic noise and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep every night. And I should warn you, this silence will be extremely helpful when there are deadlines approaching.

4. Friendly Atmosphere

Local people here are also friendly and helpful. They will smile at you, talk to you, and make you feel welcome. Last year, I joined the annual town festival named Light Up Lancaster. In the festival, the whole town made me feel like I was part of a huge family! Because I went there on my own, many local people came to talk to me and asked me to join them.

5. Large-Scale Facilities

Unlike some universities that arelocated[位于]in city centres, most universities in the countryside have a lot of land, which provides the space for a variety of sports grounds and function rooms. My university is an example—it has 360 acres ofparkland[公用場地], with not just an indoor gym but also outdoor sports grounds for basketball, football, tennis andcricket[板球].

6. A Lot of Festivals

With all this land, many universities in the countryside take the opportunity to hold frequent school festivals. We have two large festivals andnumerous[多個的]smaller activities each year, including the annual Lancaster Carnival and an annual sports competition called The Roses. Activities like these give you a more energetic, more colourful student life, as well as a strong sense ofbelonging[歸屬].

7. Relaxing in the Countryside

Nothing could be better to calm your nerves than walking in the countryside. Living on campus means you can take a long walk every day—you can breathe fresh air andgaze[盯]at the incredible view of endless greenmeadows[草地]. There is no point being stressed here, because every second feels like a fresh new start.

8. Fun, Convenient and Affordable Nightlife

Countryside nightlife might not be as exciting as in cities, but I think it’sdefinitely[明確地]more student-friendly. In Lancaster, bars in town usuallycooperate[合作]with student unions or societies, so students can enter for free. Best of all, in order to attract students, some bars hold different themes each day. So be prepared to have fun in the same bar two nightsin a row[連續]!

選擇就讀哪一所大學從來都不是一件容易的事情。很多到英國來的留學生視大城市為理想之地，比如倫敦或愛丁堡等。大城市確實很棒——那里有多元的文化、完善的交通系統，還以精彩的夜生活著稱。但據我過去兩年在蘭卡斯特大學（校區位于英格蘭北部蘭開夏郡鄉間）就讀的經歷，在鄉村地區上學有著大城市無法比擬的獨特優勢。

以下是我喜歡在英國鄉村地區生活及學習的八點理由：

1.生活成本低

在鄉村生活可以讓你省下很多錢，尤其是住宿費用。例如，我在倫敦的一些朋友住的是帶獨立衛浴的學生宿舍，每周的房租是150英鎊（約合人民幣1282元），而在蘭卡斯特僅需90英鎊（約合人民幣770元）。同時，你還可以省下一筆交通費。因為如果你住在校園內，交通是免費的——從宿舍到教室只需步行10分鐘！

2.安全

英國的安全系數本來就相對較高，在鄉村地區尤為安全。我的個人經歷可以充分證明這一點。有一次，我把手機遺落在一間公共女廁里，整整過了一個周六下午，我及所有朋友都認為它肯定被偷走了。但當我不抱任何希望回去尋找時，它還躺在洗滌槽上——我就是把它忘在那兒的，連位置都沒挪過！

3.安寧與平靜

英國的鄉村不僅安全，還很平靜。這里遠離交通的喧鬧，每晚都可以睡個安穩覺。我還要提醒你，當交作業的限期快到時，這種寂靜特別有用。

4.友好的氣氛

這里的居民也很友好，而且樂于助人。他們會對你微笑，與你交談，讓你感覺賓至如歸。去年，我參加了一年一度城鎮慶祝活動——“點亮蘭卡斯特”。在活動中，整個城鎮讓我覺得自己就是這個大家庭中的一員！因為我是一個人去的，很多當地人都會過來與我交談，邀請我參加他們的活動。

5.大型設施

與位于城市中心的大學不同，大多數在鄉村地區的大學占地面積很大，為各種體育場所及功能活動室提供了空間。我就讀的大學就是一個例子——學校的公共用地有360英畝（約1.46平方公里），不僅建有室內體育館，還有籃球場、足球場、網球場，以及板球場等戶外運動場所。

6.眾多的節慶活動

擁有如此開闊的空間，很多鄉村地區的大學借此優勢經常舉辦各種校園活動。每年我們有兩個大型節慶活動及許多小型活動，包括一年一度的“蘭卡斯特嘉年華”及名為“玫瑰”的年度體育競賽。這些活動讓你精力更加充沛，學生生活更加豐富多彩，還會產生強烈的歸屬感。

7.在鄉間放松身心

沒有什么比在鄉間散步更能緩解你的緊張情緒。住在校園里就意味著你每天都可以長時間散步——你能呼吸到新鮮的空氣，看到一望無際的綠色草坪美景。人在這里不會感到有壓力，因為每秒鐘都像是一個全新的開始。

8.有趣、方便并且價格實惠的夜生活

鄉村的夜生活或許不像城市的那么令人興奮，但我認為這里肯定更加適合學生。在蘭卡斯特，鎮上的酒吧通常與學生會或社團進行合作，因此學生可以免費入場。最好的一點是：為了吸引學生，一些酒吧每天都會推出不同的主題活動。因此準備好了，你可以連續兩晚在同一家酒吧玩個盡興！