In the early 19th century Oxford and Cambridge were the only two universities in England. The cost of education at these universities was so high that only the sons of the wealthier classes could afford to attend. But more restrictive still were the religious tests; only Church of England members could attend. It was to overcome these limitations that in 1827, in Gover Street, London, a non-denominational college - "University College" - was founded. Its first years were years of struggle for survival against hostile forces of the Church and State. The "godless" college was opposed by Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir Robert Peel and the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, who opened a rival institution - King's College.
In 1836 these two institutions, University College and King's College, joined forces through a typically English compromise. Each retained the control of its own internal organization, faculty and teaching; a separate body, the University of London, was created to "conduct the examination of and confer degrees upon their students". Thus was born the University of London.
The long reign of Victoria saw many changes in the University such as: Medical schools of the various teaching hospitals, Bedford College for women, Imperial College of Science and Technology, and many others. The famed London School of Economics was a newcomer in 1895.
Up until 1900 the University was only an examining body, but in that year an Act of Parliament allowed the first actual teaching on any level. Today the University has much the same form of organization adapted to accommodate its increased size and complexity. It is governed by a Vice-Chancellor, a Court, and a Senate. The Senate composed of representatives of the constituent colleges and school nominees of the crown, the London Country Council, certain professional bodies and graduates, is the supreme academic authority. The Court, also broadly representative body, allocates to the colleges money derived from the national government and the London Country Council. In brief, the University of London is a federation of colleges, each largely independent, and the whole independent of the British Parliament in academic matters.
In many ways the University has departed from the traditions of Oxford and Cambridge. London University was the first to abolish religious tests, to grant degrees without residence. Recently the Senate abolished - not without a stir - the requirement of being English for entrance. The cap and gown are missing here, but the tradition of schooling is strong.
I.
1. According to the text in the 1st half of the 19th century ______
A Oxford and Cambridge were founded B there were only two universities
C the history of the University of London began
D the University College and the King's College were closed
2. In 1836 the King's College and the University College lost the following privilege:__.
A to have their own internal structure
B to have their own buildings
C to hold examinations for the University degree
D to provide modern teaching
3. It follows from the text that the creation of the University of London could best be described as _______.
A a struggle for survival B an opposition to the Church
C an opening of a rival institution D a compromise
4. Among the forces opposing the University College the author fails to mention ____.
A the Church C the Queen
B the State D the Head of the Government
5. Among the traditional requirements abandoned by the University of London the reader does not find the requirement _______:
A to be English
B to have a religious background
C to admit men only
D to be a resident of the UK
II.
6. At the examination she demonstrated______excellent knowledge of English.
A hers C the
B an D its
7. A massive green space - Osterley Park – a centre around a Tudor Mansion by the same name, built as a country home for Sir Thomas Gresham, ____ man in 16th century.
A the most wealthiest C the wealthiest
B wealthiest D the more wealthy
8. She looked at me_, but didn't say___.
A kindly, anything C kindly, nothing
B kind, something D kind, anything
9. Mark was sure to get acknowledged as he worked_____.
A hardly C too hardly
B hardly enough D hard enough
10. Before her marriage, she lived in London, where she worked for____National Gallery in ___ Trafalgar Square.
A the, the C__, ___
B _____, the D the, _
11. Agatha Christie is ____ master of ____ detective story.
A a, the C__, ___
B a, a D the, a
12. You haven't ____ time if you want to catch the train.
A many C much
B plenty D a lot
13. Average life expectancy in Europe dramatically over the last hundred years.
A had risen C rises
B has risen D is rising
14. At first the authorities thought the athlete drugs, but they soon realized they ____ up the results of the tests.
A had taken, had mixed
B took, have mixed
C taking, mixed
D has been taken, had mixed
15. I really hate those cartoons where Tom ___ Jerry.
A has always chasing C always chase
B is always chasing D is being chased
16.Your money could ____ to good use instead of ____ idle in the Bank.
