【明報專訊】A 102-year-old woman has finally received her college degree! Cecelia Boarman enrolled at Brescia University (布雷西亞大學), Kentucky, the US, in 1957, when she was 42. She studied there for a degree in education but was forced to leave before she could complete the programme.

Tracy Naylor, a Vice President of Brescia University, was going to visit Boarman's daughter, Jovita Boarman Fine, a 71-year-old alumna in Arizona (亞利桑那). When she was about to set off, Fine told Naylor over the phone Boarman had gone to Brescia about six decades ago. Naylor said she was at a loss for words when she realised Boarman was 102 years old!

''I immediately checked her transcripts and calculated her credits,'' Naylor said. She decided to surprise Boarman with an honorary degree from Brescia University.

''I am so thrilled to finally get a diploma after all these years,'' Boarman said. She has been a full-time teacher for eleven years before she retired. Fine said the degree had excited the entire family. '''We've been telling everybody about it. It was really nice of them to do it.''

(source: Ming Pao, Daily Mail, ABC news)

■Photo story

Cecelia Boarman was 102 years old when she received her honorary degree from the university at which she was enrolled in 1957. Sadly, she passed away in early April this year.

■Words

enrol 登記入學

alumna 女校友

■Quiz

Choose the correct answers. (answers on next text)

1. Who is Tracy Naylor?

a. a student at Brescia University

b. Vice President of Brescia University

c. a full-time teacher

2. About how many years ago was Boarman enrolled at Brescia University?

a. 6

b. 16

c. 60

3. Which of the following words can replace ''at a loss for words'' in paragraph two?

a. mindless

b. careless

c. speechless

4. ''I immediately checked her transcripts and calculated her credits.'' Here credit means

a. a record of completed university courses

b. a list of people involved in making a film

c. an amount of money that you add to an account

■Glossary

transcript (n) 學生成績單

honorary (adj) 名譽的

thrilled (adj) 非常興奮的

retire (v) 退休