Harvard University ____________________ in the ranking of world universities for the first time in eight years. It was ____________________ by Caltech (the California Institute of Technology). Another California college, Stanford University, ____________________ second spot. The annual, _______________________ top educational institutions is compiled by London’s Times Higher Education and the Thomson Reuters Corp. Universities from the U.S.A. and U.K. ____________________, with 75 American schools in the top 200. Seven of the top 10 colleges were in the U.S. and the rest were in Britain. Oxford University ____________________ the rankings to fourth; Princeton University came fifth and the University of Cambridge was sixth.
Phil Baty, ____________________, explained that Caltech leapfrogged Harvard because it had ____________________ for its research. He said: “The difference between Harvard and Caltech last year was minuscule. What’s happened this year is Caltech has seen ____________________ in its research income. A 16 percent increase. It’s quite significant in tipping the balance over in its favor.” Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, president of Caltech, said: “Caltech is ____________________ steadfast donors and partners whose support gives [the university] the ability to invest in new ideas long before they would ____________________ funding opportunities.” Baty said private universities in America like Caltech are ____________________ in raising funds.
1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
| a. | Harvard University has dropped out of the top ten universities. | T / F |
| b. | A technology college from California is now the world’s top uni. | T / F |
| c. | Stanford and Harvard universities share the same spot on the rankings. | T / F |
| d. | Cambridge and Oxford universities are both in the top five. | T / F |
| e. | Caltech got the top spot because if found more funds for research. | T / F |
| f. | There was a huge difference between Harvard and Caltech last year. | T / F |
| g. | Caltech can invest in new ideas before public universities can. | T / F |
| h. | Private universities in the U.S. are facing problems getting funding. | T / F |
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.
| 1. | spot | a. | lucky |
| tied | b. | the others | |
| 3. | annual | c. | more |
| 4. | the rest | d. | drew |
| 5. | climbed | e. | jumped over |
| 6. | leapfrogged | f. | place |
| 7. | greater | g. | chances |
| 8. | fortunate | h. | money |
| 9. | opportunities | i. | yearly |
| 10. | funds | j. | rose |
3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)
| 1. | lost its top spot | a. | Harvard |
| It was knocked off its | b. | second spot | |
| 3. | tied with Harvard for | c. | places in the rankings |
| 4. | dominated the | d. | list |
| 5. | climbed two | e. | over in its favor |
| 6. | Caltech leapfrogged | f. | in the ranking |
| 7. | a significant increase | g. | new ideas |
| 8. | tipping the balance | h. | perch by Caltech |
| 9. | steadfast | i. | in its research income |
| 10. | invest in | j. | donors |
SPEAKING
Talk with your partner(s) about universities.
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
| a) | What did you think when you read the headline? |
| b) | What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘university’? |
| c) | What are the good and bad things about universities? |
| d) | Do you think universities today are better than those in the past? |
| e) | How important is it to go to a university? |
| f) | What do you know about Harvard University and Caltech? |
| g) | What are the universities like in your country? |
| h) | Why do you think so many of the top unis are in the U.S.A.? |
| i) | How might your life improve by getting a degree from a top university? |
| j) | Is it more difficult to be successful in life without graduating from university? |
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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
| a) | Did you like reading this article? |
| b) | Why is funding for research so important for universities? |
| c) | In some countries, a university education is free? Do you think it should be free |
| d) | Which are better, public or private universities? |
| e) | What would you really love to study at university? |
| f) | Who gives funds to universities and why? |
| g) | Do you think all universities will be totally online in the future, with no buildings? |
| h) | What do you think of Oxford and Cambridge university? |
| i) | Should all university subjects be practical? |
| j) | What questions would you like to ask Phil Baty? |
READING
Pre-reading task
Answer the questions:.
1. How can you enter university in England?
2. How long do university courses last?
3. When do students receive a degree?
4. How many degrees are there?
5. How often do the students have seminars and tutorials?
What do we call:
1.the money some students receive if they get a place at university?
2.the qualification you get at the end of university?
3.the name we give students during the first period at university?
4. teachers at university?
5. students when they have completed their first degree?
6.students studying for a second degree?
Oxford University
The University of Oxford has 38 colleges and six halls of residence. Oxford is one of the top ten Universities in the world. Oxford was founded in the 11 th century and is the oldest university in the UK.
It really began to grow when the University of Paris expelled all foreign students in 1167 and English students returned to England.
The most important courses at first were Theology and Latin, because most students wanted to join the church, but Law soon became important too. By the 16 th century, there were more students of law theology.
In 1209, a famous event took place. Two students were hanged for attacking a woman in the town. Many students and lecturers believed they were innocent, and they were angry that they decided to leave Oxford and start a new university in Cambridge.
For a long time, Oxford was male- only university. Women could attend lectures from about 1880 but it was only in 1920 that Oxford awarded degrees to female students for the first time. Oxford appointed its first female professor in 1948. Fourteen percent of full – time undergraduate students come from overseas and 63 % of full –time postgraduate students are international students. Oxford uses the tutorial method of teaching as well as lectures. Students really enjoy talking to their lecturers in their rooms with a coffee! Twenty- five Prime Ministers and 86 Archbishops of Canterbury attended Oxford. Many famous writers, such as Oscar Wild and J.R.R. Tolkein(author of the Lord of the Rings) also went to Oxford. Among scientists, we can mention Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins and Tim Berners- Lee, the inventor of the Internet.
You can visit many wonderful buildings in Oxford, such as Ashmolean Museum. It has a large collection of paintings, including works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso and Turner. Another museum you can visit is the Natural History Museum. Tgere, you can see a complete Tyrannosaurus Rex and thousands of other fossils and animal remains.
The Times Good University Guide 2008 says that Oxford is the top university in the UK while Cambridge is in the second place. Oxford is first in English, Politics, Physiological Sciences, Fine Art, Business Sudies, Materials technology, Middle Easternand African Studies, Music, Philosophy, and also Education and Linguistics which it shares first with Cambridge, Oxford comes second after Cambridge in seventeen other subjects.
Post-reading task
Answer the questions:
1. When was Oxford founded?
2. How many colleges are there at Oxford?
3. Why did many English students begin to come to Oxford?
4. When did Oxford allow women to study?
5. Does Oxford have more students from the UK or from abroad?
6Where can you see works of art at Oxford?
Vocabulary: