Read the text. are the statements true or false? a degree in what? how many people in the world have a university degree in enigmatology? well, not many. as a matter of fact, the number of enigmatology graduates in the whole world is just one: a man whose job it is to design puzzles for newspapers and magazines. american will shortz is an author and crossword editor. he has worked on over a hundred books, and he owns the world’s largest collection of puzzle books and magazines. the oldest title in his collection was published in 1545! and because his work is also his hobby, he has always been interested in learning as much as possible about the subject. obviously, because he is the only enigmatologist in the world, there were no university professors who could teach him an established course of studies. he did not go to lectures and classes like his fellow students. shortz designed his own research programme, which the university accepted, and he completed his course and received his bachelor’s degree from indiana university in 1974. so the question remains, what exactly is enigmatology? it is the study of puzzles: their types, their history, and their popularity. it’s a mixture of history, maths, logic and cultural studies. there were some people who criticised the university for offering a course in such a strange subject, and they were also critical of shortz, claiming that he had taken advantage of indiana university’s flexibility. but shortz has his fans too, such as the former us president bill clinton. he sent shortz a personal note on his 50th birthday because he loves the new york times crossword, which shortz edits. shortz has also been a guest on several television shows, including an episode of the famous cartoon the simpsons, and the comedy series how i met your mother, where he played himself. shortz’s occupation is to write puzzles for university graduates. shortz has worked on all the titles in his collection. shortz did original research and graduated from an american university. some people didn’t think enigmatology was an appropriate university course. bill clinton sent shortz a note on his birthday because they’re friends.

ушкаа    2   09.06.2019 21:48    21