Focus on Language

Read the paragraph. What do the words in bold print refer to?

The MIT is dedicated to educating students in science, technology and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation in the 21st century. It offers a wide range of accommodation for its students. A great deal of research is carried out by MIT’s laboratories and centers whose work extends beyond traditional departmental boundaries. This allows both undergraduate and graduate students gain all round educational experience and broaden their research horizons.

Contextual reference Pronouns and adjectives are often used to link ideas together so that the text is easier to read. In this case they refer to a word or words mentioned earlier in the sentence or paragraph.

Practice

Read the following paragraph and highlight the words in the text that refer to the words in bold.

With over 100,000 people located in a 6.5 square mile area, Cambridge, US is a unique community with a strong mix of cultural and social diversity and technological innovation. Its "Squares" are rich in various international restaurants and cafes as well as unique shopping, theatres, museums, and historic sites. Located between the academic centers of Harvard and MIT, Central Square is the seat of City government and is home to a rich variety of music clubs, book shops, restaurants and clothing stores. It’s about a 12 minute walk from Kendall Square, which is the home to MIT and the heart of Massachusetts' high tech and biotechnology industries. The main site of the MIT is located along the left bank of the Charles River. This provides a wonderful view of the Boston area. Parking in Cambridge can be expensive and hard to find. Whenever possible use public transportation to get to the MIT campus. The Tech shuttle and Safe Ride shuttle provide free transportation around the MIT. But the latter runs only on weekdays.

(Adapted from http://www.cambridge-usa.org/)

Speaking

1. Match the names of famous universities with the cities and countries they are located in.

University	City	Country
MSU Humboldt University MIT Tokyo Daigaku Fudan University Harvard Oxford MIPT Friedrich Wilhelm University Cambridge Yale Sorbonne	Oxford Cambridge, Mass. Paris Cambridge Berlin New Heaven, Conn. Cambridge, Mass. Moscow Shanghai Tokyo Bonn	France USA Russia Japan UK Germany China

2. What are these universities famous for? Make sentences adding any information you know about them e.g.:

famous prestigious world-known ancient first largest …

Humboldt University is the German university located in the city of Berlin.

3. Answer the questions about the university you study at:

1. What is your university/faculty famous for?

2. At what levels does the university offer programs?

3. Does it offer accommodation for the students?

4. How many students study at it?

5. What fields of science does the university provide courses in?

6. Is your university/faculty prestigious in the country or in your region? Why?

7. Have any graduates, faculty members won world famous prizes? Who?

8. Where is the university located? Is it a campus or non-campus university?

Get real

Study the web site and Prospectus of your university or faculty. Then write an advertisement of your own for university applicants. Use MIT advertisement as an example.

Reading

1. Match words from column A with the words from column B to make phrases related to education

A	B
school- leaving	work
course of	qualification
professional	method
business	course
work	subject
method of	study
teaching	assessment
course	training
specialized	experience
academic	examination
sandwich	studies

2. Read the text about the British system of higher education. What makes it

unique?