2. Reading Comprehension

A. Understanding the reading. ***

1. When were the first universities in Europe organised?

2. What is the oldest university in Great Britain?

3. What are the sources where finance for universities comes from?

4. What is Open University?

B. Below is a summary of the passage in sentences which are given in the wrong order. Put the sentences in the correct order by writing the letters (a – j) next to numbers (1 – 10).

1. The quarter of a century from 1940 to 1965 was the period when there was a big increase in the number of universities in Britain.

2. The Open University was founded in 1969.

3. The oldest American university was founded in the 17th century.

4. One of the original meanings of ‘university’ was an association of teachers and students.

5. There is one private university in Britain: it was established in 1983.

6. After three more Scottish universities were established in the 15th and 16th centuries, the next major developments were not until the foundation of a number of civic universities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

7. Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest English universities.

8. Government grants are the most important source of university income.

9. The first Scottish university was established in the early 15th century.

10. There were gatherings of students at the centres of learning in Europe between the 12th and 14th centuries.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

3. Vocabulary Focus

A. Fill in the blank with the correct word. ***

1. About 20% of British school-leavers enter universities and different types of _____________ which provide more work-orientated courses.

2. About 90% of students receive _____________ or loans covering tuition fees and maintenance (accommodation and food).

3. Students completing their course of _____________ get a Bachelor degree (Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Sciences).

4. _____________ completing their post-graduate work, which is usually a one- or two-year course involving some original research get Master of Arts or of Science.

5. Some students continue to complete a three-year period of original _____________ for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

6. Today there are 47 ______________ in Britain, compared with only 17 in 1947.

7. As with the school system so also with the higher ______________, there is a real problem about the exclusivity of Britain’s two oldest universities.

8. ______________ conducts learning through correspondence, radio and television, and also through local study centres.

B. Find words in the text that mean the same or are similar to the following and write them in the blanks.

1. A school for advanced education, especially in a particular subject or skill.

__________________________

2. Money, that you give to a person or an organization in order to help them.

__________________________

3. To start a company, organization, system, situation etc. that is intended to exist or continue for a long time. __________________________

4. An amount of money that you pay to a professional person for their work.

__________________________

5. An amount of money given to someone, especially by the government for a particular purpose. __________________________

6. The whole system of rules that people in a particular country or area must obey. __________________________

7. The treatment and study of illnesses and injuries.

__________________________

8. The study of the nature and meaning of existence and reality, good and evil, etc. __________________________

9. Serious study of a subject, that is intended to discover new facts or test new ideas. __________________________

10. An educational institution at the highest level, where you study for a degree.

__________________________