Investing in the Future
Read Investing in the Future and check the IELTS Reading answers. The founding and development of many universities has been dependent on philanthropy*. This has been true from some of the oldest universities such as Bologna, Oxford and Cambridge in the twelfth century, to relative newcomers like t…
Passage preview
The founding and development of many universities has been dependent on philanthropy*. This has been true from some of the oldest universities such as Bologna, Oxford and Cambridge in the twelfth century, to relative newcomers like the universities of Harvard and Yale in the seventeenth century. Wealthy merchants gave young institutions money, land, libraries and rare items. Their belief in the value of higher learning is echoed by the growing number of philanthropists whose gifts have helped transform the University of Auckland, the largest university in New Zealand.
Vocabulary from this passage
9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- a first taste of noun phrase
The first time someone experiences something, often something new or difficult.
In the passage:
The 1950s gave the University "its first taste of international rivalry" (paragraph 3): its first experience of competing worldwide.
Synonyms: a first experience of, an introduction to
- alumni noun
People who have studied at a particular school or university.
In the passage:
Q11 says "graduates"; the passage says "alumni, or former students now living overseas" (paragraph 5).
Synonyms: graduates, former students
- a stroke of good fortune noun phrase
A sudden lucky event that brings an unexpected benefit.
In the passage:
"a fault they found in their campaigns actually turned out to be a stroke of good fortune" (paragraph 7): a mistake that helped.
Synonyms: a lucky break, a piece of luck
Opposites: a stroke of bad luck
- a transformative effect noun phrase
A change so strong that it completely alters something.
In the passage:
Taylor says the campaign could "have a transformative effect on the future of New Zealand" (paragraph 6).
Synonyms: a dramatic impact, a profound influence
Opposites: a negligible effect
- build on verb phrase
To use earlier success or progress as a base for further development.
In the passage:
"These modern campaigns built on the successful campaigns of the past" (paragraph 4): they developed from earlier success.
Synonyms: develop from, expand on
- centenary noun
The hundredth anniversary of an important event.
In the passage:
Q9 says Cooper's campaign "marked the ___ of the University"; the passage says he raised money "to celebrate the University's centenary" (paragraph 4).
Synonyms: hundredth anniversary, 100th anniversary
- discontinued adjective
No longer made, provided or continued.
In the passage:
Q5 says the government "wanted to close" the school; the passage says the state "was determined to see" it "discontinued" (paragraph 2).
Synonyms: close, stopped
Opposites: continued
- in the order of adverb phrase
Approximately; about a certain amount, number or size.
In the passage:
"considerable giving... in the order of $10 million per year": here it means "about", not a sequence or arrangement.
Synonyms: approximately, roughly
- slip behind verb phrase
To become worse than others, so that you are less successful or advanced.
In the passage:
"academic salaries had slipped well behind those available in Britain and Australia" (paragraph 3); this lies behind the answer to Q7.
Synonyms: fall behind, lag behind
Opposites: pull ahead
Answers with explanations
- 1. FALSE
The deciding word is **first**. The opening paragraph puts Bologna, Oxford and Cambridge among the **oldest** universities to depend on philanthropy and calls Harvard and Yale **relative newcomers**. Newcomers cannot be the first, so the statement is FALSE.
- 2. NOT GIVEN
The merchants appear in the first paragraph, but the text only says they gave to **young institutions**. It never says they gave to the universities they had attended themselves. For TRUE or FALSE it would need to mention where the merchants studied, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.
- 2-3: silence
2: The merchants appear in the first paragraph, but the text only says they gave to **young institutions**. It never says they gave to the universities they had attended themselves. For TRUE or FALSE it would need to mention where the merchants studied, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.
3: Match the date **1884** in the second paragraph. The statement's **first gift** is the passage's **original philanthropist**: Gillies gave $3,000 that year and became the University's first donor, so the statement is TRUE.
- 3. TRUE
Match the date **1884** in the second paragraph. The statement's **first gift** is the passage's **original philanthropist**: Gillies gave $3,000 that year and became the University's first donor, so the statement is TRUE.
- 3-4: FALSE
3: Match the date **1884** in the second paragraph. The statement's **first gift** is the passage's **original philanthropist**: Gillies gave $3,000 that year and became the University's first donor, so the statement is TRUE.
4: The statement's **often received larger gifts** is the passage's **regularly given**, but the comparison is reversed. The text says Gillies' gift was **more generous even than** the ones Otago regularly received, so Otago's were smaller. That makes the statement FALSE.
- 4. FALSE
The statement's **often received larger gifts** is the passage's **regularly given**, but the comparison is reversed. The text says Gillies' gift was **more generous even than** the ones Otago regularly received, so Otago's were smaller. That makes the statement FALSE.
- 5. TRUE
Look for the **1930s** and the engineering school in the second paragraph. **The government wanted to close** is the passage's **the state was determined to see discontinued**, so the statement is TRUE.
- 6. NOT GIVEN
Crookes and the figure **$6,500** are in the second paragraph, but the text says only that he was a **former lecturer** who raised the money. It never says what he did afterwards, so whether he returned to academic life is NOT GIVEN.
- 7. TRUE
In the paragraph about the 1950s, **the best lecturers** is the passage's **the strongest candidates**, and **chose to work in** matches **recruited to those countries**. Salaries in Britain and Australia were higher, so the statement is TRUE.
- 8. FALSE
Find the **Medical School** in the paragraph about the 1950s. The word **single** is the problem: the passage says the gifts came from an **unusually wide range of donors**, listing five kinds. One philanthropist cannot be responsible, so the statement is FALSE.
- 9. centenary
Find **Henry Cooper** in the paragraph about modern appeals. The notes' **marked** is the passage's **celebrate**, and what the campaign celebrated was the University's 100th birthday, so the gap needs **centenary**.
- 10. staff
The campaign name **Leading the Way** points to the next paragraph. **Raising money to invest in** matches **generating funds to recruit, support and retain**. What they invest in is the very best **staff**, so the gap needs a plural noun, **staff**.
- 11. overseas
The notes' **graduates** is the passage's **alumni, or former students**, and **are located** matches **now living**. The same paragraph says they live **overseas**, which fills the gap.
- 12. recorded
Look for **Stuart McCutcheon** and the **fault** in the last paragraph. The notes' **had not been** matches **has not been previously**, and the passage says these gifts were not **recorded** by the Advancement Office.
- 13. target
Still in the last paragraph, the notes' **new financial ___ for the campaign** points to the announcement that the campaign **target** was raised from $100 million to $150 million. The answer is **target**.