The women scientists of Bologna

The women scientists of Bologna

📖 Bài đọc (reading passage)

The women scientists of Bologna
A
A. The 18th century was a time of logic and experimentation, and many of the sciences had their beginnings at that time. But throughout most of Europe, these studies were reserved exclusively for men. Few options were available to European women with an inclination to study. A university education was off-limits to women almost everywhere in Europe, with one notable exception: Italy. In Italian universities, women competed equally with men, and among those liberal Italian universities, one in particular stands apart.
B
B. The University of Bologna was founded in 1088 as a law school and is the oldest university in Europe. During the 18th century, intellectually gifted women from the upper classes, and sometimes even from the less economically advantaged classes, had access to a level of education not available in most Western nations until the 20th century. Most of these women, as the following short biographies demonstrate, flourished in various areas of science.
C
C. Among the women professors of the University of Bologna, Laura Bassi (1711 - 1778) was the pioneer. She was the first woman to earn a PhD, and the university's first female professor. At the age of 21, Bassi became Professor of Physics. However, the university was not so liberal as to allow her to give lectures there; this remained a right reserved solely for men. Bassi was therefore obliged to conduct her lectures and her experiments in her home. She conducted physics tutorials and experiments for her students throughout her academic career, and for over thirty years offered an annual public lecture on experimental physics. She also continued her own studies in literature as well as science, but considered only science as truly valuable, focusing on mechanics, hydraulics, and anatomy. But perhaps her most enduring achievement is the legacy she left to the women who followed her. Bassi's scholarship and life-long achievement in both research and teaching made it easier for other women to obtain university appointments. Most importantly, her successors were accorded full professorial privileges without restrictions based on gender.
D
D. In the 18th century, anatomy stood at the vanguard of medical research, and in 1742 Ercole Lelli, a painter and sculptor, became the first person to make a detailed reconstruction of the human skeleton and muscles in wax. These models were used to familiarize students with the human body. Lelli was assisted in his work by Giovanni Manzolini, who later became a professor at the University of Bologna. In turn, Manzolini was assisted by his wife, Anna Morandi (1716 - 1774), who came to be considered the finest practitioner of artistic anatomy.
E
E. Morandi did not set out to become an anatomist. Her early education focused on drawing and sculpting, but she later combined her keen observations and her artistic talent to produce very faithful reproductions of anatomical systems. When her husband fell ill and could no longer teach, Morandi was officially charged with delivering his lectures. After he died in 1760, Morandi was elected to a professorship at the university and, nine years later, was also named the anatomy department's chief model maker.
F
F. Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718 - 1799) The daughter of Pietro Agnesi, a professor of mathematics at the University of Bologna, was both a brilliant linguist and a talented mathematician. She mastered French by the time she was five years old, and a number of ancient languages by the age of nine. Later, Agnesi focused her attention on mathematics. She devoted herself to algebra and geometry in her studies, and compiled the book that made her famous - Instituzioni Analitiche (Analytical Institutions), which for the first time provided a synthesis of many different branches of mathematics. The work became well known because its terminology constituted a basis for subsequent scientific works, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. The French Academy of Sciences offered the highest praise it could, noting in a letter that 'if the regulations permitted it, Mademoiselle Agnesi would be admitted to the Academy'. Agnesi may have been denied admission to the French Academy, but she was admitted into the Academy of Sciences in Bologna. Upon her father's death in 1752, Agnesi abandoned mathematics and the academy to care for the elderly, the poor, and the sick until her death in 1799.
G
G. Maria Dalle Donne (1778 - 1842) Was born into an average family in the small village of Roncastaldo on the outskirts of Bologna. A peasant girl from such a modest background would not normally have been encouraged to study, but Dalle Donne was born with a physical deformity; this may have led her family to think she would never marry. Under these circumstances, the family might have felt more inclined to educate the girl. In any event, Dalle Donne's cousin recognized her talents and took charge of her education. He enlisted the help of Luigi Rodati, a physician, who taught her himself and later recruited other professors of physics, surgery, and pathology to instruct her. In 1799, Dalle Donne passed her examinations with the highest honors, and became the first female doctor of medicine.
H
H. Several years later, Dalle Donne became the Director of one of the Departments of Medicine at the University of Bologna, where she gained a reputation as a stimulating lecturer. She was emphatic about the need to educate young women in areas of medicine, and accepted girls into her program without regard for their ability to pay. Perhaps because of her own modest origins, she assisted talented but financially deprived girls, bringing some measure of democracy to the education of women.

