A 52--year--old man who spent most of his adult life sleeping rough and selling copies of a magazine to help the homeless has enrolled¹ at Britain's illustrious Cambridge University.

近日，英国名校剑桥大学录取了一名成年后大部分时间露宿街头、并靠卖一份旨在帮助无家可归者的杂志为生的52岁男子。

Geoff Edwards says he left school at a young age with two qualifications and few ambitions, then ended up homeless in the city of Cambridge after work as a field laborer² dried up.

这位名叫杰夫·爱德华兹的男子表示，他年轻时拿了两个证书后便辍学了，也没有什么雄心壮志。后来，在失去一份牧场工人的工作后，他成了剑桥市的一名流浪汉。

Now Edwards is studying English literature, having completed a college course designed for adults who want to return to education or need extra qualifications to go on to university.

爱德华兹现在主修英国文学，且已经修完了一门为希望接受再教育或需要更多证书以报考高校的成年人设计的大学课程。

"I didn't think of applying to Cambridge -- I didn't think Cambridge University would take someone like me, but my (course) tutor encouraged me to apply," Edwards said in a statement.

爱德华兹在一则声明中称：“我之前没有想过申请剑桥--我不认为剑桥大学会选我这样的人，但是我的（课程）导师鼓励我去申请。”

"It is the first thing I am proud of in my life," he said.

他说道：“这是我此生第一件为自己感到骄傲的事情。”

Edwards said it had always been his "dream" to attend Cambridge, considered one of the top universities in the world.

爱德华兹表示，能够进入被视为世界一流学府之一的剑桥大学一直是他的“梦想”。

The number of homeless people in Britain has soared³ past 300,000 -- an increase of 4 percent on last year -- with one in 200 sleeping rough, the housing charity Shelter said.

住房慈善基金Shelter透露，在英国，现在无家可归者的数量已经超过了30万，同比去年增加了4%，其中每200个人中就有1个人露宿街头。