莱顿大学：自由的堡垒
英文导读
Leiden University (Dutch： Universiteit Leiden)， located in the city of Leiden， is the oldest university in the Netherlands.The university was founded in 1575 as a gift from William of Orange(leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years" War)to the citizens of Leiden after they had withstood a long siege by the Spanish. The Dutch Royal Family and Leiden University still have a close relationship； Queens Wilhelmina andJuliana and King Willem-Alexander are all former students. It was the first university in the Netherlands to practise freedom of belief and religion， as reflected in the university"s motto： Bastion of Liberty. It was this atmosphere of freedom of speech that provided the right environment for philosophers such as Spinoza and Descartes to develop their ideas.The University of Leiden is famous for its many developments including Snells law (by Willebrord Snellius)， the famous Leyden jar， a capacitor made from a glass jar， invented in Leiden by Pieter van Musschenbroek in 1746. Another development was in cryogenics： Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1913 Nobel prize winner in physics) liquefied helium for the first time (1908) and later managed to reach a temperature of less than one degree above the absolute minimum. Albert Einstein also spent some time at Leiden University during his early to middle career.The university has no central campus； its buildings are spread over the city and the students who live and study in Leiden give the city its relaxed yet vibrant atmosphere.Some buildings， like the Gravensteen， are very old， while buildings like Lipsius and Gorlaeus are much more modern. In recent years the university has also expanded to The Hague which is home to Leiden University College . Hague is a liberal arts and sciences college and the departments of Public Administration， International Relations and Politics. Leiden has a firmly established international position among the top research institutes in many fields， including the natural sciences， medicine， social and behavioural sciences， law， arts and letters. Of the sixty-six Spinozapremie (the highest scientific award of The Netherlands)， sixteen were granted to professors of the Leiden University.
System： Leiden University has six faculties， which offer approximately 50 undergraduate degree programs and over 100 graduate programs leading to either M.A.， M.Sc.， M.Phil.， or LL.M. degrees. The M.Phil.， providing education and performing research in Archaeology（Undergraduate School in Dutch and Graduate School）， Humanities， Law， Science， Social and Behavioural Sciences. Leiden University is a special research degree and only awarded by selected departments of the university (mostly in the fields of Arts， Social Sciences， Archeology， Philosophy， and Theology).
City show： Leiden is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland. Hundred buildings in the centre are decorated with large murals of poetry. Because of the economic decline from the 17th to the early 20th century， much of the 16th- and 17th-century town centre is still intact.
生词助读
withstand [w.e.st.nd] vt. 抵挡；经得起
minimum [.m.n.m.m] n. 最小值；最低限度
mural [.mj..r.l] n. 壁画；（美）壁饰
intact [.n.t.kt] a. 完整的；未受损伤的；原封不动的
中文概述
莱顿大学坐落在荷兰历史名城莱顿市，始创于1575年，是荷兰最古老的名牌大学，学校在近四百年的辉煌历史中，赢得了国际上的卓越地位。诞生于战火中的它，是荷兰唯一设有中文专业的大学。
莱顿大学作为一所古老的贵族大学，自16世纪创立之初即跟荷兰王室保持着亲密的关系。前荷兰女王威廉明娜（Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Marie）、朱丽安娜（Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina）以及王储威廉·亚历山大（Willem-Alexander）都曾在莱顿大学学习。
莱顿大学下设7个学院，即考古学院，人文学院，法学院，莱顿大学医疗中心，科学学院及社会与行为科学学院。其自然科学、医学、社会与行为科学、法学、艺术及文学等学科都居世界前列。许多外国人慕名来到这里求学。学校统一使用拉丁文授课，所以来自德国、法国、苏格兰、奥地利等国大学生都可以毫无困难地在这里听课。
莱顿大学的科研在历史上取得了出色的成绩。莱顿大学是荷兰天文学和考古学研究的发源地。1927年，沃尔特教授提供了充分的证据，表明太阳系的所有星球都围绕银河系的中心旋转。莱顿大学的低温实验室创造了只比绝对零度高千分之一度的低温，因而可以称之为“世界上最冷的地方”。该实验室还第一次实现了氦的液化，及发现了金属中的超导现象。该大学曾有四位教授获得过诺贝尔科学奖。
莱顿大学著名校友中包括16位诺贝尔奖得主（爱因斯坦、费米、洛伦兹等）以及8位外国元首（美国第六任总统约翰·昆西·亚当斯，两任北约秘书长，二战时任英国首相丘吉尔，南非前总统曼德拉等）。
莱顿大学的许多建筑是莱顿非常重要和具有现代特色的建筑。莱顿大学植物园是欧洲最古老的植物园之一。在莱顿还有众多的博物馆，如国家古代风俗博物馆和人类文化学博物馆等。莱顿人引以为豪的景物，还有风车和吊桥。莱顿也是荷兰17世纪著名画家伦勃朗的故乡，其代表作品有《木匠家庭》与《以马忤斯的晚餐》等。
梦想成功录
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
记不得过去的人，注定要重蹈覆辙。
It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others.
判断自己比判断别人要难得多。