❓ Câu hỏi (questions)

Question 1 - 5
Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H Which paragraph contains the following information?  Write the correct letter, A-H
1
A description of a teaching aid used in the 18th century.
2
Reference to a promotion arising from the misfortune of a close family member.
3
How a handicap may have resulted in a girl being given the opportunity to study.
4
Mention of a restriction placed on where a woman could teach.
5
Reference to an important academic text.
Question 6 - 9
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Women's education in 18th-century Europe

During the 18th century, Italy was the only country in Europe to give women the chance to study at university. The most notable of the institutions which opened their doors to women was the University of Bologna. Although it was originally intended to teach the subject of , many of its most famous women students worked in the field of .

Laura Bassi was the first woman teacher at the University of Bologna, and as well as teaching her students she also at times addressed people outside the university on the subject of . Of all her studies, Bassi gave least importance to the subject of .

Question 10 - 13
Look at the following statements and the list of women scholars below. Match each statement with the correct woman scholar, A-D. Write the correct letter, A-D.
List of Findings
A
Laura Bassi
B
Anna Morandi
C
Maria Gaetana Agnesi
D
Maria Dalle Donne
10
She offered tuition to those who could not afford the normal fee.
11
Her example helped others to obtain a right she did not have herself.
12
She devoted a long period of her life to charitable work.
13
She was put in charge of creating teaching materials.

🔥 Answer key (đáp án và giải thích)

1
D

Giải thích chi tiết

Ứng dụng Linearthinking để giải quyết dạng bài Matching Information

📌 Dạng Matching Information chúng ta nên làm cuối cùng, sau khi đã làm các dạng câu hỏi khác nhé DOLBIES, bởi vì lúc này mình đã đọc và hiểu nội dung của bài rồi → sẽ nhanh chóng tìm được vị trí đáp án hơn!!

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✅ Step 1: Phân tích câu hỏi (Matching Information) A description of a teaching aid used in the 18th century .

Dự đoán thông tin cần tìm (SPECIFY):

  • “teaching aid” = đồ vật / mô hình / tài liệu được dùng để giúp dạy và học (ví dụ: models, diagrams, instruments, specimens, etc.)

  • “used in the 18th century” = đoạn đúng sẽ có mốc thời gian 18th century hoặc ngữ cảnh rõ ràng là thời kì đó

  • “a description” = đoạn sẽ mô tả teaching aid đó (nó là gì / làm bằng gì / dùng để làm gì)

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✅ Step 2: Locate bằng chứng Đoạn D có câu bằng chứng trực tiếp nói về một “teaching aid” trong bối cảnh thế kỉ 18: In the 18th century , Ercole Lelli became the first person to make a detailed reconstruction of the human skeleton and muscles in wax . These models were used to familiarize students with the human body .

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✅ Step 3: Đối chiếu paraphrasing (để chắc chắn match đúng)

  • a teaching aid These models / a detailed reconstruction ... in wax (mô hình giải phẫu bằng sáp)

  • used were used to familiarize students (= dùng để giúp sinh viên làm quen/hiểu cơ thể người)

  • in the 18th century In the 18th century

Đoạn D đúng vì vừa mô tả teaching aid, vừa nói rõ nó được dùng để dạy học, lại đặt trong bối cảnh thế kỉ 18.

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❌ Những đáp án “bẫy” hay dính

  • Bẫy đoạn E: có “delivering his lectures” (giảng bài) nên skim/scan dễ tưởng liên quan “teaching”. Nhưng E nói về việc Morandi thay chồng giảng và được bổ nhiệm, không mô tả một teaching aid cụ thể.

  • Bẫy đoạn C: có “public lecture” và “tutorials” nên dễ bị hút bởi từ khoá dạy học. Nhưng C tập trung vào sự nghiệp giảng dạy của Laura Bassi, không có mô tả đồ dùng/mô hình hỗ trợ giảng dạy như câu hỏi yêu cầu.

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