It is more than likely that you have never even heard of Hull, and that is totally understandable. Hull is a British city, often to referred to as Hell! There are several reasons for this. The first being that it is quite the worst place to find yourself. I have been only once, that was enough. On my way to the lovely east coast village of Robbin Hood's Bay, I, through no more than severe misfortune, found myself lost, lonely, down on my luck, in the mists of depression, with all hope lost. And this was after only three minutes, and still in the safety of my car. Blind panic came over me, as I noticed the mutant like inhabitants of this apocalyptic place. All sense of normality, style, humanity even, gone. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution reversed with one wrong turn. I would like to describe Hull as vacuous, as then, the nothingness would seem like a blank slate, something to build on, purity it's self, but nothing could be further from the truth. Dying, no already dead, and rotting from the inside, infecting all and everything that is within proximity of its boarders. I focused, determined to come though this traumatic episode, put the pedal to the metal, and, in a scene not to dissimilar to Grand Theft Auto, I violated every rule of the road and made good my escape.
Don't just take my word for it, it is now official, it tops the 'Crap Map' of Britain. Having said that, Hull university does have high rates of student satisfaction. This is probably due to the very low cost of living when compared to other major UK cities, especially in the south. The university also has a strong reputation for research.
But in my mind, Hull is famous for one reason only. Philip Larkin, the man who turned downed the honourable role as Poet Laureate, oxford graduate, writer, and head librarian of Hull university. A great poet and a bitter man, the writer who emerged in the 1950s as part of the 'The Movement', a group of 'angry young men'. He wrote poems that expressed a refusal to participate.
In many ways, Larkin could be seen as synonymous with Hull, as, despite the degradation of both the the streets of Hull, and the internal workings if his mind. There are faint glimmers of hope......but you must search for them as they will usually be concealed well beneath the dark exterior and hopelessness that simmers on their old cold exterior.
Now, I am not saying that when considering your university you should only consider your emotional attachment to particular city or town, in fact quite the opposite. I believe that even in a place such as Hull, as a student, it is more than possible to have a fantastic experience, a world class education and develop a fond relationship to such a place. During my time as a UK university student, it became clear to me that the British system of Further Education offers a unique opportunity and environment, which fortifies against the pressures of real life. It is in such a situation, that one is given the space to grow and develop, a time for learning to think, far more important than simply learning. And although the destination of your choice will be important to you, Larkin delivers a piece of typically inverted hope, a reminder that, ”A place cannot produce good poems; it can only prevent them and Hull is good at that. It neither impresses or insists". And what I take from this, is that even a place such as Hull, or any other, what truly counts is the determination and ability of an individual, both to succeed or enjoy ones experience, which you will surly do in the UK.
Just like Larkin's claims about Hull; that it insists nothing, often, nor will your university course. it will give you great autonomy, but beware, I have often seen such freedoms abused, and have abused them myself......and lets face it, you don't want to end up in Hull for the remainder of your days!
看完文章的你是否有点感觉了呢？选校的时候要把所在城市也思考进去啦~希望留学之旅顺利哟~
传说中的神秘地带，你未曾见过的英国，今天就和小编一起走进赫尔吧，感受不一般的异域风情，不一般的Hull。看中文版不过瘾的筒子们可以看看英文版的来提提神，现在开始赫尔之旅吧：
如果你说你从来没有听说过赫尔这个地方，我一点也不觉得奇怪，因为太可以理解了！身为一座英国城市，它简直是我们眼中的“地狱”！（Hull音似Hell）理由有很多。第一个原因是在这个糟糕的城市里你一定会迷失方向。我只去过一次，足够了！那次我是途径那里打算去东部一个迷人的海滨小镇——罗宾胡德湾的，但是非常不幸的是，我意识到自己迷路了，孤独一人陷入了深深的绝望，一点都不抱啥指望的那种。而这些仅仅发生在三分钟时间，我也还安全地在自己车上。迷路的恐慌袭来，我注意到在这个世界末日一样的地方，居民也看起来十分怪异，完全不似一般人的正常风格。好像千百年来的人类进化完全在这里看不出来一样。我愿意用‘空虚’来形容赫尔这个地方，就像空白石板一样空无一物，未曾开发过一样，再没有别的形容了。将死未死一样，从内部正在腐化，侵蚀着所有企图来访的人和物。我于是集中精力，决心尽快逃离这个让人痛苦的地方，猛踩油门，就像电影《疯狂恋爱跑天下》里的场景一样，违反了所有的道路交通规则，终于成功地落跑了。
别以为我只是说着玩的，赫尔现在已经荣登全英国官方认定“垃圾地图”（地形混乱到拿着地图也白搭）榜首。不过话说回来，赫尔大学的学生满意度却挺高的。这很大程度归功于和英国其他城市相比，尤其是南部城市，这里的生活成本还是非常低的。这所大学在学术研究方面的声誉也很强。
但是在我的印象里，赫尔出名的原因只有一个。菲利普拉金，桂冠诗人（女王诗歌金质奖章）获得者，牛津大学毕业生，作家，赫尔大学图书馆长。他是一个言辞尖锐的诗人作家，在上世纪50年代英国的诗歌运动中成名，是愤青派成员之一。他写诗表达冷眼看世界的态度。
某种程度上说拉金就像是赫尔的同义词，他的思想和赫尔的街道和城市运作一样阴郁、堕落。其实他们内里是有一些闪烁的希望之光的，但是你必须好一番寻找，因为通常都被黑暗、破旧、冰冷、毫无生气的外表所掩盖了。
当然现在我不是让你在考虑大学选择时，只取决于你对一座城镇的印象分，事实恰恰相反。我想即使你在像赫尔这样的地方学习深造，也是非常有可能收获很棒的人生经历、世界级水平的教育、并产生出对这个地方的情感依赖的。当我还是一个在校大学生时，我强烈地感觉到英国高等教育体系所提供的一流的环境和学习机会，足以抵抗真实生活带来的其他压力。在这个环境中，你有足够空间去学习和成长，学会在思辨中学习，而不是简单地学习。虽然说你选择的学习目的地很重要，但是拉金也阐述了另一个看问题的角度：‘一个地方从来不会自动产生好的诗歌，它只会阻止你的诗歌创作，赫尔就是一个很好的例子。当然它不会去强求。’我的理解是，即便待在差到像赫尔这样的地方，最终决定成败的还是一个人的奋斗和享受生活的决心和能力。你来到英国后就会体会。
就像拉金对赫尔的定位一样：对任何事情都不强求。对你的大学课程肯定也是一样——它将给与你很大程度的自由，当然要留心的是，我经常看到自由被滥用，包括我自己也会。。。所以让我们面对它吧，因为你肯定不想在赫尔数着时间过日子！
