1. The Open University was founded in 1964 by the Labor Government for those people, for some reason, had not a chance to enter any of the universities, especially those above normal student age. It takes both men and women at the age 21 and over. At the beginning of the 1990s some 150000 students followed the Open University courses.
2. No formal academic qualifications are necessary for entry to these courses, but the standards of its degrees are the same as those of other universities. The first course began in 1971, and in a decade the number of undergraduates reached 65,000. It’s a non-residential1 university. In teaching the university uses a combination of television and radio broadcasts, correspondence courses and summer school, together with a network of viewing and listening centres2.
3. Lecturers present their courses on one of the BBC’s television channels and by radio. They have also produced a whole library of short course-books, which anyone can buy at bookshops. Students write papers based on the courses and discuss them with tutors at meetings or by correspondence once a month.
4. Degrees are awarded on the basis of creadit3 gained by success at each stage of the course. Six credits are necessary for a BA degree4 and eight credits for a BA Honors degree. The time of staying on at the Open University is unlimited.
Пояснения к тексту:
1. без постоянного помещения
2. видео- и аудио центры
3. «успешно» – оценка за сданные экзамены
4. степень бакалавра
5. Прочитайте 4-й абзац и вопрос к нему. Из приведенных вариантов ответа укажите номер предложения, содержащего правильный ответ на поставленный вопрос:
What are degrees awarded on?
1) … because students write papers.
2) … because the time of staying on at the Open University is unlimited.
3) … on the basis of credits gained by success at each stage of the course.