哈佛大學（Harvard University）是歷史悠久的頂尖私立大學，為常春藤盟校（Ivy League）之一，它在學術研究上享有權威（authority）。歷史長達將近四百年的哈佛大學，於二〇〇七年出現第一任女性校長，也就是現任的第二十八任校長德露．吉爾平．福斯特（Drew Gilpin Faust）。以下為哈佛大學的校史介紹和實用小會話，帶讀者認識哈佛大學。
Harvard University, which was founded by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and is consistently ranked as the top university in the world. Located across the Charles River from Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the school was originally called New College. But several years later, its name was changed to Harvard in honor of John Harvard, an English minister who left half of his fortune and his library of some 400 books to the school when he died.
在西元一六三六年由麻州海灣殖民地所創辦的哈佛大學，不但是美國最古老的高等教育機構，也一直名列為全球最頂尖的大學學府。哈佛大學座落於麻州的劍橋市，隔著查爾斯河與波士頓對望，最初名為新學院。不過，數年後，一位名叫約翰．哈佛的英國牧師身後將半數財產和四百多本藏書捐贈給該校，因此校名遂改為哈佛以茲紀念。
Although Harvard was originally established to train Puritan ministers, the curriculum gradually expanded in the 18th century, and Harvard College became Harvard University with the founding of the Medical School in 1780. Today, Harvard is one of the world’s most prestigious research universities, and while it’s most famous for its Law and Business programs, the university offers degrees in well over 100 fields of study. Given Harvard’s reputation, its list of famous alumni— including eight American presidents, prime ministers and princes, scientists and CEOs—is too long to include, and over 150 Nobel Prize winners have either attended or taught there.
雖然哈佛最早創辦的目的是要訓練清教徒牧師，不過其課程在十八世紀時逐漸擴展，哈佛學院也因在一七八〇年開設醫學院而改制為哈佛大學。如今，哈佛是全世界最具威望的研究型大學之一，雖然其法律和商業課程最為出名，不過，該校有一百多種學術領域的學位課程。哈佛的聲望非凡，因此著名的校友也不勝枚舉，其中包括了八位美國總統、多位首相和王子、各領域科學家及企業執行長等，此外，也有一百五十多位諾貝爾獎得主曾在該校就讀或任教過。
單字字彙
institution(n.) 機構
consistently (adv.) 依然，一貫地
minister (n.) 牧師，神職人員
establish (v.) 建立，創立
Puritan (n.) 清教徒
curriculum (n.) 學校全部的課程，（一門）課程
expand (v.) 擴大，擴展
prestigious (a.) 著名的，有名望的
research (n.) 研究，調查
reputation (n.) 名譽，聲譽
alumni (n.)（複數）校友，單數為alumnus
【Small Talk實用小會話】
Greg: Here we are —the famous John Harvard statue. It was cast in 1884.
Lucy : Who was the sculptor?
Greg: Daniel Chester French. His best known work is the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.
Lucy: That is famous! Say, why is his left toe so shiny?
Greg: Tourists rub his toe for good luck. It’s supposed to be a tradition among Harvard students, but it was actually just made up by tour guides.
桂葛：我們到了——著名的約翰．哈佛雕像，它是一八八四年鑄成的。
露西：雕刻的人是誰啊？
桂葛：丹尼爾．切斯特．法蘭西。他最有名的作品是林肯紀念館中的林肯像。
露西：那真的很有名！欸，為什麼它的左腳趾那麼亮啊？
桂葛：遊客會磨擦它的腳來沾好運。有人說這是哈佛學生的一項傳統，不過，其實是導遊編出來的。
單字字彙
cast (v.) 鑄造
sculptor (n.) 雕刻家
memorial (n.) 紀念碑，塔，館
make up (phr v) 編造，捏造
除了上面文章內容，你還可以參考下方更多相關英文教學。
更多英文字彙
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