A be put, being left C to be put, being left
B put, to be left D have put, to be left
17. He suggested __ go rowing on the river and ____ take a picnic lunch with them.
A to, to B that they should,
C___, ______ D that they will, to
18. It's time that team _____ a match. They haven't won a match for ages.
A has won C won
B wins D will win
19. If you _____ some money, you _____ so hard up now,
A have saved, won't be B save, wouldn't have been
C had saved, wouldn't be D haven't saved, haven't been
20. She gave ____ waiting _____ the landlord to repair the roof and paid for it.
A up, for C with, for
B in, to D up,__
21. Sometimes when his aunt sent him off to school he would go part of the way and then turn and so to the river to swim or fish instead.
A aside B outside C inside
22. She took _____ of her father's good mood and asked if her boyfriend could stay for dinner.
A use B benefit C advantage
23. The United Kingdom is very small ____ many countries in the world.
A compared with B depending on C taking
24. Whether you are a flower fanatic, or simply love ______ outdoor attractions, London and its outlying areas offer gardens for all tastes.
A exploiting B exploring C exploding
25. My aunt Emily likes reading and gardening, and she goes for long ________over the hills with her dog, Buster.
A walks B steps C voyages
26.__ If people planned their holidays- they would always be _________with their rest.
A satisfactory B satisfied C fond
27._____________ She won't take_____ in the bridge tournament as she goes away in April.
A place B part C round
28. In Scotland, where there are good _______ for winter sports, skiing and climbing are very popular.
A conventions B circumstances C conditions
29. A vast array of artifacts and treasures are available to all museum _____.
A applicants B visitors C workers
30. Needless to say, it is particularly young people to look forward to Valentine's Day, hoping to_____ many cards.
A receive B initiate C revise
31. The ceremony would be televised ______. The BBC agreed to do it.
A irrationally B nationally C exceptionally
32. The speed and efficiency of a TV technology ____ that when something happens on the other side of the world, we can hear about it within hours.
A expresses B means C makes
33. Last year a profit of two million pounds was ____ in the first six months but this was cancelled by a loss of seven million pounds.
A done B made C put
34. Since the 1930s Oxford had developed _____as an industrial and commercial centre.
A funnily B rapidly C rarely
35. More ___ needs to be carried out so that we can cut down the use of harmful chemicals in agriculture.
A knowledge B experience C research
III. Read the text below. In fact, there are two texts – A and B mixed together. Choose the sentences belonging to text A and text B.
A 1. Officially Christmas and New Year celebrations run from the 24th of December to the 2nd of January.
B 2. Long live Christmas! - say pickpockets, car thieves and burglars getting their share of Christmas shopping through the dirty business of relieving decent citizens of their fully deserved possessions.
3. However, for many Brits the Christmas marathon starts as early as the beginning of October with the first festive adverts on TV.
4.Every year thousands of people get their wallets stolen in overcrowded shops and streets.
5. Lots of lovely presents, which somebody spent so much time and money on, disappear without a trace when cars and homes are broken into.
6. By the end of November shops are so packed that only the gloomy realization that Christmas is looming and there is nothing you can do about it can make you swap the comfort of a soft sofa and nice cup of tea for big crowds of panic-stricken people.
7. The idea of Christmas shopping is that you spend as much money as you can on anything you cast your eyes on, preferably something neither you nor your family will ever use.
8.As much as 9% of people experience a burglary in December.
9. An average British family spends £670 or more around the Christmas period.
10. The money is spent on a Christmas tree, presents, and essential food such as a huge turkey, hundreds of mince pies, Christmas cake, ham and lots of nibbles.
11. So what is the solution?
12. Although it is impossible to prevent all thefts, it helps to be careful not to put wallets and presents somewhere where pick-pockets and thieves can see them and to insure houses and cars against burglary.
13. Another big source of spending is Christmas cards with an average British person buying 46 greetings cards per year!
14. It is not unusual for someone to turn Christmas spending into paying debts for the rest of the year.
IV. Read the text below. In fact, there are two texts – A and B mixed together. Choose the sentences belonging to text A and text B.
