As Rosalie Warren stood at the mailbox in the lobby of
her apartment building in May 1980, she shared the anxiety of many other
college seniors. In her hand was an envelope containing her final grades. As
she nervously opened it, Warren wondered whether her hundreds of hours of
studying had paid off.
They had.
“I got five ‘A’s,” she still recalls with
elation. “I almost fell on the floor!”
Warren would graduate from Suffolk
University with a bachelor of science degree in philosophy and history at age
80.Three years later, at age 83, she would receive her second degree from
Suffolk, a master’s in education.
Now, with both diplomas proudly displayed
in her apartment, Warren is not finished with learning. Now 93,she continues
for her 18th year at Suffolk under a program that allows persons 65 and over to
attend classes tuition free. “It’s my life to go to school, to enjoy being in
an academic atmosphere,” she says. “That’s what I love.”
Warren was born Rosalie Levey on Aug.29, 1900.
Two years after she entered high school, her father died. Warren had to leave
school for factory work to help support her family’s 10 children. Warren
describes herself as a “person who always liked school,” and she says the move
“broke my heart completely because I couldn’t finish high school.”
In the end, however, “I went to school
nights,” she recalls. “Any place I could find an outlet of learning and
teaching, I was there.”
A short time later, her mother became
ill, and Warren had to care for her, once again putting her education on hold.
Finally, in 1921, her mother, now
recovered, drew from her saving to send Warren to Boston University for two
years to study typing, stenography, and office procedures.
Those courses helped Warren gain several
long-term office positions over the next 60 years, but her great desire “to be
in the academic field” continued.
In 1924, she married Eugene Warren, and
seven years later, her daughter, Corinne, was born. In 1955, by then a widow
and a grandmother, Warren took a bus tour across the United States that was to
last nine months. She said she wanted to see “things you never see in the West
End.”
When she returned home, she took a
bookkeeping position and also enrolled in courses in philosophy, sociology
And Chinese history. free program for senior citizens.”
I was at the registrar’s office the very next day.”she recalls. At first
,she took one or two courses at a time , but encouraged by her professors , she
enrolled as a
In 1975, when she was 75, Warren learned from
a neighbor about Suffolk University’s tuition- degree candidate.
“I had not studied for so many years,”
she says, “but I was determined.” For the next four years, Warren, who calls
herself a “student of philosophy,” worked toward her degree.
Nancy Stoll, dean of students at Suffolk,
says Warren is “an interesting role model for our younger students---that
learning is a lifetime activity….She is genuinely enthusiastic about being
here, and that permeates (散发) her activities and is
contagious (传染的) to students and faculty.”
1.What does the word elation mean in the sentence “I
got fives ‘A’s”, she still recalls with elation”?
A. Great happiness B. Great
surprise C. Great pride D. Great honor
2.How old was Warren when she got her first college
degree?
A. She was 79 B.
She was 23 C. She was
80 D.
She was 75
3.What kind of work did she do for 60 years?
A. Studying B. Factory
work C. Typing D.
Office work
4.Which statement can be inferred from the underlined
sentences?
A. Because Warren needn’t pay her tuition, she went to
study at Suffolk University
B. At first Warren had to pay for her courses at
Suffolk University
C. Most of the students at Suffolk University are
older than 65
D. Suffolk University encourages older people to take
courses
5.It can be inferred from this passage that Rosalie
Warren _______.
A. came from a wealthy
family B. didn’t like working
in an office
C. put her family before her education D.
didn’t like her family very much
6.What is the main topic of this passage?
A. Rosalie Warren’s family
B. Rosalie Warren’s life
C. Rosalie Warren’s education
D. Rosalie Warren’s studying at Suffolk University
