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LUCY CAVENDISH is different from other Cambridge colleges, both in its modest appearance and its character. “We’re not hierarchical, we’re very open and friendly, we’re not pretentious,” says Dame Madeleine Atkins, its president. Yet it is soon to become a bit less distinctive. On March 12th the college announced that from 2021 it will accept men. (It will also admit under-21s for the first time.) That will leave only two women-only colleges in Cambridge: Murray Edwards and Newnham. Oxford lost its last in 2008, when St Hilda’s opened its gates to men. 【pretentious: conceited snobbish]
The colleges were set up to end the male monopoly at the universities, with Girton College the first in 1869, some 79 years before women could officially be awarded Cambridge degrees. At Newnham and Lucy Cavendish all fellows are women, but male ones are allowed at Murray Edwards. None of the colleges has the sort of restrictions on male guests that once forced amorous visitors to vault college walls. Still, in an article inVarsity, a student newspaper, a columnist recalls telling teachers about her destination: “They thought I wanted to become a nun or was a ‘full-on feminist’.” [amorous:lovely romantic] [vault:jump over span]
The colleges have made much progress in their founding mission: 49.5% of the Cambridge undergraduate intake is female, and women are now more likely than men to attend university. It was this that prompted the change of policy, says Dame Madeleine. In addition, the number of mature students has recently plummeted, partly because of higher fees, making life tricky for a college dedicated to them.[plummet:decline collapse]
Few applicants are keen on women’s colleges, either. Two-thirds of the most recent undergraduate intake at Murray Edwards originally applied to a different college. “The biggest challenge is getting across the idea that students are not cut off from men,” says Dame Barbara Stocking, its president. She believes that the college’s job is to prepare young women for a working world dominated by men by encouraging them to take risks, and that it will only be finished when there is true gender equality.
To inspire students, Murray Edwards has a collection of more than 500 works by women artists, including Tracey Emin and Barbara Hepworth, as well as an “enrichment programme” that builds connections with alumnae. Students at Newnham are encouraged to take a similar approach. Visitors to the college’s website are greeted with a quote from a recent graduate: “I am now part of Newnham’s tradition of producing strong, witty and rebellious women.” It is, however, a tradition that is becoming increasingly unusual.
句
1 is different from other Cambridge colleges, both in its modest appearance and its character. 在哪些方面不同
2 opened its gates to men 打开了给某某的大门
3 set up to end the male monopoly 为某目的而设立
4 It was this that prompted the change of policy, 促进某事的改变
5 The biggest challenge is getting across the idea that students are not cut off from men 让某人理解接受某事
译
LUCY CAVENDISH与其他剑桥大学不同，无论是外表还是个性。 “我们不是等级制的，我们非常开放和友好，我们不是自命不凡，”其总裁Dame Madeleine Atkins说。然而，很快就会变得不那么与众不同了。 3月12日，学院宣布从2021年开始接受男性。 （它也将首次接收21岁以下的学生。）这将只留下剑桥的两所女子专用学院：默里爱德华兹和纽纳姆。牛津大学在2008年失去了它的最后一所女子学院，当圣希尔达打开了接收男人的大门。
这些学院的设立是为了结束大学的男性垄断，1868年，Girton学院成为第一所大学，距离女性正式获得剑桥学位约79年。在Newnham和Lucy Cavendish，所有教究员都是女性，但是Murray Edwards也接受男性教师。女子大学对男性访客并没设有限制。尽管如此，在学生报纸的一篇文章中，一位专栏作家回忆起向老师讲述她的目的地：“他们认为我想成为一名修女或者是一位'全面的女权主义者'。”
学院在完成使命方面取得了很大进展：49.5％的剑桥大学本科生入学时间是女性，女性现在比男性更有可能上大学。正是这一点促使政策发生变化，玛德琳女士说。此外，成熟学生的数量最近有所下降，部分原因是费用较高，使得致力于他们的大学生活变得棘手。
很少有申请人热衷于女子大学。 Murray Edwards最近一次大学生入学的三分之二最初适用于不同的大学。 “最大的挑战是克服学生这里是与男人隔绝的想法，”其总裁Dame Barbara Stocking说。她认为，学院的工作是让年轻女性为男性主导的工作世界做好准备，鼓励他们承担风险，并且只有在真正的性别平等时才能完成。
为了激发学生的灵感，默里爱德华兹收集了包括Tracey Emin和Barbara Hepworth在内的女性艺术家的500多件作品，以及与校友建立联系的支持计划。鼓励Newnham的学生采取类似的方法。来自该学院网站的访问者受到最近毕业生的一句话的欢迎：“我现在是Newnham培养强壮，诙谐和反叛女性的传统的一部分。”然而，这是一种越来越不寻常的传统。
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