A 1. It has been predicted that in the next decade developers win have concreted-over the equivalent of 3,000 Wembley pitches of green urban space.
B 2. The opening part of this short series combines the scientific quest to understand cold with a look at how the ability to freeze items changed the way we live.
3. Matt James, best known as Channel 4's City Gardener, is furious, and this film makes his case with eloquent rage.
4. Though assured in tackling both topics, the result is a film of two halves that are utterly different programmers loosely strapped together by a common theme.
5. Beginning in the 17th century, the first half examines the series of breakthroughs that revealed cold's nature and the relation of heat to work.
6. He visits allotment holders in east London whose plots are being demolished to make way for a footpath to the Olympic stadium (a walkway that will be used for no more than four weeks).
7. He talks to householders bombarded by developers toying to lure them into selling their gardens as sites for new luxury homes, and tree surgeons instructed to cut down healthy, hornless trees by twitchy insurance companies.
8. Experiments by scientific gelatinous - Bacon, Boyle, Lavoisier, Rumford, Carnot, Joule, Kelvin - are recreated or dramatized, and it is noted that air-conditioning and refrigeration were discovered long ago.
9. These are the spaces, he argues, that allow city dwellers to breathe - not just physically but psychologically, too.
10. Then the scene shifts from Europe to 19th century and modern America, talking heads give way to archive footage, and pure science to cold’s commercial use - by ice merchant Frederic Tudor, frozen-food pioneer Clarence Birdseye, and makers of fridges and cooling systems.
11. In the most telling scene, James meets a Midlands councilor who tries to justify a decision to destroy a rare oak ring in order to build an Asda, claiming the trees are poor specimens, damaged, uninteresting.
12. James leaves you in no doubt as to who will be left poorer if cement is allowed to triumph over nature too many times.
13. So marked is the switch towards social history, that anyone tuning in late might wonder if they’ve stumbled on James May’s 20th century.
UNIT 4 is the most comprehensive. It checks students’ knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure and the skills of prediction.
TEXT 1
Read the texts below and decide what part of speech in A, B, C or D best fits each gap in the sentences.
In 332 BC Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, (1) Egypt. In 305 BC Alexander's general Ptolemy became king of Egypt, and for almost 300 years his (2), the Ptolemies, ruled Egypt. Although Ptolemy was Macedonian by birth and the Ptolemies remained (3) to Greek culture, they were (4) for one of the greatest periods of building and decorating temples in Egypt. The Ptolemies did so to win (5) for their rule from their Egyptian (6). The Ptolemaic dynasty ended when Cleopatn, queen of Egypt, (7) suicide after the Romans (8) her forces at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The Roman victory marked the end of ancient Egypt as an (9) power.
1. A conquered C conquering
B conquer D conquest
2. A descend C descendible
B descending D descendants
3. A ties C tier
B tied D tiring
4. A responsible C responsibility
B responsibly D responsive
5. A accept C acceptance
B accepted D acceptability
6. A subjects C subjacent
B subjective D subjectively
7. A commitment C committing
B committed D committal
8. A defeatism C defeating
B defeat D defeated
9. A depend C independent
B independence D depending
TEXT 2
Read the texts below and decide what part of speech in A, B, C or D best fits each gap in the sentences.
A number of individual diamonds have become (1), (2) because of their size. The largest of all (3) diamonds is the Cullinan, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and was (4) to Edward VII, king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, by the government of the Transvaal. The Cullinan weighed 3,106 carats before cutting and was pronounced by crystallographers to be a fragment of a (5) larger stone. When the stone was cut, a total of 105 gems were produced, (6) 1,063 carats in all. The largest of these was a stone called the Star of Africa, the biggest cut diamond in (7), and now set in the British (8) scepter.
1. A famed C famously
B famous D fame
2. A primacy C prime
B primary D primarily
3. A knew C knowing
B known D knowledge
4. A present C presented
B presence D presenting
5. A considerably C considering
B considerable D considered
6. A weight C weighed
B weigh D weighing
7. A exist C existed
B existing D existence
8. A royally C royalty
B royal D royals
TEXT 4
