Attending a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine, or education. But the university is not a modern invention. It has a history that is over a thousand years old.

The world’s oldest university, Al-Azhar, is in Cairo, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque in A.D. 972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque in “tutoring circles”. They read and talked about the subject of law. Around 988, leaders in the city of Cairo decided to create a school for higher learning and the University of Al-Azhar was founded.

At Al-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts.’ Courses were created. The earliest ones taught at Al-Azhar were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers talked about a topic, and there was no ‘right’ answer. Finally, scholars from around the world came to Al-Azhar to teach and do research. At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.

Over a thousand years later, Al-Azhar is still an important university in the world. Its library contains more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable books. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at Al-Azhar.

1.What’s this passage mainly about?

2. The first university was founded over _____ years ago.

3.The oldest university in the world is _____.

4. What does the underlined word “course” mean in this passage?

A. A series of lessons.                                    C. A period of time.

C. A series of actions.                                    D. A group of professors.

5.What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

  Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

Few places have as much ancient history and modern knowledge to offer to students as Egypt. In addition to being the site of many of the world’s greatest wonders, Egypt also hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University is one of the oldest Islamic institutions for higher studies. The head of Al-Azhar is traditionally regarded as the ruler of Sunni Muslims all over the world.

Al-Azhar University had long been known as the most archaic university in the world until 2004, when archaeologists unearthed the site of what was believed to be the first ever ivory tower in the world in the northern seaside city of Alexandria.

What the archaeological team found were 13 lecture halls that could accommodate up to 5,000 students each. These lecture halls are believed to be the University of Alexandria, home of famous Greek scholars like Archimedes and Euclid during the ancient city’s golden era.

This discovery shows that Egypt was a centre for education and learning in the early world civilizations. Its tradition of scholarship was evident even from the Pharaonic Age（法老时代）, which boasted engineering wonders such as the pyramids as well as the scientific wonder of mummies, all of which still exist tod ay.

During the Islamic Age, Egypt became the regional academic centre for Islamic study and Arabic language and literature. Her popularity with scholars from all over the world grew with the establishment of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, in 975.

Today, it remains a popular destination for international scholars, especially those from the Arab world, Africa, Asia and Europe, but like most modern Egyptian universities, Al-Azhar has been equipped with the latest technologies to cope with new demands from the modern world, and is an ideal place for students from all over the world.

Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word “ archaic” .(one word)

Why has Al-Azhar been equipped with the latest technologies?(no more than 9 word)

What is the passage mainly about ?(no more than 6 word)

What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?(no more than 9 word)

Attending a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine, or education. But the university is not a modern invention. It has a history that is over a thousand years old.
The world’s oldest university, Al-Azhar, is in Cairo, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque in A.D. 972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque in “tutoring circles”. They read and talked about the subject of law. Around 988, leaders in the city of Cairo decided to create a school for higher learning and the University of Al-Azhar was founded.
At Al-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts.’ Courses were created. The earliest ones taught at Al-Azhar were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers talked about a topic, and there was no ‘right’ answer. Finally, scholars from around the world came to Al-Azhar to teach and do research. At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.
Over a thousand years later, Al-Azhar is still an important university in the world. Its library contains more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable books. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at Al-Azhar.
【小题1】What’s this passage mainly about?

Attending a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine, or education. But the university is not a modern invention. It has a history that is over a thousand years old.

The world’s oldest university, Al-Azhar, is in Cairo, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque in A.D. 972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque in “tutoring circles”. They read and talked about the subject of law. Around 988, leaders in the city of Cairo decided to create a school for higher learning and the University of Al-Azhar was founded.

At Al-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts.’ Courses were created. The earliest ones taught at Al-Azhar were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers talked about a topic, and there was no ‘right’ answer. Finally, scholars from around the world came to Al-Azhar to teach and do research. At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.

Over a thousand years later, Al-Azhar is still an important university in the world. Its library contains more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable books. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at Al-Azhar.

What’s this passage mainly about?

  A. The history of the world’s oldest university.

  B. The importance of attending a university.

  C. The relationship between university and future job.

  D. The invention of a modern university.

The first university was founded over _____ years ago.

  A. a hundrend           B. hundreds of                     C. a thousand                D. thousands of

The oldest university in the world is _____.

  A. Oxford                 B. Cambridge               C. Harvard                   D. Al-Azhar

What does the underlined word “course” mean in this passage?

  A. A series of lessons.                                    C. A period of time.

  C. A series of actions.                                    D. A group of professors.

What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

  A. How many books are in the Al-Azhar’s library.

  B. How valuable the Al-Azhar’s books are.

C. Why Oxford and Harvard still follow Al-Azhar’s pattern.

D. How Al-Azhar still holds an important role in the world.